From Bangalore to Balmain – Padma Raman's lifelong advocacy for women and girls
The racism and resilience Padma Raman's parents experienced lit a social justice fire in her early on.
She landed on the sunny shores of Sydney in the 1980s and watched both her parents face racism and discrimination seeking work.
She's gone on to dedicate her career to making the world a better place for women and girls. It's taken her to the halls of Federal Parliament and the United Nations.
The Pamela Denoon lecture is presented by the ANU Gender Institute and the National Foundation for Australian Women.
Speakers
Padma Raman PSM
Executive Director Office for Women at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Akrti Tyagi
Head of Digital at Girls Run the World
Sally Moyle
Deputy Chair of the National Foundation for Australian Women
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( ABC News ) With Ms Park's critical injuries in mind, Superintendent Nicholson knew Ms Park needed to be extracted as soon as possible. He said the Blue Mountains Police Rescue unit was tapped for its high-altitude expertise in complex rescue missions. As the retrieval plan was being devised, a PolAir helicopter left Sydney at 10:28pm and flew to Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains to pick up Sergeant Dallas Atkinson, the leader of the specialist mountain rescue unit. At this point, Sergeant Atkinson was in phone contact with Mr Gledhill, discussing Ms Park's condition and assuring the climbers that a plan to rescue them was underway. PolAir crews worked through the night as the highly complex rescue mission in the Warrumbungles unfolded. ( Facebook: NSW Police ) With Sergeant Atkinson aboard, the helicopter then flew to Dubbo, the nearest base to the Warrumbungles, to refuel before flying directly to Belougery Spire. 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The PolAir helicopter returned to Dubbo to pick up Senior Constable Skinner and 100 kilograms of equipment, including 400 metres of rope and a battery-powered winch. At 3:20am, he joined Sergeant Atkinson on the top of the spire and together they finished building anchors around boulders on the top of the peak to support the winch. Shortly after 4:30am, Sergeant Atkinson began to make his way down the spire. First contact At 5am on Tuesday, 12 hours after Ms Park activated her PLB and Mr Gledhill made his triple-0 call, Sergeant Atkinson reached the climbers. Police infrared vision of Ms Park and Mr Gledhill on the tiny ledge on Belougery Spire. ( Supplied: NSW Police ) With no room on the ledge, Sergeant Atkinson remained on his ropes, throwing a sleeping bag over Ms Park as he and Mr Gledhill huddled around her, trying to provide some warmth as they waited for paramedics to arrive. "With any trauma patient, keeping their core body temperature as stable as possible is really important," Sergeant Atkinson said. "Once hypothermia kicks in, it's a very slippery slope to try and turn that around. "We waited it out until the paramedics could get winched in at first light." A Toll NSW Ambulance helicopter carrying critical care paramedics flew Ms Park to the Dubbo Hospital. ( Supplied: Toll NSW Ambulance Aeromedical Service ) The Toll NSW Ambulance helicopter arrived at 6:22am, and two critical care paramedics were lowered onto the peak. Critical care paramedic Nicholas Carney was then winched down to the ledge around 7:30am, but also remained suspended on ropes as he assessed Ms Park's condition. With so many bodies crowded into such a small space, there was little room for Mr Carney to treat Ms Park. "That is when the decision was made to winch Geoff to the top of the spire first so that no time was wasted providing care to [Ms Park]," Sergeant Atkinson said. He and Mr Gledhill were then winched up to the peak, making it to the top just before 8am. Still in great pain, Ms Park was given painkillers so she could be evacuated. She was strapped into a patient seat harness by Mr Carney and they were winched carefully to the top of the spire. By the time she was reassessed and winched into the ambulance helicopter, it was around 12:30pm. Ms Park was flown directly to Dubbo Hospital, where the extent of her injuries was revealed. PolAir then moved in and winched Senior Constable Rachel Chetwertak onto the spire at 12:50pm to collect Mr Gledhill. Despite his ordeal, the veteran climber did not require any medical treatment. Sergeant Dallas Atkinson (left) and Senior Constable Dan Skinner with Mr Gledhill on Belougery Spire. ( Supplied: NSW Police ) With both climbers safe, PolAir returned and winched out Sergeant Atkinson and Senior Constable Skinner at 1:27pm, along with all the rescue equipment. At least 20 emergency services personnel, including pilots, were directly involved in the safe retrieval of Ms Park and Mr Gledhill over the 20-hour rescue operation. "Any complex, remote area job like this — and they don't get much more complex — you're not sitting there twiddling your thumbs. That's how long these things take," Sergeant Atkinson said. A rescue like no other Superintendent Nicholson said rescuers faced unprecedented challenges during the operation. "For all of the crew involved in the mission that night, that was the first time they had undertaken a mission of that complexity," he said. Challenges included the unfamiliar mountainous terrain, winching rescuers with 100 kilograms of equipment onto a narrow peak, abseiling to a narrow ledge, all in the dark. And there was no room for error with "the unforgiving nature of that cliff". "We were 60 miles [almost 100km] north of anywhere remotely civilised … There was literally no one coming if we got that wrong," he said. A NSW PolAir helicopter flies over the Warrumbungles during the rescue of Ms Park. ( Supplied: NSW Police ) Superintendent Nicholson said infrared night-vision goggles, which require extensive training to use, enabled PolAir to safely navigate the terrain. "If we weren't using those goggles, we would not have been permitted to undertake that mission," he said. Although Sergeant Atkinson has been involved in numerous complex rescues in the Blue Mountains, he said the Warrumbungles operation was a "unique experience". "I've been winched into lots of different places over the years, but being winched in, at night, onto the top of this prominent spire, this enormous feature, that was definitely something that made this job a bit different," he said. Sergeant Atkinson and Senior Constable Skinner were winched onto the top of Belougery Spire with 100 kilograms of equipment. ( Supplied: NSW Police ) Superintendent Nicholson praised Ms Park for carrying a PLB, which meant the rescue team knew exactly where she was. He said PLBs were more reliable than mobile phones in poor coverage areas and could send precise coordinates via GPS long after a mobile phone battery might have gone flat. Climb lifts cloud of depression Ms Park describes the 15 hours she spent on the unprotected cliff overnight as worse than the injuries from her fall. "I feel terrible that I caused so much trouble," she said. "I really appreciate the people who rescued me late at night. "It was a terrible suffering, and cold, but these people all sacrificed their night as well." Ms Park took up painting during her recovery. ( ABC Western Plains: Catherine James ) Ms Park spent eight days in hospital in Dubbo, and then a further five days convalescing before doctors deemed her well enough to return to Melbourne. She plans to return to the Warrumbungles, and says her depression has lifted following her harrowing ordeal. "This is weird, this is really weird … But I'm actually now in better spirits," she said. Mr Gledhill walks with Ms Park in Dubbo after she was discharged from hospital. ( ABC Western Plains: Catherine James ) As for Mr Gledhill, he stayed overnight at a National Parks and Wildlife base then drove to Dubbo the next morning to visit Ms Park in hospital, before embarking on the 11-hour drive back to Melbourne. He returned to the Warrumbungles almost two weeks later with a friend and climbed Belougery Spire again to collect the gear and ropes he and Ms Park had left, because he didn't want to leave any "rubbish" behind. He then drove Ms Park home to Melbourne.
