A luncheon was held at ‘Newstead’, Mullaley, the home of John and Julia Anderson, to commemorate the retirement of Julia’s mother, Patricia Robertson, OAM, of Coonabarabran as the patron of ADFAS. The occasion was attended by the National Association of ADFAS chair Jane Smith, ADFAS National events and workshop coordinator and ADFAS Tamworth society co-chair Meg Larkin, and ADFAS Narrabri chair Elizabeth Campbell.
Nearly four decades ago, Patricia was the driving force behind an idea following a trip to England and a visit to an Arts Society lecture (then known as NADFAS). The ADFAS Sydney society was launched in 1985, and Patricia became inaugural National Chair upon the formation of the Association of ADFAS in 1989. “I feel so blessed to have had wonderful successors to continue on with a passion and devotion to the arts. I enjoyed every minute of setting up the Sydney society, and it just went on from there. There was a particular satisfaction in bringing the arts to rural areas of Australia which do not have such easy access to the arts and cultural events as their city counterparts. I have made many lifelong friends through my involvement with ADFAS, and those friendships and memories are still with me today.”
The ArtsNational Council meeting in September 2023 elected past President Julian Bickersteth AO as our new Patron, and past Vice President Geoffrey Edwards as our new President.