Cecile Storey

Cecile Storey was born in 1933 in Ballarat, Victoria, to Eunice (née Bowley), homemaker, and Charles Henry Benjamin, an engineer. The family moved to Melbourne during World War II, settling in Balwyn. Cecile and her two younger sisters attended the Methodist Ladies College in Kew. Graduating in 1955, she discovered to her dismay that stockbroking was a career that was unheard of for a woman in the 1950s, so after a short stint in marketing at car sale firm Preston Motors, she turned to teaching in independent schools. Her first post was at Camberwell Girls Grammar School, followed by Box Hill Grammar, then MLC, and from 1968 at Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar in Canterbury, where she took generations of girls through the principles of government, commerce, and the law for over 20 years. In 1958 she married barrister Haddon Storey (later to become a state MP and attorney general), and they had three boys in the 1960s. == Public life ==

In 1967 she joined the United Nations Association of Australia, a charity devoted to promoting the work of that world body's activities, especially UNICEF, and she was later to take on a very active role. Storey became an active member of the Family Planning Association, an organisation dedicated to helping ensure access to reproductive advice for women and girls. She joined the executive in 1977, and served as President 1981–84. She was described as a tireless advocate, ready to 'go in with all guns blazing'. She became active within the Liberal Party, who were in government at the State level throughout the 1970s, and served as Victorian State Metropolitan Vice President from 1973 to 1977. She had a significant role in the introduction of the 1977 Victorian Equal Opportunity Act, At the same time, her involvement with the United Nations Association of Australia grew, serving terms as Victorian (1975–8) and Federal (1979–83) President, promoting the work of UNICEF, UNESCO, and the UNHCR. She attended many international conferences, often representing the UNA, and represented Australia within the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) delegation at the four UN Conferences on Women (Mexico City in 1975, Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995). In 1984, Storey's achievements were recognised when she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia "For service to international relations and education". == Death ==

When she died in 1997, the memorial service was overflowing with the many people who had been impressed by a life dedicated to improving the lives of others. In 2004, she was posthumously inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women, and she was included in the 2021 intake of the Camberwell Girl's Grammar School's Inspiring Women Program. == References ==