Farewell Speech by the CEO, Greg Eddy  

Ms Kathleen Newcombe, President of the College Council and members of Council, Chancellor and Mrs Margaret Varghese, Vice-Chancellor and Professor Ottmar Lipp, Former Moderator of the UC in Qld, Rev David Baker representing the Moderator of the UC in Qld, Presidents of the KOCA and KCSC, Blake Miller and Millie O’Halloran - distinguished guests all.

My sincere thanks to the Council President, Kathleen Newcombe and the Council for honouring us with this farewell dinner. The long farewell is a reality, and Thérèse and I are currently enjoying the Dame Nellie Melba ritual of continuing farewells. Unlike Dame Nellie, I can assure you, there will be no return! I am also very grateful to the staff for the work that they have undertaken in preparation for tonight and the stealth, enterprise and expertise shown in keeping us completely in the dark. My particular thanks to my Executive Officer, Delia Eastland, who will have a great deal to answer for following this event.

Tonight is an opportunity for me to acknowledge and thank many people and to talk a little about my time at King’s, which ends officially on the 19th of December.

The Uniting Church in Australia (QLD Synod) remains a very important presence in the life of King’s College. We must never lose sight of the role King’s College played in the life of the Church through its training of Methodist ministers for almost eighty years. In 2012, we introduced the annual Theologs’ Lunch to welcome back those who were trained here and at Kangaroo Point and to acknowledge the very distinct relationship that exists between Theologs and the College. My warm thanks to the Moderators I have known – one of whom is here tonight. Thérèse, at one point, was so enamoured of the Uniting Church that she engaged the Moderator of the time, Rev David Baker, in a conversation about joining the UC – David confirmed it was a very simple process! She didn’t proceed, however. Once a Catholic and all that!! The current Moderator, Rev Bruce Moore would have liked to be here but had to apologise so I will ask Jon Moriarty – Old Collegian and Executive Officer of the UC Schools and Colleges Commission to convey my sincere thanks to the Moderator, General Secretary and staff of the Synod for their wonderful support of King’s over many years – just such a shame you no longer provide loans for construction!!

The name - King’s College within The University of Queensland clearly defines our existence. If the Church founded the College on River Terrace at Kangaroo Point in 1912 through the purchase of a property for 2200 pounds, even before there was a formal connection with the University, there certainly is one today. King’s has been fortunate to enjoy the support of the University in my time for many initiatives, and with all colleges, we genuinely appreciate the significance of the Relationship Framework struck between Colleges and UQ, which so clearly describes our relationship. Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and UQ Senator, Ms Anne Cross, thank you for your vision and for your work in bringing the Framework to a reality. It is a standout among Australian universities and sets a standard for others to follow.

In my experience here and from what I know of the decades before, no Vice-Chancellor has engaged with King’s and, for that matter, all colleges more than Professor Deborah Terry AC. She has been a star – supportive, encouraging, generous and above all genuinely interested in each and every college here – and dare I say it patient – especially so when the media is on your case!

I now wish to acknowledge Council Presidents, members of Council, members of Council Committees and Fellows of the College and their spouses.

As Master and more recently as Chief Executive, I have been very fortunate indeed. I am one of the few CEOs who can honestly declare that their Council/ Board knows exactly what governance looks like and understands my responsibilities and, more importantly, theirs – that can be rare as I’ve often witnessed elsewhere – sadly! When I began in 2005, Rev Ray Herrmann was President of the Council, but within four months, he stepped aside to usher in the Robert Wensley QC era (the late Robert Wensley QC). Robert was succeeded by the then Hon Justice Martin Daubney AM, and then Dr Brett Robinson followed. Kathleen Newcombe became the first woman elected to the position in 2023. All five have been wonderful Presidents – sensible, encouraging, supportive and eminent citizens in their own right. Their leadership of their respective Councils has ensured that King’s has moved forward in a spirit of harmony, collegiality, with some speed and with a very clear vision, and I might add, a vision and strategy that have been acted upon and not merely talked about.

