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NEWSLETTER OF THE CHURCHILL FELLOWS’ ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA GPO Box 7244, GPO St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3008

October 2005

Victoria — Churchill Fellows 2005 Front (L to R) Doug Weir, Churchill Trust Victorian Regional Committee, Mrs Landy, Governor Landy AC, Robert Beggs AM, Chairman, Victorian Regional Committee, Professor Emeritus Ray Martin AO, National President, Churchill Trust, Paul Tys, Chief Executive Officer, Churchill Trust 2005 Fellows Middle (L to R) Charles Payton, James McNeur, Simone Griffin, Thelma Hutchison, Patricia Kevin, Natalie Holland, Karella De Jongh, Roslyn Leary, Coady Green, Jonathan Pietsch, Andrew Jay, Dean Cox Back (L to R) Raimondo Cortese, Claudio Ciro, Jenny Dwyer, Helen Al Helwani, Adrian Dunlop, Jesse Schloegel, Michael Gering

2005 Fellowship projects For those Fellows unable to attend the Annual General meeting and Presentation of New Fellows Dinner held on Friday 29 July and missed out on hearing from the new Fellows here is a list of the Fellows and their project briefs. Helen Al Helwani, Social & Community Services Coordinator, Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE To assess strategies used for settling non-English speaking immigrants into dominant Western cultures with the view of adapting the most effective methods into Australian rural communities—New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland Caludio Ciro, Solid Plasterer & Stucco Restoration, Leeton Gem Pty Ltd To develop theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the technique of scagliola (marble imitation) - Italy Raimondo Cortese, Lecturer—Performance Composition, Victoria University To participate in writing workshops conducted by internationally recognized theatre companies specializing in creating dialogue through actor improvisation—Germany, France, UK, USA Dean Cox, Roof Slater, Roof Service Company To investigate the roof slate industry through direct contact with companies that produce & export natural slate—Spain, UK, USA Karella De Jongh, Coordinator, Language Services Department, Royal Women’s Hospital The Sir William Kilpatrick Churchill Fellowship to research hospital systems and analyse policy frameworks and strategies to deliver quality health interpretation/translation services to multi-cultural communities—Netherlands, UK, Canada, USA Adrian Dunlop, Medical Specialist, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre The Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellowship to improve the health care of both pregnant women who are addicted to heroin, and their babies—USA, UK, France, Austria, Norway continued on page 4

From the President

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2946 Churchill Fellowships have been awarded in Australia since the establishment of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in 1965.

Did you know that ...

Richard Grant, President Julie Rees, President Elect Henry Gaughan, Immediate Past President Diane Lightfoot, Treasurer Janine Barrand, Secretary Lou Chamberlin, Caroline Crosse Daphne Cheah Shane Ringin Debbie Phyland Debbie Paltridge Peter Wilkins

2005 Honours List AO – Professor Kenneth John Langford, 1973 Fellow, Water Management who was awarded an AO OAM – Jean Heriot, 1977 Fellow, Kodaly Music Teaching OAM – Frank Lyons, 1980 Fellow, Further Education in Regional Victoria

