IT-team

Margaret Smith has been awarded an Honorary Life Membership – 2025

Margaret Smith is the Tutor/Facilitator of Mahjong.  She became a member of U3A Port Phillip following her retirement from a full working life 15 years ago. Margaret took on the role of Minute Secretary for the Committee of Management and for a further 5 years worked with Presidents Renate Mattiske, Graham Gosling and the late Sheila Quairney.

Margaret reflects that working with the COM through the Covid pandemic and the sad loss of Sheila Quairney was a stressful time for all. “I admired the group’s positivity and resilience in those difficult times.”

What factors influenced you to join a U3A group?  I have always been a busy person and on retirement I made a big list of things that I thought I might be interested in.  As U3A Port Phillip is in my local area, I thought I would join the Italian language class as I had plans to travel to Italy.

How long have you lived in Port Phillip? About 25 years ago, we moved from Glen Waverley to Middle Park due to my employment at Seeing Eye Dogs Australia moving from Malvern to Kensington.

Where did you spend your childhood years? In Murrumbeena. I was fortunate to have a very happy childhood, together with my older sister.  My dad was a member of the YMCA.  We would spend two weeks every Christmas at the YMCA family camp “Camp Manyung” in Sunnyside Road, Mount Eliza. I will be attending a 100 year celebration for Camp Manyung which I am looking forward to.

The family was also very involved with the local Presbyterian Church in Murrumbeena. I played softball and also tennis on the weekends.

I left school in Year 11 and went on to complete the first year of a Diploma of Commercial Practice at RMIT.

What motivated you to train for an administrative career?  My Dad advised me that secretarial skills could be of use in any industry or country of the world. In those days girls were expected to leave school, to get a job in a bank or a shop.  We had no career guidance then, so only a few students went on to university.

Where was your first place of employment, following your training at RMIT? I obtained employment with the CSIRO Division of Chemical Physics. RMIT provided training in typing, shorthand, Business Practice, Matriculation English Expression and Accounting, so the CSIRO were interested in employing qualified students from RMIT.  Recently I reconnected with my best friend in those days, Pam Caven’s sister, Pauline.(Pam Caven – U3APP past Deputy President of CoM and Events Manager.)

So, were you able to apply your skills in complex new technologies? The Division of Chemical Physics moved to the Monash University Campus where they studied atomic absorption spectrophotometry, a method of determining the concentration of metal elements in samples by measuring the absorption of light.

Those scientists were nominated for a Nobel Prize. They had an electron microscope where you could view just one atom! The Computing Research Division was in the basement, so it was very exciting experience. The computers were programmed with punch cards.  When you are typing scientific papers, you are also learning as you read them.

How long did you work with CSIRO? 5 years. I then felt the need for a change. I was only 21 years old and wanted to “see the world.” I applied for a position with the Scientific Attache in Washington and was successful. However, I was dissuaded  by my parents and a young man I had met at that time. I don’t regret this decision, it was the right one for me. I left home to reside in Sydney where I had “a fabulous time” and worked by accepting short term roles.

My love of dancing led me to dance on stage with Marcia Hines, who was only 16 years at the time. She was performing in Hair, and the audience were invited up on to the stage.

After returning to Melbourne, I then obtained a position with Brambles International who handled Customs & Shipping, General Transport and Airfreight. I always worked with the General Manager, I was their “right-hand person.”

I had previously met my husband at a dance at Powerhouse in Albert Park, just three weeks before my 21st birthday. (laughing) “I was wearing a long, blond wig at the time.”  My hair was blond but quite short. We have been together for 55 years.

We built a family home in Glen Waverley.  Our daughter Leanne was born in 1974, and our son Paul in 1977. I became very active with the Nursing Mothers’ Association Australia. Over the ensuing years I worked with my husband at an American company.

How do you assess your specific skills that have kept you in high esteem? “Well, I am a great organiser.” When I was aged 12, I was President of the Presbyterian Girls Association and later I became President of the Presbyterian Fellowship Association.

When returning to work after raising my children for 10 years, I was employed by Coopers & Lybrand (then, a global accounting firm) and eventually became the Office Administrator.