To all the members of Council and of Council Committees of the past twenty-one years, thank you and to the Fellows of the College and especially those who have served on the Board of Fellows, my sincere gratitude. Also, I acknowledge your remarkable partners and spouses, many of whom have been captured in the King’s vortex along with you – how very fortunate the College has been to secure your continuing engagement.

Some of you may be interested to know some useless stats because it may say something not just about my time here, but also about the time you’ve spent at King’s and of your brilliant commitment to King’s:

In my twenty-one years at King’s, I estimate that I’ve attended 130 meetings of the College Council, and if each lasted on average two hours, that is 260 hours.

Additionally, there were 630 meetings of the different Council Committees – Finance, Buildings and Grounds, Foundation, and I haven’t dared include Building Project meetings – I have not tallied the hours and days.

Forty-two meetings of the Board of Fellows

And for my colleagues - the Heads of Colleges at UQ - 220 meetings have been held of what is now called the G10

Speaking of my colleagues at UQ and elsewhere around the country, I’m so pleased several current and former Heads of Colleges at UQ have been able to join us tonight. The professional approach of UQ Heads has always been something to cherish, and the competition can be fierce – don’t ever believe them when they say it’s all about participation when it comes to the ‘Big 3’ – the Collegians’ Cup for Men’s sport, the Colleges’ Cup for Women’s sport and the Sir Zelman Cowen trophy for ICC Cultural competition. It’s really all about winning and bragging rights! Participation indeed!!

How very special to have Lisa Sutherland and Fiona Crowe here tonight. In 2006 and 2007, when I was President of what is now University Colleges Australia (UCA), Lisa was the Secretary and Fiona was the Treasurer. Today, Fiona is CEO of St Catherine’s College at UWA (The University of Western Australia) and at Curtin – where she worked with the VC (now our VC) to develop the model of a residential college on the Curtin campus. Lisa is Master of Wesley College at the University of Sydney and is the President of UCA, and at a time far more difficult than my period, when so much more is expected today of the national bodies such as UCA. There is a lovely link here because, as some of you know, the first Master of King’s Rev M Scott Fletcher left here after three years to become the first Master of Wesley.

On Saturday, the 18th of July, the King’s Old Collegians’ Association (KOCA) held their annual reunion and hosted a farewell for Thérèse and me from the Old Collegians. It was a wonderful evening. The KOCA at King’s is unique as it is a model for others, and I know it has been used as such. Officially founded in 1923, it is said that it was unofficially established when four Collegians joined the AIF in WW1 and met on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Regardless, today it has a significant and highly valuable presence in the life of the College through its continuous support of the College and its members – scholarships, bursaries, sponsorships of touring teams, mentoring, and the list goes on. In twenty-one years, I have worked with three Presidents – Michael Creedon, Jim Farmer and Blake Miller. They have all been excellent leaders, but I do reserve special praise for the current President, Blake Miller. Students’ Club President in my second and third years here (2006 - 2007), he was elected President of the KOCA in 2015. In 2019, when the College Council announced the decision to move to co-residency in 2020, Blake was still President of the KOCA. Not an enviable position, but under pressure from several Old Collegians, he stood firm and never once wavered.

Today, Thérèse and I count many Old Collegians among our friends – what a glorious part of the job it is to travel domestically and internationally and to engage with Old Collegians along the way – to hear their stories, to celebrate their significant achievements and to keep them abreast of what is happening at their college.

Deputy Masters and staff at the College have always been critical to my success. What’s that saying about surrounding yourself with those who are brighter, better, smarter, so they make you look good! I have been very fortunate to be supported by remarkable staff. The Deputies – Matthew Sheahan (known affectionately as the Wyvern Slayer) from 2006 - 2010, Jamie Smith from 2011 - 2015, Peter Walker, now Head of Grace College, from 2016 - 2022 and more recently from 2023, the remarkable Andrew Eunson. And I would add their wives to my acknowledgement – Georgia, Sue, Sarah and Chelsey respectively – thank you.

