Trustee and
Chair, Management Committee
Bio below written by journalist Helen Covernton:
Leonie Ebert was born in 1937 to a comfortable, loving and cultured burgher family in Ceylon now called Sri Lanka. During World War 2 her mother tutored her at home. She then attended St Bridget’s College in Ceylon. As a young child she was instilled with a strong sense of justice and the importance of courage and community. Following Ceylon gaining independence Leonie’s father believed that his children would have a better future in Australia. The family migrated to Adelaide in 1952. Léonie attended Cabra College in Adelaide, South Australia.
Following a period at Adelaide University where she studied for a Bachelor of Science she began her teaching career at Norwood High School in 1959 and says that those first six years clarified her ideas on the importance of quality public education for young people. It was a commitment that she has adopted throughout her career and long after her retirement as Principal of Christies Beach High School.
Leonie Ebert has been at the forefront of educational change and has held teaching positions in many South Australian schools. She was Deputy Principals at Mount Gambier, Brighton and Banksia Park High Schools and Principal of Kadina Memorial High School, Port Adelaide High and Christies Beach High. She is acknowledged for such innovative programs as “school within a school” -where a small group of teachers worked with an identified group of students to teach across the curriculum. At Port Adelaide she worked with staff to establish ‘ a lighthouse’ school for the education of girls. She also worked to develop a culture of peace in these schools by introducing shared meanings and values, inclusiveness and a respect for diversity within the school communities.
Leonie’s achievements in education are parallelled by her role as a union activist. She joined the teachers union, South Australian Institute of Teachers (SAIT) in 1961 and became its first women President in 1982.
As foundation chair of the Status of Women’s Committee she was a strong advocate for women’s rights on the union executive. In the face of strong opposition she argued successfully for the appointment of a SAIT Women’s Adviser. She spoke on affirmative action for women at the World Confederation of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP), on the need for affirmative action for women in the union movement and organised a workshop on behalf of WCOTP and Australian Teachers Federation (ATF) for women in the Pacific Region.
Leonie believed that improvements in education could only come through collective action. Her union role gave her greater opportunity to speak out about inequalities in education and enabled her to take action with others to bring about change.
She became president at a unique time and with union members and co-workers was able to implement many progressive policies. During her term Field officers were appointed and the Union was restructured which led to a more responsive approach to school-based issues. Many successful campaigns were run during this time including the campaign for smaller class sizes and the campaign to increase ancillary staff.
A major historical event of this time was the re-affiliation of SAIT with the Australian Teachers’ Federation. This resulted in SAIT attending the Australian Council Trade Unions Congress for the first time. In the same year SAIT affiliated with the United Trades and Labour Council thus bringing teachers from South Australia into the mainstream of the union movement.
Leonie has been active on many influential committees. She was on the committee set up to examine the practices in the Education Department under the South Australian Sex Discrimination Act. She was a member of the regional committee on Special Education and also on the S.A Participation and Equity Committee 1984-88. This committee looked at important issues such as access to education, participation and equity in relationship to girls Aborigines, disabled students, working class students and those from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Leonie Ebert says that a great learning experience of her career was being part of an investigative tour of Aboriginal schools in north –west of South Australia organised by SAIT.
“Seeing Aboriginal workers sharing in the teaching process, listening to them express their concerns about education at a community meeting and collecting witchetty grubs with Aboriginal women helped me to understand in some small way the culture of Aborigines in that area of Australia,” she says.
During this period Leonie Ebert initiated the Union Education Program for SAIT representatives and other delegates.
In 1983 Leonie Ebert was appointed an UNESCO Commissioner. In this role she helped plan, in conjunction with the Human Rights Commission, the “Education in Schools” strand of the conference entitled “Teaching Human Rights”, which was held in Adelaide.
Since her early retirement from education Leonie Ebert has continued to work passionately for World Peace. She established ‘The Graham F Smith Peace Trust Inc’, which has funded projects which promotes Peace through the Arts. One significant example of the committee’s work is the honouring of the Kaurna people and their ancestors with a simple but hauntingly beautiful sculpture at the Adelaide Festival Centre and the Kaurna Walking Trail.
Leonie Ebert continues to work for women, peace and the community. For her outstanding achievements she has been awarded the Chancellor’s Medal to mark the South Australian Centenary of Women’s Suffrage, 1894-1994, by Flinders University and more recently the Centenary of Federation 2001 Medal.
Although we are currently living in an era of political hard times and reactionary thinking Leonie Ebert has hope for the future. She believes that only by acknowledging our past and learning from it that we can move forward to create a compassionate world by working together collaboratively and cooperatively
