Students, Sandhills and Sex

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Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998 – 1 O rigins Contents Students, Sandhills & Sex 1 Are You Departing the University? 3 Not an Ivory Tower 4 Philip Baxter on Stage 5 Did You Know? 6 Recent Accessions 7 Can You Help? 12 New State Records Legislation 13 UNSW Fiftieth Anniversary History 14 Biographical Profile 15 Oral History in the Archives 16 Newsletter of the UNSW Archives Students, Sandhills and Sex Alumni recall the 1960s A recent survey of student experience at UNSW in the 1960s illustrates the shifting patterns of student life and culture. More than eighty alumni have responded to a specially devised twenty page questionnaire recording their memories of study and campus life at UNSW. A noticeable feature of these responses is that a quarter of them are from women. By the mid 1960s female numbers had risen sharply, from the handful in the 1950s to 2,247 by 1966, comprising seven- teen per cent of total enrolments. Women respondents remembered being part of a minority. You ‘couldn’t walk into a lecture theatre without having whistles’, according to one. Another spoke of a feeling of gender solidarity: ‘There were so few of us, we stuck together ... The Women’s Room at the Roundhouse was the place we congregated – put on our make up, changed our stockings (they used to get full of sand and get holes in them) and discussed the guys’. In part, this growth in women students was the result of the establishment of the Faculty of Arts in 1960. But there were female students in other subjects — even engineering. And ‘doing Arts’ was never the sole preserve of the Arts student. Engineers and scientists were required to take some hu- manities subjects as part of their degrees. Some alumni fondly (Continued on page 2) Tharunka’s first cover for 1968. (V92)

Transcript of Students, Sandhills and Sex

Page 1: Students, Sandhills and Sex

Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998 – 1

Origins

Contents

Students, Sandhills & Sex 1

Are You Departing theUniversity? 3

Not an Ivory Tower 4

Philip Baxter on Stage 5

Did You Know? 6

Recent Accessions 7

Can You Help? 12

New State Records Legislation 13

UNSW Fiftieth AnniversaryHistory 14

Biographical Profile 15

Oral History in the Archives 16

Newsletter of the UNSW Archives

Students, Sandhills and SexAlumni recall the 1960s

Arecent survey of studentexperience at UNSW in the1960s illustrates the

shifting patterns of student life andculture. More than eighty alumnihave responded to a specially

devised twenty page questionnairerecording their memories of studyand campus life at UNSW.

A noticeable feature of theseresponses is that a quarter of themare from women. By the mid 1960sfemale numbers had risen sharply,from the handful in the 1950s to

2,247 by 1966, comprising seven-teen per cent of total enrolments.Women respondents rememberedbeing part of a minority. You‘couldn’t walk into a lecture theatrewithout having whistles’, accordingto one. Another spoke of a feelingof gender solidarity:

‘There were so few of us, we stucktogether ... The Women’s Room atthe Roundhouse was the place wecongregated – put on our make up,changed our stockings (they used toget full of sand and get holes inthem) and discussed the guys’.

In part, this growth in womenstudents was the result of theestablishment of the Faculty of Artsin 1960. But there were femalestudents in other subjects — evenengineering. And ‘doing Arts’ wasnever the sole preserve of the Artsstudent. Engineers and scientistswere required to take some hu-manities subjects as part of theirdegrees. Some alumni fondly

(Continued on page 2)

Tharunka’s first cover for 1968. (V92)

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2 – Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998

remembered Professor Thornton’sinspiring, if somewhat eccentric,fascination for the cosmos in thesubject, Scientific Thought, othersfelt having to study humanities wasa ‘great idea’. For one engineeringstudent, English and History ‘camealive’, while another admitted thathe preferred humanities to engi-neering subjects.

What were their impressions of theKensington campus?

The geography and landscape ofthe new university campus obvi-ously left an indelible impressionon respondents. Variously de-scribed as ‘sandy’, ‘windswept’,‘ugly and treeless’, ‘bare’, ‘bleak’and ‘barren’, the distances studentshad to travel to get from one classto another was cause for comment:

‘The distances we had to travel:Bio/Med to Psych on West AnzacPde in 10 mins!! AND vice versawas a bit of a stretch! Pretty barren— all those sandhills and couchgrass’.

Others concentrated on the possi-bilities of the new site, seeing it as‘big, modern, go-ahead [and] vital’with ‘loads of potential’.

So, where did they hang out?

For Catholic students, the CatholicHut, ‘just behind the ScienceTheatre, on a slight terrace, justacross the road from Goldstein’,was a haven — social and spiritual.Some had fond memories of FatherJohn King who provided solace tomany Catholic ‘freshers’ and evenpresided over many a studentwedding.

Others remembered the library as aplace of refuge and the library lawnas a central meeting place. Butperhaps the most significantlandmark for students was theRoundhouse, home of the Univer-sity Union, opened in 1961. De-scribed by one respondent as a‘breath of spring after a long coldwinter’, it became the hub ofstudent activity and socialising, the‘lifeline of the University’, ‘homeaway from home’.

It was also the venue for concertsand student balls, ‘Recovery’ and‘Bacchus’ balls figuring promi-

nently in alumni recollections. Theywere the social highlight of theyear, an occasion for dressing up,mixing with the opposite sex anddrinking:

‘From memory, they were at theend of the year. You got veryformally dressed, gloves and pearlsand long shimmering type gowns.Then everyone drank jugs of beerand this terrible food appeared andpeople threw it and threw up andthere was a good band and every-one would dance. There wasoccasionally a speaker’.

What did students think of oneanother?

For some of the part-time students,the Roundhouse was the placewhere many of the ‘arty’ students,with ‘unlimited leisure hours’ and‘little commitment’ spent their time.