I also worked with Healthcare Australia, which from my experience was a hospital group that “was making money out of sick people.”  So, when I was offered a job with a genuine charity, Seeing Eye Dogs Australia, I accepted the position with considerably less salary. But I was at a stage of my life when “I was ready to give back” to those less fortunate.

At that time, the Seeing Eye Dogs Australia was in competition with the Guide Dogs Australia.

Would you expand on that, why were they in competition with each other? Phyllis Gratton, the founder of Seeing Eye Dogs, went to WA to train her first guide dog with the Royal Society for the Blind. On her return she was emphatic that she could get the dog she was with, “to do more things than just a guide dog does.”  Another issue, people left their estate to “the blind dogs” so wills were contested by both organizations.

Currently Instructors are required to be credited by the International Guide Dog Federation, but back then, the dogs were just trained to obey voice commands not by being given food reward, or by a whistle.

What breed of dogs were used? Mainly Labradors and Golden Retrievers because these breeds are more placid. They tried to introduce dogs like Belgian Shepherds, but there is a “fear factor” involved for the general community.  If you got on a tram or train with the dog for example.

“I did have an experience when I put the Board Members who were dog handlers into a taxi with a black dog on the front seat. (laughing). The taxi driver leapt out of the car in fear.” Seeing Eye Dogs Australia has since merged with Vision Australia.

By using a specific computer program, I would convert the financial statements or Minutes into braille and print them off so that the Board Members could read them. I enjoyed mastering the skill of listening to the conversation and then transcribing it.  It was even possible to produce braille building plans by using thermal paper in a copier.

In respect to your various roles at U3APP it is not surprising that you were engaged as the Minute Secretary. Yes, when they advertised for a Minute Secretary, I thought “I could probably do that.” I have also attended Italian, Spanish and Philosophy classes, and joined the choir. I am currently an emergency volunteer for the office.

My personal view is that there should be more succession planning for the Committee of Management.  A position has to be vacated every three years. It can take that long to obtain the necessary knowledge and experience of this complex organisation. It may be worth considering having an honorary position for at least another year, so that the committee member’s learnt experience can be utilised.

You are currently the Tutor of Mahjong. What is it about Mahjong that attracts members to learn this game? Well, it is not competitive, and we don’t score at U3APP. There are 144 different tiles. There are winds, north, south, east and west, dragons – red, white and green and suits such as circles, bamboo and characters.  Basically, it is a matter of learning the patterns of a game, so it is “great for the brain.” The winner is the person who “calls Mahjong” with 14 tiles.

I also am a member of David Robinson’s Films. I watch the movie during the week and join the Zoom discussion on Friday morning.

What aspects do you enjoy about this class?  I really appreciate it. It’s a bit like a book group. I have learnt so much from other members who may come from different backgrounds and experiences. I find it really interesting, “to just let the conversation wash around you, you don’t have to contribute, unless you want to.”

Are you also a member of other groups?  Yes, I am a member of Life Activities Port Phillip playing Mahjong, 500 and Rummicub. I have been a member of a Book Group for over 48 years, and also volunteer for the Alfred Hospital, currently in the FOI area, also assisting with special events.

Following my retirement, I became a member of Middle Park Fitness. We call ourselves the Silver Sweaters. We focus on balance and strength exercises.

Do you have any future travel plans? Over the years we have travelled to England, Italy, Spain, Portugal and to several American countries, as well as America. But I am always happy to return to Australia. Since Covid, I have not felt motivated to travel abroad.

I would like to acknowledge that my retirement from the Seeing Eye Dogs was because “my heart was empty.” Clients had passed away, dogs died and in 2010 our 28 year old daughter was unexpectedly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Currently she is under a NDIS plan and is cared for at home where she lives with her husband and their 16 year old son. Her bathroom has been renovated. She has the most “wonderful” carers who assist her with her daily needs.

Another challenging experience was when I was 21 years and leaving for Sydney, my mother told me unexpectedly that she had been adopted. She did not have a Birth Certificate, and I have never been able to find out any details about her.

A book written by Leigh Sales entitled, “Any Ordinary Day” was “very meaningful to me. Your reality can be altered drastically at any moment.”

“So, my motto is, make the most of everyday  – it’s a gift.”

Felicity May interviewed Margaret Smith