Guest Judges

Elizabeth Pakchung and Dixie Coulton are fashion lovers from Sydney who met through a mutual love of fashion.

Elizabeth is a fifth-generation Chinese-Australian whose paternal ancestors were market gardeners who came from Canton in Southern China to Australia during the Gold Rush times in the 1870s.  Her father was an engineer who enjoyed a 45 year career at Sydney Water.  The building of Warragamba Dam (the primary reservoir for the water supply for Sydney) was a major achievement and a highlight of his career.  He was humbled to receive an Order of Australia in 2017 for services to the community.

Elizabeth’s love of fashion comes from her mother who was fascinated by fashion at school in Shanghai during World War II, that fascination continued during her mother’s university days in Canton and after her mother came to Australia.

Elizabeth is now a company director, lawyer, and supporter of fashion, art and architecture.   She is a Director of H&M Australia & New Zealand (part of the global fashion H&M Group), the Oranges & Sardines Foundation, and Gallery 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art; and is a Member of the International Women’s Forum, and the Venice Council (which partners with the Australia Council of the Arts to support Australia at the Venice Art Biennale).

Dixie Coulton was born in Goondiwindi, QLD and grew up on a rural property “Getta Getta” which is located about 50 km south of Goondiwindi in NSW. Her family including her father, brothers and their respective families still enjoy living on the land near Goondiwindi.

Although Dixie loved growing up in the country she left the bush when she was 18 years old to attend university in Sydney. She has been a practising barrister in Sydney ever since graduating in Arts/Law in 1982. During the 1980s Dixie spent some time in New York City for a few years and was admitted to the Supreme Court of New York as a lawyer.

Dixie is married to Don Grieve QC, a barrister and has two adult daughters, one of whom Tess is a solicitor with Ashurst and the other, Charlotte a journalist who writes in the Business Section “The Age” and “The SMH”. Don and Dixie live in Sydney.

In 1999 Dixie was elected as a councillor of the Council of the City of Sydney and remained in office as such until 2004. In 2003-2004 she was the Deputy Lord Mayor of the city. The Council helped host the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Dixie has a wide range of interests outside law including the arts, community affairs, urban design and of course fashion.

Huge thank you to Elizabeth and Dixie for judging the 2021 Parkes Picnic Races Fashions on the Field.

The Judge’s selected are independent from the Parkes Picnic Races. The Judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.