With numbers of full-time studentssteadily catching up to part-timersin the 1960s, some respondentscommented on the divide betweenthe two types of students. For somepart-timers, student politics andactive student life was for the ‘thosewho did not have to live in the realworld’. According to a part-timeengineering student, part-timersdidn’t have time for juvenilepranks, they considered themselves‘de facto engineers at work’ whotook a ‘more professional attitudeto work and study’.

While some part-timers sneered atfull-timers and most full-timerswere oblivious to part-timers, somescience students were scepticalabout arts students. At the sametime, arts students viewed NIDA(National Institute of DramaticArts) students as ‘very exotic andinteresting’, while male studentswere dreaming up ways of gettingmore women on campus.

What about student politics?

Student politics was/is the past-time of the few. For them it couldbe fun, time-consuming, eye-opening and in the context of theVietnam protests, scary. But for theconscientious part-time engineerand others like him, student politicsdidn’t exist, except when it wasdiscussed in the pages of Tharunka.

Many students, full and part-time,male and female, eagerly awaitedeach issue of Tharunka. Indeed,many of the respondents revealed akind of vicarious participation instudent politics through the paper:‘reading it made you look a bit of arevolutionary’. And for the gradu-ate who’d received a Catholic girls’secondary education, Tharunka inthe late 1960s was ‘absolutelyshocking’. Nevertheless, she andher friends couldn’t wait for thenext issue, fascinated as they wereby the ‘open discussion of sexualmatters, lewd poems and the like’.

(Continued from page 1)

Students in the Union (Roundhouse), Orientation Week 1962. Photography by MaxDupain. (CN945/56)

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Are You Departingthe University?

Please tell the University Archives!

The Archives is always desirous of being advised of staff leavingUNSW who have personal papers or other records relating to theirtime here OR who could be of help in documenting some particularaspect of the story of the university and its people.

We are also interested to learn of the death of those who have beenassociated with the university. We value being put in touch withfamily members in certain instances.

Through this advice, historically valuable personal records, photo-graphs and memorabilia can often be identified and the holdings ofthe Archives enhanced.

ise like [Australians]’ it helped.Another Asian student rememberedhow the ‘Aussies’ were superior intheir drinking habits comparedwith Asian students, and how headmired the ‘fair go’ and ‘she willbe all right, mate’ attitude ofAustralians. He spoke of sharinghis industrial training at PortKembla with approximately twelveother international students,learning a few words in Greek,Yugoslav, Hungarian and Polishand tasting for the first time salami,brathering and pumpernickel.

Asian students located at theUltimo campus took advantage ofthe fact that Dixon street wasnearby. One Vietnamese studentrecalled how the ‘elderly Austral-ian’ woman she boarded with,

insisted on making her rice pud-ding every night, because shethought she missed eating rice.Although recognising the goodintentions, the poor girl couldn’tface it!

Many Asian alumni spoke of theirtime in Australia as fraught withanxiety and worry about thepolitical instabilities and unrest intheir home countries then. Whenasked whether their decision toundertake university studies hadbeen influenced by a particularpolitical development or publicevent, one respondent claimed that‘the political turmoil in Vietnam inthe early 1960s influenced myinterest in getting out of the coun-try to further my education’. InAustralia, that same studentparticipated in the talks andprotests around the Vietnam warwhich ushered in a new period ofstudent activism — the 1970s.

Alison Holland

So, did their social and political valueschange?

Many respondents commented ontheir changed outward appearance.One recalled how she and herfriends took up smoking as asymbol of being ‘liberated’ and‘grown up’. Another gave upwearing the stiletto heels and bloodred nail polish of her teenage years,while another refused to wearshoes. One ‘grew her hair ’ and‘shortened her skirts’, while another‘dressed like a beatnik’.

Many respondents spoke of becom-ing more tolerant as a result ofbeing exposed to new ideas,different cultures and becomingmore aware of social issues like thecondition and treatment of Aborigi-nes. For one, ‘everything changed.I saw things, met people and wassurrounded by conversation andideas that I couldn’t discuss athome. We drank, smoked, took thecontraceptive pill, etc, this wasNEVER mentioned. My world wasbroadened. Home values seemedimmature and caused conflict’.

How were the international studentscoping?

Most respondents recalled havinguniversity friends from a range ofethnic backgrounds. One Australianstudent who stayed at InternationalHouse recalled how ‘racial matterswere openly acknowledged anddiscussed’.

Reflecting on his contact withAustralian culture, a Colombo Planstudent from Malaysia explainedthat if one could ‘swear and social-

The Archives expresses itsgratitude to all those who tookpart in the survey. But thesurvey is not yet complete.Anyone wishing to participateplease contact the UniversityArchives and you will be sent aquestionnaire.

If you have not yet returnedyour questionnaire we await iteagerly!

Good times at the Bacchus Ball, early 1960s. (97A154)

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Ever wondered what a vice-chancellorreally thinks of universities, academicsor students? Is life at the top all that

it’s said to be? Here’s a chance to find out. Notan Ivory Tower: The making of an Australianvice-chancellor is a personal story of a formervice-chancellor of the University of NewSouth Wales and is based on interviews withMichael and Jenny Birt. It examines the careerpath to becoming a vice-chancellor, as well asthe difficult decisions university chiefs facefrom time-to-time.

Michael Birt talks candidly about the chang-ing role of universities in post-war Australia,and mounts a well-argued case for theimportance of a strong university system inAustralian society. Industrial action, studentprotests, his relationship with the StaffAssociation, university fees, his championingof the humanities, his relationship witheducation ministers and prime-ministers,EEO — these are among the many issues thatBirt comments on.

But this is not the stuff of official reports. Setto the background of Australian society overthe last sixty years there is much here also tointerest the historically curious — where didMelbourne University students eat in the1950s? Why did some Australians make thelong trek to Britain in the 1950s? What was itlike to live in Canberra in the 1960s? How didthe City of Wollongong come to own animportant art collection?

