Few people would have been brave
enough to take over the reins from Karl
Auer after seeing the immense amount
of work involved, but with some
trepidation Ann Byrne did.
I interviewed Ann on a Saturday
morning after she had already spent
some time on PCUG business and
asked her how she had coped with the
task as President. Ann said “Karl’s
were big shoes to fill, but it was his
valuable support and that of the various
Committee members that made the
task possible”.
Ann migrated from the Industrial City
of Leicester on New Years Eve 1969
with her eldest daughter, Karen, then
21 months old, to join her Father and
sister already in Canberra, under the
then £10 migrant assisted passage
scheme. She left with no regrets.
Her first job in Canberra was at the old
and long demolished Civic Hotel.
In 1986 after the trauma of divorce
Ann decided that she needed new skills
to obtain a stable job and went back to
school and did a computing/office
skills course full time.
Around this time her daughters started
badgering her for a computer to help
with their homework and this resulted
in the purchase of a Commodore 128.
Needless to say the computer was
rarely used for homework and Ann also
became enamoured by the adventure
game (text only at that time).
Having graduated with new skills in
1989 Ann then struggled to face the
reality that qualifications alone were
not enough to gain employment.
Experience was also a requisite. Then
she seized the opportunity offered her
by a physio to do her accounts once a
month to gain experience and this led
in time to part time reception work,
followed ultimately by full time
employment with the Physiotherapy
Association of the ACT, ending up as
their Office Manager.
Ann joined the PCUG in 1991 and was
quickly persuaded to join the
Committee because of her experience
as Assistant Treasurer of the
Commodore Group with about 60
members.
Ann soon found that most of the work
involved with the Group had little to do
with computers. “Karl was President
when I joined the committee and over
the next two years I was most
impressed by his leadership and
conciliatory talents. He was a man with
big dreams for the group and the
energy to carry them out.”
“When the move to our premises was
first brought up there was a fair
amount of doom and gloom predictions
about how no-one would go to
Fyshwick. Karl called for volunteers to
staff the centre at weekends and
organised rosters etc. Needless to say
this has proved to be a positive move
indeed for the group”.
Ann then took over as advertising
manager for two years, and in 1994
Karl approached Ann to stand for Vice
President, and take over the job of
centre staffing which left him free to
introduce the Internet project.
In February 1995 The Internet Project
came on line and Karl gave notice that
he would give up the presidency in
May. The task of Acting President fell
to Ann and as a result of subtle and not
so subtle lobbying, Ann nominated and
was elected President at the 1995
Annual General Meeting.
Like two-thirds of the membership
Ann is hooked on the Internet and also
became hooked on IRC leading to her
convincing a Yankee IRC buff to
journey here.
As Ann’s first year as President comes
close to an end, she is deserving of the
thanks of all members for the cheerful,
unassuming, and positive manner in
which she has tackled the challenges
facing the Group.
Back to July 1996 Index