Lumen Spring Summer 2023 - Flipbook - Page 8
Making the most
of every opportunity
By Keryn Lapidge
For Pamela Wall – known by most as
Pammie – and her late husband Ian,
opportunity and generosity are the common
threads woven throughout their lives.
Ian was one of the founders of the highly
successful communications technology
company Codan, and Pammie and Ian’s
philanthropic contributions have enriched
the South Australian arts community,
supported cutting-edge research, and
provided opportunities for students as well
as patients in need of specialist medical care.
Their legacy will also ensure continued
excellence in electrical and electronic
engineering for future generations. Earlier
this year, Pamela Wall donated $5 million
to the University to establish an endowed
academic chair, to be called the Ian and
Pamela Wall Chair in Electrical and Electronic
Engineering. The University will also invest
an additional $1.5 million to fund research
fellowships or scholarships in the areas of
electrical or electronic engineering at the
University.
This generous gift kickstarts the University’s
150th anniversary fundraising campaign
and represents how our history makers are
paying it forward to support our future staff
and students to make their own history.
As a child, Ian was interested in how
things worked and was set on becoming
an engineer by his early teens. A resident
student at St Mark’s College in North
Adelaide in the early 1950s while studying
electrical engineering at the University of
Adelaide, he was an eager participant in
college life. He became a well-regarded
college identity with the affectionate
nickname “Prof ” and was on the College
Club Committee. Pammie was living in the
nurses’ quarters while training at the nearby
Women’s and Children’s Hospital, attending
her nursing classes on the University of
Adelaide campus. They married in 1954.
8
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
Supported by Pammie, Ian founded EILCO
– the Electronics, Instrument and Lighting
Company Ltd, with University friends
Alastair Wood and Jim Bettison in 1959,
with a vision to tackle a range of challenges
in electronics engineering. At the time he
also had a “day job” at electronics company
Philips, where he helped design televisions.
“The opportunity for Ian to study Electrical
Engineering at the University of Adelaide
in the 1950s led to key friendships, and
a further opportunity to make scientific
equipment for some of the University
departments,” Pammie remembers.
“I trained as a nurse but left nursing to
marry and support our family and the
establishment of EILCO. For me, this
was also an opportunity to help build the
company and learn about business.
“The early days of the business were tough.
I well remember Ian putting in very long
hours, and sharing the bathroom of our first
premises with a stray cat and her kittens.
But we made the most of the opportunities
that came our way.”
EILCO became Codan in the 1970s and
the opportunity to export products and
work with humanitarian organisations led
to expansion overseas. A move into satellite
communications technology resulted in real
impacts for regional telecommunications
across Pacific communities.
Codan won its first Australian Export
Award for Outstanding Export
Achievement in 1975. Since its early days,
Codan has developed and supplied highfrequency radio equipment for the Schoolof-the-Air network and the Royal Flying
Doctor Service across Australia. The United
Nations adopted Codan radio equipment
for relief efforts in Uganda in 1980 helping
establish Codan as the leading global
supplier of high frequency communications
to humanitarian organisations.
Ian Wall’s influence extended to broader
communications with a legacy reaching
deep into today’s society.
Codan pioneered equipment that supported
the launch of Australia’s first domestic
satellite system in the 1980s and launched
the world’s first commercial modem for fast
and fully automatic high frequency fax and
data transmission in the 1990s.
Pammie was also closely involved in the
business and served on the board for
several decades.
“I was on the board of EILCO, and then
Codan, for 20 years – and was often the only
female board member. The opportunity to
join the board was amazing for me. It taught
me a lot about people, about business,
respect, fairness, progress, and about
overcoming adversity.”
Codan Ltd is now a global company with
manufacturing and corporate offices in
Australia and internationally. The company
supports the design and manufacture of a
range of electronic communications, mining
and defence technology and associated
software used by governments, businesses,
humanitarian aid and customer markets.
The company was listed on the ASX in
2003 and Ian Wall retired from his executive
position at Codan in 2004, remaining on the
board until 2009.
Together Ian and Pammie have been longterm benefactors to a range of charitable
organisations including the Women’s and
Children’s Hospital Foundation, the South
Australian Health and Medical Research
Institute (SAHMRI), Novita Children’s
Services, Starlight Children’s Foundation,
Adelaide Botanic Gardens, National
Trust of South Australia, and the Adelaide
Symphony Orchestra.
“Ian and I have worked hard, but at the
same time have always been aware of
helping others. In the early days, our focus
was on the business, but once that was on
track we could spread our wings and put
time, effort and energy into other things,”
says Pammie.
“I have served on many committees and
charitable organisations and have greatly
appreciated the opportunity to give back
and contribute to the community in a
meaningful way.”