The book also includes a brief introductionto the history of UNSW, tracing its origins asa small institution offering courses in ap-plied sciences and engineering, to now beingone of the largest universities in Australia.

Not an Ivory Tower: The making of an Australianvice-chancellor. Based on interviews with Michaeland Jenny Birt. Compiled and introduced byJulia Horne. Published by UNSW Archives,distributed by UNSW Press. RRP $14.95Paperback 120pp ISBN 0 73340 449 9. Avail-able from most major booksellers and theUNSW Press (tel 02 9664 0999 [email protected]).

Not an Ivory Tower: The Making ofan Australian Vice-Chancellor

Michael Birt in 1979, then vice-chancellor of therecently established University of Wollongong, withthe cricket bat commemorating the first ‘town andgown’ cricket match between the university and thelocal community. (97A151/9)

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Philip Baxter on Stage

P hilip Baxter retired as vice-chancellor of UNSW in 1969.He chaired the Australian

Atomic Energy Commission (1957-72)and the Sydney Opera House Trust(1969-75). The following piece is basedon extracts from Philip Gissing, SirPhilip Baxter, Engineer: The Fabricof a Conservative Style of Thought(submitted for the degree of PhD:currently under examination).

Towards the end of his active publiclife Philip Baxter wrote a play. TheDay the Sun Rose in the West is set inthe future, and isabout an imaginedinvasion ofAustralia by aunited South EastAsian People’sRepublic. There isa nuclear attack onCanberra whichheralds theinvasion. The skylights up makingit appear toobservers on theeast coast that thesun is rising in thewest. The invad-ing armies intro-duce draconianmeasures to forcethe country out ofits apathy and carry through thelarge-scale engineering develop-ments that Baxter saw as the key toAustralia’s future. They alsosuccessfully steer Australia throughthe new world order imposed bythe major powers.

In this play Baxter specificallyrejected the notion that a nuclearwar would mean the end of theworld, a belief he had long held inhis work on nuclear energy. Speak-ing on the ABC television pro-gramme Monday Conference, Baxterargued that Australia would ‘have abetter chance than most otherplaces’ of surviving a nuclear wargiven its distance from the northernhemisphere, the most likely loca-tion for repeated nuclear conflict.But of interest here is why he choseto give these speculations a dra-matic form. When one is no longer

writing government policy, doesone then turn to writing plays?

Philip Baxter’s devotion to thestage took various forms. As ayoung man recently appointed byICI as a research engineer in theEnglishvillage ofStockton-on-Tees,he joinedthedramaticsociety,

where he met his future wife, LilianThatcher. They moved to Widnes in1931, where Baxter not only helpedrebuild the local chemical industrybut also became deputy chairmanof the Works Dramatic Club.Following their move to Australiain 1949 upon his appointment asprofessor of chemical engineering,he continued to take an interest indrama, specifically at the NSWUniversity of Technology, where hetook an active role in its DramaClub. In 1956, soon after his ap-pointment as vice-chancellor, hedirected George Bernard Shaw’sThe Devil’s Disciple, which wasperformed in the University’sPhysics Theatre at Kensington, andin August 1959, Edward Percy’s1941 play The Shop at Sly Corner.

Baxter was also instrumental inhaving the National Institute of

Dramatic Art (NIDA) located at theUniversity of New South Wales, at atime when the training of actors,directors and set designers wasconsidered in some quarters to bean inappropriate role for a univer-

sity. In 1958 he convinced theUniversity Council to approvediscussions with the ElizabethanTheatre Trust and the ABC aboutthe establishment of NIDA, whichwas to be governed by a board ofdirectors provided by the threeparticipating institutions. Baxterand Morven Brown, the dean of theFaculty of Arts, were appointed asthe University’s representatives onthe board.

So far, then, we have a picture ofBaxter as a keen devotee andamateur practitioner of theatre. Buthis concept of theatre went deeperthan this, evident from his remarkslinking drama to the desirabledevelopment of what he called a‘western type civilization’ inAustralia. In a 1961 letter request-

(Above) Philip Baxterdirects Shaw’s Devil’sDisciple at Kensington in1956.

(Left) Pictured secondfrom right on an overseasvisit to the DounreayExperimental ReactorEstablishment, about1970. (Baxter Papers:CN1053/88,30)

(Continued on page 6)

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ing funding for NIDA from theRockefeller Foundation, he arguedthat:

‘Australia is the largest under-populated and under-developedarea still available for the expansionof western peoples with westernculture, and the task of developingit imposes a tremendous strainupon the ten million people wholive in it at present. It may well bethat if the developments necessarydo not proceed sufficiently rapidly,in the long term our idea of devel-oping it as a western type civilisa-tion may fail. As a community wemust devote all our availablecapital resources to those immedi-ately necessary and practical things,within which the activities of thehumanities and drama do not find aplace. There is perhaps, therefore, acase for Foundations likeRockefeller to continue to regardAustralia as a type of under-developed area with peculiar localproblems.’

Baxter, of course, was never one tolet a potential source of funds gowithout a struggle, but that is notall there is to it. Baxter ’s point wasthat humanities and drama werenecessary if Australia was tocontinue to be a ‘western typecivilisation’, a fortress against thethen feared communist hordes fromthe north.

But Baxter, a supporter of peacefuluses of nuclear energy — thus alsoaware of its destructive capability— was mindful of Australia as apotential haven for refugees fromfull scale nuclear war in the north-ern hemisphere. For him, dramawas not only something one did inone’s spare time or retirement, itwas also a means to maintain thewestern way of life.

As the denouement of his playreveals, he became exasperated bythe failure of politicians to heed hismessage and despaired of thecapacity of western-style parliamen-tary democracies to take the harddecisions he felt were required.

