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five Australian universities by teaching load were in the Group On behalf of the College, the JCH Council
of Eight (with the University of Melbourne in third position, extends sincere congratulations to Fellows,
behind Monash and Sydney) – whereas in the UK the top-
ranking universities admit proportionately fewer students. alumni and friends for their outstanding
achievements in 2022.
This overall reality is certainly reflected in my experience in
the two faculties I’ve been responsible for: we have nearly Justice Catherine Button (1992)
twice as many students in Arts at Melbourne than we had in appointed to the Federal Court
Arts & Humanities at King’s College London, but the numbers of Australia.
of academic staff are more comparable, which means that
the student:staff ratio is higher at Melbourne than it was in In December 2022 the
London. This obviously has implications in the classroom Governor-General, His
which my colleagues and I engage with day by day, seeking Excellency the Honourable
to ensure our students’ learning experiences are the most David Hurley AC DSC (Retd),
engaging they can possibly be. There are implications, too, accepted the advice of the
more broadly for the sense of community: how and where do Government and appointed
students feel they belong when they’re in a large institution
with lots of other students, not many of whom they’re likely Justice Catherine Button, as a
to see regularly in lectures or tutorials? We’ve sought to judge of the Federal Court of
respond to this at the University of Melbourne by establishing Australia. Justice Button was
the Academic Advising programme, ensuring direct contact appointed to the Victorian Registry and commenced on
between each undergraduate student and a member of 16 January 2023.
academic staff who’ll be alongside them throughout their
studies, helping them to navigate the University and achieve In 1997 Justice Button graduated from the University of
their goals. This is also where the University’s affiliated Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of
colleges come into their own, for Janet Clarke Hall and the Laws. She also studied as a Rhodes Scholar from 2000
other colleges provide precisely the kind of close and caring to 2003, graduating from the University of Oxford with a
community in which I believe students really thrive. Bachelor of Civil Law in 2000, a Master of Philosophy in
Law in 2001 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 2003.
I say that based partly on my own experience as the first
person in my family to go to university. I was a student at She was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the
Keble College, Oxford – in the collegiate system at Oxford, it’s Supreme Court of Victoria in 2000, came to the Bar in
the colleges that admit students and provide the core teaching 2007 and took silk in 2018. In July 2021 Justice Button was
that prepares students for their university degrees – and what appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
I valued most was living and studying in a small community
of people from a wide range of backgrounds studying many Prior to joining the Bar in 2007 Justice Button was a senior
different subjects. I remember that my life revolved around associate with Minter Ellison in the commercial disputes
three key shared spaces in that college: the library, which division and also spent some time working in the United
was open later than the dedicated subject libraries run by the Kingdom at the Law Commission.
university and so saw me through a few late-night essay crises;
the dining hall, where I learned what it was to be a member
of a community – a group of companions, literally breaking
bread together, learning from one another and learning to get
along with one another; and the Chapel, which nurtured my
spiritual life and where, with hindsight, I now see I began a
journey of discernment that led to my being ordained as an Australia Day Honours 2022
Anglican priest here in Melbourne in 2021.
Mrs Elizabeth Joy Freier OAM
Colleges offer, in other words, support for the whole person – For service to the Anglican Church of Australia,
physically, intellectually and spiritually. Janet Clarke Hall has
a fantastic track record of doing precisely this and on a scale and to education.
that fosters genuine community – genuine companionship
– based on shared values of mutual respect. Back in 1886,
the College blazed a trail for educational opportunity as the Ms Alice Pung OAM
first residential college for women in Australia, and that deep For service to literature.
and principled commitment to equity and inclusion lives on
today in the College’s generous scholarship and financial Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022
support programme (the largest per capita scholarship fund
of any residential college in Australia, no less). In 2023, Professor Emeritus Mary E Hiscock AM JCH Fellow
staff and students will be travelling to regional and remote For significant service to tertiary education, and to the law.
areas of Victoria and beyond to ensure that all deserving
and hardworking students are aware of the opportunities
offered by the College. And so I’m proud to be now in my Ms Margaret R Richardson AM JCH Fellow
second year as a member of the College Council, doing my For significant service to the Anglican Church of Australia.
bit to ensure that the College continues to be a place where
students flourish, where they become who they are, where
they are their true selves.

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