Picture Joan Montgomery’s Life

Joan as a young principal at Clyde School—”It was a good appointment and everyone knew it,” Clyde School historian Melanie Guile.
Joan Montgomery (left) with Mrs Michael Hawker at a Clyde CEGGS Old Scholars luncheon.
5 Miss Ruby Powell, Principal PLC 1957-1968. “Perhaps Miss Powell’s visit to Clyde on one of Ev Tindale’s sports days visits was a step towards Joan being approached to be her successor.”
Helen Lade, Vice Principal at the time of Joan’s appointment in 1968. Joan wrote to her: “I hope that you really do approve, because I know that I’ll be very dependent on your help and advice.”
Joan Montgomery (left) and Sir Henry Winneke—with the Centenary Medallion—and Lady Winneke launching the school’s centenary celebrations in 1975.
Jenny Pring (left) with John & Donna Habersberger. Pring’s early praise of Joan Montgomery soon soured to implacable opposition.
Mrs DGM Flynn Junior School Principal 1962-1977. Her mandatory retirement caused a stir and she was mentioned by Continuing Presbyterians as a successor to Joan Montgomery
Mrs June Stratford Junior School Principal 1978-1988. On 20 March, after learning that the PLC Council had confirmed her appointment, Rev. Pearsons again wrote to her, and dropped the kid gloves. He informed her that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria will not tolerate an unauthorised appointment.”
Ray Northrop PLC chair when the Property Commission ruled on 21 May 1977 that PLC would be awarded to the Continuing Presbyterian Church. Commission chair Ken Handley QC rang Northrop to tell him the news. Northrop recalls telling him: “You’ve just ruined the best girls’ school in Australia, that’s what I told him; just destroyed the best girls’ school in Australia,”
Brian Bayston, a partner at McCracken & McCracken, solicitors for the Continuing Presbyterians at the time of the struggle. “The reason that I choose to send my child to (PLC) is that it is primarily concerned for the advancement of Christian education, not ‘liberal, humane and scientific education’
. The Age, Tuesday 6 March 1984 page 1. The picture of Rev. Carruthers is captioned, “Mr Carruthers: School has a right to be what it was intended to be.” Asked what “Bible centred” meant in the teaching of the sciences, he was quoted: “If you mean Creation for example, I would hope that the teaching of science and biology at this school would give credit to God.”
Alex Chernov , later 28th Governor of Victoria was a PLC parent, one of five Group B Councilors and a staunch defender of Joan Montgomery’s position as Principal. At a packed PLC community meeting on the evening of 9 April 1984 he outlined steps “aimed at preventing a handful of people …dictat(ing) the future of the school with total disregard for the views of educationalists…the school community, and …the paying parents.”
A gathering of Group B members of Council at the home of Alex & Elizabeth Chernov in 1985 to farewell Joan.
18 Friday 8 November 1985 Old Collegians’ Association 500-strong dinner to honour Joan (centre) in the Great Hall of the National Gallery of Victoria with Dame Phyllis Frost (right, seated) as guest speaker. The celebrated criminologist and philanthropist attended PLC in the 1930s.
page In 1986 William MacKay “would take the helm as the Scottish male Principal of Australia’s leading girls’ school and it would herald a difference not seen at PLC for 45 years”.
Miss J.M. Montgomery A.M., O.B.E., B.Ed., F.A.C.E
Christmas Eve 2013 Joan (left) Ray Northrop (Centre) & Brian Bayston in Northrop’s home. Kim Rubenstein: “The four of us sat around the breakfast room table, while I took them back more than 25 years to the time when the battle was at its most intense. Jim Mitchell, author of the Scotch College sesquicentenary history covering the same period, later wrote to me: “What—Joan, Northrop and Bayston all in the same room together ???!!”
Joan Montgomery 2016 In Argentina off to learn the tango
2018 in Lapland
2019 in Japan
2019 in Tokyo
2021 Joan & the author work together on Joan’s corrections and suggestions. Kim Rubenstein reflects: “At least part of the biography’s long gestation has been due to my not wanting to bring to an end the truly enjoyable and richly appreciated connection I have had with Joan over all these years of interviewing, discussing, reliving and researching.”