To the staff with whom I’ve worked during this time, thank you for doing this with me. Whatever has been achieved here in twenty-one years is the collective work of a gifted group of people who have always had the best interests of the College at their core. I’m not special with twenty-one years, as many have been there with me for that same period or near enough and what that brings is stability, knowledge, experience and understanding and appreciation, especially of young people.

And so that now brings me to the KCSC (King’s College Student Club) Presidents and students of King’s.

Several of the twenty-one Student Club Presidents are here tonight. You know how ‘culture’ is the word of the day currently – everything is about culture - a student at an elite, private, prestigious and expensive school in Brisbane only needs to do something remotely off key and the whole culture of the school is called into question – the same applies to colleges and universities. Well, I suspect that almost all the Presidents in the past twenty-one years have accused me at least once of ‘killing the culture’ of King’s. In fact, the first President in 2005, Neil Farmer, after one particularly difficult conversation where I had once again said no to his request for something outrageous, said to me, “you know, Greg, you have to let me have a win sometimes”. What a valuable lesson he taught me on that day – your successors, Neil, may not believe it, but there have been times when I have reflected on your wise advice, and I have let all of them have a win or two.

It’s a privilege to live and work with students of this age. Having said that, I’m notorious for reaching the middle of September in each year and saying to the staff, “students – when are they all going home? I can’t stand them any longer”. I don’t really mean it, of course, but the weight of their presence takes its toll by about September and while they can be notoriously foolish, challenging, and our greatest risk, they are students.

It is my personal view that this generation of students has it tough – this is the most watched, called out, critiqued and criticised group in the history of university students, and that’s saying something when you consider that The University of Bologna in Italy, founded in 1088, is the world’s oldest university in continuous operation. Perhaps they bring that on themselves, or perhaps we have brought it on them. The matter of fault is immaterial, really, for the reality is that they are far better than many in my generation of students, for instance, who were seriously wild and out of control by comparison. All of you older than the current students are now scouring the recesses of your brains, and I’m certain you agree with me. Old Collegians in this room need only reflect on the stories they told me over my years here to know that you were very fortunate indeed. As a Deputy and a Head of Colleges, I have now observed the behaviours of university students continuously since 1991, and I can only say they continue to be better. We should be applauding them for their continuous improvement; instead, we seem to search for fault at every turn. The Master of my College, when I was a student, would famously declare when student chaos occurred that “They are here to learn!” How right he was!  Colleges offer students extraordinary opportunities to learn so much and often through making mistakes, reflecting on those errors, atoning and apologising.

My family has always been so very important – the boys/men as they are now – our sons are 31, 29 and 27 and have really known nothing but residential college living until they left home. In fact, when we moved to a home in Eastwood while a new residence was being built at Dunmore Lang College, I think they had no idea what the letterbox on the front fence was all about. When we came to King’s, they were 11, 9 and 7, and so this home has been their family home for the best part of their lives. It is very special that James and his wife Elizabeth, and Nic and his girlfriend Julia are here to share this moment with us, because I absolutely include them and of course Luke and Greta living and working in London now as a crucial part of this celebration of our family’s time here. All the great moments in a family have occurred here – 18ths, 21sts, 50ths, 60ths, grandchild announcements, and so many more – laughter a plenty and tears, and so it is that the Master’s Residence at King’s College will forever be a special home in the memories of the Eddy family. On a lighter note, Luke, the youngest, told Thérèse and I some years ago that when we leave, he’s not going. He was in his late teens at the time, so I must warn Don that if ever he walks in the door of the Master’s Residence and there’s a tall blond man standing there, simply say, “Luke, you don’t live here anymore!” and send him on his way.