Philip GissingScience and Technology Studies

UNSW

(Continued from page 5)

Scientia — a nod to Imperial College

The Scientia Building, now under construction on UNSW’s uppercampus, takes its name from the Latin word for knowledge, which

appears on the open book of the university’s arms.

The Arms were granted in 1952 by the College of Arms, London, to thethen New South Wales University of Technology.

The placement of Scientia on the book was in turn inspired by its appear-ance on the arms of another higher technological institution, the ImperialCollege of Science and Technology, London, formed in 1907.

Did You Know?

Mawson expeditioner received MSc in 1957

In the mid 1950s Harold Fletcher was a remarkable new student for anumber of reasons: he was admitted to study for his master’s degree in

science (at this university) at over 50 years of age without possessing aprevious degree. Much earlier in 1929-31, he had travelled with Sir Doug-las Mawson on two Antarctic expeditions, and in 1939 with C.T. Madigan’sexpedition by camel across the Simpson Desert. He was a long-time staffmember of the Australian Museum, starting at 15 in 1918, becomingCurator of Fossils 1941-56 then, in the year his degree was conferred, itsDeputy Director.

Harold Fletcher could not have had a more appropriate supporter for directentry to the master ’s course than Professor David Phillips, Dean of Engi-neering and a Welshman with an equally remarkable life. As a boy of 13,David Phillips started work in the coal pits of South Wales. At 20 heattended evening school, a path which led eventually to Cambridge,numerous British civil service positions, and finally appointment to aprofessorship in Australia at the University of Technology in 1949. Whenhe migrated he was 50.

Harold Fletcher’s thesis was on aspects of the Permian geology of theHunter Valley, NSW.

In 1984 he had published Antarctic Days with Mawson (A&R).

Born in 1903, he lived into his nineties at Castle Hill. His honours includedthe Polar Medal and Bar. A cape in Antarctica and a hill on the edge of theSimpson Desert are named after him.

(Acknowledgements: Professor L.J. Lawrence (retired); Australian Mu-seum Library; Brian Nash, Australian Geographic.)

Depictions of the Arms of Imperial College and of the University of Technology, around1952. (AF20252, CN259)

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Below is a selection of recordsreceived by the Archivesfrom July 1997 to June 1998.

Access enquiries are invited.Conditional or restricted accessmay apply in some instances.

The Archives extends its specialthanks to all depositors.

Alumni donationsThe Archives is especially gratefulto the following for their contribu-tions of photographs, publicationsand memorabilia relating mainly totheir student days.

Bennett, Jean. Early stationery fromthe School of Biological Sciences.1950s. (98A31)

Campbell, W. Photographs of civilengineering students’ WorldRecord Bed Push, 1961. (97A149)

Chand, F. (Kuala Lumpur, Malay-sia) Photographs of students in1960 Maths I class, at Basser

College and on a Jenolan Cavesfield trip, early 1960s. (97A148)

Conyngham, P. Correspondencerelating to the Students’ Unionand University Press 1996; presscuttings 1960s, including refer-ence to the ‘Gas Lash’ affair,Tharunka 1964; photographs early1960s; and press obituary forFrancis James, early 1990s.(97A236, 98A6)

Harant, H. / Allison, Myee.Records relating to the Students’Union Council 1964, and theOverseas Students Associationand Festival of Asia 1957-68;publications and printed itemsincluding student alternativehandbooks, Tharunka and revueposters 1950s-1980s. (Ms M.Allison 97A72, 97A82, 97A85,97A229)

Haynes, Michael and Marg. Copiesof addresses delivered at thePresident’s Reception, UNSWAlumni Association on 21 April

1998, as father and daughteralumni of the early 1960s andearly 1990s respectively, andcontaining reflections upon theiruniversity experience. (98A29)

Hyland, H. Photographs takenwhile an engineering and navalarchitecture student: scenesinclude main and westerncampuses, building development,student activities on ‘LakeBourke’, internal photographs ofthe Roundhouse and of theLibrary – at both old (Dalton) andnew (1966) upper campus loca-tions; all with descriptions. 1963-70. 222 prints. (97A246, 98A49)

Jones, T. Photographs of processionforming for first Foundation Day1961, and of fellow students atBasser College, early 1960s;collected items from the Collegenoticeboard, various topics, early1960s. (98A24, 98A48)

Langtry (Moore), Lynette. Candidphotographs of university social

Recent Accessions

Foundation Day out in the City, 1968. (98A49)

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life, especially Roundhouse balls.1969-71. (97A178)

Milner Davis, Jessica. Publicationsand reports relating to studentmatters in the 1960s; Drama Icourse handouts for students andlisteners to Radio University,prepared by Professor R. Quentinand T. Brown, 1961; notes takenas an arts student at lecturesgiven by Quentin, Dr LeonieKramer and others, 1961-64.(97A169, 98A2, 98A3)

Niland, J.R. Issues of Basser Collegemagazine. 1959-63. (97A6)

Nilsson, Marianne R. Photographstaken on UNSW Geology excur-sions, and of the Kensingtoncampus, with descriptions. 1962-67. 40 items (97A77)

O’Brien (Thomas), Terry. Photo-graph of UNSW students, whowere members of the AustralianOrganising Co-ordinating Com-mittee, Overseas Students(AOCCOS), at the welcome desk,Sydney airport, January 1969.(97A248)

O’Farrell, Justin and Clare. Issues ofL’Egalitie, early 1980s, Law Schoolnewsletter for students; Rhubarb,Rhubarb, Rhubarb, 1983, DebatingSociety newsletter; completedstudent questionnaire on Libraryservices 1983; and UNSW Operaprogram for Verdi’s Giovannad’Arco, May-June 1977, theopera’s first Australian perform-ance. (Professor Patrick O’Farrell,98A5, 98A15)

Storr, E. Graduation photographmid 1960s. (97A150)

