Page 3 - Luce 2015

FRO M THE P RINCIPAL

His Excellency the Governor of Victoria, the Honourable Alex Chernov
AC QC, President of Janet Clarke Hall and Primate of the Anglican
Church of Australia The Most Rev’d Dr Philip Freier and the Principal

From the Principal

We too often take our environment for granted. Not just our Like her father, Margaret has never failed to show gratitude
planet earth, or our beautiful College buildings and grounds, for the gift of her own life. She has never faltered in her
but also our remarkable proximity to parklands and the generosity of spirit, including within the medical profession
Melbourne CBD. Surely Janet Clarke Hall is among the most where her reputation as a pioneering female physician is
privileged environments anywhere in the world in which to legendary, within the Anglican Church in which she has
pursue one’s university education. As the images throughout worshipped in our shared Chapel as a member of the
this edition remind us, our students are fortunate indeed in Canterbury Fellowship over many decades, and of course
their surrounds, be they down at the Yarra at an early morning within the College of which she has been variously Senior
training session, or sitting in our courtyard where two Tawny Student in 1937, Resident Medical Officer over many
Frogmouths have made their home. decades, and since 1966 a College Fellow.

In 2015, they gained the further benefit of a beautiful new There could be no greater joy than to have Margaret
building, ‘Margaret Henderson House’, offering four superb engaging with us as our new building was ‘topped out’ (and,
study and meeting spaces and benefiting from glorious views being modular, ‘dropped in’) after Easter, then opened and
and natural light (‘luce’ indeed). As with all that has come blessed in June among a gathering of friends including the
before it, our newest building was made possible through the Governor of Victoria and the Primate of Australia – all in time
generosity of past students, not least Dr Henderson herself, for a celebration of Margaret’s one hundredth birthday in
who have donated to our building fund over the years. Margaret Henderson House on 13 November 2015.
Meticulously designed by our College architect Mr Barry
O’Connor, the new building forced the College to think hard A beautiful environment can provide sanctuary, but in a
about our carbon footprint. Beyond its high environmental collegiate setting such as ours it should provide not only
values, ‘Henderson House’ has prompted the College to a space for reflection, but also for action. In thinking of
find new ways to reduce our carbon footprint, replacing our privileged environment, surely something of this is
low voltage fluorescent lights across the College with even determined not merely by the quality of our buildings,
more efficient LED globes. A much-needed tidy up of the grounds, and surrounds, but rather by the values and
rear courtyard has led to relatively ‘low tech’ solutions to our behaviour of those who live and learn within them. As
needs, such as a new water tank to harvest rain and feed our our speaker for the 2015 Leadership Dinner, former Sex
‘veggie patch’, and a new, much improved clothes line area Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick AO
which offers the choice of wind and sun over electrical dryers. reminded us, we are presently engaged in an earnest national
conversation about the cultures that empower or alternatively
Remarkably, as Australia commemorated the centenary of denigrate women in all spheres of our national life. As an
the Gallipoli landings, Dr Henderson’s life also spanned the institution, Janet Clarke Hall needs to reflect further on Ms
history of the nation from that time: born just months after Broderick’s call to do ‘what we can, when we can’ in order
the landings on 25 April 1915, Dr Henderson is from that to make the world a better place for ourselves, and for all of
generation of Australians who owed their lives to the fortunes those with whom we share it.
of war. While her father Kenneth served with distinction as a
Chaplain in the First AIF on the Western Front, tragically her I hope that you enjoy reading about some of those things
two uncles, Rupert and Alan Henderson, were both killed in that made 2015 special in the life of Janet Clarke Hall.
the first days of the Gallipoli landings.
Dr Damian Powell
Principal

J anet Clarke Hall 3