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As the new President of the CFAV I would like to publicly acknowledge the work and contribution of the retiring President, Henry Gaughan. Henry’s commitment and work on behalf of the CFAV has been inspirational and something which will be very difficult to emulate. Thank you Henry for your friendship, leadership and commitment. Fortunately, Henry will still be making a significant contribution as a continuing member of the committee of the CFAV, in particular editing and producing the newsletter. I would also like to say farewell to the following CFAV committee members: Graham Henderson, Lyn Ireland, Anne McCoy and Da-vid Wells. Graham was our treasurer for many years and is known as the “Guru” – we often joke that he should go on the TV show Mastermind – his topic: Churchill Fellows, their project, their year (and in many cases their address). Lyn is a past-President and Anne was our secretary for a number of years. The CFAV committee will miss you all at our bi-monthly meetings. At our AGM on 29 July, 2005 we welcomed the 2005 Churchill Fellows. 19 Victorians were awarded Churchill Fellowships this year and as always, the richness and diversity of research projects is quite overwhelming. For those who haven’t been to an AGM for a while, I encourage you to come along to the next AGM on 28 July, 2006 to catch up with other Fellows and hear from the new Fellows on their projects. The AGM remains a highlight in my calendar not only because of the oppor-tunity to hear from the new Fellows and their projects, but also to meet and hear about the progress of projects from previous recipients. This year’s AGM was held at Eden on the Park, Queens Road, Melbourne. The ven-ue proved to be a good location and we have booked the same venue for next year. There was a minor prob-lem with parking under the building, however this will be addressed for the 2006 AGM. For a number of years the Committee has managed a mentor program for new Fellows. This proved to have mixed success due to a number of reasons. Last year

for the second time the Committee ran a half-day work-shop on the Saturday following the AGM. Again last year the program was highly successful and the Committee decided that due to the positive feedback from participants at the workshop, this program will become a permanent feature of the CFAV calendar. This year’s workshop was held on the Saturday following the AGM at the Airlie Leadership Development Centre – the police complex on the corner of Punt and Domain Roads, South Yarra. Thank you to Daphne Cheah and Julie Rees for organising this workshop and Commander Kevin Scott for making the venue available. Speakers at the work-shop were Peter Quinn, Suzanne Goodwin and David Musgrove. Once again, the feedback has been very positive and thank you Peter, Suzanne and David for making yourselves available. The workshops also provide an opportunity for the group to network and build some cohesiveness within the year group. Thank you to Robert Beggs, Chairman, Victorian Regional Committee, Churchill Trust, for attending the workshop. The final CFAV event for 2005 is the Annual Dinner at the William Angliss College on 18 November. Our speaker this year is Simon Phillips, artistic director for the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC). He will talk about the future of the Arts in Melbourne. Simon is an outstanding speaker and an extremely interesting and entertaining person - I encourage you to book your plac-es for this event as soon as possible as seats are lim-ited. Since this is the last Bulldog for the year, I would like to wish you a happy and safe time over the festive season and I look forward to seeing you at the CFAV events next year.

Richard Grant CFAV President

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Comment from Churchill House By way of background, it is important to recall that The Winston Churchill Memorial Appeal was the most successful one-day fundraiser in Australia’s history, planned in secret and executed in precision in every State and Territory on 28 February 1965, about a month after Churchill’s death. In the space of a little over three hours, $4.5 million or $35 million in 2004 dollars was raised by a volunteer army of over 250,000 who knocked on about three million Australian doors. The story of the one day appeal goes back to 1962 when the Duke of Edinburgh asked Sir Winston Churchill, who was then 88, what sort of a memorial he would like to be remembered by. Churchill suggested something like the Rhodes Scholarships, but available to all and on a much wider base. Thus was born the Churchill Memorial Fellow-ships. When the 2005 Fellowships are announced, the Churchill Trust will have awarded almost 3,000 Fellowships at a cost of over $35 million in its 40 year history. This is truly a remarkable and fitting legacy for Churchill and is an achievement of which all Australians can be proud. Having so many Fellows who have now passed through the Churchill Trust’s ‘doors’, in 2005, it is important to recognise the impact and contribution that the Trust has made to the betterment of the Australian way of life. There is a real focus on a community based dividend with the Churchill Fellowships and this focus should not be understated. The sharing with the community of the Fellowship experience has come into even sharper focus over the last few years with the publishing of the Fellowship Reports on the Trust’s website at www.churchilltrust.com.au thus providing ready and easy access for most Australians. So in 2005 and in relation to the 40th Anniversary, I would encourage all Churchill Fellows and those associated with the Trust, to speak openly and proudly about the Churchill Trust, about what it means to be a Churchill Fellow, and especially about the benefit and enrichment that the Fellowships have provided and will continue to provide, to the Australian community. Paul Tys