Yeomans, Lien. Photograph, as anew graduate, at the graduationball of 1968. (97A147)

Personal papers/itemsAngyal, Mrs Helga. Foundation

member, U Committee. Papersrelating to membership, activitiesand history of the U Committee,1960s, 1980s and 1990s. (EmeritusProfessor Stephen Angyal 98A38)

Angyal, Stephen J. Former profes-sor of Chemistry and Dean ofScience. Emeritus. Portraitphotographs and autobiographi-cal notes. (97A152, 97A196)

Archer, F. Former Associate Profes-sor, Civil Engineering. Groupphotograph, with identification,of the School of Civil Engineer-ing. c.1960. (97A146)

Birt, L. Michael and Jenny. UNSW’sthird Vice-Chancellor 1981-92 andemeritus professor, and his wife,Mrs Jenny Birt, who was promi-nent in voluntary work forUNSW. Photographs from theirpersonal collections supplied forthe book about their lives Not anIvory Tower. (97A151)

Brown, H.J. Foundation professorof Electrical Engineering, Deanand University Council member

1949-52; Controller, WoomeraRocket Range 1955-58. Emeritus.Biographical information andother items, including anauthored paper on the post-wardevelopment of higher techno-logical education in New SouthWales. 1940s, 1950s, 1997.(98A46)

Dudman, M. Former photographer,Chemistry. Complete body ofwork, comprising over 1300photographic negatives, taken forthe publication Images of theUniversity of New South Wales,1989. (98A26)

Garrick, A.J. Foundation Director,

Local UNSW students Terry Thomas (later O’Brien), left, and Lyn Moore (later Langtry)ready to welcome new overseas students at Sydney Airport, January 1969. AOCCOSstands for Australian Organising Co-ordinating Committee, Overseas Students. (97A248)

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Institute of Languages. Corre-spondence relating to the evalua-tion of language laboratorymethods of teaching English toAboriginal children in certainschools in the Northern Territory,with personal note books aboutvisits, 1969-73; minutes andcorrespondence of the StateAccreditation Panel for Transla-tors and Interpreters (NT), 1981.(Mrs Margot Garrick 97A87)

Millis, D. Former Head, UNSWPublications Section, and artist/designer. Photographs of Sectionstaff, and campus views; postersand programs relating to UNSWevents. Mainly 1960s, 1970s.(97A106, 97A192)

Milner, C.J. / Willis, A.H. Respec-tively, former professor of Ap-plied Physics, Dean of Scienceand Emeritus; former professorand Dean of Engineering, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Emeritus.Funeral oration written anddelivered by Emeritus ProfessorWillis at the funeral service forEmeritus Professor Milner, StLuke’s Church, Mosman, 28February, 1998. (98A40)

Milner Davis, Jessica. President,UNSW Alumni Association andMember, University Council;UNSW’s Deputy Chancellor 1981-1990. Photographs and corre-spondence relating to the KayFriedrich Garden (AGSM fore-court); correspondence about theretention of the historic name TheOld Tote Theatre, 1989; and sam-ples of greeting cards produced in1983 by the U Committee featur-ing campus sketches by ProfessorJ.C. Haskell, Faculty of Architec-ture. (97A169, 97A177, 97A181).

Correspondence, early 1990s,about the creation of the positionof Dean of Emeriti, originallyraised by Emeritus Professor C.J.Milner; and congratulatorycorrespondence about the DeputyChancellorship from Mrs RuthMoss in 1981, the daughter of MrRalph Symons, whose timbercompany constructed the SolarFurnace for Physics under thedirection of Professor Milner, DrMilner Davis’ father. (98A39).

Biographical audiotapes telling ofthe Czechoslovak refugee experi-

ence stemming from the 1968Soviet invasion, and includingreference to the trail-blazingintensive English languagecourse, specially prepared for agroup of these refugees by thedonor, then a student leader, andstaff of UNSW’s Institute ofLanguages in 1969; 1991audiotape feature on Mr Va’clavHavel, then CzechoslovakPresident, and later recipient ofan Hon. DLitt, UNSW 1995.Recordings mainly 1991, 1995.(98A4)

Niland, John and Carmel. Vice-Chancellor; former Commerce(industrial relations) student andPresident, Students’ Union early1960s; Carmel Hume (Niland)was an Arts student and memberof the Students’ Union Councilaround the same time. Items fromstudent days at UNSW and fromtheir time in the USA, late 1960s,where J. Niland undertookdoctoral studies (Illinois) thentaught at Cornell University,Ithaca. Includes films, photo-graphs, a 1962 dinner programautographed by many key figuresat UNSW, and a Pix magazinephoto-spread on ‘Free Love’featuring UNSW students. 1960-70. (98A34)

Orlovich, P. Senior Lecturer, Infor-mation, Library and ArchiveStudies. Collected newsletters,circulars and other informationrelating to the activities of theStaff Association, University Cluband other campus entities.Various years. (98A17)

Reuter, F.H. Foundation AssociateProfessor of Food Technology.Papers relating to the establish-ment of the Food Technologycourse at UNSW; publicationsand reports relating to aspects ofeducation in this discipline, andto government regulation of foodand drugs. 1949-97 (97A238).

Selected printed material relatingto the history of the School ofChemistry, Food Technology andColombo Plan students at UNSW.Prepared for the UNSW HistoryProject in 1998. (Ms KarenHutchings 98A42)

Reuter, Mrs Irene. Foundationmember, Wives Group from 1950.

