Education advocate Jan Heaslip OAM dies at age 87

Champion of remote education Jan Heaslip OAM dies at age 87 The founding president of the Northern Territory Isolated Children's Parents' Association and remote education advocate, Jan Heaslip OAM, has passed away, aged 87. Ms Heaslip was also the first chair of the college council of St Philip's College in Alice Springs, helping transform the school into a full-day and boarding school. A passionate advocate for remote education, Ms Heaslip received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1992 for service to children's education in isolated areas. Having arrived in Central Australia as an 18-year-old, Ms Heaslip owned and managed Bond Springs cattle station, about 20 kilometres north of Alice Springs, alongside her late husband Grant, and spent nearly seven decades in the region. Supporter of bush kids Ms Heaslip was instrumental in the establishment of the NT ICPA, which advocates for equity in education for rural and remote families across the Territory. Originally consisting of three branches across the Territory running separately from each other, the organisation united in 1981 as they prepared to host the ICPA federal conference in 1982. Ms Heaslip was the inaugural president of the NT branch, a role she served in before going on to become a life member and patron of the organisation. Liz Bird, a Centralian pastoralist and life member of the NT ICPA, said Ms Heaslip was an invaluable source of advice for those who followed in her footsteps. "Jan was a wonderful mentor," Ms Bird said. "So, whilst I was on state [ICPA council] for about 13 years, she was always a person that we could go to for advice on how to deal with an issue." A driving force Ms Heaslip had been involved with St Philip's College since 1974, at a time when it was only a residential hostel for remote students studying in the town. Working alongside Chris Tudor AO, who was the school's headmaster from 1986 to 2016, the school became a full-day and boarding school in 1989. Mr Tudor was hired by Ms Heaslip, and said she worked tirelessly to help make the school what it is today during her time as the first president of the College Council. "If I had an idea, she was always prepared to listen and, if possible, would start immediately engaging in ideas of how to make the idea work,"he said. Legacy in the bush Ms Heaslip and her late husband purchased Bond Springs in 1964. It had been previously owned by famous cattle baron Sir Sidney Kidman. The station continues to operate, with the family also adding a tourism operation in 1988. The family made significant efforts to maintain the original buildings and infrastructure at Bond Springs, first settled as a cattle operation in 1875. Ms Heaslip is survived by her four children and their families. In a statement, the family said that while she will be remembered for her work across the region, most of all, she was "our mum, grandmother, and great-grandmother". "She surrounded us with unending love, generosity and encouragement in everything we did, and would constantly say, 'love you to the moon and back'," the statement read. "We are bereft but thankful for the shining light she was."