Celebrating 50 years of Ormond women: Annie Paterson

Annie Paterson has a strong claim to being the first woman to apply for the co-educational intake at Ormond in 1973.

“I happened to be walking past the main doors of Ormond one morning, and two friends of mine were standing on the front steps, looking very hungover, and they said, ‘Oh, hey, you should move into Ormond. We’ve just had a meeting last night. And it’s agreed to take girls.’ So, I went in the front door and went straight in to see the Master. So, I was probably the first one to sign on.”

Having spent a year at St Hilda’s, and taken a gap year, Annie found the move to Ormond very easy. “There was just a lot of camaraderie” recalls Annie. “It was a lot of fun… and very collegiate.”

There was some “good natured resistance” to women arriving at Ormond initially, recalls Annie. “It was just the attitudes of the day.” However, Annie remembers that the transition to co-educational life involved the minimum of fuss as the new women residents “just got on with it.” 

collegiate women’s sport was not well established, and in 1973 the options for women around College Crescent were limited. There was an Ormond women’s rowing crew in that first year, but this was regarded as a novelty event. “The requirement was that you should never have been in a boat before. Andrew Michelmore, who went on to become a gold medallist in international rowing, was our cox and he accidentally steered us straight up the bank. It probably wasn’t his fault as only stroke side seemed to be pulling!”

It’s telling that Annie’s memories of her first year at Ormond are not about upheaval. Instead, Annie remembers the strong and enduring friendships she made during her two years at Ormond. She laughs often as she recalls events from her first year at College. “One of the best memories I have is when Dougie Lawrence instituted Ievers Memorial Day. We walked around Parkville, us all in our gowns and looking very sombre and respectful. And he would then give a long-winded speech in front of every Ievers statue or drinking fountain. And the other half of the College would be driving past throwing flour-bombs at us.”