Our School motto, ‘Nil Magnum Nisi Bonum’ meaning, ‘nothing is great unless it is good’ is upheld by many of our exceptional Old Girls. The Nil Magnum Nisi Bonum (NMNB) project embraces the motto and recognises some of the amazing achievements of past students of the School. The list includes women from Academia, the Arts, Philanthropy, Medicine, Law, Business, Entrepreneurship and Sport

Nil Magnum Nisi Bonum Project

In 2006, the 110th Anniversary of the School, St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association (SCOGA) highlighted the achievements of some of our alumnae. SCOGA formed a sub-committee and began searching into the history of many past students and selected 25 to be honoured in the first phase.

Together with the School, the first 25 profiles were produced and launched in November 2010. In 2013 a further 10 woman were profiled, another 15 in 2015, and a further 10 in 2021. A total of 60 women have been profiled to date.

The members of SCOGA look forward to adding to the list in the coming years.

For more information please email us at scoga@stcatherines.net.au

Kate Beynon

Kate Beynon (’88) has held over 25 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 group exhibitions in Australia and internationally since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1993. Highlights include the recent solo exhibition An-Li: A Chinese Ghost Tale at TarraWarra Museum of Art, 2015 and the group exhibitions Re-Picturing the Feminine in Kochi, India, 2012–13 and Global Feminisms at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York in 2007.

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Natalie Bloom

Natalie Hamersfeld (Bloom ’88) is the creator and owner of the international cosmetics company and brand portfolio, Bloom Cosmetics. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications from RMIT University (1991), Natalie started Bloom Cosmetics in 1993 at the age of 22 and has since become a well-recognised Australian business success story.

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Associate Professor Anne Brooks AM

Associate Professor Anne Brooks (’70), was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2021 for significant service to ophthalmology, and to eye health organisations. Head of Clinic 3 Special, and ophthalmologist to the Glaucoma Unit and Surgical Ophthalmology Service at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Anne is also a nine times Trainer of Excellence award recipient.

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Celia Burrell AM

Celia Burrell (Shelmerdine ’83) graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication achieving an overall High Distinction. She then worked in London as an Art Director for various advertising and design firms before starting her own business on her return to Australia in 1990.

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Her Honour Judge Jane Campton

Jane Campton (’70) was one of a family of six girls who all attended St Catherine’s School. Her ambition at School was to be a journalist and to write a deep and meaningful novel. Life, however, had other plans for Jane.

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Tamara Cannon

Tamara Cannon (’91) is the Founder and CEO of Lille Fro, an Australian charity which funds education for children and skills training for adults living in extreme poverty in some of the remotest places on the planet.net.

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Professor Megan Cassidy-Welch

Megan Cassidy-Welch (Cassidy ’85) is a leading historian of medieval history, and one of a family of three girls who all attended St Catherine’s School. Megan graduated with an Honours degree in History from the University of Melbourne in 1989. She then undertook a Masters in Medieval Studies at the University of London, graduating with Distinction, and completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne in 1997.

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Rebecca Chan

Dr Rebecca Chan (’96) was Dux of St Catherine’s School in 1996. At just 15 years of age, she started a joint degree in Medicine and Arts at the University of Melbourne while also studying violin at the Conservatorium, graduating in 2003.

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Jane Clark

Jane Clark (Maclean ’72) has a long established career in Arts spanning Curating, Art History and Arts Administration. Jane was Curator of Major Special Exhibitions and of Australian Art at the National Gallery of Victoria before becoming Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s in Australia. Since 2007, Jane has been the Senior Research Curator at MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, in Hobart, Australia’s largest private museum..

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Carolyn Creswell

Carolyn Creswell (Tennent ’91) commenced her company, Carman’s, 23 years ago and has grown the small business from a part-time job hand-making muesli for a few Melbourne cafés, to a multinational Australian brand which proudly exports to 32 countries.

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Lady Anna Cowen AM

Lady Anna Cowen (Wittner ’42) attended St Catherine’s from 1937 to 1942, her last year being at Warburton. Similar to her Headmistress, Miss Edna Holmes, Lady Cowen was involved with the World Education Fellowship (WEF) and how it examined new ideas in education in changing times. Founded in the UK in 1921 to promote educational reform, it established branches in many countries, including Australia, and forged close links with academic institutions and UNESCO.

