Celebrating Nillumbik Women 2009 - Nillumbik Shire Council

Claire Fitzpatrick
1904 - 1998
Nominated by Sue Dyet
Claire, born 11 September 1904 in Dunedin,
married Dr Alfred (Paddy). S. Fitzpatrick, a
chemical engineer, and had two children.
Claire was born into a notable family; her
father Joshua Anderson, was a distinguished
engineer and partner of Sir John Monash.
She had four sisters, Frances, a recognised
children’s artist, Alice, who founded a
garage and the Alice Anderson driving
school, Katnne who became Mrs MacMahon
Ball and encouraged the development of
mud brick-building in Eltham, and Joan, a
landscaper gardener.
Claire won scholarships to Melbourne
Church of England Girls’ Grammar School
and the University of Melbourne. She was
the first engineering student resident at
Janet Clark Hall, but did not complete the
engineering course because of funding
difficulties. If she had completed the course,
she would have been one of Australia’s first
female engineers.
Claire was apprenticed in 1925 to the firm
of Bell and Robinson to be trained as a civil
engineer and surveyor. Part of this training
required her to travel through Victoria as part of
a gang undertaking surveys while living rough.
Claire developed an interest in genetics and
became a renowned breeder of dairy goats.
While living in Eltham, she was passionate
about the community and took many
environmental and community campaigns
head-on. Her involvement and passion for
community was a strong theme of many
discussions, especially with local government
officers and Councillors. She stood for
Eltham Council when she was in her 70s.
Claire and Paddy lived in the buildings on
Main Road Eltham, now known as Nillumbik
Living & Learning - Eltham. They moved
from the old buildings to a new house they
built adjacent to the old home. It was later
bought by the Council, using federal funding
in 1974, for the Living & Learning Centre.
The buildings used for classes, known as the
goat’s sheds, were in fact her goat’s sheds
until they were burnt down. Claire opened the
rebuilt goat’s shed buildings for the Centre.
Claire was also instrumental in the
establishment of Edendale Farm in Eltham -
a plant nursery and community education
and environmental facility, also owned by
Nillumbik Shire Council.
After her marriage, Claire became a
journalist with The Age newspaper and later
was a regular contributor to The Access Age
with a sharp turn of phrase which amused,
while making her views perfectly clear.