The Connection between 1927 and the New Kitchens in 2023

The Meryl Hilda Wright (1927) Food Technology Kitchens 2023 Renovation

Since the end of 2022 and into 2023, the Food Technology Kitchens have been mysteriously closed off to all but a construction crew. They now stand shiny and ready for use.

This major refurbishment would not have been possible without the generosity of a benefactor and the MLC School community is so grateful. 

A commemorative plaque has been commissioned for the kitchen, with the following wording:

Meryl Hilda Wright spent her entire school life at MLC School; from the age of six in 1916 through to the Leaving Certificate in 1927. In 1931, Meryl met Lawrence Hinchliffe and this devoted, loving couple spent the next 56 years together. Meryl and Lawrence had no children and as a way for their memory to carry on, Lawrence left a gift to the School in his Will for the benefit of Food Technology “in memory of my dear, late wife”.It is a privilege for MLC School to be the holder of the memory of this wonderful marriage.

The new kitchen stands in the original Wade House which was opened in 1961 and named for the Headmistress Dr Gladys Wade (Headmistress from 1941-1959).

The original plans for this space have three rooms designated within today’s kitchen spaces: North – dressmaking room, Middle – cookery room, South – staff room. Although we can’t guarantee that this is what they were all used for at the end of construction, there has definitely always been a cooking space where the kitchens are now.

How lucky the next generation of MLC School girls are to receive such a magnificent space in which to construct their culinary masterpieces.

Thank you to Barbara Hoffman – School Archivist.