The First Stone Read online

  Helen Garner was born in Geelong in 1942, and now lives in Sydney. Since her novel Monkey Grip appeared in 1977, she has published four more books of fiction and a great deal of journalism. She wrote the screenplay for the feature movie The Last Days of Chez Nous. This is her first nonfiction book.

  Other Titles by Helen Garner and Available in Picador

  The Feel of Steel

  Joe Cinque’s Consolation

  HELEN

  GARNER

  the first stone

  SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SEX AND POWER

  First published 1995 in Picador

  by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited

  1 Market Street, Sydney

  Reprinted 1995 (seven times), 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005

  Copyright © Helen Garner 1995

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Australia cataloguing-in-publication data:

  Garner, Helen, 1942-

  The first stone.

  ISBN 0 330 35583 X.

  1. Sexual harassment of women—Australia. 2. Young women—

  Australia—Attitudes. 3. Feminism—Australia. 4. Sexual

  harassment in universities and colleges—Victoria—Melbourne.

  5. Power (Social sciences). I. Title.

  305.42

  Designed by Mary Callahan

  Typeset in 11/14 pt Bembo by Bookset, Melbourne

  Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

  These electronic editions published in 1995 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney 2000

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  The First Stone

  Helen Garner

  Adobe eReader format 978-1-74197-070-8

  Online format 978-1-74197-673-1

  EPUB format 978-1-74262-388-7

  Macmillan Digital Australia

  www.macmillandigital.com.au

  Visit www.panmacmillan.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.

  Author’s Note

  At first, when I imagined this book as an extended piece of reportage, the only names I changed were those of the two young women, since our law forbids the identification of the complainants in cases of alleged indecent assault. However, I soon encountered obstacles to my research which forced me, ultimately, to write a broader, less ‘objective’, more personal book. They also obliged me to raise the story on to a level where, instead of its being just an incident specific to one institution at one historical moment, its archetypal features have become visible. This is why I have felt free to invent names for all the characters.

  ‘The struggle for women’s rights is . . . not a matter of gender loyalty. It is a matter of ethical principle, and as such, it does not dictate automatic allegiance to the women’s side in any given argument.’

  Zoë Heller

  ‘Let the one among you who has done no wrong cast the first stone.’

  John 8:7

  Contents

  Cover

  About Helen Garner

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Author’s Note

  Epigraphs

  Begin reading

  Around lunchtime on Thursday 9 April 1992, a man called Dr Colin Shepherd went to the police station in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton. In the CIB office there, he had this conversation with two detectives.

  – Mr Colin (sic), do you agree that the time is now approximately twelve-o-six?

  – I do.

  – State for me your full name, please.

  – Colin Shepherd.

  – What is your age and date of birth?

  – Fifty-four. My date of birth is 9 May 1938. Born in Melbourne.

  – Are you an Australian citizen?

  – I am an Australian citizen.

  – Mr Shepherd what I intend to do is interview you in relation to two indecent assaults that have been reported to the police . . . I must . . . inform you of (your) rights . . . Do you understand these rights?

  – Yes, I do.

  – Do you wish to exercise any of these rights before the interview proceeds?

  – No. I am quite happy, thank you . . .

  – Sir, could you tell me your occupation at the moment?

  – I am Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne.

  – . . . The term Master – what does that entail?

  – It is the principal executive officer of a residential college of the university.

  – Right, Mr Shepherd. Certain people have attended at this office and made statements in relation to certain allegations against you, and that’s what I intend to speak to you about today. Could you tell me how many students usually live at the college?

  – Approximately 320. The number varies a little bit.

  – It’s made up of both sexes, is it?

  – Yes. At the moment it is fifty-two per cent male and forty-eight per cent female but it is always around about fifty/fifty, depending on who leaves or drops out or who does not accept a place.

  – Right. Can you tell me how long you have been in charge of the college?

  – Since the first of August 1990. A relatively short time.

  – Right, Mr Shepherd. Do you recall a function being held at the college on 16 October 1991?

  – Yes, it was the Valedictory Dinner, the formal final dinner for the year which the Governor of Victoria attended. It was a very splendid occasion, at the end of which the Student Club organised a party, what they call a Smoko, which was held in the Junior Common Room and the quadrangle of the college after the formal dinner. It’s a party with music, dancing, drinking and that sort of thing.

  – Would you be able to tell me at what time approximately the dinner commenced and finished?

  – The dinner commenced at about six thirty-five and would have finished about nine-thirty approximately. I am a bit hazy on the finishing time because of coffee after dinner and all that sort of thing, but the Smoko would have started about nine-thirty. It could have been a little bit earlier, but around about then.