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Margaret Darling AM

Margaret Darling (Anderson ’39) is recognised for her service to the Australian war effort during the Second World War and for her lifetime of work in heritage building conservation.

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Susan Davis AO

Professor Susan Davis (’74) is a leading international researcher in the field of women’s health and menopausal medicine. She is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Principal Research Fellow and, since 2005, has been the Professor of Women’s Health in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.

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Elizabeth Drake

Elizabeth Drake (’61) is an award-winning composer and pianist. She is involved in composing and performing music for theatre, dance and film as well as live performance and radio. Elizabeth is interested in the theatrical performance of music.

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Amanda Drennan

Amanda Drennan (’06) is a dual Paralympian, long distance open water swimmer and passionate contributor to the Phillip Island health services community. Amanda, born without her right leg, swam her first swimming race at the school swimming sports in Year 4 on Phillip Island. In Year 5, she competed at her first school state championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre where she qualified to swim both able and disabled races. Forced to choose between the two – her parents chose the disabled races.

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Dr Harriet Edquist

Dr Harriet Edquist (’65) is an academic and historian with over 30 years experience in teaching and researching Australian, particularly Victorian, Architecture, Art and Design. Harriet graduated with a BA and MA in Classics from Monash University and a PhD in Architectural History from RMIT University.

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Virginia Edwards AM

Virginia Edwards (Smith ’56) has always had a huge interest in the welfare of animals. She has volunteered at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne for 50 years, helping to shape Lort Smith into the unique organisation it is today. Over this time, Virginia has seen many changes and felt privileged to have worked with wonderful people who all share the philosophy of the Hospital, understanding the strength and importance of the human–animal bond.

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Edith Jessie Flanders

Edith (Jessie) Flanders (Edgar ’39) became a decoder in 1943 at the Monterey Unit in Melbourne, an outpost of Bletchley Park, the famous British institution that broke the German codes. Jessie worked on the Japanese Codes in absolute secrecy. The work of Monterey has been widely credited with bringing World War II to an earlier close and saving countless lives.

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Yolanda Finette

Yolanda Finette (Walker ’90) was awarded the Victorian Aboriginal Young Person of the Year in 1997. The first of many honours, Yolanda has devoted herself to the service of the Aboriginal community, committed to the self-determination, sovereignty and social justice of First Nations Australians.

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Esta de Fossard-Nelson

Esta de Fossard-Nelson’s (Hall ’50) ground-breaking use of radio and television programs to encourage behaviour change has shaped the field of entertainment education. She has helped people learn how it is possible to make their lives, and the lives of their family and children, healthier, happier and more positive.

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Rev Nanette Good OAM

Nanette ‘Nan’ Good (Nutt ’46) was one of the first women to be ordained a priest within the Anglican Church and acted as a mentor to many within the Church and within Chaplaincy. She was the first person to be awarded Fellowship of the Australian College of Chaplains, and in 2005 was awarded the Order of Australia Medal, for services to the community through the provision of chaplaincy and pastoral care services.

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Her Honour Judge Carolene Gwynn

Carolene Gwynn (’87) came to realise that her calling was to the law while a boarder at St Catherine’s School. She completed degrees in Arts and Law at Monash University and was particularly drawn to the area of criminal law, practising as a solicitor in a criminal law firm after university.

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Penne Hackforth-Jones

A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Penne Hackforth-Jones’ (’66) career in film and television has spanned 30 years. She made her film debut opposite Sam Neill and Jack Thompson in 1979’s The Journalist and has gone on to work with some of the country’s best – including PJ Hogan, Toni Collette and Bruce Beresford – in films such as Muriel’s Wedding, Paradise Road, Diana and Me and Black and White.

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Professor Jane Halliday AM

Jane Halliday (Wettenhall ’66) is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne, and Principal Fellow and Group Leader of Reproductive Epidemiology at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). Jane’s career as an Epidemiologist began in the early 1980s at MCRI, where she worked as a clinical research associate in the Genetics Department. She completed a PhD in epidemiology in 1994, focusing on prenatal genetic testing.

