Maureen Aitken Garden

2013 Campaign

The Maureen Aitken Garden was completed in 2013 and changed the look of the inner landscaped area between New Wing and the Sallyanne Atkinson Building (formerly known as Old Wing). The project honoured Dr Maureen Aitken (Principal 1991 – 2008), who fostered academic excellence, and had a profound influence on the development of hundreds of young women throughout her 18 years of service to the College.

Many donors provided support during the end-of-financial-year campaign to raise funds.

Dr Rhyl Hinwood AM created several artworks for the Maureen Aitken Garden.

The Maureen Aitken Garden was officially opened on 16 March 2013 – coinciding with the College’s 99th birthday – by Graham Quirk, who was the Lord Mayor of Brisbane at the time.

"… in 2007, a small group of [Women’s] College friends commissioned me to create a memorial that now graces the front entrance to the College. It features three carved Helidon freestone pedestals embellished with elements of the armorial bearings of the College: the Lamp, the Tudor rose and the Maltese cross. Then in 2013, the beautiful Maureen Aitken Garden was opened and it included several of my carved Helidon freestone bench seats, again embellished with quotations, huge Tudor roses and several life-size bronze songbirds."

— Dr Rhyl Hinwood: A sculptor’s vision – creating a legacy in stone

A woman in a pink cocktail dress poses for the camera. She is sitting on a sandstone bench in a garden. — Maureen Aitken (Principal 1991 – 2008), pictured in the Maureen Aitken Garden.

A woman in a blue suit and blue hat turns the sod in front of a tree, and is watched by a woman in a black dress and pink jacket. — Her Excellency Penelope Wensley AC (alumna 1964 – 1967), then Governor of Queensland, at the sod-turning ceremony for the Maureen Aitken Garden in 2012. Iyla Davies (Head of College 2009 – 2016) is to her right.

A group of young women seated in a circle. — Residents, including the Student Club Executive and Resident Assistants, seated in the Chislehurst Society Alumnae Circle at the dedication for the Maureen Aitken Garden in March 2013.

An artist stands with her sandstone sculpture art. — Dr Rhyl Hinwood AM with one of her carved sandstones in the Maureen Aitken Garden. Rhyl was commissioned to create several artworks through the philanthropic efforts of alumnae and friends of Women’s.

A woman in a white shirt stands next to an engraved sandstone sculpture. — Dr Priscilla Brilliant, alumna 1963 – 1966, was a donor and over the decades volunteered for many years at The Women’s College, where she regularly attended the annual Standing Committee Luncheons to fundraise for bursaries. She passed away in 2022.