Tourmont Incorporated

Miss Cunningham, as owner and headmistress of Fintona, was determined to leave Fintona in a sound financial position.

In 1961, she gave the property and goodwill of the School to the Company of former students and staff and appointed a Board of Management to administer the affairs of the School. On her death, a large part of her estate was bequeathed for ‘the advancement of education at Fintona Girls’ School’. The Margaret Cunningham Endowment Fund was established with Dame Beryl Beaurepaire as inaugural Chair.

In May 2000 the Board authorised the incorporation of the Trust, and Mrs Margaret Ross became the first Chair of Tourmont Incorporated – so named to reflect the historic building which Miss Cunningham bought to accommodate the School and which became her own home.  Tourmont Incorporated acts as Trustee for the Fund, a Public Charitable Trust established to provide support and assistance to Fintona Girls’ School.

The charter of the Endowment Fund embraces support of educational, social, cultural and sporting activities; scholarships and bursaries; property, building and equipment. Distributions have been of enormous benefit to Fintona in a variety of projects over the years. Often the distributions have been unannounced, but there have been more obvious contributions such as the internal refurbishment and external maintenance of Tourmont.

Significant commitments of the Fund have included:

• The purchase of the Balwyn Road property which the School converted to the Early Learning Centre.
• The keystone donation of $1m in 2020 for the Annie Hughston Centre.

Such a meaningful Endowment Fund is a living legacy to Miss Cunningham’s forward thinking and generosity. The Fund can be augmented by donations or bequests from those who share her vision and value her influence in their own lives.