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Lauren Hewitt

Lauren Hewitt (’96) is one of Australia’s most recognisable female 100m and 200m runners. She represented Australia at three Olympic Games, six world championships and three Commonwealth Games over a 12 year professional athletics career, where she amassed 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals and 12 Australian titles.

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Dr Kathleen Athel Hockey AO

Dr Athel Hockey (‘40) had a long and distinguished career in genetics and was frequently referred to as “the mother of medical genetics” in Western Australia. She pioneered clinical genetic services that either identified a child’s existing hereditary condition or warned expectant women about the inherited health risks facing their unborn child.

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Diane Holuigue CCP OAM

Diane Holuigue (Nicholls ’58) was dubbed a living legend by the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival in March 1995 for her contribution to the food and wine traditions of Australia. In October 1995, she was awarded ‘Best Overall Contribution in the Food Print Medium’ at the Food Media Club (Inc.) inaugural Food Writers’ Awards. In January 2002, The Times (London) Cook, Jill Dupleix, called Di “one of the world’s greatest cooking teachers,” and in 2013, she was awarded the Order of Australia medal for her services to the hospitality industry in the Queen’s Honours List.

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Rebecca Hossack

After completing Law and Arts degrees in Australia, Rebecca Hossack (’72) travelled to England in 1981 to study for the Bar but instead launched into a career in art.

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Toni Joel

Toni Joel (Silver ’82) is a successful business woman who has been inducted into the Australian Business Women’s Network Hall of Fame.

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Merran Kelsall

Merran Kelsall (’71) has established a successful business career. She has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and an MBA and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has spent over 20 years as a Chartered Accountant in professional practice, including almost 10 years as a partner. She now works as an independent director and has considerable experience in highly regulated industries, which include financial services, health and utilities.

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Diane Lemaire

Diane Lemaire (’39) was the first woman to graduate in Engineering from the University of Melbourne and became a leading aeronautical engineer.

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Judith Levine

Judith (Judi) Levine (’72) is an accomplished independent movie producer who has worked in Europe, Australia and the United States.

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Sally Macindoe

Sally Macindoe (’84) is past Chairman and a partner of Norton Rose Fulbright Australia and holds an Executive position on the Management Committee as Head of Diversity and Inclusion, as well as the role of Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion. Sally also leads the Planning and Environment Practice at the firm with a particular focus on major project development work.  Sally was appointed as a Director of the Melbourne Recital Centre Limited 2005–2009 and is a serving member of the Melbourne Cricket Club Committee.

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Sophie Mirabella

Sophie Mirabella (Panopoulos ’86) was born in 1968 to Greek migrant parents and learnt the value of hard work and entrepreneurial spirit by working after school and on weekends in the family milk bar from the age of 12.

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Elyne Mitchell OAM

Elyne Mitchell (Chauvel ’30) was a renowned children’s author – best known for The Silver Brumby (HarperCollins 1958) and the subsequent series for which she was Highly Commended by the Children’s Book Council in 1959. In 1993, The Silver Brumby was made into a movie and was a pinnacle in a richly rewarding career.

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Professor Susie Nilsson

Professor Susie Nilsson (Begg ’86) is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Head of the Niche Laboratory within CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering. She worked at Australian Stem Cell Centre for five years before moving to CSIRO.

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Sunday Reed

Lelda Sunday Reed (Baillieu ’22) attended St Catherine’s School when she was fifteen years old from 1920-1922.

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Jill Reichstein OAM

Jill Reichstein (’67) has for over 30 years made a significant contribution towards the growth of social change philanthropy in Australia.

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Susan Richardson AM

Professor Susan Richardson (’63) is one of Australia’s prominent academics in the research field of labour economics. Sue is Principal Research Fellow at Flinders University’s National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) and is a member of the Minimum Wage Panel of the Fair Work Commission. In 2014 she was elected to the Council of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

 

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Joan Richmond

Joan Richmond (’23) was a pioneer in motor sport, competing in seven Monte Carlo Rallies, two International Alpine Trials and two Le Mans 24 Hours races. Joan’s first race success was finishing 5 thin the 1931 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on her 26th birthday.

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Amanda Robertson

Amanda Robertson (’79) was School Captain in her final year at St Catherine’s. After leaving school she studied Medicine at the University of Melbourne and then trained at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. A Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Amanda spent three years in England for post-fellowship training in liver, vascular and transplant surgery.

