Zonta Club of Sydney members were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Ruby Riach OAM (20/9/1926 – 07/07/25). Ruby was inducted as a member of the Zonta Club of Sydney in 1969 and was a long time member (over 30 years) until she moved back to Dubbo to be closer to family. She served as Club Treasurer for a number of years. When she joined the club she was a Senior Lecturer at the Sydney Teachers College and had completed a Master of Education with a thesis “A Comparative Study of Home Economics”. She spent 30 years at the Sydney Teachers’ College/Sydney College of Advanced Education and helped develop curriculum and examinations in subjects such as Textiles and Design.
She was a founding member of the Home Economics Association of Australia (now Home Economics Institute of Australia) and also assisted to establish the Textile Educators’ Association. She also contributed to the Australian College of Educators and held numerous positions at the NSW Branch level.
In 1996 Ruby was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queens Birthday honours list for “service to education as a teacher and administrator, including service as Honorary Secretary of the NSW Chapter of the Australian College of Education”
Sources – https://www.canberra.edu.au/anme/our-research/distinguished-educators/ruby-riach-oam (accessed 18/7/25)
Zonta Club of Sydney 