MOSMAN EVENING COLLEGE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Mrs SKINNER (North Shore) [6.09 p.m.]: On Friday 3 September I had the privilege of attending the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Mosman Evening College in my electorate. It was a well-attended function at the Mosman Club, but an event which engendered mixed emotions. Those who attended were pleased and proud to celebrate the achievements of Mosman Evening College over its 50 years, but we were also very sad to, in effect, farewell Kate Campbell, who retired as director in 1998 and is now extremely ill.
I had heard of Kate Campbell before I was elected to Parliament through reports of local events and issues, and I had spoken to her on the telephone. I had also heard of her passion and interest in educational matters, when I had worked in the ministry of education and youth affairs. I first met Kate Campbell during the by-election campaign when I was elected to Parliament in 1994. I was visiting the newly refurbished Mosman High School where Kate’s powers of persuasion had won space for her precious evening college. I was with my good friend and former education Minister, the Hon. Virginia Chadwick. Virginia Chadwick turned to me and said, "Now watch out for this Kate Campbell. She’ll ask for the world and it’s impossible to resist her." How right she was.
Kate is a woman of indomitable spirit, seemingly boundless energy, total commitment, enthusiasm, and an absolute determination to achieve the things she thinks are worth fighting for. She is a terrier when it comes to never giving up. As one of her colleagues said, "I like to think that in whatever personal battle Kate is now embroiled, she is fighting just as strongly for herself as she has always done for other people." Kate Campbell epitomises the saying: "Ask a busy person."
Born in Perth, Kate first worked with the Army, lived with her family in England and eventually settled in Sydney. During the 1960s and 1970s Kate had worked as a volunteer with the Workers Education Association [WEA] of New South Wales, and was chairperson of a committee which organised courses between North Sydney and Palm Beach. She claimed that one of the highlights of this period of her life was the advancement of the cause for women in adult education and the provision of day-time courses for women. In a newspaper article in 1990 she said:
We very soon had over 500 women a week coming to whatever venues we could find. In the winter, they came with blankets and a thermos to freezing church and scout halls.
When we offered psychology for beginners, which my husband taught -
her husband being an academic -
He freaked out, said it was unmanageable. So the women sorted themselves into three groups who could come at different times. It was wonderful to see the co-operative way they worked together and supported each other to do this.
That was the spirit of Kate Campbell, always looking at things from a positive point of view. She served on numerous WEA committees, and became founder of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Association of Adult Education, which in 1989 became the Australian Association of Adult and Community Education. From 1977 to 1981 Kate opened and ran an adult education centre on the campus of SCEGGS Redlands, Cremorne, and built it up to a well-established centre. In 1983 she was appointed the first full-time principal of an evening college and was the first woman appointed to an evening college.
Under her leadership, enrolment at Mosman Evening College has grown to more than 10,000 students each year. This well-respected institution provides a plethora of quality courses, ranging from computer studies to belly dancing. My personal friendship with Kate extended beyond my involvement with her as a member of the college council. Despite the workload associated with running a growing college, Kate’s enormous energy and passionate personality meant that she could never resist involvement in other issues which she felt were important.
As a new member of Parliament, and appointed to a committee to review the then Government’s policy on ageing, I came across her in her capacity as a member of the Premier’s
Page 1092
consultative committee on ageing. Kate was never one to sit quietly on the side. She spoke out at meetings and chased people at the end of meetings. Kate was on the selection panel for the Sydney Medical School, helped establish Mosman’s community radio station, and was an active member of Balmoral Rotary. She was made a member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her services to adult education in 1990.