Memorial Tributes
CAA's remembers the unique role that the following members played in CAA's foundation, development and growth since its establishment in 1975.
EDWIN (TED) HYSLOP
Past Treasurer, deceased 1990
A key factor in the long term survival of any organisation is that it must be founded on sound financial management. The Careers Advisers Association was blessed from the outset in that its fiscal viability rested in the capable hands of Ted Hyslop.
At the end of its first year of operation, the Association had a credit balance of $247 based on a membership fee of $10 per person. At that point, Ted, the Careers Adviser at Blacktown Boys High School, was elected Treasurer. For the next 13 years, until his untimely death, he set about educating Executive members on the need for strict financial discipline and for maintaining a strong balance sheet.
Proposals for funding were brought to meetings with great trepidation, in the knowledge that Ted's eagle eye would go over the expenditure in fine detail. The success of his stewardship is reflected in the last balance sheet he presented at the AGM in 1989 which showed a credit balance of $6,522.49.
Ted was equally professional and innovative as a Careers Adviser. In his years at Blacktown Boys High School, he worked tirelessly to assist students with their career planning and search for employment. He also played a key role in the coordination and organisation of careers activities at the district and regional level.
In 1988, he obtained a transfer to Colyton High School where his stay was short. In 1989, he was promoted to the position of Careers Adviser/ Head Teacher (Admin) at North Sydney Girls High School, a position he held until his sudden death in April 1990.
Throughout his professional life, Ted was a strong advocate of the need for improved educational opportunities for students from disadvantaged areas. In recognition of this commitment, the Careers Advisers Association Executive decided to establish the "Ted Hyslop Encouragement Award" to honour his memory. The award provides for a perpetual shield and an annual scholarship to enable a Year 10 student from Blacktown Boys High School to proceed to the HSC.
Written by Margaret Gambley.
HILARY BOLIN (REID)
Assistant Secretary, (1949- 1988)
Blacktown Girls High School and Carlingford High School
Hilary Bolin was the quintessential "quiet achiever", both as a Careers Adviser and a member of the Careers Advisers Association Executive. Not one to seek the limelight, Hilary served the Association as Assistant Secretary for 10 years, a position she held until her untimely death in 1988.
Hilary's involvement in "Careers" began in 1976 when she was invited to become the part time Careers Adviser at Blacktown Girls High School. The position became full time when she took advantage of the opportunity to complete the Department's Retraining Program in 1980. In 1983, she transferred to Ryde High School and on the closure of that school in 1986, she was appointed to Carlingford High School.
For any organisation to succeed, you need a combination of strong leadership and dedicated supporters. Somebody has to do the "hard yards" and in the first decade of the Association, Hilary fulfilled that role. Her colleagues knew that whatever tasks she undertook, they would be completed diligently and with a minimum of fuss.
Her contribution was not restricted to state-wide activities, as she was equally influential in the development of careers initiatives at the school, district and regional level. In fact, in many ways, that early cohort of Careers Advisers in Metropolitan West schools became the driving force behind the Association's expansion.
In 1988, to perpetuate her memory, the Careers Advisers Association Executive established the Hilary Bolin award to acknowledge the contribution of Careers Advisers who have worked behind the scenes to further the aims of the association and the development of careers education.
The sad irony is that the first award went to her colleague, Ted Hyslop, with whom she had worked so closely in the Blacktown district. Ted himself passed away just 2 years later.
Written by Margaret Gambley.
GRAEME MACKENZIE
Past President, (1950-1979)
When things began to happen on the Careers scene back in 1974-75, Graeme, the newly appointed Careers Adviser at Parramatta High School, was one of the first to step forward to accept the challenge of Career Education. With the establishment of the Careers Advisers Association, he became foundation President of the Metropolitan West Branch, a position he relinquished in 1976, to become Vice President of the Association.
In 1978, he was elected unopposed as the third president of the Careers advisers association.
