Kinga Gorondy-Novak escaped from Hungary in the last days of the Revolution of 1956 with her mother avoiding Russian guards by walking across the border to Austria in the dead of night. They arrived in Australia as refugees the next year.
The Sisters of the Sacred Heart who had educated her mother in Budapest took Kinga as a boarder at the prestigious private girls school Kincoppal as an act of charity and she went on to study medicine at Sydney University after earning a Commonwealth Scholarship.
In the second year at Uni she joined a tennis club at the CYO (Catholic Youth Organisation) where she met Neville Moses who had recently completed Law School and had begun to practice as a solicitor. They married two years later and despite her need to complete her degree Kinga became interested in one of Neville’s hobbies: contract bridge.
By 1970 she had graduated from Uni and begun practising as a GP (under her maiden name); she had also earned a place in the NSW women’s team captained by the legendary Mary McMahon which won the title in Perth that year.
Since then she has balanced life as wife and mother, doctor, active member of the Catholic church, competitive tennis player, and bridge player with an enthusiasm and energy which continues to astound her friends and leaves her husband exhausted.
Her win in 1970 was the first of no less than 7 as a member of the NSW women’s team at the ANC and remarkably each has been with a different partner.
Three of them were with partners with whom she had particular success the first of these being Gerda Stern (one of Australia’s best ever women bridge players now sadly deceased) who was Kinga’s partner in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.
In 1982 they finished second in the Australian Team Trials thus becoming part of the team which won the Play-Off and represented Australia in the Ladies Team at the 1983 Far East Bridge Tournament achieving third place. They also won the women’s pairs at the 1984 ANC, formed part of the winning NSW women’s team at the 1989 ANC and a part of the winning women’s teams at the 1990 Spring Nationals.
Finally in 1993 they formed part of the team with Neville as playing captain which won the NSW Open Teams. This team which included Marcia Scudder and Nicoletta Giura partnering Nick Hughes is the only team to win this championship containing a majority of women players.
After Gerda’s retirement Kinga formed a fruitful partnership with Berri Folkard which in the 1990’s saw them win the ANC women’s pairs in 1996,and the Australia women’s Butler in 1997. In 1998 they were members of the winning team in the Australian women’s teams at the Summer Festival and the victorious NSW women’s team at the ANC. They also reached the final of the Australian women’s team Play- Off on two occasions, both times unsuccessfully.
In the mid-2000’s Kinga formed a partnership with Nazife (“Nafi”) Bashar which has continued to the present time. They have won the Australian women’s Butler on two occasions and been runner-up in a third and in 2022 were members of the winning NSW team at the ANC marking, as mentioned, Kinga’s seventh win in the event.
They continued their good form at the Summer Festival women’s teams when (with alacrity) they accepted a last minute invitation to join the Dawson team, their original team having been devastated by sickness. The augmented team managed second place behind an overseas team full of internationals in the women’s teams event. This placed the Dawson team in the Australian Teams Play-Off which they duly won.
Kinga and Neville have been married for over 56 years. In addition to their various bridge partners, they have many friends in the bridge community and are especially close friends with John and Marcia Scudder whom they have known for well over 40 years. As a result Kinga and Neville have over the years had many games with friends in their home near Malabar Beach and hosted a number of bridge parties. Despite this none of their four children and seven grandchildren have shown even a glimmer of interest in contract bridge.
With Kinga’s success in women’s competitions and Neville’s involvement in the administration side of bridge they have not partnered together as often as might be expected. They have however had some successes together at the bridge table: in 1974 they won the Syd Morning Herald rubber bridge competition earning them a Pacific Cruise on a ship of the sponsor P&O. And in 2003 they were part of a team captained by the (since deceased) Pauline Evans including Steven Bock and Gary Lane which (against all predictions) won the Bobbie Evans Sydney Seniors Tournament. (They beat the odds-on favourites – a team captained by Ron Klinger in the semi-final by 1 imp!)
Although having reached 78 years of age Kinga still practices medicine (although with reduced hours) at Maroubra Medical Centre and has achieved a Masters degree in Gerontology. Despite a double knee replacement she still plays competitive tennis.
In bridge she is known for her aggressive bidding style, a never-say-die attitude which has rescued a number of matches which seemed lost and for fidelity to her then current partner no matter what the results.
She is eagerly looking forward to representing Australia internationally this year, exactly 40 years since she first did so.