  – The Smoko goes through until a particular night hour?

  – Yes – the alcohol must be turned off at twelve and music by twelve-thirty. There are college rules for those sort of functions.

  – Right, sir. Are you able to tell me if you consumed any alcohol during the actual Valedictory Dinner?

  – Yes, I did.

  – Right. Would you have an opinion as to your state of sobriety at that dinner?

  – Yes. I was well in control of myself. I had had a number of drinks because it was a long night, wine during the meal, but I had control of myself. I wasn’t driving, because I live on the premises. I was also in very high spirits because it was a very successful dinner, a very successful function, and so I was in high spirits that night.

  I had had a number of drinks, but certainly I was in control of myself.

  – Did you consume any alcohol at the Smoko?

  – Yes, a little. I had a couple of beers and then I had some drinks i
n my room but that was nominal rather than actual.

  – By the end of the entire evening how would you summarise your state of sobriety at that stage?

  – Happy but not drunk.

  – Would you have any opinion of how many people were actually at this dinner?

  – . . . It’s hard to give you an exact number . . . but I would say . . . in the vicinity of 280 people.

  – . . . Would it increase or decrease for the Smoko? . . .

  – Some ex-students tend to come back for that, in fact a number did . . . but there would also be some students who might not go on to the Smoko. Approximately 250 people I would expect to have been at that Smoko.

  – Mr Shepherd, do you know a person by the name of Elizabeth Rosen?

  – Yes, I do.

  – Could you tell me how you know Elizabeth?

  – I know Elizabeth because she was a student in the college when I arrived in August 1990. In the normal course of events I had not got to know her, (but) we did come in contact over disciplinary measures in September of 1990 . . .

  – Perhaps if you give a summary of what you mean by disciplinary measures.

  – Two major things occurred. Firstly, she was an unusual student in that she didn’t perform any of the functions expected. For instance, students are expected to do student service, which means they do two hours a fortnight of table-serving or kitchen work. Everybody does that. It is part of the agreement of coming into college. In that way we spread the load of work and cut down the costs. So the students agree to do that. If by chance you cannot do your service on one night or day you should get a friend to do it for you. In the event that you just forget, you are fined. Now, (Elizabeth) had to pay a record number of fines, something like $750, for just refusing to do student service . . . Quite a substantial fine.

  The second thing that happened was that when the students were going down for the vacation – that means leaving the college – they have to vacate their rooms, because we use the rooms for conferences. The cleaners came to me and said they had refused to clean one particular room, it was in such a disgusting state, and this was Elizabeth Rosen’s room on the first floor of the main building. I and a number of other people inspected that room. It was in an absolutely appalling state. It hadn’t been cleaned for some time. There were cigarette butts, broken glass, cigarette ash, obviously spilt alcohol in the carpet, which was a relatively new carpet. There were drawings on the walls and furniture, some of them in White-Out. We had to get the contract cleaners in to clean it. The carpet had to be replaced, the walls cleaned and in some cases repainted. I told her that she would have to pay the costs of all these contract cleaners, the new carpet, etc., plus I banished her from that room, at the time, to a very poor room – a room that it was regarded as a punishment to be in. She asked if she could go back, and I eventually relented; but she was punished in those ways.

  So we had two major incidents with her, which put me on a bad footing with her, so she left at the end of that year. Now I am not one who likes to carry grudges. I’ve always tried to be careful to build bridges again, and I’ve always been very friendly to her since, despite that unfortunate conflict with her over those matters.

  – Well, sir, Elizabeth Rosen alleges that whilst returning from a ladies’ toilet at the Smoko at approximately 11 p.m., she made contact with you outside your office. Do you have anything to say about that?

  – That’s true, that’s true. I was walking back to my office to escape the noise of the Smoko. My office is in the corridor just off the quadrangle and she happened to be there. We chatted. I asked her in and she came into my room. We spoke for about ten minutes. I offered her a drink which she took. I don’t think either of us particularly drank it but I poured her a drink anyhow. So yes, that’s true.

  – Elizabeth Rosen further alleges that the conversation you had with her included her sister’s application for attendance at the college. Do you recall that conversation?

  – Yes, I do. She asked about whether her sister would be admitted. I tended to try and deflect that question, because it is not something you discuss with people, about (other) people’s chances, in detail – but I indicated that if her sister had achieved well academically and met the criteria I saw no reason why she couldn’t be admitted.

  – Do you have a memory of closing the door behind you when you went to the office?

  – Yes. It was a noisy corridor, and the noise from the Smoko meant that any time I went in there and talked to people I tended to close the door simply for noise prevention, to have a sensible conversation.