Thérèse – I am so grateful to you for so much. It became apparent to me how critical Thérèse was to my survival here when we moved from Sydney to Brisbane. I knew Queenslanders were a little parochial, but I had no idea that the very mention of Sydney would send some into an apoplectic fit. So, while I was Sydney-born, thankfully Thérèse was born in Dalby, educated at a boarding school in Toowoomba, and her family once owned a sheep property – she was practically Qld royalty - I was saved! So, if being from Sydney in NSW was not enough, I was from south of the border, a cockroach, a Blues supporter, and worse was to come. Word quickly spread that I was a Catholic and the first non-Minister of the Church appointed Master (in fact, at my installation, one very significant member of the College community told me that “lovely to meet you, Greg, but it is such a shame they couldn’t find a good Methodist”. She later became one of my greatest supporters and advocates.

So, given my various and profound liabilities, Thérèse set about winning people over– in no time, people she knew, and others were being hosted at gatherings in the Master’s Residence as we worked to build a profile for the College and to shift the narrative about King’s College.  There was some serious work to be done.

Officially, Thérèse has been employed part-time at the College for about 5 years. Unofficially, Thérèse has worked at King’s for twenty-one years. The truth is, that despite many efforts to drag herself away – a stint as Deputy at The Women’s College and then later as Head of Duchesne College, teaching appointments at Marist College and starting her own consultancy, she kept being drawn back into the web of King’s – and how very fortunate for me and for the College. Many have commented on the partnership we present, and I see how we have. I can barely remember an event at King’s where Thérèse has not joined me in hosting, greeting people, introducing people and representing the College here, in the University, nationally and internationally.

At various times in the twenty-one years, I have paid tribute to her by saying that many of my best ideas were, in fact, hers – King’s in Pink is but one example only. Many generous comments have been made about my leadership and what’s been achieved at King’s during my time here. I can assure you that I could not have done that without the love, support, the shared vision and presence of my wife. When we came here in 2005, we knew there was only one way to go, and that was up. Thérèse worked just as hard as I did to ensure that happened. Thank you, darling.

And so, to conclude – as I said at a previous farewell, I never intended to stay twenty-one years, but something kept coming along to challenge me and keep me here – a building project or three, for example or more recently the move to co-residency. We almost left after six months when the Chairman of the Dunmore Lang College Board, where I had previously been CEO, called in to visit on his way to the Wallabies versus All Blacks test at Suncorp and asked if we would consider returning to Sydney. At the time, we were struggling to see the way forward, but we agreed to see it through to the College Ball in September. It was a brilliant night; we were sold on the promise of what could be achieved, and in September this year, we will attend our twenty-first King’s College Ball. Thérèse and I have so many wonderful memories and some very sad ones too, and I will cherish them all as I will the friendships, connections and experiences I’ve shared with so many of you over the last twenty-one years.

May King’s College within The University of Queensland continue to thrive, excel and prosper and always be recognised as one of the leading Residential Colleges in this country.

Thank you all.

Farewell Speech by Thérèse Eddy

Firstly, thank you, Kathleen, the Council and all the staff at King’s College for your support over the last few months. Thank you, Kathleen, for giving me the opportunity to say more than a few words. I am both honoured and grateful to be given the opportunity to speak on a night that is a culmination of a shared journey for Greg, our three sons and me.

Tonight, I am sharing a love story with you, so settle back and relax because it has its ups and downs. I fell in love with Greg Eddy in the St Albert’s College Dining Hall when I attended a formal dinner with him soon after we met, on what could loosely be called our first date. This was when I realised that Greg had a special power - the ability to silence the room – a room full of rowdy students. He was Dean of Students/Deputy Head, and it was obvious he had come from a teaching background. He said nothing. He just stood – and stood and stood and waited. Gradually, the room fell silent - and I fell in love. How could I not be impressed by this power to hold their attention without speaking?

