Objects of Substance – The Merle Weaver Prize for Public Spe

In 2008, I had the pleasure and the privilege of representing Mackay House in the Senior competition: the italicised distinction being the result of the 1987 introduction of the original Merle’s Junior counterpart, inaugurally won by Erica Fryberg (1989). Like many competitors, I had never formally engaged in public speaking beyond spoken presentations for English — I was perhaps too enthusiastic a disputant for Debating. Professor Howells, by contrast, had engaged and found success in various eisteddfods and speech exams, but despite her enthusiasm considered herself a fundamentally ‘shy person’. Whether inexperienced and enthusiastic or shy and practised, Merle Weaver was — and remains still — a particularly daunting experience: having 200 pairs of eyes laser-focused and staring down at you as you pour your heart out is hardly a walk in the park. Professor Howells recalls wishing that ‘the floor would open and that (she) could disappear’, perfectly encapsulating the split second of panic prior to the performance. However, in the face of such nerves, the desire to inspire won out for us both, as it has done for participants every year since the competition’s inception. There is something about the competition —whether held in Professor Howells’ gone -but-not-forgotten Assembly Hall or the ever-reliable Gehrmann theatre — that sparks fire within and carries girls forth to their best. The exhilaration of inspiration that strikes through speakers is clearly quite powerful, as the uplifting spirit of Merle Weaver often lingers within its participants long after the competition has ended. Citing as inspiration her ‘two brilliant English mistresses’, Miss MacMillan and Miss Marjorie Elliot, Professor Howells now teaches and lectures across the world, specialising in Canadian women’s literature and the works of her personal heroine Margaret Atwood. As for me, I now have the great privilege — and occasional sense of imposter-syndrome-driven fear — of walking the path Miss Weaver paved and coordinating the Public Speaking Competitions at Girls Grammar.

2022, Dorothy Rae (11G) performing a blue-ribbon speech in the Merle Weaver Public Speaking Competition

Each year, I now watch as new chapters are added to the Merle Weaver story, with girls presenting inspirational, heartfelt speeches that aim to kindle compassion, advocacy, and critical thought.