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At 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø's 1950-1953; School Captain

Helen Meredith (nee Wrench) is a former journalist, editor and commentator with forty years’ experience on the Australian and international scene.

It has been 66 years since she left 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s and in that time she married young, had four children and became single in her thirties.

Helen returned to her studies and carved out a career in journalism with a focus on the emerging digital technology working as an editor and reporter on several leading newspapers including The Australian, The Financial Review, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald and as a contributing journalist to the ABC.

Helen was the editor of Women in Technology and the author of Easy Riding on the Information Highway. She was also founding editor of an international online communications news service, Globalflow, the first of its kind worldwide.

Her focus has been strongly on STEM and the role of females in STEM. She was the founding member of Females in Technology, the first such organisation in Australia.

In addition to her role as a journalist, Helen has addressed public policy issues arising from the digital revolution, and in 1989 was involved in the establishment of Females in Technology (now known as Females in Information Technology and Telecommunications), the frontrunner of a national network of similar associations aimed at inspiring women to achieve their potential in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Now living deep in a rainforest, Helen writes fiction and poetry. She has been a member of The Thursday Girls for more than 20 years, an informal group of a dozen older women in regional Queensland who collaborate on projects for charity, engage in lively debate, support each other when times are tough and celebrate life’s milestones.

Helen said: “168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s showed me the path to an ethical and informed adult life. It gave me the confidence to confront life’s challenges. Now in my later years, the school has taught me one more important lesson: if you build a culture that values a spirit of community and care, then the bonds between the alumni and school remain forever strong.”

Helen was inducted into the Pearcey Foundation Hall of Fame in 2017 recognising her significant contribution into one or more of Australia’s ICT research, industry or professional development. She was the recipient of 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s Distinguished Past Student Award in 2018.