Since our establishment in 1886, The Wyatt Trust has touched thousands of lives in South Australia. We often receive enquiries from researchers and family historians, and many anecdotes from people who received support over the years.
We were delighted to be contacted recently by Estelle Morgan, a sprightly and vibrant 91-year-old, who recounted stories of her time providing secretarial support to the Board of Governors during the 1960s and 70s. As we mark our 140th year, we're sharing Estelle’s story, which is one of thousands of threads that make the tapestry that tells the story of The Wyatt Trust.
Life in Adelaide
Estelle immigrated from the UK to Adelaide with her husband and young son in 1964.
“We had no qualms and we settled here straight away,” Estelle says.
“I remember we arrived in Adelaide at 5pm in the evening and we had a 9am appointment the next day with a land agent who would take us around to look at houses. Well, the first house we walked into is the house I’m still in now.
“From our house you could look out to the sea. We could watch the ships pulling into port and see the migrants disembarking.
“We fell in love with Adelaide straight away. We had everything at our feet: the beaches, the hills, the countryside, all within a day’s distance.”
Two years later, Estelle put her shorthand, typing and bookkeeping skills to work in a secretarial role at the accounting firm Spry Walker & Co. (later to become Touche Ross & Co).
“I joined as Mr Ringwood’s secretary in 1966,” Estelle explains.
Robert Ringwood, a chartered accountant, also happened to be Secretary of The Wyatt Trust.
“He was quite a stern fellow,” Estelle says. “I always called him Mr Ringwood, never Bob.”
“One day, I’d run out of work to do - I was a quick typist, and my shorthand was 150 words per minute – so Mr Ringwood decided to try out my bookkeeping skills.
“Everything was done by hand back then of course, so the ledgers were these big heavy books. I’m barely five foot, so toting them around was quite an effort.
“I remember I spent a whole morning and part of an afternoon balancing the Wyatt ledger for him and I went in when I’d finished and said, ‘It’s done. It’s only sixpence out’ and he said, ‘Go find it,’” Estelle laughs. “And I did find it!”
Another of Estelle’s responsibilities was procuring a laurel wreath to be laid upon the grave of the Trust’s founder, Dr William Wyatt,
each year on 10 June - the anniversary of his death.
“It was Board members only who would go to the cemetery, and I remember being told very early on that the secretary before me had once ordered a floral wreath instead of a laurel wreath and the Governors were horrified,” Estelle chuckles.
For many years, Dr Wyatt was a constant, if slightly disconcerting, presence in Estelle’s working life.
“There was a giant portrait of Dr Wyatt,” she explains. “It was a monster of a thing, roughly my height.
“When we moved offices, we had to find a new place to hang it. The Partners wouldn’t have it in the board room, and we tried a few different places before it ended up in the alcove behind my desk. It was quite unsettling having his eyes peering at you the whole time.”
Accessing the boardroom
As Secretary, Robert had always taken the minutes at The Wyatt Trust Board of Governors meetings then passed them to his secretary to type up. Estelle’s professional proficiency inspired him to break with tradition.
“One day he said, ‘You’re going to take the minutes’, so along I went,” she says.
“I remember that the meetings were well attended and they were always very informative and detailed. Being part of the Wyatt Board had a bit of status to it – they were all well known, sort of top businessmen.
“Often they got involved through family connections, with a board position passing from father to son or some kind of lineage like a nephew or other family member.”
Asked if she can recall any other women in the vicinity of the boardroom, Estelle is clear.
“Never a woman. I was the only woman.”
It wasn’t until 1989 that a woman, Nancy (Nan) Bates, joined the Board of Governors – one hundred and three years after the Trust’s establishment.
Making a difference then and now
In the 1960s, the Trust administered ‘benevolence by income supplement’ in the form of monthly cash grants to South Australians experiencing financial hardship. Another task Estelle soon inherited was interviewing the applicants to determine their eligibility.
Among her fondest memories of her time at Wyatt are these conversations which she says were filled with humanity and warmth.
“The people we supported were really struggling financially and some of them were so lonely,” Estelle remembers.
“Sometimes I would arrange a visit to some of the ladies in The Wyatt Trust homes at Payneham. I would usually visit with two or three and each of them would have prepared scones and cakes with tea or coffee.
“There was always so much joy and grateful thanks from the people who received support, especially when there was an increase in the monthly grant.”
Estelle finished her time at the accounting firm and her involvement with Wyatt in 1978, but those years left a strong imprint upon her.
“Poverty is still such a major issue in this day and age,” she says. “From all the conversations I had with people while I was involved with Wyatt I learned that giving back really does make a difference.”
