Annual Report 1998

FAREWELL TO DR ERIC WIGGLESWORTH AND SIR NINIAN STEPHEN

The Rt Hon Sir Ninian
Stephen and
Dr Eric Wigglesworth
At a dinner on 13 August, 1998, the Foundation paid tribute to two men who had been at the helm of the organisation for many years - Dr Eric Wigglesworth as Executive Director since the Foundation's inception in 1979 and the Rt Hon Sir Ninian Stephen as Chairman since 1992. The dinner was attended by past and present Board members and guests included Sir Zelman and Lady Cowen, Sir William and Lady Vines, Lady Bunting, Lady Hughes and Mrs Heather Henderson.

The principal speaker was Mr Bob White who spoke of the immense task that confronted Dr Eric Wigglesworth as the founding Executive Director of what was then "The Sir Robert Menzies National Foundation for Health, Fitness and Physical Achievement". Sir Edward Hughes, as Chairman, had established four standing committees as well as a network of committees in each State and Territory. The task given to Eric Wigglesworth was to make this substantial and complex network function. He achieved this with only the help of a small staff whom he inspired with his enthusiasm, dedication and unfailing sense of humour.

One of his early tasks was to find a suitable home for the Foundation. In Mr White's words:

"The development and ultimate acceptance of the proposal to lease Clarendon Terrace - combined with the endless and tiresome details of extensive refurbishment so as to preserve the heritage - provide testimony to Eric's patience and persistence to secure the perfect result."

Mr White also paid tribute to Dr Wigglesworth's involvement with the Menzies scholarship scheme. However, it was the Foundation's conference and workshop program which satisfied another of Dr Wigglesworth's visions and demonstrated "his ability to organise and stage conferences and workshops so as to achieve worthwhile outcomes." The most notable were the first National Conference in 1980 from which the Foundation agreed to fund the first Menzies Regional Workshop in Darwin. This ultimately culminated in the creation of the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin. Similarly, a workshop held in Hobart in 1987 recommended the establishment of the Menzies Centre for Population Health Research within the University of Tasmania. Both centres have gone on to achieve excellent results and an international status.

Professor John Mathews, Director of Menzies School in Darwin and Professor Terry Dwyer, Director of the Menzies Centre in Hobart, both thanked and acknowledged Dr Wigglesworth's important role in the creation of their centres and his ongoing support and friendship. Professor Dwyer also paid tribute to Dr Wigglesworth's efforts in developing a series of public health "think tank" activities. He commented that "Eric was always at the centre of these if ostensibly 'behind the scenes'. These activities gave the Menzies Foundation a very solid reputation in the Australian public health and medical community".

It is indeed fitting that, since his retirement, Dr Eric Wigglesworth's work in public health and occupational health and safety has been duly recognised: the University of Tasmania has awarded him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Medicine and he has also been appointed an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Accident Research Centre of Monash University.

Professor Don McNicol,
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Tasmania, congratulates Dr Eric Wigglesworth on his admission to the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Medicine

In honouring Sir Ninian Stephen, Mr White spoke of Sir Ninian's distinguished career - his list of honours, his progress to the High Court, his accession to the office of Governor-General - and the Foundation's good fortune that he should agree to become its Chairman in 1992 following the retirement of Sir William Vines. Sir Ninian had had a long association with the Foundation. During his term as Governor-General he officially opened the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin in 1984; the Second Menzies National Conference in Melbourne in 1985; and the Menzies Centre for Population Health Research in Hobart in 1988. On that last occasion, he once again showed his enthusiastic support and encouragement for the work of the Foundation:

"This occasion marks another milestone along the trail that the Sir Robert Menzies Foundation is so energetically blazing towards its goal of a healthier Australian community and, through the spread of knowledge and the results of research, a healthier world community. Sir Robert Menzies placed great value on academic excellence and his contribution to tertiary education in Australia was as outstanding as it has proved enduring... He would have been delighted to have, as another memorial to his memory, this Centre, which will be both a focus for excellence and an example effort in its attainment."

In his tribute Mr White spoke of the Socrates qualities belonging to a judge - to hear courteously; to answer wisely; to consider soberly; to decide impartially. "I have," he said "had many contacts with Sir Ninian and more recently I served as his deputy, including those years when he shouldered heavy responsibilities abroad. For me, it has been a rare privilege to serve with him, but above all, his Chairmanship has added lustre to the Foundation, it has given us clout, and it has provided inspiration to the Executive, to the Board and to the Alumni".

At the conclusion of the dinner, Sir Ninian and Dr Wigglesworth became the first recipients of a new Menzies medallion. The medallion was struck in 1969 by Andor Meszaros in honour of Sir Robert Menzies and the Foundation expresses its gratitude to the Meszaros family for the use of the die.

Sir Ninian and Dr Wigglesworth were also honoured with Life Membership of the Foundation in recognition of their lengthy and honourable service to the Foundation.