Memoirs of a Childhood andYouth in Berlin 1911-1933. Typedmanuscript 1996. 38p. (98A36)

Thompson, Adrienne. Convenor,Alumni Associates. FormerUniversity Council member andHonorary Visiting Fellow, Bio-chemistry. Photographs ofmembers of Alumni Associates ata revival of ‘Elevenses’ at Pindari,22 April 1993. (97A189)

Governance andAdministrationSecretariat. Council, Council

committees, Faculties. Meetingagenda papers and minutes, 1993-98; Council Resolution Book 1949-83 and Index; Visiting Committeereports 1988-93; AboriginalEducation Committee records1988-94. 3.75m (Multiple acces-sions)

Vice-Chancellor (J.R. Niland).Business records 1995-96,videotape of address to NationalPress Club 25 February 1997, andduplicate Certificate of Apprecia-tion presented to Mr Ted Spenceupon his retirement as driver tothe last three vice-chancellors ofthe university, 1998. (98A21,98A35, 98A37)

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Researchand International (C.J.D. Fell) /News Service. Colour photo-graphs of the first three AnthonyMason Fellows receiving theirawards from the Minister, theHon. Simon Crean at the Austral-ian Embassy, Beijing on 31 July1995. (97A166)

Registrar’s Office. Records ofreviews of various units andservices within the Registrar’sportfolio. 1992-94. (98A18)

Records Administration. UniversityAdministrative files. 1970s-97.1.2m (97A243)

Protocol Office. Conferring ofAwards – ceremony programs.1995-97. (V3)

Publications. Photographs, nega-tives, proof sheets and transpar-encies depicting a wide range ofuniversity scenes, events andpeople, 1990-96. 17 archivesboxes, 3.0m (98A1)

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10 – Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998

Student Services. Office files of theDeputy Registrar (S. Croker)relating to student organisations,student equity and services, andto the Campus Planning SteeringCommittee. Mainly 1989-93.2.2m. (97A35)

Facilities Department. Certificate ofTitle relating to part of UNSW’sCliffbrook Campus site, Coogee,1953. (Director’s Office 97A231).Fitting out reference manual usedby UNSW: Details of CSIROStandard Laboratory Fittings, 1959;site and landscaping plans forKensington Campus 1949-78, 12items; sketches and plans forStage I, Grandstand, DavidPhillips Field, by Kevin J. Curtin& Partners, 4 items; colourphotographs of site for SamuelsBuilding, c.1987. (N. Siminsky97A63, 97A120, 97A121, 97A160)

Faculties, Schools andacademic organisationsApplied Science. Selected office files

of the last Dean of the Faculty(G.J.S. Govett), including corre-

spondence relating to UNSW 2000which recommended abolition ofthe Faculty. (97A4, 97A5)

Biological Science. Photo displayboards showing field work atSmith’s Lake, Herron Island andelsewhere 1960s, 1970s; photo-graphic portraits of early staff; andbiographical information about DrMary Hindmarsh compiled 1954-90. (R. King 97A250)

Chemistry. School minutes andnewsletters; videotapes. Mainly1987-93 (K. McGuffin 97A69)

Engineering. Letter of appreciationwritten to Professor Mark Wain-wright by Emeritus ProfessorHarold Brown, aged 86, UNSW’sfirst professor of ElectricalEngineering and first Dean of theFaculty of Engineering, followinghis visit to UNSW in early 1997.(M. Wainwright 97A180)

Industry Linked Education. Filesrelating to the establishment ofthe Master of Business Technol-ogy program, including the initialconsultancy and steering commit-tee. 1989-92 (M. Brennan 7A239)

The Subiaco Columns. Photographic study by Martin Dudman, 1989. (98A26)

Law. Photographs taken of partici-pants in the Future DirectionsSeminar, July 1994. (K. Daley97A191)

Mechanical Engineering. Sample ofexamination papers 1964-69;crafted descriptive geometryteaching aid showing two inter-secting cones enveloping a sphereand their tangent plane. n.d. poss.1940s or 1950s. (A. Bauman97A53, 97A54)

Postgraduate Extension Studies /Institute of Professional Educa-tion. Videotapes of lectures, mostproduced for teaching by closedcircuit television. 1968-77. 14tapes. (97A227)

Spanish and Latin AmericanStudies. Audiotapes of notedspeakers at three conferences,including a major internationalconference held at UNSW in1986 entitled When StrangersMeet: Australia and LatinAmerica; the poster for thisconference, and other audiorecordings. 1978-92. 23 tapes. (J.Levy 98A10)

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Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998 – 11

Other UniversityorganisationsThe Asia-Australia Institute.

Director’s Office files, generalcorrespondence, booklets andother printed items. 1990-95.1.1m. (97A83)

Kensington Colleges / MilnerDavis, Jessica. Files relating to thegovernance of KensingtonColleges 1992-96, including a setof meeting papers 1994-96,maintained by Dr J. Milner Davis,a director and member of theCollege Board. 1m. (J. MilnerDavis 98A3)

External organisationsEastern Sydney Area Health

Service. Media release pack, withphotographs, conveying theannouncement of a $160 millionplan to relocate or enlarge certainhospitals, including the RoyalHospital for Women and thePrince of Wales and Prince Henryhospitals, which are principalteaching hospitals of the univer-sity. 1993. (97A168)

The Winston Churchill MemorialTrust. Records relating to theNew South Wales administrationof the Trust, and in particular toChurchill Fellowship Awards,1965-1990. 1.7m. (Mr Bill Farley98A7). (The NSW Regional Officewas established in the 1960s withthe assistance of the Vice-Chan-cellor, Sir Philip Baxter. Sincethat time UNSW people haveplayed a major role in the run-ning of the Office)

Student or alumnirelatedCommerce and Economics. Base-

ball-style cap, available onCareers Day 1997, with textUNSW-Commerce and Economics.(P. Orlovich 97A88)

Medicine. Photographs of the classof 1995. (J. Horder 97A79)

Newman Society. Copies of selectedpublications including programsfor seminars, e.g. The Scientist andSociety, 1959. 1956-68. (Fr. J.Bosman 98A44)

