St Hilda's Distinguished Alumni Awards
It is with great pleasure that we announce the recipients of our inaugural St Hilda's Distinguished Alumni Awards. As part of our 125th Anniversary celebrations, we are excited to share with you that the following alumni have been awarded this honour:
Dr Norman Fitzgerald, Honor McKellar QSM, and Louise Petherbridge QSO.
We announced these awards at the annual St Hilda's Service yesterday, and had invited our recipients and their families to attend. However, due to Covid-19, we were unable to carry out our celebrations as planned. We hope to hold an event at some stage to honour these wonderful people who have contributed so much to their fields and professions.
Dr Norman Fitzgerald (Born in 1930)
Norman attended kindergarten at St Hilda’s in 1935 and 1936. He went on to attend John McGlashan College, Waihi Preparatory School and Christ’s College, before attending the University of Otago where he completed a M Sc. Zoology in 1951, MBChB in 1956 and MD Pathology in 1961.
Norman went on to become a partner in a Medical Laboratory, which he rebranded as Southern Community Laboratories. This provided national coverage with a wide range of diagnostic tests in biochemistry, haematology, microbiology, immunology, histopathology and cytopathology. The group is now the largest medical laboratory diagnostic provider in New Zealand.
Norman married Barbara Johnson in 1956. They settled in Dunedin and had four children: James, Peter, Robert and Mary. In 1990 Norman and his son James were co-founders of Foodco Ltd, the franchisor for the Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue brands. At the present time, Foodco supports 450 outlets and 350 franchisees internationally. These are coffee and food retail businesses which are located across seven countries, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Norman and Barbara are now retired and live in Wanaka.
Honor McKellar - QSM (Born in 1920)
Honor attended St Hilda’s for her primary schooling in 1924 - 1929. She graduated with a BA from Otago University in 1942, and from 1946 -1949 she attended the Royal Academy of Music in London. When she returned to NZ, she was one of the original opera singers in the New Zealand Opera Company. In the 1960s, she returned to the UK and performed with the Glyndebourne Chorus, Opera For All and the John Alldis Choir.
Returning to Dunedin in 1971, Honor became the first executant lecturer in singing at the University of Otago. Her students include Jonathan Lemalu, Matthew Landreth and Patrick Power. She retired from her lecturing position in 1985 but continued to teach both privately and at the university. In 1989 she was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for service to music, and in 2012 she was made a life member of the New Zealand Association of Teachers of Singing. Honor lives in the Yvette Williams Retirement Village in Dunedin.
Louise Petherbridge (née Harris) - QSO (Born in 1931)
Louise attended St Hilda’s for all her schooling, and credits the school for instilling in her a passion for drama, as she recalls fondly the plays they used to put on at pupils. Louise graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English in 1953. While at university, she was active in the Drama Society and also appeared in plays with the Dunedin Repertory Society. After university she won a New Zealand Government Drama Bursary, which allowed her to study in the UK for two years. She met her husband, Edward Petherbridge, at the Northern Theatre School and they married in 1957.
She worked with theatre companies such as Lincoln Theatre Rep and Ipswich Theatre Rep, then spent some time back in New Zealand in 1958-59 touring with The New Zealand Players. Back in the UK, where her son David was born, she continued her career, including a brief period of work for Noel Coward. She retuned to New Zealand in the mid 1970s, and enjoyed a very successful career as an actor, producer, writer and director.
Louise was awarded the QSO for services to drama in 2000. She was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dunedin Theatre Awards in 2012 and in 2014 she was awarded a New Zealand Theatre Services honour medal. Louise lives in Dunedin.