Pauline Thomas (1951) Pauline Thomas (1951) was the first female TV producer in Australia to be sent on an overseas assignment (the 1970 Osaka Expo) and was the only woman in Australia’s TV and radio team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Pauline worked at the ABC before television, and quickly rose through the TV ranks after it’s inception. One of her last roles at the ABC was working as the Associate Producer with Geoffrey Robertson on ‘Hypotheticals’ which was an outstanding success. His praise for Pauline was part of the eulogy at her funeral and is transcribed at the end of this biography. Pauline was at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School for most of her school life, enrolling at the age of six in 1942. She was a Senior Prefect, part of the Tildesley Tennis team, the Senior B Tennis team and on the Sports Committee. Â鶹ÊÓƵ School was a very important part of Pauline’s life and she maintained a lifelong connection to the School. For 17 years from 1992 to 2009 she was a highly-regarded member of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ School Council, and she never missed a Reunion. Music played an enormous part of Pauline’s life. After finishing at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School she attended the Conservatorium of Music with dreams of being a concert pianist. She could sing beautifully, as well as play the piano and the organ, and in 1989 she became involved in the establishment of the prestigious Cathedral Singers choir and travelled overseas with them several times taking part in their appearances in some of the great cathedrals in England. Pauline was also a long-time member of St Paul’s (Burwood) choir. Pauline quickly rose through the ranks of the ABC. She was associated with many successful and ground-breaking productions such as: Six-o-Clock Rock with Johnny O’Keefe, the Apollo moon-landing in 1969, and the 1970 Osaka Expo. She was the only woman in Australia’s TV and radio team sent to the infamous 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Pauline relayed this story to us on the tragic events of that Games: One evening, while wandering through the Olympic Village trying to make her way back to the journalist’s housing, she became lost. A group of ‘lovely young men’ were sitting on a balcony in the Olympic Village and helped her find her way. Just after 5am the following morning she was awoken by a phone call alerting her to the news that eleven Israeli team members had been taken hostage (and who were eventually murdered). These were the ‘lovely young men’ she had met just hours before. Pauline was one of the first journalists on site to cover this tragic event. Pauline’s family and friends knew her as an all-rounder. She had a long and highly-regarded career at the ABC, was well-respected in her music circles, she enjoyed playing tennis, going to the cricket, and attending the opera and concerts. She was also a very social person who was always keen to meet new people or to renew old acquaintances. When opportunities arose in Pauline’s life, she would grab them with both arms and not let go. Pauline maintained deep, life-long friendships with her School friends and work colleagues; once a friend, Pauline remained a loyal friend. Pauline was an enthusiastic and kind person whose life was unconventional, rich in experiences, and fully lived. The following tribute to Pauline Thomas (1951) by Geoffrey Robertson, AO, QC. was read at her funeral in 2018 I worked closely with Pauline over the six years from 1985 when we made ‘Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals’ for the ABC. I had previously done some shows for Channel 9, until Kerry Packer’s lawyer, one Malcolm Turnbull, became upset about a show I did on media ethics and banned it. Ken Myer, then Chair of the ABC, sent me a telegram urging me to take the show to the ABC – it was there that Pauline was waiting with her colleagues ready to launch to work. Pauline was my guide and anchor in the byzantine organisation where she had worked devotedly for 30 years. Her experience was invaluable – she had been its first female producer, back at the Munich Olympics in 1972, and had looked after everyone, from visitors like the Queen and Spike Milligan to locals like Bill Peach and Johnny O’Keefe. Her courtesy and charm were invaluable in persuading so many of our distinguished participants to come on ‘Hypotheticals’. They ranged from Sir John Kerr and Joh Bjelke-Peterson and George Pell to Gough Whitlam, Jessica Mitford and Molly Meldrum. Incredibly, in retrospect, they all turned up for the show, drawn by Pauline’s infectious enthusiasm and impeccable organisation. Only once did a participant cancel – Kylie Minogue could not make it – and I received a telegram from Pauline just before I left London, which read ‘Kylie suddenly unavailable. You’ll have to make do with Kathy Lette.’ For 3 hours, I thought, not 30 years. I had not met Kathy before, and Pauline, by booking her at the last minute, was probably responsible for my marriage. It wasn’t easy for Pauline, as associate producer of ‘Hypotheticals’, because I lived and worked in London and could only come out and put each show together in a fortnight. This was, of course, before email. But I had complete trust in her – she was devoted to the programme, and indeed to the ABC. She was determined that every programme should be a success, every panel appropriate and balanced, every scenario challenging and thought provoking. And she provided all the support that I could ever wish for. Oddly, although our paths had not crossed for some time, thoughts of Pauline Thomas came very clearly, and quite strikingly, a couple of weeks ago when I received an Order of Australia. She was someone I knew would be happy at the news – although I don’t know whether she heard it – because she cared so much about the happiness of others and had, in the years we worked together, cared for me. She was one of those to whose support I owed my award. Pauline gave herself unselfishly to others, and particularly to the ABC. She always looked on the bright side, and her optimism was infectious. She was great fun to be with – and I think she had fun, too. And, although it was never easy in those days in the National Broadcaster, she made things happen.