St John’s College International Women’s Day Breakfast

President of the Queensland Court of Appeal, The Honourable Justice Debra Mullins AO; Former Deputy Premier of Queensland, Ms Joan Sheldon AM; Vice-Chancellor and President, The University of Queensland, Professor Deborah Terry AC; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), The University of Queensland, Professor Kris Ryan; St John’s College, Council Chair, Mr John Peden KC, and Warden and CEO Ms Rose Alwyn; today’s Guest Speaker, ABC’s J National Disability Affairs Reporter, Ms Nas Campanella; College staff, students and community members.

I, too, acknowledge the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbul and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people who are with us this morning to celebrate International Women’s Day.

It is particularly pleasing that our guests today include several of the women whose distinguished public service and contribution to the College community were recognised last year through the commissioning of these splendid photographic portraits.

I congratulate the College Council and the Warden on the decision to mark the 35 years since the College became co-residential in this way. It’s an excellent example of just how much has changed in terms of gender equity since College was established in 1911.

On the 19^th of March that year, the very first International Women’s Day was held in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, with demonstrations by more than a million people demanding women’s rights.

Back here in Australia, there were no rallies and there would actually be no International Women’s Day until 1928, but we what we did have was a splendid example of just how far attitudes would need to change before portraits like these could be hung in Dining Hall of St John’s.

In 1911, the focus of the Brisbane Courier was on local news, and in October it published an announcement that the directors of the newly founded St John’s College had appointed the Reverend Edward Morgan Baker, M.A., as Principal.

Morgan’s appointment had followed extensive inquiries throughout Australia and in the UK and was greeted very positively by the public and the press of the day, especially when it was discovered that he was not only an ordained minister and a scholar but had a Rugby ‘blue’ from Oxford and was … an international rugby player!

Reports continued to be published about the Reverend Baker’s sporting achievements in the lead-up to his arrival, but it wasn’t until he landed in Australia at the beginning of the following year that the Courier finally revealed, in a passing note in the Religious News column that there was actually a Mrs Baker.

Little else was ever reported about her during her seven-year association with St John’s––not even her name, and although she was mentioned from time to time in the published guest lists for major social events, her clothing on those occasions wasn’t ever described in the same elaborate detail as the fashionable attire of the most prominent guests.

In short, she was regarded largely as an incidental footnote to history to the extent that it’s only through searching electoral rolls that we know that her name was Lillie.

Today, as we consider how to ‘Balance the Scales’we can remember Lillie Baker not as a footnote, but as the very first woman to live at St John’s College and thank her for the unrecognised contribution that she undoubtedly made in those founding years.

At the same time, we must also remember the many other women who have since been overlooked, dismissed or discriminated against, and make a serious commitment to continuing the fight for a fairer, kinder, more inclusive society for us all.

Happy International Women’s Day!