  – Right. Do you have a memory, during the conversation, of hopping up and locking the door?

  – I have a memory of the conversation and I did not lock the door. I certainly closed the door, for noise level, but the door was not locked.

  – Elizabeth Rosen has also alleged that at one stage you turned off the overhead light, which left some sort of desk lamp on. Do you have any memory of that?

  – No. The lights were on and the curtains were open, of that office.

  – Do you have a desk lamp on your desk?

  – Yes. That was probably on too. But there are two big lights, and the desk light, and the curtains were open that night so people outside the main building could see freely into my office.

  – Elizabeth Rosen goes on to allege that you edged your chair closer to hers and were making references to her appearance, such as how beautiful she was and how attractive and that sort of thing.

  – I deny that entirely.

  – I also put it to you that during the conversation you made some reference to a photo.

  – I don’t recall that at all. I know the photograph that you mean. It’s been drawn to my attention . . .

  – Is that in fact a photo of Elizabeth Rosen?

  – Yes. It doesn’t look like a typical photo of her, in my memory of her, but it is Elizabeth Rosen.

  – Did you make any reference to that photo in the conversation?

  – No, I did not.

  – Elizabeth Rosen alleges that you said, ‘I often have indecent thoughts about you,’ referring to the photo. Do you have any memory of that?

  – I deny it totally.

  – I put it to you that the conversation continued, during which you said something to the effect of ‘I really do have indecent thoughts about you,’ and that then you asked her would she mind if you made an indecent approach to her. Do you have any memory of that type of conversation?

  – There was no conversation of that type whatsoever. I can recall the conversation we had, and that was not part of it.

  – I put it to you that at one stage you got off your chair and got down on the floor and grasped Elizabeth Rosen’s hand.

  – No, I did not leave my chair except to leave and get up and walk from it.

  – I put it to you that Elizabeth stood up from her chair and that you then stood up and moved your hands from her hands to her breasts.

  – Absolutely not. I didn’t make any contact with her body whatsoever.

  – I further put it to you that Elizabeth indicated that she wished to leave the room and you said something to the effect of ‘Can I have a real kiss before you go?’

  – Absolute nonsense. I said nothing of that kind whatsoever.

  – I put it to you that after the conversation Elizabeth left the room.

  – Yes.

  – You left at the same time.

  – Yes. I returned to the party, I think.

  – Did you have any other contact with Elizabeth Rosen during the evening, at the Smoko?

  – Yes. I think it was before the discussion in the room. I recall talking to her a couple of other times. In the quadrangle and in the Junior Common Room with other people.

  – I put it to you that during the course of the evening you approached Elizabeth at least four times. What do you say to that?

  – I can’t recall how many times I would have talked to her, or what you call �
�approaching’ her, but I certainly spoke to her a couple of times. As to the number, I would not know. I spoke to many students that night, some of them many times, some of them a few times. I couldn’t recall how many times.

  – I further put it to you that on one of those occasions you placed one of your hands on her – what she calls her bottom.

  – I deny that emphatically.

  . . .

  – Are you able to offer any idea why Elizabeth Rosen would make these allegations against you if they are not true?

  – Yes. I don’t think I will elaborate on them. As I have said, we have had a history of disciplinary conduct together. That and other factors, I think, account to me why that would be the case.

  – Are you aware of a person called Nicole Stewart?

  – I am indeed. She is currently a student at the college, living though in a house in Parkville.

  – So she’s actually not a resident in college?

  – Technically she is, because that is a college house, but she actually lives in one of our houses in Parkville, rather than . . . living in the buildings on College Crescent.

  – . . . Is there some situation with Nicole that she is not actually a paying student? Is she subsidised by the college in some way?

  – Yes. Yes . . . she receives . . . this is very confidential – I don’t know whether – I can explain what it is but I don’t want to breach her confidence, do you follow? . . .

  – Do you recall seeing Nicole at the dinner?

  – Yes, I do indeed.

  – Do you recall seeing Nicole at the Smoko afterwards?

  – Yes.

  – I put it to you that on one occasion at the Smoko Nicole was dancing with a group of friends . . . I put it to you that you . . . joined a group of Nicole’s friends while they were dancing.

  – Not quite . . . The Vice-Master and I were both in the quadrangle, and were persuaded not to be spoilsports and dance. I am not a keen dancer or a good dancer, so it was with some reluctance that both of us were persuaded to join in and dance. Having done that, I have forgotten who I danced with. I danced with a number of students during that period. This was early in the Smoko. Nicole Stewart offered to dance with me. It was what I would call distance mode, in the first instance. In other words she was three yards away gyrating rather vigorously and I was standing back looking very foolish. So certainly she danced with me.