Chief Executive Officer

Annual General Meeting and Introduction to New Fellows Dinner, 29 July 2005

1. Richard Grant with outgoing CFAV Committee member, Ann McCoy. 2. Daphne Cheah, organizer of the New Fellows’ Seminar with the newly elected CFAV President. 3. Richard Grant with Immediate Past President, Henry Gaughan. 4. Paul Tys, CEO Churchill Trust. 5. Robert Beggs AO, Chairman, Churchill Victorian Regional Committee with Mrs Tys.

Having enjoyed all the formalities of the presentation at Government House, plus the lunch and dinner, my wife (Paige) and I were eager to spend more time getting to know the rest of the 05 Fellows and in particular learn more from the Fellows who had already travelled. Our opportunity to do this was an informal morning held at the Victoria Police Airlie Leadership Development Centre, South Yarra. As a serving police officer, I was rather proud to be involved in the invitation for Fellows to see this lovely and very historic building. Most would not have realised, but the morning had a certain irony about it when considering the history of the building. During the second world war (and Churchill’s well known years), Airlie was used for planning covert operations in the Pacific and Asia theatres. The most famous operation involved the very successful Krait operation against shipping at Singapore. How interesting that we gathered at the same building to commence the planning of our very overt overseas experiences where we will pursue our projects and champion the Churchill Fellowship cause. Paige and I found the morning very beneficial and informative. Many tips and traps were laid out for us ranging from, budget, care about issues that may arise at home, is it realistic to plan to draft the report while travelling, to the seemingly never-ending – do we take a lap top or not? Certainly the most exciting thing that struck Paige and I is that it didn’t matter how long ago a Fellow had travelled, their eyes still lit up when describing their own Fellowship project and experience; and their genuine interest and enjoyment of listening to all the new Fellows projects. I congratulate the CFAV for organising the morning and encourage the continuation of the program.

Andrew Jay 2005 Churchill Fellow

New Fellows Workshop

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A balmy blustery wind greeted all the visitors at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RGB) for April’s workplace visit. Our speakers for the day were Richard Barley (1999) and John Patrick (1995). Richard invited us out into the gardens and onto the Oak Lawn to be near the majestic oaks for which that section was named after. A brief history of the Gardens quickly illustrated its transition from formal to informal garden. The RBG’s first curator, Ferdinand von Mueller, planted a symmetrical and structured garden not dissimilar to those still found in Europe today. However, with the appointment of the next director, William Guifoyle this approach was abandoned in favour of curved paths and a more relaxed layout and is closer to the present day design. The gardens have enlarged and there are trees growing that have their own story to tell. Richard told of the excitement amongst the staff after the fierce February storm in Melbourne brought down some large trees. Put simply, it’s nearly a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in deciding the next planting. We adjourned indoors to listen and view John Patrick’s talk. It was quite apt that our water conscious society should hear how countries, such as Morocco and Spain, that have little water have such productive and sustainable gardens. It may have something to do with choosing plants suitable to their environment or the age old technique of flood irrigation. Why change methods that have been effective for centuries? John further illustrated the preciousness of water in Morocco and Spain where lush green gardens are not the main feature of internal courtyards. Instead intricate tile designs and archways and perhaps a fountain or water feature and many hanging pots overflowing with a riot of colours from flowering pelagoniums were the focus. In the USA, John noted the clever creation of gardens on the outside of office buildings and in spaces between buildings at ground level. In drier regions, new housing estates were strongly encouraged to plant according to allocated water quo-tas. A few years have elapsed since both Richard’s and John’s Fellowships but their paths have recently crossed with the opening of the Children’s Garden at the RBG. It’s a clever use of space with plants being used for texture, colour, shade, light, height and depth to stimulate young minds. A John con-cept and a Richard implementation! Many thanks to both Rich-ard and John for a fascinating afternoon.