Although deeply involved in the broad promotion of the professional aims and objectives of the Association, Graeme was also committed to translating the dream of the full time Careers Adviser into a reality at his own school, Parramatta High. At the state level, he was a key contributor to the joint deliberations of the Association and the Teachers Federation, as they hammered out their policies on Career Education and Work Experience.
With the expansion of professional development activities for Careers Advisers Graeme's input was greatly in demand and he was frequently asked to speak at conferences and community meetings. In 1978-79 he was inspirational as a presenter in the retraining programs introduced by the Department for Careers Advisers. His work throughout this period, was conducted against a personal background of recurring illness, as he battled the scourge of Melanoma.
For those privileged to know Graeme, he will be remembered not only for his professional achievements but for his strength of character, sense of humour and warm personality. He was an esteemed colleague, a well loved teacher and a good friend.
As Jo Howard wrote in the Association's Journal, ‘Prospects’ " the work Graeme did for Career Education and the Association will be his memorial.” To this end, the Careers Advisers Association has dedicated the main address at its annual conference each year to Graeme's memory.
Written by Margaret Gambley
JO HOWARD
Past President and Life Member (Deceased 2012)
As the foundation President of the Careers Advisers Association, Jo Howard has left behind a legacy which cannot be overestimated. She played a critical role in the grass roots movement that led to the formal establishment of the Association in June 1975.
The following year, having set the wheels in motion, Jo decided to step aside to allow a new President, Angela Glover, to become the driving force for improved professionalism.
Jo remained on the Executive as Communications Officer, where in 1976 she produced the first association Journal, subsequently known as ‘Prospects’ She identified communication with members as being critical for the success of the Association and encouraged the free exchange of careers ideas and teaching strategies through newsletters and reports.
Jo also holds a unique place in the history of the association as the pioneer of work experience programs in NSW secondary schools. While she was Careers Adviser at Northmead High School in 1973, she heard about a pilot program in which students with special needs were given opportunities to spend time in the workplace. Realising the potential of such a scheme for secondary school students, Jo set about challenging the workplace laws and conventions operating at that time, by starting her own program.
Not surprisingly, her radical proposal met with a strong resistance from a number of different sources. "What about issues such as exploitation, safety and worker’s compensation?"; Jo was asked, to say nothing of the concerns of other teachers about the disruption it would cause to school routine. However, the opponents were unable to match Jo's tenacity and networking skills. The ‘Northmead Program’ was a success and in 1976, following an Interdepartmental Review, guidelines were approved for the operation of work experience in all secondary schools.
In 1978, Jo joined the Careers Section in the Department which gave her greater freedom and the opportunity to share her knowledge and experience with other Careers Advisers across the State.
The move to appoint full-time Careers Advisers led the Department to establish the first formal training courses, initially restricted to surplus social science teachers. Jo played a key role in the development of the training program and presented many sessions. In particular, she focused on the place of Career Education in the Curriculum in meeting the special needs of all students.
Many will remember the case study she developed with Beverley Bowyer on the fictional ‘Unslow High School.’
When she retired from the Department, Jo's pioneering spirit took her to China where she taught English for many years while providing her students with a liberal dose of careers assistance. A Careers Adviser to the very end!
Written by Margaret Gambley
JOYCE PLATER
(1924-2010)
Joyce Plater, has a special place in the hearts and minds of all Careers Advisers who enrolled in the Department's retraining programs between 1978 and 1981.
The decision in 1978 to retrain surplus social science teachers as full time Careers Advisers meant that a new in-service course was required. In that first year, three, four-week courses were conducted and 142 teachers were retrained.
With such a "pressure cooker" retraining program, expert co-ordinators were required and Joyce Plater was an obvious choice. Her partners in crime in that first year were Theo Pengly and Ray Wildman. Subsequently, other co-ordinators came and went but
Joyce continued on as the unifying link between courses. By the end of 1981, 451 Careers Advisers had completed the program
Through her work at the Retraining Unit, Joyce had a profound influence on the development of Career Education in New South Wales. With her wise words, personal commitment, integrity, enthusiasm and sense of humour, Joyce was the ideal role model for future Careers Advisers.
