The Ruby Riach OAM Award is for a student leaving Year 12 to attend any tertiary institution in Australia. This prize is also $1000 and the same conditions apply as for the Frank Heather Award. Ruby Riach was a founding member of the Bindyi Club and served as President from 1995-2007. She had a distinguished career in Education, and has maintained her interest in education matters and in the Bindyi Club since her retirement.

Ruby Riach was educated at Beni Public School (a small one teacher school fifteen kilometres out of Dubbo) and Dubbo High School, from which she accepted a Department of Education Scholarship to study primary teacher education at Sydney Teachers’ College, graduating in 1945. Her early teaching experience was in metropolitan primary schools, prior to an appointment at Warren Central School, where she taught students preparing for the Intermediate Certificate. Having enrolled at East Sydney Technical College as an evening student while in Sydney and continuing her studies by correspondence upon transferring to Warren, she was required to teach Needlework to students studying this subject for the Intermediate.

Following further experience in teaching Needlework in country schools, she was invited to accept a secondment to Wagga Wagga Teachers’ College to lecture to students preparing to teach craft in primary schools. She taught part-time at the Wagga Wagga Demonstration School and also became a residential member of the College staff, supervising students in residence. This enabled her to participate in the many dramatical and musical activities for students and offer services for the welfare of students.

In 1955, she was transferred to Sydney Teachers’ College/Sydney College to lecture in curriculum development and teaching procedures to students preparing to teach in primary and secondary schools. She enrolled as a part-time student at the University of Sydney to qualify for an Arts degree completing studies in Philosophy, Education, History and Geography with Distinction courses in Philosophy and Geography. A Master of Education, firstly at pass level and then as an honours degree, was completed with a thesis: A Comparative Study of Home Economics with special reference to aims in New South Wales.

At the time of her retirement from Sydney College of Advanced Education in 1986, Ruby held the position of Principal Lecturer and Head of Department, co-ordinating the Bachelor of Education program for Home economics. In 1989 she was awarded the Sydney College of Advanced Education Medal for meritorious and distinguished service to the College.

Ruby was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1996 in the Queen’s 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”. She joined the Order of Australia Association, which aims to honour Australian citizenship and was elected Honorary Secretary in 1997, a position she held for seven years.