Daphne Cheah CFAV Committee

2005 Fellow Projects continued from page 1 Jennifer Dwyer, Family Therapist, Bouverie Family Centre To explore programs for assessing juvenile sex offenders with particular emphasis on maximizing possibilities for family reunification and reconciliation—UK, USA Michael Gearing, Education Specialist—Training Assurance, Air Traffic Control Capability, Airservices Australia To examine the methods used by Air Traffic Management organizations to teach situational awareness, spatial awareness, preparedness and decision making in order to ensure aircraft separation—USA, Canada, Luxem-bourg, UK Coady Green, Research Scholar, The University of Melbourne To undertake an intensive piano residency to enhance my studies of 20th Century French piano music with particular emphasis on the music of Olivier Messiaen—France Simone Griffin, Speech Pathologist, Southern Autistic School The Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellowship to visit centres and institutes that are world leaders in their development of service delivery models and techniques in the area of communication and autism—Canada, USA Natalie Holland, Stewardship Manager, Trust for Nature (Victoria) To examine the planning, implementation and stewardship of landscape-scale projects for the conservation of biodiversity—USA Thelma Hutchison, Diary Farmer & Dairy Business Network Coordinator The Jack Green Churchill Fellowship to study the development of career pathways in the dairy industry with a special focus on training mechanisms used by industry, community and family—New Zealand, USA Andrew Jay, District Inspector, Wodonga Police District, Victoria Police Force To examine the traffic, crime and emergency management implications of Distribution Centres—USA, UK, France Patricia Kevin, Private Forestry Development Officer, Victorian Landcare Centre, Department of Primary Industry To investigate farm forestry extension and education programs—UK, Ireland, Austria, Norway, Yugoslavia Roslyn Leary, Regional Program manager, S E Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture To explore new models of service delivery for the resettlement of refugees who are arriving from Africa—South Africa, Canada, USA, Norway James McNeur, Self-employed, Landscape Designer To investigate water efficient design techniques, drought-tolerant flora, innovative irrigation/reticulation strategies, infra-structure and creativity in grey-water recycling and desalination—USA, Spain, Israel, United Arab Emirates Charles Payton, Country Development Officer, Victorian Soccer Federation To research coaching methods and administration for players with physical and intellectual disabilities—UK, Ireland, Germa-ny Jonathan Pietsch, Manager, Inner East Primary Care Partnership The Vincent Fairfax Churchill Fellowship to study primary healthcare partnership program/models that are developing solutions to provide coordinated and quality services for the aged with chronic/complex care needs—New Zealand, UK, Canada Jesse Schloegel, Student, La Trobe University The Dorothea Sandars Churchill Fellowship to investigate the function of a malaria parasite surface protein which has a potential role in binding to the human red blood cell—Papua New Guinea

Royal Botanical Garden: a workplace visit

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The Churchill Museum was established in February 2005, at the cabinet War Rooms and is the first major national museum dedicated to the man who inspired Britain, the Commonwealth, their allies and the peoples of Nazi-occupied Europe to believe in Victory. On entering the museum you get an insight into the operating conditions of the Cabinet War Rooms between 1939-1945, where Churchill, along with his staff, ate and slept, made crucial decisions and strategies whilst sheltering from the constant bombing of London. Attention to authenticity has been paramount so that visitors can appreciate the living conditions. In particular, the Map and Cabinet Rooms are as they were left when the lights were turned off on the 16 August 1945. Even an envelope containing rationed sugar cubes left behind on a desk by the Chief Map Room Officer lies where it was found. On completion of this audio tour you venture into the Churchill Museum where you are able to explore the man behind the legend. Everything about his life is laid out and you can follow his successes and controversies, the highs and lows and the joys and sorrows of this multi-talented writer, soldier and politician. You are also exposed to the private life of a loving son, father and husband and learn about his habits and hobbies of which there are many. Though all his awards and medals are on display, there is no mention that there is a Fellowship in his honour and what better way to inform the public and inspire others to apply, than by making visitors aware of it within these walls. The gift shop is the last part of your visit and there are countless books, ornaments and other memorabilia available for purchase. Also a must see; I recommend the Wit and Wisdom Book which is a record of some of his sayings and writings and costs ₤5.99 Entry costs ₤10.00 – equates to $22.50 which includes entry to the Cabinet War rooms, Churchill Museum and a Sound Guide. Be prepared to put in a bit of time, as there is so much to see and do. My partner Sandy James and I were there for over 4 hours. I hope I have given you the incentive to go there when next any of you visit London and on that note a quote from the man I had the honour to represent on my travels. We are all worms but I believe that I am a glow worm – Winston Churchill - Winston you certainly are and will forever glow within me and also with the support of the Foundation you will always be remembered.