Sports Association. Office andBoard of Management records,and records relating to the BenLexcen Sports Scholarships, 1989-95; video of the Intervarsityvolleyball final, 1971. (97A225,97A237); Blues Committeeminute book 1978, Register ofGraduate and Life Members, andbusiness records, mid 1970s-93;Guest Book, inaugural dinner,Ben Lexcen Sports ScholarshipFund, 24 February 1989. 1m.(98A8, 98A22)

UNSW public affairs/mediaKeating Lecture. Written version of

the public lecture entitled ThePerilous Moment: Indonesia,Australia and the Asian Crisisdelivered by the Hon. P.J.Keating, Visiting Professor ofPublic Policy on 25 March 1998.Typescript 19p. (Vice-Chancel-lor ’s Office 98A25)

News Service. Press cuttings

Cricket Club. Annual report 1996-97. (A. Jones 97A73)

Rugby Club. Annual reports 1996-97. (K. Godfrey 98A30)

Alumni Association. Agenda papersand minutes for meetings of theBoard and Executive, 1985-87;and for AGMs 1985-89. (97A226)

Heath, R. / HPA Architects -Mirvac. Publication payingtribute to the work of RobertHeath, Senior ArchitecturalDirector of HPA and an architec-ture graduate of UNSW. 1997.(Mr Victor Guy 97A198)

Niland, J.R. Vice-Chancellor. Photo-graph of the UNSW Rugby ClubGolden Oldies team, the WobblyWales, in Dublin, Ireland 1993;photographs at a BBQ for studentleaders hosted by the Vice-Chan-cellor, 1997. (97A228, 97A241)

relating to UNSW and membersof the UNSW community, 1996-97. 1.5m. (G. Croker 97A242,98A20)

Public Affairs and Development.Research notes compiled by theUniversity Archives detailing therelationship between BHP andUNSW from the 1950s to the mid1990s. 1997. (97A195); Boundsets of various campus publica-tions including Focus, Uniken,Quarterly and University News,with an index to stories in Focusand Uniken 1989-93. 1950-1997.7.5m. (98A33)

Oral history specialsurveys and publicationsUniversity Oral History Project

(UOHP) / Special survey Studentsin the 1960s. Background and

A lighter moment at the farewell for the Chancellor, the Hon. Gordon Samuels and MrsJackie Samuels at a special Foundation Day Dinner, 1994. (98A1)

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12 – Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998

Documenting universitysportSome not so good news is that theArchives holds only moderateamounts of material relating to theuniversity’s sports clubs. We wishto improve this situation.

In the years 2000-2003 alone, manyof the following clubs may seek tocelebrate their fiftieth anniversary,aided by any records held by theArchives:

Clubs established by 1950: Athlet-

Can You Help?ics, Basketball (Men’s), Golf, RugbyUnion, Swimming, Soccer (also1956), Tennis.

1951: Boxing, Cricket, Fencing,Rifle, Rowing, Swimming andWater Polo, Table Tennis, Weight-lifting.

1952: Squash, Volleyball.

1953: Hockey, Judo.

Anyone having written records,annual reports, photographs, filmor video, parts of older club uni-forms or memorabilia of other

university experiences of some ofthe second-decade students of theUniversity of New South Wales.Over 80 completed surveyquestionnaires received to June1998, each 16p. (97A86)

UNSW Fiftieth Anniversary HistoryProject / UOHP. Women in theUniversity research report by MsKaren Hutchings drawing uponsome of the responses to thesurvey questionnaire for senior

women at UNSW undertaken bythe University Oral HistoryProject 1996-98. 1998. 41p.(98A11)

Continued on page 13

The pennant, the players and the presidents. Captain Mark Ray, fourth from left, Alan Davidson, President, New South Wales CricketAssociation, fifth, and John Ingleson, President UNSW Cricket Club, end right. (CN1127)

kinds (dinner menus, club pen-nants, ties etc.) is warmly invited tomake contact with the Archives inthe first instance.

It is understood that many itemsheld privately may not be availablefor outright donation. In theseinstances the Archives is alwaysprepared to arrange for copies to bemade, or for photographs to betaken of non-copyable items.

Please help if you can. Our contactdetails are on the last page of thisnewsletter.

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Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998 – 13

New State Records Legislation

New legislation willrequire the University— including faculties

and schools — to account for allmaterial generated in the courseof university business.

The State Records Act 1998became law on 2 June 1998 andreplaces the Archives Act 1960.The Archives Authority of NewSouth Wales will become theState Records Authority and itsjurisdiction broadened to includeuniversities, which will becomesubject to the Act in late 1999.

The purpose of the legislation isto facilitate business throughimproved recordkeeping prac-tices, make Government andother public institutions moreaccountable, implement stand-ards, codes of best practice andguidelines for managing officialrecords in all formats, and toensure the orderly disposal ofofficial records and the preserva-tion of records deemed to be ofcontinuing value.

How will this affectUNSW?The Act has the effect of placingresponsibility on those whogenerate records in the course ofuniversity business to safeguardand dispose of them according tothe ‘standards and codes of bestpractice for records manage-ment’. The types of records likelyto be subject to the Act includeminutes of school meetings andthose of faculties and other unitswithin the University, as well as

course outlines, school corre-spondence, and records gener-ated as a result of dealings withstudents. The Act also extends toelectronic records, includingcomputer databases and officialcorrespondence sent by email.

The University already has acentral records managementprogram, but over the next yearthis will be extended to otherparts of the University.

Records currently in use remainthe property of the University,but will need to be maintained inaccordance with the Act. Recordsmore than twenty-five years oldwill be controlled by the StateRecords Authority. The Authorityis not required to take possessionof the records, but in such circum-stances it will make arrangementsfor the University to have cus-tody of the records. Thosearrangements are to includeprovisions to ensure public accessto the records in accordance withthe Act and the safe keeping andproper preservation of therecords. Disposal, transfer ofpossession or ownership, damageor alteration of State records isnot allowed without the approvalof the State Records Authority.

