Freda Whitlam

Freda Leslie Whitlam (11 September 1920 – 30 May 2018), was an Australian educator and feminist. Whitlam was a leader in the Uniting Church. She is best known for her work as the principal of the Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC), at Croydon in inner-west Sydney, where she worked for 18 years.

Biography Whitlam was born in Mosman on 11 September 1920 and was the sister of Gough Whitlam who became Prime Minister of Australia. In 1927, she and her family moved to Canberra. Her father Fred Whitlam became Australian Crown Solicitor in December 1936. and Abbotsleigh before studying at Canberra University College.

In 1977, a Union of the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches took place, forming the Uniting Church in Australia. Approximately one-third of the Presbyterian Church decided to remain Presbyterian, and consequently the property of the church had to be divided. In May of that year it was announced that PLC Croydon was to remain Presbyterian and PLC Pymble would be transferred, with its name changed to Pymble Ladies' College. Then in 1978 it was decided that PLC Croydon should return to its original name: Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney. Freda Whitlam took part in the movement to form the Uniting Church and thus ended her principalship of the school. She was appointed moderator of the New South Wales Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1985 and served in that role until 1986. In 1986, she told The Sydney Morning Herald that she identifies as a feminist. She was involved in drug reform in 1993, where she signed onto a charter to abolish criminal sanctions for personal illegal drug use.

In 1999, Whitlam was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Western Sydney. She continued to teach Latin well into her nineties. Whitlam died in a nursing home in Penrith on 30 May 2018.