Patrick Boyle Churchill Fellow

A significant impediment to the uptake of farm forestry is the difficulty existing growers experience when trying to under-take harvest operations. The scattering of un-thinned Radiata Pine plantations in southern Australia is testament to this. Harvesting and haulage operations make up more than the sum of all other costs in producing mature plantations. This cost is even higher in small plantations. Unfortunately the current systems in Australia have evolved to suit contractors operating in large industrial plantation resources, which dominate the Australian forest industry. Small plantation owners are at the mercy of this industry, which is focussed on large-scale productivity. In 2004 I traveled to Finland, Sweden and northern Spain to unearth some of the techniques and technologies used in these countries that enable them to cost effectively harvest small forest resources. Finland and Sweden have a high percentage of forested land of which 62% and 52% respectively, are privately owned. Swedish forestry operates very successfully on average harvest areas of less than 5 hectares, whereas in Finland the average is closer to 1.5 ha. The species are Silver Birch, Spruce and Scots Pine, which are all grown on 80-100 year rotations. Large companies and associations drive the process utilising the majority of the resource and controlling the harvesting contractors. The process operates successfully because of advanced technology, supreme organisation, training of operators and commitment to research. Finland and Sweden are also extremely successful at cost-effectively processing low value products such as pulpwood and biofuel. In Spain the species are Radiata Pine, Maritime Pine, Scots Pine and our very own Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus). Average harvest area is a miserly 0.5 ha. Harvesting contractors are at the forefront of industry bargaining and trading timber between landowners and processors. Northern Spain has high rainfall, steep topography and Mediterranean climate. Growth is rapid, management is minimal at best so growth rates are comparative to Australia. In brief the lessons learnt are the importance of a well coordinated harvesting operation value of having group-managed resources advantage of self-loading trucks for log transport use of technology that reduce production costs development of better markets and/or subsidies need for appropriate government assistance more research and development in this area of forestry For the full report on this Churchill Fellowship visit www.woollybutt.com.au and go to the research section.