Within one year, we were engaged, three months later, married and just under twelve months later, our darling first bundle of joy, James Eddy, arrived. Thereafter, another love affair began with another two sons, Nicholas and Luke, arriving by the time we had been married for five years. Our sons don’t remember any other life than in a residential college. They are quintessential ‘college boys’.

But I must not digress. These ‘love’ years were fraught with all that comes with leaving jobs, St Albert’s College to Earle Page at The University of New England, to Dunmore Lang College at Macquarie University in Sydney, raising a family, building a life together, running a college. They were frantic years. We loved these colleges, but perhaps not enough because we eventually broke up with them all. It wasn’t until we arrived at King’s College that we deepened our love for colleges, the wonderful attributes they have and the qualities they instill in young people.

Quite simply, Greg and I fell in love (again) – with a college that needed tender loving care and a steady hand to guide it toward what most certainly its past caretakers had envisaged. I’m not sure when Greg ‘felt it’, but there are a few moments for me. It certainly was not love at first sight, I can tell you, but I could see there was potential for a relationship to grow.

The first inkling that I had that this relationship had legs was at the first King’s College Ball when numerous Kingsmen had me out on the dance floor. Many Old Collegians will attest to how much Greg and I love dancing at the Ball. However, it was the impeccable manners of the men that impressed me and gave me hope.

In 2008, after teaching at Marist College for a year and leading what I can only call a ‘ragged’ life, dashing backwards and forwards to Ashgrove with the boys in tow, then attending Formal Dinners and the other various college commitments, Greg asked me to organise the first Presidents’ Dinner. Many of you are here tonight, and some will remember that dinner. However, it wasn’t as simple as sending out invitations. We had no contact details for most of these Presidents, and there began my foray into the Archive, known to most as ‘The Tower’. That is truly where I fell in love with King’s College.

The Tower room was strewn with photos, memorabilia and merchandise donated by Old Collegians but never archived or catalogued. I loved trawling through all of it, and the Blazers on the Dining Hall wall are products of that time. I pulled them out, said to Greg, “I have an idea”, and here they are today. I found boxes of student enrolment cards with addresses handwritten on them, and I started to track down those Presidents, even going so far as ringing their parents, though they had left the College many years before.

I was hooked on the history, the characters and the stories. The dinner happened, and then The Wyvern magazine was born from that. Love was in the air. However, as we all know, a good marriage takes work, and King’s was going to test us in ways we didn’t know.

We knew when Greg accepted the job here at King’s that it was never going to be ‘just a job’. We knew that successfully surviving and thriving in a residential college is a vocation, and we knew that vocation extended to me and our three sons and indeed the extended community of our friends as well as the College.

Without the support and love of numerous people, we would undoubtedly not have survived. At the time, I didn’t realise just how many people would join our relationship – students, staff, other Heads of College, students from other colleges, university staff, our wonderfully patient, tolerant neighbours. It’s been a messy love affair that’s for sure. Really, how many people can there be in one relationship?

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to several people who have shared my love affair with King’s College from the beginning, though I know it is risky to single people out.

Dr Maureen Aitken, former Head of The Women’s College, a dear friend, Patron of the first iteration of King’s in Pink and made a Fellow of King’s College, perhaps for her remarkable fortitude when dealing with recalcitrant King’s students, among other things.

Dr Mary Mahoney, former Deputy Chancellor of the University and dedicated supporter of King’s in Pink (KIP), always insisted on buying my very amateurish artwork every year as part of the silent auction. 

Louise Greenfield (wife of a former Vice Chancellor, also a former Patron of KIP).

Rose Alwyn (Warden of St John’s College, friend and confidant),

Vice Chancellor Debbie Terry (always available to ring the bell for the start of KIP as long as we give her the correct time).

Jan Miles, Elspeth Darveniza, Janelle Lynch, Janet McDonald, Alison Jennings, Yvette Dempsey, and the Women Beyond King’s Committee.  

