Pictured above: L-R Her Honour Judge Anna Robertson (Lally ‘88) and Genevieve Brammall (Lally ‘89)

Friday’s Ruth Langley Luncheon was indeed a Tale of Two Sisters, but more than that, it was a celebration of friendship, sisterhood and service. Taking as their inspiration the title “Empowering Women: How a shared foundational experience shaped two fearless future leaders” the afternoon showcased two remarkable woman who have made significant contributions in their distinguished careers in Law and Media.

Her Honor Judge Anna Robertson (Lally ’88) and her sister Genevieve Brammall (Lally ’89) grew up in Kyabram in country Victoria and both attended St Catherine’s as boarders for 6 years from age 11 to 17 in the 1980s. And as we learned, both credit the foundation of a St Catherine’s education as an important springboard to their later career success.

With their formative years spent listening to Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’, The Bangles ‘Walk like an Egyptian’, or Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, they recalled with hilarity and affection a tram ticket to the Village costing 35 cents and three pay phones for 50 boarders in Sherren House!

At the same time, it was an era of powerful change for women, embodied in the prophetic and fearless words of Principal Miss Dorothy Pizzey, who told the students, in no uncertain terms, that “no man was going to come rescue [them]!” and that they “could do anything they wanted”.

In 1984, when Gen and Anna were in Year 7 and Year 8 respectively, discrimination on the basis of on sex, marital status, or pregnancy was finally deemed unlawful. Later in 1986, laws enshrining Equal Employment Opportunities were enacted. And later still, in 1988 as Anna prepared to depart St Catherine’s for Monash University the following year, women were first enabled to take out a business loan without a male signatory.

It was in this context that the sisters found themselves as young girls navigating a traditionally man’s world yet cocooned in the very nurturing and female empowering environment of St Catherine’s.

Upon leaving school, both studied law at university. But after graduation, their careers each took a different path. Anna embarked on a journey as a solicitor but quickly decided to specialise as a barrister at the Victorian Bar. Following a legal career spanning almost three decades, in June 2021 Anna was appointed as a Judge of the County Court of Victoria.

Meanwhile, Genevieve bucked the trend of the job-hopping generation and built a one-company career, also spanning three decades where she rose from cadet journalist at the Herald Sun to become National Head of Public Relations at News Corp Australia.

In 2020 Anna was recognised by the conferral of the Women Barristers’ Association Mentor of the Year award. And in 2023, Genevieve was the recipient of the national B&T Women in Media PR Leader of the Year Award.

On top of their busy day jobs, Anna and Genevieve are both mums to two amazing children and remain influential advocates for women’s rights. Their reflections – at once hilarious and at times, sobering, gave us an insight into an Education, not just for School but for Life.

I left Quat Quatta feeling that I had been in the presence of something very special and rather unique, only to have that feeling affirmed again, by our performance at the annual Heyington/Huntingtower Cup where in the presence of hundreds of supporters, we demonstrated that “we are not saintly, but full of heart”.

Nil Magnum Nisi Bonum