Jon Lambert 2003 Churchill Fellow

Investigating viable harvesting systems for farm forestry

Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms

From Patrick’s photograph album

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From 4 April to 4 August 2005, I went around the world. This time I wanted to visit more places than I had in 1982, so I also went to Eastern Europe, Russia, Iceland, Florida, the Midwest, Alaska, the “Big Island” of Hawaii and New Zealand. I had been talking of doing this trip for some time and my Doctor advised me last year to do it “now rather than later”. My program was designed to meet my interests as a Churchill Fellow and this neatly complemented my deep interest in the World War 2 era. I was also traveling as a typical touring Architect. The clear highlights were my visits to London, Washington and Fulton in Missouri. Whilst in London, I made a courtesy call on Air Vice Marshall Nigel Sudborough, Director General of the Churchill Memorial Trust. I went up to the fascinating Museum at Bletchley Park – the former secret code-breaking centre. I had an appointment with Phil Reed, the Director of the new Churchill Museum beside the famous underground War Cabinet Rooms. Phil met me by saying that he had had to “double-book” my time with him. Before I could react, with a grin on his face he said that I would have to share his time with none other than Lady Soames! She had come in to urgently sign a trolley-load of copies of her latest book, to sell to a group of Americans at a function a few nights hence. I thus had about 20 minutes with her discussing her parents and my program. She also remembered the 1982 British Churchill Fellows Ceremony at which I had previously met her and the late Lord d’Lisle, a former Governor-General of Australia. She very kindly wrote a greeting to me on the face-page of the copy of her book that I bought. When she found out that I was going to visit Dan My-ers, the Executive Director of the Churchill Centre in Washington and Dr Rob Havers, the Executive Director of the Churchill Memorial & Library at Fulton in Missouri, she asked that I remember her to both of them. As we rounded out our discussion, she gave me her home address and asked that I write to her and report on my adventures, after I had returned home. Across Europe, I visited many of the major tourist sites. I was in Reims on 7 May for the 60th Anniversary Ceremonies of the Field Surrender of the Germans to General Eisenhower. That evening, because I was in the Champagne Region, I had a bottle of Churchill’s favourite “Pol Roger” Champagne with my dinner. I explored Berlin as a unified city. I visited the main Museums in Berlin itself and also at Wannsee to the west near Potsdam, at Sachsenhausen to the north and at Seelow to the east. As well as Dresden itself, I visited the famous Colditz Castle and the town of Torgau on the Elbe River. Tere-zinstadt, Lidice and Auschwitz were truly awful and very mov-ing indeed. These visits were balanced by the concerts and recitals I attended as well as the ornate palaces and cathedrals I visited. Moscow and St Petersburg were both thrilling, in so many ways. However, for spectacular scenery, Iceland, Wyoming and Alaska had the greatest impact on me. In Washington, I was most impressed by the Churchill Centre

and the scope of the research and seminars that they organise. I became a member of the Centre in early 2005 and I now look forward to receiving their quarterly Journal “Finest Hour”. Dan and I lunched at his “University Club”. He told me that Lady Soames had recently been honoured when the Queen appointed her to be a Lady Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Dr Rob Havers runs the only Churchill Museum in America. It is where Churchill made his famous “Iron Curtain Speech” in 1946. Since then a stellar range of speakers such as Lord Mountbatten of Burma and Sir Martin Gilbert (Churchill’s Biographer) have spoken at Fulton. Beside the Memorial is the “Breakthrough” sculpture designed by Edwina Sandys (Churchill’s niece), that uses 8 sections of the former Berlin Wall. The sculpture was unveiled by President Reagan and not long after Mikhail Gorbachov made an address in front of the monument. I stayed in the magnificent 1899 “Loganberry Inn” B&B just up the road. I was given the “Westminster Room”, which was next door to the “Margaret Thatcher Room”, where she and Dennis stayed in 1996, when she spoke at the University. What a trip, what memories and more to come as parcels of material I posted home arrive by sea mail.

Neil R Kenworthy 1982 Churchill Fellow

Around the world in search of Churchill

Images 1. Lady Soames LG DBE & Neil Kenworthy, London, UK 2. “Breakthrough” sculpture by Edwina Sandys, Fulton, Missouri, USA 3. The Winston Churchill Memorial & Library, Fulton, Missouri, USA 4. Dr Rob Havers & Neil Kenworthy, Fulton, Missouri, USA