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Lisa Roet

Lisa Roet (‘84) is a visual artist who exhibits in Australia and internationally. For 30 years her work has focused on the image of the ape and monkey as humans’ closest relative. Lisa uses visual art and design to explore environmental issues and genetic discoveries. She sees the ape as a mirror in her work, reminding us of the necessity to re-evaluate our position within this increasingly urbanised world.

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Olivia Sayers

Olivia Sayers (’04) started at St Catherine’s in four year old kindergarten in 1991. Overcoming her fear of water, Olivia began swimming competitively aged 8 and in the same year won her first Gold Medal at Special Olympics. She holds the record for the most Victorian Primary School’s Association (VPSSA) medals won by a St Catherine’s student.

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Anna Segal

Anna Segal (’04) created her share of history at her debut at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. The 27-year-old was Australia’s sole female representative in Ski Slopestyle which was on the Olympic program for the first time in 2014. The Victorian then went on to finish fourth and record Australia’s first fourth place finish in Winter Olympic history.

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Flip Shelton

Flip (Lucile) Shelton (’83) is a self confessed “jill of all trades” having forged a successful career as a published author and writer, presenter, broadcaster and business woman.

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Jane Singleton AM

Jane Singleton (Stoney ’64) was one of the first female graduate cadets on The Age newspaper and has worked in diverse journalistic roles both internationally and in Australia, in print, radio and television.

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Olivia Skellern

Olivia Skellern’s (Bunn ’96) passion for the Equestrian sport of Eventing began soon after she left St Catherine’s. For a period of 15 years she competed in, and managed, an internationally successful Equestrian Team.

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Lady Southey AC

Lady Marigold Merlyn Baillieu Southey (Myer ’45) is the younger daughter of the late Sidney and Dame Merlyn Myer. She was educated at St Catherine’s School and The University of Melbourne.

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Dr Edwina Thompson

Dr Edwina Thompson (’96) has been motivated throughout her career to help decision-makers think differently and act decisively in the face of distressing situations from – gun violence in Papua New Guinea and refugee protection in Australia, to state-building in Afghanistan and experimentation with new technologies in some of the most extreme humanitarian disasters. Edwina’s work in many different countries has introduced her to inspiring people who fuel her drive to keep challenging the way Western countries support the world’s poorest people.

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Melinda Truesdale

After completing her primary and secondary school years at St Catherine’s School, Melinda Truesdale (’81) began her medical degree at Monash University and graduated in 1988. Melinda began her training at The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), with the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and became an emergency physician.

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Jo Wainer AM

Dr Jo Wainer (Richardson ’63) is an international leader in understanding the implications of gender, particularly as it manifests in women’s health, the way women and men practise medicine, the impact on the medical workforce and the creation of medical knowledge.

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Elizabeth Wallfisch

Elizabeth Wallfish (Hunt ’69) is a world-renowned ‘Baroque’ and ‘Classical’ violinist who has made a specialty of the history and the styles of 17 th, 18th and 19th Century music.

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Pamela Warrender OAM

Pamela Warrender (Myer ’42) received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2014 her for service to the community of Melbourne, and to the Arts.

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Judith Williams

Judith Williams (Best ’39) is a pioneer in radiography. In 1963, she was awarded Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Radiography for her research paper Planning for the Changing Face of Radiography which took some eighteen months to complete.

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Her Honour Judge Wendy Wilmoth

Judge Wendy Wilmoth (’67) was appointed Magistrate in February 1988 sitting at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, Children’s Court and other jurisdictions of the Victorian Magistracy. She was appointed Deputy State Coroner in 1990, serving until 1993. Wendy went on to serve from 1996 to 1999 as Supervising Magistrate of the Victorian Crimes Compensation Tribunal. In 2003 she was appointed as a Judge of the County Court of Victoria.

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Margaret Woodlock OAM

Margaret McLean OAM (Woodlock ’56), was Captain of the School in 1956, receiving awards for Sport, Music and Service to the School she was also selected to represent Australia in Shot Put at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, was Victorian Champion 1956 -1962, Australian Champion 1957 -1962 and was Gold Medallist at the World Masters Games 2000.

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