Prior to being seconded to the Retraining Unit, Joyce was the Careers Adviser at Crows Nest Boys High School. In the early seventies, she had been invited by the Principal to "do careers" for 6-7 periods per week in addition to teaching Geography.
Small wonder that she became such a strong advocate of the need for more time and more training for Careers Advisers.
Early in her teaching career and as an active member of the NSW Teachers Federation, Joyce campaigned for equality of opportunity and equal pay for women. In retirement to "Brooms Head High" in 1988, she became active in the local community especially on conservation issues such as the preservation of the lower Clarence and Brooms Head environment.
Joyce's lifetime of activism did not go unnoticed. She was declared Clarence Valley Citizen of the Year in 2000, received the Pioneer's Award for Citizenship and was made a member of the Order of Australia. Joyce's death on Bastille Day was symbolic as she was always prepared to "storm the barricades" for what she considered citizens' rights and a just cause.
Written by Margaret Gambley
ALFRED HINSHAW
Life Member (1920-2011)
One of the challenges facing Careers Advisers in their efforts to establish a new professional Association was the need to understand the intricacies of a bureaucracy such as the Department of Education. At this time, Alf Hinshaw, as Principal Guidance Officer, was responsible for overseeing State-wide counselling and careers advising services in NSW Government schools.
While school counselling was well established with formal training qualifications and specific appointments, Alf was very conscious of the inadequacy of the tokenistic approach of the Department to careers advising. At the time, the position in schools was allocated on an ad hoc basis to a male and a female teacher with a period allowance of 3-6 periods a week, depending on student numbers in year 8. There was no formal training.
At one stage, Alf shocked his professional colleagues by writing a parable "the Careers Adviser and the Dunny" to illustrate the inadequacy of the existing system (cistern?). Words can only go so far and in spite of his advocacy, nothing changed, except that in some schools the role became unisex.
Having seen the effect a professional association had had on the development of school counselling, Alf actively supported the grass root initiatives (1974-1975) to establish a Careers Advisers Association which could speak with an official voice and represent Careers Advisers within the system.
Once the Association was established, Alf provided strategic advice and guidance to Executive members on their campaign to establish a trained full-time Careers Adviser in every high school. The breakthrough came in 1977-1978, when the Department offered surplus social science teachers the opportunity to retrain as Careers Advisers. Without Alf's" behind the scene" support, such a successful outcome might not have been achieved.
Alf continued to contribute to the ongoing development of Careers Advisers through his involvement in the retraining program and regional in-service activities. He also participated in an evaluation of Career Education initiatives in the Western Region.
In responding to a request to contribute to the 2001 CAA annual conference, Alf wrote, in retirement, of his fond memories of " the impact the Association had had, through brilliant submissions and industrial action, on the Director- General and Minister in endeavouring to change the structure of Careers Advising from a part-time job of limited value to students, to one which involved full-time professionals, career education and work experience". He went on to give his congratulations on what the Association had achieved and to remind members that their work continued to be invaluable to the youth of the day.
Written by Margaret Gambley
KEITH UNDERWOOD
Life Member (1925- 2013)
While there was widespread dissatisfaction with the nature of Careers Advising in the 1970s, good will and enthusiasm were not in themselves sufficient to satisfy students' needs. What was required was a major change in philosophy and practice.
In one of the many "happenstances" that characterised careers at that time, Dr Keith Underwood from the Student Counselling and Research Unit ( S.C.R.U) at the University of New South Wales had identified the career decision making process as an area of special interest. His research involved a detailed analysis of the latest approaches to vocational development in both the U.K and the U.S.A. Thus he was able to draw on the best of these overseas findings and to blend them into a vocational development framework suitable for the Australian school setting.
