Volunteers - Occupations - Ruth Preddey Every volunteer at the Club has a valuable
and often unique skill set to offer. One of the fascinations of reading the old
leather bound Membership books is seeing the detail in the Occupations column! For example N.G. Bell was rewarded with Life Membership in
1928. He was an Accountant and went on to serve as the club’s auditor for the
next 49 years. Also when there was a major rabbit plague in the 90s President
Edmund Playfair who had owned a property in South Australia had something left
over in his shed to fix the problem very quickly! Heavy and haulage machinery
was offered and organised by Dick Twight and Geoff Cranfield when the big dams were
constructed and the fairways were raised in the late 90s. At much the same time
Lyndall Bacon was advising on a clubhouse re-fit with her knowledge as an
Interior designer. The numbers of skilled volunteers over the years must run
into the hundreds! During the 30s the women had a Publicity Officer, Ruth
Preddey, and she brought her work- day talents and connections to the job of promoting
women’s golf at Long Reef. Ruth had joined the Club somewhere between 1936 and
1939. She was also the Women’s Captain in the late 40s. She worked alongside
the first and second female Life Members to be, Annis Soutar and Ruby Watts. Ruth had also played a variety of sports at State level and is
best known for her success as a cricketer and cricket administrator. She started
playing a role in state administration in 1928 which led eventually to her
being a selector and then the inaugural President of the IWCC. An inter-state
cricket trophy, still played for today is named after her. Ruth Preddey was awarded the MBE for service to sport,
broadcasting and journalism in 1983. Ruth was not only the Publicity
Officer for Long Reef Golf Club, she had also been the Sport Editor of the
Australian Women's Weekly. She started with the Weekly in 1933 when the
magazine decided to devote two pages to women's sport. She also had her own
radio programme on Radio 2FC, "Calling All Sports Women". In her
first seven years on radio she is credited with over 700 interviews mainly
visiting sports women from overseas. She also covered the 1948, and 1956
Olympics for the ABC.   | “At the start of the war Ruth had resigned as the Captain of the Women at Long Reef and instead became the chair of the NSW Division of the Australian Comforts Fund supporting both fighting men and their families alike. Ruth was a champion for women in sport and voiced the topics of the growing need for leadership, fields and facilities. She was quoted in March 1947 in the ABC Weekly with the head line, “Sports girls usually make better citizens.” The article was written by a unnamed staff writer. The journalist also quoted Ruth as saying –Important business executives often tell Miss Preddey that they prefer the sports girl on their staff. They find her an ideal business woman, keen about her job, alert, and a good team worker. She advocates increased interstate matches for women to help them to a better understanding of each other. Lack of co-operation, she considers is a big reason why women are not more of a power in the life of the community today. Once women do begin to co-operate properly she said with a smile, I shall be sorry for the men.” Ruth resigned from Long Reef in July 1945. At that time there were over 250 women (associate) members. In this era women were not encouraged to work after they got married and women were not allowed on the golf course or premises on a Saturday! The vast majority list their occupation as ‘Home duties.’ In the list there is a sprinkling of Teachers, Nurses, Office duty staff and Bank Tellers. Ruth is one of only twelve women who had slightly different working career! Ruth is described as a Journalist and there was also a Matron, a Physiotherapist, a Florist, an Accountant, a Dental Nurse, a Specialist machinist, a Comptometrist, a Milliner, a Company Secretary, a Draftswomen and a Company Director! Ethel Emily Ruth Preddey, a resident of “Rienze” ,The Esplanade, Manly, died in 1985 at the age of 94. What a life well spent! Source- The Women’s Weekly Sandra Mellowes | Archives Committee |
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