From Grammar Girl to Lifelong Giver

June Ada Wheeler (1943) was born in 1926 and commenced at Brisbane Girls Grammar School in 1940, while her brother, Gordon, attended Brisbane Grammar School. At school, June was very sociable and relished her friendships with fellow Grammar girls. An avid reader, she was often spotted with a book in hand. Loyal to no particular genre, June was happy to read anything other than her assigned class readings!

In the 1940s, while June was at BGGS, the Beanland Library consisted of a large bookcase and table displaying journals in the Main Building. Her passion for reading was encouraged by her English teacher, Miss Marjorie Elliott (1941), a BGGS alumna, who imbued girls with a deep love of literature. June was also particularly fond of her Mathematics teacher, Miss Marion Maclean. Marjorie and Marion inspired their pupils with a love of learning and showed them the meaning of intellectual integrity. Both teachers were passionate about educating girls and contributed to the School’s culture of empowering young women. Through their service to the School, Marjorie and Marion demonstrated the importance of ‘giving back’—a quality June would develop later in life.

After turning 18, June enlisted in the Army and became a wireless operator during World War II. After the war, she studied journalism briefly before deciding to complete a Diploma in Physiotherapy at The University of Queensland. At the time, physiotherapy was an emerging field and like so many of her peers, June moved to the UK after graduation to work for the National Health Service. Not long after turning 40, June decided to return to Australia where she met physiotherapist, Lois Schultz, through the network of physiotherapy practitioners.

June and Lois had known each other for many years through the network before opening a professional practice together. Little did they know, this would form a friendship lasting more than 50 years. Lois—a St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School alumna—and June shared a deep connection with their respective schools and believed strongly in helping others. Knowing firsthand the benefits of educating girls, June and Lois thought they could help by leaving money in their Wills.

June’s decision to support the BGGS Library Fund is a fitting gift for a generous woman who loved reading, and valued the importance of her Girls Grammar education, not only while at the School, but throughout her whole life. BGGS was honoured to receive the Schultz Wheeler Bequest, through which the School has been able to acquire a wide range of library resources including books, DVDs and textbooks.