The Archive team, KOCA Management Committee and all the King’s in Pink Committees from 2008 to 2025. Thank you all for your support, particularly over the last seven months as I went through treatment.

A special mention to the women who have shared campus living with me – Georgia Sheahan, wife of Matthew Sheahan, Sue Smith, wife of Jamie Smith, Sarah Walker, wife of Peter and now Chelsey Eunson, Andrew’s wife. There is a special place in heaven for the wives of Deputy Masters and Deputy CEOs.

A word to all the staff who have managed to tolerate me dropping by the office, even when I was not actually employed at King’s. The traits required for being on staff at a residential college are like no others. The position description should read: able to tolerate strange and aberrant behaviour at any time (from the students, not fellow staff members), care for residents who need anything from a band aid to help navigate their courses, accept that after-hours work can be unpredictable, understand that our clients are learning (from us and about themselves) and growing up. The staff at King’s College need a sense of humour and an ability to stretch boundaries.

Thank you to the Old Collegians I’ve worked with over the last twenty years. I feel privileged to have worked with Scott Young, raising significant funds for the first building project and the KOCA Committee in the last two years in my role as Alumni Relations Manager. It’s a work in progress, but I believe that maintaining connections and passing on the stories is vitally important in sustaining a strong alumni network. Those stories cannot be lost.

Thank you, James, Nic and Luke for your understanding, involvement and engagement in a life that simply was not run of the mill. You gained a great deal from King’s, but you also sacrificed a great deal, too.

However, when it comes to support, there is really only one person I want to pay tribute to, not only for caring for me with so much patience and kindness. Greg, my husband, my partner in all ways, is patient, kind, lacking in hubris, yet maintaining a strong presence. He is a servant leader yet leads with passion and drive.  Where I am spontaneous, he is patient. He is the quintessential diplomat. People turn to him for sage advice, yet he is always willing to listen to his colleagues’ advice. I know from experience that he is a respected and almost revered member of the University Colleges Australia community, having worked in colleges for many years. While holding the reins here, building relationships - and buildings, Greg managed to be a wonderful father and role model to his children and the thousands of students who have flowed through this college.

In 2005, Greg believed that King’s could become the College it is today. He had a vision for the future that drove him, and soon, we had that vision too. I admire you so much, Greg, for ‘modelling the way’. I truly do not know how we survived those years when our boys were teenagers and we were juggling your job at King’s and mine, first at Women’s College, and then at Duchesne College. There are many here tonight who can comment more on your leadership but I would like to thank you for listening to my ideas and often taking them on, for example, King’s in Pink, Women Beyond King’s, seeking my counsel, tolerating my analysis of everything at King’s (when I was studying strategic management), dropping everything to pick up the boys from school when they’d injured themselves at training (when I couldn’t leave work). The list is endless.

Greg keeps his mobile phone in the bedroom for emergencies (you know how much I’d love that). He still rings the Porter to tell the students to turn the music down when I go to bed (it’s Emmanuel College, by the way). He still picks up the rubbish and the glass outside the gates when we go on our morning walks. He may not be a Minister, but this has been his vocation. He still cares as much as he did when we first arrived here.

Our love affair with King’s is not ending – we’re just moving into the mature stage of our relationship. We’ve developed different interests. We require a different bedtime. We no longer want to wait until the revelry subsides on a Sunday night to retire for the night. We would prefer not to be woken by fire alarms in the middle of the night or by delivery trucks at 5am. It’s not you, it’s us. We can remain friends, but to quote Taylor Swift, we are ‘never getting back together again’.

Though we have aged twenty-one years since we arrived at King’s College, our clientele has stayed the same age. Our family has shared Greg with approximately 9,300 students over the space of twenty-one years and now we’re taking him back.

I feel truly fortunate to have always been part of the King’s community. You are an amazing group of people. We work hard, and it shows in what we have created together. Thanks to all of you who have been part of my love story with King’s College. You are all incredibly special.