Betty Fletcher (née Robertson): Lover of Wisdom, Lover of Beauty, Lover of Humanity

Written by James Donaldson
The​ University of Queensland

One of the most important supporters of Classics and Ancient History at The University of Queensland was the late Mrs Betty Fletcher (née Robertson). Betty, a graduate of the University with First Class Honours in 1931, remained a supporter of the Classics at UQ throughout her life. In 1991, a travelling scholarship was set up in her name by the University’s Friends of Antiquity group in order to allow students of Classics and Ancient History at UQ to travel as part of their studies, an opportunity unavailable to Betty during her own studies due to the Great Depression. 

Betty Fletcher c. 1985 at the opening of a crate of new artefacts at the Antiquities Museum. Source: RD Milns Antiquities Museum Photographic Collection

Elizabeth “Betty” Wilson Galloway Robertson was born in Struan, Perthshire, Scotland in November 1909. Her parents were Elizabeth Wilson Galloway (b. 1883, Ayrshire, Scotland; d. 1963, Brisbane, QLD Australia) and Hubert John Robertson, a Presbyterian minister (b. 1881, Cumberland, England; d. 1939, Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia). The family emigrated to Brisbane in 1913 along with some of Elizabeth’s family and Hubert served in various locum positions in Presbyterian churches throughout Queensland, before being fully ordained in 1918. He went on to be a leading figure in the Presbyterian Church in Queensland.

Betty was educated at Somerville House in South Brisbane and won form prizes for English, French, Latin and Greek in the Junior Exam (Grade 10) in 1925. In 1927, during her Senior year, Betty was both School and Athletics Captain and won prizes for athletics and leadership. The same year, Betty was one of only 20 recipients of an Open Scholarship to the University of Queensland for 1928. 

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Dorothy Hill, Beryl (sic) Fletcher and others jumping the hurdle, University of Queensland, Brisbane, May 1928. Fryer Library University of Queensland Photograph Collection. (UQFL466, Box 19, AM/P/1)

​At this time, the University of Queensland was located at the Old Government House site, now occupied by the Queensland University of Technology. Here Betty studied under John Lundie Michie the first professor of Classics in Queensland, and continued to excel. She graduated in 1931 with First Class Honours in Classics and the Woolcock Prize in Greek, and in 1932 with Second Class Honours in Philosophy. Because of her academic excellence, Betty was awarded a travelling scholarship to visit the University of Oxford, with passage to be provided by the P&O company. However, due to the Great Depression the offer of passage was withdrawn and she was unable to take up the opportunity. Instead, she became Classics Mistress at her alma mater, Somerville House, where she taught Latin, Greek and Ancient History. The outgoing Classics Mistress had been forced to resign as she was to be married and Betty held the post only until her own marriage to Owen Fletcher in 1935. Since 1902 it had been a requirement for female teachers to resign when they married in Queensland, a restriction which was only partially lifted in 1940 and not fully removed until 1969. The loss to Classical education in Queensland of a woman so obviously gifted was very great. 

Mrs Patterson, Principal of Grace College with Mr and Mrs Owen Fletcher and Mr L Walker at the Alumni Day, May 1971. Fryer Library University of Queensland Photograph Collection. (UQFL466 AK_P_168)

Despite being forced to give up her career, Betty continued to be heavily involved in the Classics through her philanthropic pursuits. She endowed many school prizes in languages and Ancient History and was a member of the State Council of the Christian Movement, National Council of Women, and the Women’s Graduate Association, of which she became president in 1952.

​In 1967 the University of Queensland’s Alumni Association was formed and both Betty and Owen became active members. They were recognised for their contributions to the organisation with the granting of honorary life membership in 1988. Betty’s contributions were focused around her old discipline of Classics and Ancient History. She supported the Alumni Archaeological Scholarship, which provides funds for a student to travel and participate in an overseas excavation such as the University of Sydney’s Pella excavation, and in 1988 she became the inaugural patron of the new Friends of Antiquity group. Prior to this time, Betty had already established herself as a generous donor to the University’s Antiquities Museum. Donations of funds between 1980 and 1989 allowed the Museum to purchase a number of important artefacts: 

• In 1980, a gold stater of Alexander the Great dating to 336–323 BC
• In 1984, an Urartian bronze fibula dating to 800–600 BC
• In 1986, a marble Attic Loutrophoros fragment, inscribed for “Phanodemos, the son of Paramonos, of the Deme of Aithalidai” on the occasion of the University of Queensland's 75th Anniversary; and
• In 1989, two Macedonian tetradrachms, one of Philip II, dating to 359–348 B, and the other of Philip V, dating to 221–179 BC, to mark her 80th birthday.

Betty died in Brisbane on 29 August 1990, and in a tribute to her, the late Prof. R.D. Milns said:

“The Classics were always a very important part of Betty’s life, and she showed her concern for her favourite discipline by her constant and generous giving, both materially and of herself. Our fine Museum of Classical Antiquities owes much to the many benefactions of Betty over many years.”

Betty’s legacy at UQ continues with the Betty Fletcher Memorial Travelling Scholarship, founded by the Friends of Antiquity and Owen Fletcher in 1992. Fundraising efforts towards the scholarship began in 1990, with a series of events hosted by the Friends of Antiquity. The aim of the scholarship is to allow a student of Classics and Ancient History at the University to “travel for academic purposes in Greece, Italy, Asia Minor or any other place that was part of the civilisations of Rome or Ancient Greece, for a period of not less than 4 weeks.” To date, the scholarship has enabled 27 students (including the author) to spend time travelling overseas for the purpose of their studies. The reasoning behind a travelling scholarship was because of Betty’s missed opportunity to undertake this kind of overseas travel herself in the 1930s. In fact, it was not until 1963 that Betty travelled outside Australia for a six-month tour, visiting Thailand, Israel, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom. Stories of the impact the scholarship has had on many of its recipients were shared in a 2017 exhibition curated by the RD Milns Antiquities Museum.

In 2019, the Friends of Antiquity established a second Betty Fletcher scholarship with a donation of $50,000, matched by the University, to support students studying Classics and Ancient History who are experiencing financial hardship. In 2020, the donation of $120,000 from the Alumni Friends of the University of Queensland secured the future of the Travelling Scholarship in perpetuity. A bronze portrait medallion of Betty by Dr Rhyl Hinwood, AM, mounted on Helidon freestone, is housed in the RD Milns Antiquities Museum and a copy was donated by Owen Fletcher to Somerville House. An inscription accompanying the medallion, composed by Prof. R.D. Milns, provides a fitting tribute:

ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟΣ | ΦΙΛΟΚΑΛΟΣ | ΦΙΛΑΝΘΡΟΠΟΣ
Lover of Wisdom, Lover of Beauty, Lover of Humanity

Memorial Plaque for Betty Fletcher, Dr R. Hinwood AM, Bronze and Helidon Freestone, 1991. Gift of Dr R. Hinwood AM and Mr R. Hinwood, 1991. (UQ 14.002)

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mrs Lyn Milns and Ms Jaime Cubit for providing access to archival documents and research assistance in developing the exhibition on which this blog is based. 

References

• Fletcher, O., 1991. Our Life Together, Brisbane, Queensland: Boolarong Publications.
• Unknown. 1990. Rare Coins from Graduate Student. Brisbane, Queensland: University News.
• Clarke, E. 1985. Female Teachers in Queensland State Schools: A History 1860–1983, Brisbane, Queensland: Department of Education.
• Gregory, H. 2016. Fletcher, Owen Maynard (1908-1992). Canberra, ACT: Australian Dictionary of Biography.