This was when Tomorrow's Schools was instigated and Board members were first elected by school communities. It was the start of a period of significant change in education in New Zealand and Bernie remained on the Tua Marina Board for six years. 

Bernie was elected to the Marlborough Girls’ College Board in 2005, became the Board Deputy Chair in 2006 and then the Board Chair in 2007.  

Retiring from his full time work as a partner in a local law firm in 2015, Bernie provided much needed support and guidance throughout initial discussions and consultation around our planned school rebuild, and the subsequent proposal and work towards Marlborough Girls’ and Boys’ Colleges to co-locate.

Bernie stepped down from the Board Chair in December 2020,  however, the Board co-opted him back to continue his support for the rebuild and co-location project governance committee. As the rebuild and co-location has now been cancelled, Bernie has decided his time serving the Marlborough Girls’ College community as a Board member has come to an end.

Some highlights from Bernie’s time on the Board:

• Bernie’s first job as Board Chair was to appoint a new principal, Karen Stewart, who had been part of the school for a number of years as a teacher, Head of Social Sciences, and then Deputy Principal.

• He continued to enjoy working with all three Principals during his time - Karen Stewart (2006 - 2017), Jo Chamberlain (Acting Principal 2017), and Mary-Jeanne Lynch (2018 - present).

• The introduction of the new curriculum in 2007 was a really big undertaking for the school and teaching staff. 

• Bernie greatly enjoyed working alongside Judith MacDonald and Michelle Lavender as iwi representatives. 

Bernie is proud of the growth in strength and capability of the Board over the years. The skills of the Board members and their commitment to the school are strong and he is very pleased that successive Chairs Brian Roughan, and now Anna Straker, have continued to lead the Board in the same direction. He believes that student voice has been useful to the Board and its role in governing the school and appreciated their thoughts and opinions.  They are held in higher regard than they were 20-30 years ago, which Bernie believes is a very good thing.

The decision for our rebuild and co-location with Marlborough Boys’ College arose from the urgent need to do significant improvement on our facilities as they were terribly leaky and then badly affected by the Kaikoura earthquakes. It held the promise of a huge opportunity for our community.  Bernie viewed the co-location with Marlborough Boys’ College as a good balance between single sex and co-ed schooling for our community,  and considers it a real shame that it has been cancelled. The school will now focus on its own needs and direction, and map its own path forward.

Bernie has been a huge part of the life of Marlborough Girls’ College, particularly supporting strong governance and leadership, and his service over the last quarter of a century is second to none.  We wish him all the very best with his well earned full time retirement.

The Board of Trustees and Staff

Marlborough Girls’ College