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Canberra with the grey hair” who would be helping them with their arrangements. ( I am sure that some of the early Fellows were responsible for my premature greying!) At the State Churchill Fellows’ dinners the earlier Fellows would laugh at the advice I passed on to the new Fellows – particularly on how to wash and dry their smalls, keep notes every day no matter how tired they were and if they wanted to go to extra countries or to see a Broadway show they could “at their own expense!! The early Fellows would laugh at these 4 words as they had heard them before and they knew them to be true!) At the Presentation Ceremonies, held in the various State Government Houses, the recipients - most of whom were extremely nervous - would arrive with their guests and I would try to reassure them that everything would be OK and that they should enjoy the wonderful experience of being presented with their Certificate of Award and badge by the Governor. I came to under-stand their nervousness when, in l993, I was at Government House in Canberra accepting my Order of Australia Medal. I was awarded this for services to The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia and I felt extremely honoured to accept this Award on behalf of all Churchill Fellows. I was pleased to share this day with one of the ACT Fellows, David Young who was presented with his Order of Australian Medal on the same day. For the new Fellows this was their special day and it concluded with a Churchill Fellows’ Dinner in the evening where they gave a talk about their project and what they hoped to achieve. My task for the evening was to listen to their speeches and try to match them up with earlier Fellows in a similar field who could help them with contacts etc. They were also told that the welcome mat would always be there for them at Churchill House in Canberra. This closeness with the Fellows did not cease after they returned from their Fellowship travels – as I have told them often – they will be Elvie’s Fellows until I die. The ongoing personal relationships formed with so many have included their families, their happy times and their sad times. Whilst overseas “Dear Elvie” postcards were obligatory and I think I received the most postcards of anyone in Canberra. Even now early Fellows send me postcards to my home address whenever they are over-seas or even on holiday within Australia (“at their own expense).” Churchill Fellows will never know how much they mean to me and how truly blessed I have been to be a part of their lives I believe that I have had the most rewarding and interesting career one could wish for and I will always follow the work of the Churchill Trust and “my” Fellows with great pride. I have indeed been blessed and I am very glad that I accepted the original 3 week offer.

Elvie Munday

“Could I come to the Churchill Trust, which was situated in a demountable building at the ANU, and “fill in” for 3 weeks”? This was the question asked of me back in l970. I had not worked since my marriage in l961and I was not sure what the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ivor Meddleton would expect of me. At that time the Trust was publishing certain Fi-nal Reports and the first one I was asked to edit and type was by Mr Cyril Henschke, a Winemaker/Manager from South Australia. Mr Henschke studied new developments in wine making. It was an ex-tremely fascinating and interesting Report. (He also produced the most wonderful wines that were used ex-clusively at Churchill Trust functions). Next I was asked to edit and type a report by Mr J Chaston, Building Inspector and Town Clerk, City of Brighton, South Australia. Mr Chaston went to investigate and obtain information on the collection, treatment and disposal of garbage and refuse. What wonderfully diverse and interesting topics!! As I learned more about the Trust and it’s Fellows I realised that it was something very special, something that really did help Australians from all walks of life and through them, and the knowledge that they gained, it helped Australia. When Dr Meddleton asked me to work full-time for the Trust (school hours only for the first couple of years) I was well and truly “hooked” by this wonderful organisation and the diverse nature of the Fellowships that it offered. So more than 31 years and four Chief Executive Officers later I can quite definitely say that, apart from my own family, the Churchill Trust and all it stands for became my life. I like to think of the Churchill Fellows as being my Churchill family and to most of them I am “Mother Elvie.” I took my responsibilities to the Fellows very seriously and when I retired I had been “Mother Elvie” to 2468 Churchill Fellows. Although I am retired from the Trust I continue to have contact with many of the Fellows via email, which is wonderful, and I am so happy to see Churchill Fellows when they visit me at home. I am sure that “my” Fellows will always be a large part of my life. Some time ago I introduced my daughter Karen to one of the ACT Fellows – she said, “I am pleased to meet you – Mum says that I am to ask you to sing at her funeral!” Dr Meddleton retired from the Trust in l976 and at that time I was appointed Assistant Executive Officer. My duties included all details regarding Churchill Fellows – helping many of them with their applications and, when successful, handling all aspects of their travel and administrative arrangements. This included my being able to meet the new Fellows personally by attending various State Presentation Ceremonies (making sure that they wore their badges which they should continue to wear with great pride) and Churchill Fellows’ dinners. It was wonderful to hear the speeches about their Fellowships as well as them meeting the “lady from

