Deakin Oration

by Xara Hudson 11 Lyons 2

On Friday 6th September, Ms Trujillo, Myrah Shahid of Year 10 and I attended the fourth annual Deakin Oration, held at the beautiful Parliament of Victoria. The Deakin Oration is an event presented by notable legal and political figures to a senior secondary school audience, primarily to perpetuate awareness of Alfred Deakin, our second Prime Minister. This year’s presenter was the Hon Professor Marilyn Warren, who was Victoria’s first female Chief Justice. Professor Warren spoke on Alfred Deakin’s instrumental involvement in the federalisation of Australia, as well as his impact on solving problems such as lack of irrigation. She also offered insight into her illustrious legal career, and her experience of rising through the legal ranks in a time when women in the profession were a rarity. However, the event was not simply an extolling of the virtues of one former Prime Minister – students’ questions moulded it into a rich political discussion that drew comparison of Deakin’s past to our present.