Penny Fowler: ‘A gong shared by army of big-hearted volunteers’

Good Friday Appeal chair Penny Fowler pays tribute to volunteer army as she accepts Australia Day honour.

Herald & Weekly Times chair Penny Fowler. Picture: David Caird

Penny Fowler has dedicated her Australia Day honour to the volunteer army who take to the streets throughout Victoria each year raising millions of dollars for the Good Friday Appeal.

Tin rattlers in their thousands, across cities and towns big and small, are the engine room of the state’s most celebrated charity event that has raised $444m over the past 93 years for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

For the past decade, Mrs Fow­ler has been chair of the appeal and her leadership has been recognised with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) award.

She said it had been a privilege to work with every-day Victorians as they tirelessly raised funds to help save our most vulnerable children, a cause that culminated in last year’s record tally of $23,061,320.

“The Good Friday Appeal ­really represents what I am passionate about; everyone giving a little bit to make a difference to the hospital and for sick children,” she told The Australian.

“The essence of the Good Friday Appeal is community fundraising, and that’s what I am passionate about. Just seeing that community spirit and to help drive that is incredible.”

Mrs Fowler describes herself as “very fortunate” to have the privilege of being the custodian of the Good Friday Appeal, a charity launched in 1931, that supports groundbreaking research, state-of-the-art medical equipment and technology and patient and family care programs. “I feel the recognition is a real recognition for everyone who helps and all the volunteers,” she said.

“To me, volunteering is such an important part of life. It’s all about giving what you can, and I think that is what is so important about the Good Friday Appeal.”

Mrs Fowler’s AM was awarded for “significant service to the community through a range of organisations” in recognition for not just her work leading the Good Friday Appeal but in a range of other institutions of cultural importance.

These include being the chair of the National Portrait Gallery, the chair of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, a board member of the Australian Ballet, a trustee of Cruden Farm, an ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and an ambassador for Second Bite.

In addition to these roles, she is the chairman of the Herald & Weekly Times, publisher of the Herald Sun, and is the Australian community ambassador for News Corporation, publisher of The Australian. She is also on the board of Tourism Australia and has sat on the advisory board of Visy/Pratt USA since 2016.

Mrs Fowler thanked her uncle, Rupert Murdoch, now Chairman Emeritus at News Corp, for giving her the opportunity in 2013 to be chair of the Herald & Weekly Times. “It’s an honour to be recognised (with the AM), but first and most importantly I want to thank my uncle, Rupert Murdoch, because I would not have had the opportunity to be involved in so many organisations if he had not given me the opportunity to chair the Herald & Weekly Times and be a News Corp ambassador,” she said.

Mrs Fowler paid tribute to her parents, John and Janet Calvert-Jones, and her late grandmother, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, describing them as significant role models throughout her life.

“Over the years, I have also had a lot of people who have been important in guiding my journey – too many to single out,” she said.

“They have listened to me, encouraged me, supported me, and promoted me. I am very grateful for their advice and support.”

Mrs Fowler said it was an honour to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandfather, Sir Keith Murdoch, as the chair of the Herald & Weekly Times.

“I love being involved,” she said. “I’m passionate about everything I do.

“My theory is that once you’ve brought up five children, you can multi-task. So when people say ‘you’re so busy’, I say ‘not really, I like everything I do’.

“Every week is different, every week is fascinating and I meet so many different people in so many walks of life. That’s what I love, I love meeting people.”

Mrs Fowler also thanked her husband, Grant Fowler, and their five children as her “biggest supporters and encouragers” throughout her journey.