Robyn Lonergan

Robyn's Family A younger mum!

Denise Playoust Robyn Lonergan was a wonderful educator, scholarly and compassionate. She shared her knowledge of education very generously with her colleagues at Redlands and I personally benefited a great deal from her mentoring and coaching. For much of her career she specialised in the education of gifted and talented students but this should not be understood as a lack of interest in the others. On the contrary, the thing she could not tolerate was allowing a child to remain disengaged from learning. A sense of fun and adventure were very much part of her. Going off to Beijing to teach was courageous and it turned out to be a happy decision. Travel was important. When she was considering walking the Inca Trail, she asked me about the level of fitness required. I told her that if she could walk up Awaba Street in 11 minutes, she could do it. On Monday morning, at a staff meeting, a paper arrow landed on my desk with the number 9 written on it. Not the usual mode of communication but an example of her light hearted side. We travelled to North Korea together on a trip she organised. What an experience! All who lived, worked or travelled with her where privileged.

Robyn's Family 2004, in Harbin at the Winter Ice Festival during Robyn's time based in Beijing. Photo taken by Robyn's friend Alice.

Robyn's Family

Terry Cumming Robyn was one of the first people to befriend me when I came to Australia to work at UNSW in 2008. She always found time to stop into my office, have a chat, etc. and even invited Jim and I to spend the day at her beautiful Scotland Island home. As the years ticked by, Robyn was a tutor for my courses, completed a PhD under my supervision, and finally was a research assistant for our Gonski research project. Through it all, she was such a bright light, always enthusiastic if not a bit cheeky. We had many conversations, always filled with both debate and laughter. She was an amazing woman who wanted only to make life better for all around her, especially young people. She was still telling me a few weeks ago about a teacher professional development she was going to present for the teachers' first day back. Words cannot describe the impact she has had on so many or the hole that now exists without her. I am happy that I have been fortunate to have been her friend.

Angelo Angel The last time I met her, but was the begging of our friendship, she became My sponsor, we kept in touch, she named my baby girl after her name (Robyn) so much to tell,I will always remember Her.

Marion Truman Robyn saying good-bye to her Crows Nest house...

Marion Truman My Mum once said, “All teachers should be like Robyn.” She was a very wise woman, my Mum… as was Robyn. Education was Robyn’s enduring passion, and she had a unique gift in teaching, advising and guiding young people in a way which encouraged them to seek and discover for themselves. I always think that Robyn will have been that special teacher, that mentor, who we often hear people talk of when they say that they wouldn’t have achieved what they had in their lives without the interest, encouragement and support of one special teacher when they were young. My daughters were the fortunate recipients of all of that and more from Robyn, particularly my younger daughter when she was going through tough times during her older sister’s illness and after her death, and I am forever grateful for Robyn’s love and support for my two girls. Robyn’s other passion was travel, and we can see from the images posted here how she loved to explore Australia and the world, and to experience different cultures. But, most of all, Robyn’s passion was her family. As a young and mostly single Mum, she was devoted to her children, and each one of them now, as successful and warm-hearted adults with integrity and values, are testaments to her dedication to bringing them up with love, purpose, a love of learning and to be contributors in life. This love and devotion extended to her beautiful Mum, Joan, who she cared for diligently… and teased gently, her siblings, Hugh, Terry and Tina and their families, and then, of course, to her wonderful grandchildren, as they came along. What a joy they were to her and how she loved being part of their lives and engaging with them, encouraging them to be curious and love learning, as she did. I have known Robyn for over 50 years… yes, a scary amount of time! I learnt to love her and value her friendship dearly, and I will miss her terribly. Robyn was one of those ‘real’ people who walk the talk, her friendship and values were authentic and true, and I knew she would be there for me if I needed her, and I for her. She was also great fun to be with, endlessly curious and we had much in common with our interests in science, nature, books and exploring, and of course, our families. Pic: Robyn and I having lunch on the Marina at Port Douglas, when we stayed at my cousins house there in 2014. Vale my dear friend… we will miss you.

Shaun Lonergan It was funny - with a big hit at Mini Putt Robyn sent her ball into the cafe...

Shaun Lonergan Robyn's 70th!

Georgia Lonergan Family brunch and catch up in Summer Hill

Robyn's Family In Austria with Birgit, visiting her family, and mushroom foraging. A first for Robyn and perhaps something she found a bit weird?!

Georgia Lonergan

Georgia Lonergan Robyn not only had mental strength, but physical strength too! She could manhandle my wriggling kids and play a mean game of soccer.

Georgia Lonergan Robyn loved reading to her grandkids and took such a active role in their education.

Robyn's Family Family gathering. Hard to believe that this was a few short weeks ago. Mum - so much loved by all her kids and grandkids.

Robyn's Family

Robyn's Family Mum did a lot of travelling!

