Welcome Back... 

Vikki Petraitis

Class of 1983

The College was delighted to welcome Vikki Petraitis(née Burke) back as a guest speaker at their Year 12 Award College Assembly in late October. 

Vikki enthusiastically recounted her years at the College, sharing personal stories and highlighted that the Agatha Christie novel that  inspired her to become an author, was in fact,  read in the College library!

Vicki's address, whilst humorous and delivered with such spirit, was also thought provoking and inspirational for the Class of 2017. She reminded the graduating class that some of the seemingly insignificant moments they have had at the College, will often be remembered in the future, just as she had experienced in her life. 

On a final note and one that resonated with all the students in the room, Vicki stated that "Girls can do anything", a  significant note to end on and an affirmation for the students to take with them as they exit the College gates and enter into the great unknown. 

Kylie Montesanti (née Oliver) 

Kilbreda Past Pupils’ Network Committee

Past Pupil of Distinction Nominee

Vikki Petraitis (née Burke) is an accomplished author having written numerous true crime books over nearly two decades.

In addition to writing over ten best-selling books, Vikki has been a 'ghost' writer of many more and a number of her cases have appeared on Australian crime television shows. 

Vikki’s real passion is tackling challenging topics and giving a voice to victims of crime, including those who have been impacted by institutional child abuse. From reading her first Agatha Christie novel, she loved the drama and the trickery of crime fiction and is known for the human side to her stories.

In addition to her writing, Vikki has held workshops to coach those who have experienced major setbacks to use writing as an outlet for their road to recovery. On occasion, the police have directed people to her, who want to tell their story and she helps them do it.

Vikki is also an entertaining and accomplished speaker and presenter on the Melbourne book circuit and has won numerous awards for her writing. She is also a regular guest on radio. 

Vikki is about to embark on a PhD in Creative Writing. Her research will focus around gender equality and its repercussions in crime statistics. Vikki wants to examine the impact of equality erosions and the silencing of women on the escalation of violence towards women. In this area she hopes to become an advocate for change. Vikki is also a full-time teacher and (young) grandmother to two.