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Meryl Urquhart
Meryl Urquhart (staff 1974-93)
Mrs Meryl Urquhart is retiring at the end of 1993 after 20 years of dedicated service to Carey. I appointed her as Headmaster's Secretary in February, 1974, a position she held until my retirement at the end of 1989. She then became Secretary to the Deputy Principal, Mr Alan Smith, until his retirement at the end of 1992. During the period 1990 to 1993 she filled a number of roles and her extensive knowledge of the workings of the School was invaluable. It was a distinguished career at Carey which made a significant contribution to the School's progress.
As my Secretary for 16 years she
gave tremendous support and
encouragement during the inevitable
ebb and flow of life as a Headmaster.
She was highly skilled in all the
technical requirements of a secretary
but she also had marked ability in the
human relations aspect of her job. In
view of my 'open door' policy, she
had to show great understanding and
skill in dealing with the stream of staff
members, students and parents
wishing to 'have a word with the
Head'. A Headmaster's job is
unpredictable and it follows that his
Secretary has to handle the
unexpected with discretion and
aplomb. Meryl did this remarkably
well and I could always rely on her
support and judgement. Her day was
frequently just one long series of
interruptions but the consequent
frustration was absorbed with
equanimity.
Meryl worked long hours and
seldom went home at the statutory
time. For this I was most grateful and
at no time more so than when I was
Chairman of the Headmasters'
Conference of the Independent
Schools of Australia for two years
(1977-1979). This added greatly to
both our work-loads and I was
especially appreciative of her
efficiency and encouragement at that
time. This was also true of the years
surrounding the introduction of co-
education in 1979.
In her last four years at Carey she
continued to have major
responsibilities. In particular, she
assisted the Schools' V.C.E. Co-ordinator in the computer program set
up by the Victorian Curriculum and
Assessment Board, performing some of
the 'housekeeping' tasks required to
keep the V.C.E. students' records up
to date. There were many other tasks:
the Annual Return of the Registered
Teachers' Board; the administrative
details of the Scholarship programme;
the ordering and stocktaking of the
School's printed stationery needs;
representing the administrative staff
on the Professional Development
Training programme and the
Occupational Health and Safety
Committee; and responsibility for the
numerous other details which
contribute to the smooth running of a
school.
Educational institutions like Carey gain greatly from long-serving staff
who absorb the ethos of the school
and provide a continuity of knowledge
and experience. This is as important
for the administrative staff as it is for
the academic staff. Meryl Urquhart's
20 years at Carey exemplified that
quality and she will be very hard to
replace. We thank her for all that she
has done for Carey and wish her full
enjoyment of her well-deserved
retirement.
Source: Mr Gerard Cramer (Carey Chronicle, 1993)
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