Armidale’s NEGS is inviting alumni, former staff and regional families back to campus next month to celebrate the legacy of Dr Jan Milburn OAM, who led the school as principal for 16 years.
Dr Milburn served as principal of New England Girls’ School from 1973 to 1989, a period the school says helped embed NEGS into the fabric of the wider Armidale community. Her tenure set a lasting standard for academic rigour, residential care and community leadership across the region.
“Dr Milburn helped lay the very foundation of character, resilience and community spirit that defines NEGS today,” NEGS stated. “Her influence extended far beyond our gates into Armidale itself, and we are thrilled to welcome her and the generations of families she impacted back to campus.”
The Morning Tea with Dr Jan Milburn will be held on Saturday, 17 October, from 10am to 12pm at the NEGS campus on Uralla Road, Armidale. The event is open to NEGS alumni, former staff members and regional families from the 1973 to 1989 era, with registration required through the NEGS Community Event Portal.
Dr Milburn’s connection to New England began when her husband took up a position at the University of New England, prompting her move from a teaching post at MLC School in Sydney. Speaking on the MLC School podcast Dare to Be More, hosted by Anthony Pearl, Dr Milburn recalled the decision plainly.
“I left in ’73 to be principal at New England Girls School,” she said. “My husband was at the University of New England.”
Before taking on the NEGS principalship, Dr Milburn had already built a long association with MLC School, first as a student from 1950, then as an English and history teacher, and later as head of English. She left Sydney in 1965 to complete a PhD at the University of London before returning to Australia and eventually taking the top job at NEGS.
Reflecting on the podcast on the values instilled in her by her own education, Dr Milburn said the standard was uncompromising.
“You had to be the best possible example of what you took on in life,” she said. “You couldn’t be mediocre.”
That philosophy, she said, extended beyond the classroom and shaped her approach to leadership throughout her career, including her years guiding NEGS. Former students have credited her with having a far-reaching influence long after they left school, something Dr Milburn said she rarely appreciated at the time.
“You don’t realise your influence sometimes,” she said. “But certainly you have a good influence on more people than you think.”
Dr Milburn’s contribution to education, and to the New England region in particular, was formally recognised when she was appointed a Medal of the Order of Australia. Speaking on the podcast, she said the honour reflected both her education career and her work supporting the families of Vietnam veterans.
“That was for my services to education, but also for my work with the families of veterans, the Vietnam veterans,” she said.
She went on to chair a national selection panel awarding university scholarships funded by Agent Orange compensation money, supporting children and later grandchildren of Vietnam veterans, before the scheme expanded to support families affected by more recent conflicts.
The upcoming morning tea offers past NEGS students, colleagues and regional families a chance to reconnect and celebrate that legacy in person, more than three decades after Dr Milburn’s time as principal came to an end.
Asked on the podcast what the phrase “dare to be more” means to her, Dr Milburn linked it to the motto of the SAS.
“Dare to be more means the motto of the SAS is any who dares wins,” she said. “We need in life to make calculated risks and we need to dare to look at the opportunities and sometimes even make those opportunities if we see the circumstances are right.”
She left listeners with a reflection that captures the spirit organisers hope to celebrate at the October event.
“If you live a life that’s safe, in all ways, physically, spiritually, mentally, whatever, in my public opinion, you don’t live,” she said. “You exist.”
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