Alice Windeyer Robyn exploring around Beijing

Alice Windeyer Robyn in Cambodia

Helen Bilenkij Old school and early uni friends Robyn and Helen Bilenkij (Cox) Pictured here January 2020

Alice Windeyer As I read the loving posts from all the people who have shared time and space with Robyn, everywhere I see that she has enjoyed a full and vibrant life, and for that I am so happy. Robyn and I became friends when we worked together at an international high school in Beijing from 2004, she as a gifted and talented educator. We enjoyed many adventures in and around Beijing, taking bumpy bus rides to remote villages, eating out at little hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and immersing ourselves in local culture. Robyn was an intrepid traveller, bubbling over with enthusiasm for life and desire to understand more deeply. Along with you all, I miss this wonderful, genuine, caring, wise and fun-loving person. In our hearts forever, dearest Robs.

Alice Windeyer Robyn, on a trip to South China, where she sponsored a little girl of Miao ethnicity.

Joanna Heath Some early photos of Auntie Robyn, taken from old photo albums by my mum. There are some fabulous photos of Robyn and her siblings, and her beautiful parents, all the way through to Robyn with her own kids. The pictures of Robyn as a young woman just sparkle with life. We will miss her so much. xx

Sue Pike I first met Robyn at Redlands where I was Head of Early Childhood (PreK-Year 2). Robyn was invited to support the K-2 teachers in improving their teaching of Science by helping them to plan units of learning and source appropriate resources as well as providing demonstration lessons. As with everything that Robyn did, she took to this task with great gusto, creating elaborate and engaging learning experiences. Nothing was ever too much trouble for her. Robyn was also passionate about catering appropriately for the needs of students with identified (and often unrecognised) gifts and talents. I always believed that this was driven in part by her own extraordinary intellect and memories of her school days. I distinctly remember being with her at Pymble Ladies College one day where she quietly but proudly showed me her name on one of the academic honour boards, earned during her time as a student at the school. Robyn was an amazing mentor to me in this area, regularly sharing research and readings as well as encouraging me to attend workshops and courses that she felt would be of benefit to me in my role. Such knowledge and wisdom have remained with me to this day and I will always be grateful to her for everything that she taught me. On one occasion, I had a pending interview with a rather dissatisfied parent who felt that his son was not being adequately catered for. Robyn very kindly agreed to attend the meeting with me and quickly turned the parent around, kindly but honestly sharing her thoughts and offering wise advice and counsel. When Robyn left Sydney to join the Western Academy of Beijing as their inaugural Gifted and Talented Coordinator, I was very keen to visit her, since I was also tempted to teach in an international school. Not only did I stay with Robyn for four days, she generously took me to work for two days where I had an incredible opportunity to experience life in an international school first-hand. At night, we had dinner with staff from the school and on the weekend, we toured the sites in Beijing, including a visit to the pearl markets where she took me to a particular shop owned by a WAB parent on one of the higher (and more trustworthy) floors of the building. When Robyn returned to Australia and lived in Crows Nest, we dined often at small restaurants nearby, since her house was within walking distance of my own home in Cammeray. As so many others have commented, spending time with Robyn was always fun and interesting. She was widely read and innately curious. I always looked forward to spending time with her. Robyn also had an innate ability to make others feel special, always showing interest in their lives. I will always be grateful for her warm friendship and generous nature. Gone, but never forgotten.

Carolyn MacLulich Travelling around Europe in the campervan, 1985

Carolyn MacLulich

Jen Pastorelli

Jen Pastorelli Robyn and Ann's Gur in Mongolia

Jen Pastorelli Great Wall of China

Jill King Robyn was Hugh's sister and his good friend. She became my friend and the friend of our children, Marion and Nick. We have all been close to her and we treasure the memories of her wonderful influence on our lives. She had so many plans and we are sad she has gone so early.

Jen Pastorelli

Robyn's Family

Barbara Potts Robyn in the staff room at work Robyn at play - a walk at the zoo - lunching at Scotland Island I was fortunate to have met Robyn at Redlands many years ago. As stated already,her dedication and drive for education to be available to everyone at every level, was exceptional. Her compassion and generosity in giving her time to make this possible, whether accomodating people in her home or spreading it far and wide (China, Africa etc) was evidence of this. One day she came to my place to collect old uni science and reading books to send to a school in Africa. Her family, Jenny, Chris and Shaun she was extremely proud of and one day a box of chocolates turned up in the staff room as she wanted to celebrate a new phase in her life, the mother of a teenager.. Her real estate skills weren’t bad either as she moved house three times in knowing her . She did renovations and arranged working bees to come and help her paint inside. She could have been a forensic scientist also as she introduced her forensic science multidisciplinary unit with such enthusiasm , I am sure the government would have given her a position with the skills it included and mastered. From the Kimberleys to Oodnadatta and Tibooburra, Robyn always was enthusiastic about discovery and analysis and had a deep regard and admiration for the aboriginal people. I am deeply humbled and honoured to have been a friend during her very full and accomplished life. Barbara Potts

Sue O'Neill I had the privilege of working with Robyn at UNSW. She shared my office for a while when she was working as a research assistant for our team. She always arrived with a smile, no matter what. She was a great tutor too and shared a lot of wisdom with my undergraduate students drawn from her many years of teaching. Robyn was a lover of putting things into tables, and her influence lives on in my final course assessment to this day. Her love of tables was also evident in her doctoral thesis, which she allowed me to help co-supervise towards the end of the process. I will miss our chats, disagreements about the length of a sentence, your smile, great work ethic, and positive outlook on life. XXX