His timing could have not been better. As he was seeking opportunities to trial his ideas, Careers Advisers (and the Department) were struggling to find a new way forward. In fact it was Keith's body of work that provided the philosophical and practical underpinning of the careers retraining program as well as their rationale for the enhanced role of the Careers Adviser.
Keith's specialist knowledge and expertise meant he was greatly in demand as a presenter at all the Retraining programs and as a keynote speaker at in-service courses across New South Wales. He gave generously of his time and resources, producing several booklets to assist career advisers develop their programs. These publications were printed by the Department and distributed free of charge to all secondary schools
Titles Included:
- Career Education: Explanatory Notes for a course based upon the Vocational Development Framework 1977;
- Career Planning Activities for the Junior School 1977;
- Career Planning Activities in the Exploratory Stage of Vocational Development 1978;
- Vocational Development Activities for Secondary Students with a Language Handicap 1981.
In spite of his academic qualifications, Keith remained a modest and self-effacing person with a wicked sense of humour. He took great delight in the acronym of his place of work ( S.C.R.U ), a rather risqué undergraduate term in the 70s.
For Careers Advisers in New South Wales, Dr Keith Underwood was indeed the right man, with the right message at the right time.
Written by Margaret Gambley.
JUDITH STINSON
Past Vice President and Life Member (1936-2014)
From its inception, the Careers Advisers Association was committed to providing support for all Careers Advisers and students irrespective of their school sector or location. This fundamental principle was embedded in the Constitution through the appointment to Executive of two Vice-Presidents, with one position representing Government Schools, the other, Non-Government Schools. This was done with the specific intentions of encouraging an inclusive and cooperative approach to all Association activities. The first person elected to the position of Vice President, Non-Government Schools was Judy Stinson, the Careers Adviser at Bethlehem College, Ashfield.
Whilst Judy was Vice President, her strong representations ensured that the needs of Careers Advisers in Non-Government schools were addressed in all Association policy deliberations.
Then as now, the disparate nature of the Non-Government school sector made Judy's role an incredibly challenging one, a role she prosecuted with great forcefulness and enthusiasm. For many years, she was a member of the Annual Conference planning committee where her Liberal Party connections proved invaluable in identifying potential keynote speakers and workshop presenters. Indeed, her deeply held conservative values and opinions meant that Association meetings could never be described as dreary!
In 1979, Judy moved to Saint Agnes Catholic High School, Rooty Hill and then to Tara Anglican School for Girls, until her retirement.
At the personal level, Judy had a lifelong passion for classical music and also served in the Australian Army Nursing Corps.
In recognition of her outstanding contribution to the development of Career Education, especially in the Non-Government School sector, Judy was made a life member of the Careers Advisers Association.
JEFF GRIFFITHS
Jeff was the Careers Adviser at Erskine Park High School for 18 years and retired at the end of 2019. Jeff was a member of CAA and the Nepean Careers Forum for 18 years. He provided outstanding service to the Nepean Careers Forum and local Careers Advisers in his 18 years of service. Jeff spent considerable time helping his colleague Careers Advisers both as a mentor and with information evenings and seminar days and was also involved in running the Nepean Careers Market, an event organised by the Nepean Careers Forum.
Jeff served on the CAA Executive for 3 years as the Awards and Membership officer, during which time, Jeff presented at several of the professional development events run by CAA. Jeff was also an active contributor to CAA Annual Conference organisation and was integral to the running of the event on the day. During his time on the CAA Executive Committee, Jeff gave up much of his free time to assist CAA and his peers and his work and contribution was highly valued. Jeff was awarded the Professional Teachers Council ‘Outstanding Professional Service Award’ in 2012 for his service and dedication to CAA. Receiving the ultimate acknowledgement in 2009, Jeff was awarded the Careers Adviser of the Year in recognition of his extensive work within the school and the broader community. In 2019, Jeff received the prestigious Margaret Gambley Medal for excellence in Careers.