40th Anniversary of the Churchill Trust

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive”. After my Fellowship trip I think it may be an even better thing to arrive home hopefully than to trav-el! When I began planning my Churchill Fellowship trip last year “traveling hopefully” was constantly in my brain – even more so on the long flight to Vancouver that began the trip – but from that first stop the things I’d anticipated didn’t really eventuate but a whole galaxy of other things did. I went to find out about how children collaborate with composers overseas, but learnt that we might just do it best here – and through international collaborations we may be able to share what we do with choirs and composers overseas. On the other hand, however, I didn’t expect to be learning about the relevance of large-scale volunteerism, dance, dramatic improvisation, and Tai Chi to choral work – but I’m so glad I did! The amazing power of volunteerism makes a huge and internationally-beloved biennial choral festival happen in a beautiful little Canadian town called Powell River. When the summer holiday begins the school staff and facilities, public and private transport, local government organizations and local businesses swing into action, and members of the community open their homes and hearts to choristers from around the world, many of whom speak no English. This wonderful festival of performances and competitions brings together like-minded children and adults, creating lasting bonds that benefit everybody involved. No wonder Powell River is a highly cultured and musical community with high self-esteem and many permanent choirs! Carmina Slovenica Choir from Maribor, Slovenia is a choral star of the highest magnitude. The choir has implemented many innovative programs but none more interesting than the idea of using regular Dance, Drama and Tai Chi workshops to improve performance and audience communication skills. How exciting that there are choirs such as this one who are changing the whole concept of what a choir is and what it can do! I traveled in awe of what I saw and have “arrived hopefully” back home with ideas buzzing. My choir has already learnt much from my Fellowship. Our imminent concert demonstrates what can be added to a performance from our own dance, drama and Tai Chi experiences, and together we couldn’t be more excited about where children’s choirs in Australia can go from here.

Anne Williams PSM 2004 Churchill Fellow

TRAVELING HOPEFULLY

Retired executives help refugees find jobs

I had a fascinating time visiting a range of refugee projects last October – November in Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and London. One of the most effective of the projects I visited was Emplooi in Holland. It uses a national network of retired executives based in local job centers 2 days a week, each mentoring about a dozen job-seeking refugees, who are referred to them by job centre staff. The 100 mentors generate an average of between 500 and 600 jobs each year for the refugees – an outstanding result. Half of these are basically created by the mentors persuading employers to give the refugees a chance, to try them out on work experience. That’s what makes the difference for refugees - having someone to champion them, to say this person has these skills. You might wonder why a retired executive chooses to sit in an unemployment agency when they could be playing golf, and I did ask this of the mentors I met. They said they got bored after about a year of golf, like the contact with people from other cultures and such

different life experiences, and relish the challenge of finding them work. Very much a win-win situation. I hope very much to trial here in Melbourne a model based on this project. 43% of refugees are still unemployed after 3 years here; many arrive here with qualifications and years of experience, so it’s a waste, for them and for us. Other projects I visited include one in Italy where 2 new kinds of jobs have developed: large demand by Italians for single female refugees to live in as carers for the elderly; and ‘cultural mediators’ – refugees using intercultural knowledge to resolve conflict and to negotiate in workplaces. Another project in Sweden works with businesses to get them to see the benefits of diversifying their customer base, to see refugees as new customers. They ran a focus group with a dairy company and refugees who told the company that though they buy a lot of dairy products they didn’t buy theirs because the quantities are too small for their large families. A bank in a suburb where a lot of refugees live, employed a young Muslim woman; simply doing that brought about a large increase in account holders because the new clients felt comfortable talking with her. Jill runs a refugee employment project ‘Given The Chance’ in the welfare agency Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne; email: jcarr@bsl.org.au web site: www.bsl.org.au/given

Jill Carr 2004 Churchill Fellow