The Chief Executive Officer of theUniversity (the Vice-Chancellor)has the responsibility to ensurethat the University complies withthe Act. Compliance audits willbe conducted on an annual basisby the Audit Office of NSW andfailures in compliance will bereported to the Minister responsi-ble for the University.

UOHP publication / Horne, JuliaNot an Ivory Tower: The making ofan Australian vice-chancellor.Compiled and introduced byJulia Horne, and based uponinterviews with Michael Birt,UNSW Vice-Chancellor 1981-1992, and Jenny Birt. UNSWArchives, 1997. 150p. (V620)

(Currently available through allbooksellers/UNSW Press. $14.95RRP)

UOHP publication – relatedrecords. Photographs used inUnique Providers, an illustratedhistory of the U Committee;programs of U Committee events;and audio and video tapesrecorded at the launch of thebook in May 1994. (V566,97A171)

(Unique Providers is available frombooksellers/UNSW Press. $19.95)

Special interest andhistorical accountsSee also the Oral History sectionabove.

Angyal, S.J. The Andrews Lectures.1997. 8p. A brief history, by itsfounder, of this noted UNSWseries of lectures given by inter-nationally eminent persons inChemistry. Coverage: 1960-1997.(97A183)

Castle, Josie The University ofWollongong: an illustrated history1951-1991. 1991. 68p. (V768)

Cavill, G.W.K. Australian Jewellers,Gold and Silversmiths: Makers andMarks 1992. 336p. Signed copy.(97A74). (Emeritus ProfessorCavill was the recipient of thefirst personal professorshipawarded at UNSW (1964) and isone of Australia’s leading expertson the subject of his book.)

Titmuss, K.W. The History of Com-puting at the University of NSW.Revised 1997. 11p. (98A13)

Waugh, J. Kensington Racecourse1890-1942. Randwick and DistrictHistorical Society 1997. 37p.(98A19). (The Kensington race-course site became UNSW’slower campus.)

Continued from page 12

General publications,printed itemsThese are selectively acquired fromUNSW entities, private donors andgovernment agencies. Generalexamples of material received in theperiod:

UNSW Calendars and Handbooks;

UNSW Sports Association andclubs annual reports; newsletters –various UNSW units; posters,programs and other items relatingto UNSW public events and cel-ebratory occasions; the campusnewspaper Uniken; student news-paper Tharunka, and publications ofthe Student Guild, student clubsand societies.

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14 – Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998

Notes from aResearcher’s DeskThe manuscript for the UNSWfiftieth anniversary history hasgone to press. Patrick O’Farrell’sUNSW: A Portrait 1949-1999 will belaunched in March 1999, a centre-piece of the anniversary celebra-tions.

Professor Patrick O’Farrell andresearchers Damien McCoy andmyself have been most fortunate inthe generous responses to our call

access restrictions. The following isa sample of the kinds of facts andanecdotes that you may or may notfind in the pages of the officialhistory.

Resourcefulness in thedays of shortagesIn the early days of the university,teaching and laboratory space atUltimo was often at a premium,along with chronic shortages ofequipment and furniture. Lateral

was solved by ‘borrowing’ furni-ture from another department ofthe technical college, forcing thethen registrar to purchase somemore to replace it.

Similarly enterprising were someAsian students staying in the AnzacParade Student Hostel in the 1960s,who, wishing to cater for a largestudent party, cooked genuine lambcurry in the community laundryboiler. The result? Plenty of curryfor the partygoers and brightorange linen smelling strongly ofMadras curry for many wash daysto come!

Crashing through glassCrashing through glass seems tohave been something that hap-pened quite a lot in the early days,given that building and construc-tion was constantly underway. InBuilding M on the Western side ofAnzac Parade, staff of the School ofMathematics adopted the habit ofbypassing the door to the building,entering instead through the door-sized opening next to it that had notyet had a glass panel installed in it.Of course, the inevitable happenedwhen glass was installed: a lecturerwent crashing through it andthough suffering no major damageto his person, totally demolishedthe plate glass panel.

Vice-Chancellor Baxter, a ubiqui-tous presence around campus atthe time, very soon learnt of thisevent and took immediate actionby having wooden frames in-stalled across all the glass pan-elled entrances to the building.Meanwhile up at Basser College itseems that our current Vice-Chancellor Professor John Nilandspent a lot of time crashingthrough glass doors, whether inpursuit of sheep brought in bywool technology students or whilebeing hotly pursued by otherathletically-inclined members ofBasser College.

The UNSW Fiftieth AnniversaryHistory Project

for reminiscences and documentsfrom both past and present staffand students of this university. Weare greatly indebted to these peoplefor helping to make the historycome alive by giving us unique andpersonal insights into everyday lifeat UNSW over its first fifty years.Although it has not been possible toinclude all material in the book,much of it will be lodged in theUniversity Archives and availablefor research purposes, subject to

thinking was often resorted to inefforts to remedy limited suppliesof materials. Thus, survey gear forCivil Engineering was acquiredthrough army contacts who de-clared their surveying instrumentssurplus to requirements anddonated them to the fledglinguniversity.

On another occasion students werecompelled to use packing casesbecause of a shortage of desks. This Continued on page 15

Open the doors and windows, the rugby men of ’62 are here. John Niland is in the backrow, second from right. (CN1196)

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Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998 – 15

Biographical ProfileFritz Reuter . . .

‘The prevention of food spoilage isonly possible by knowing what areits causes. That is food technology’explains Fritz Reuter in aninterview conducted for the OralHistory Project, and now availablefor consultation in the UniversityArchives.

Fritz Reuter became AssociateProfessor of Food Technology at theNew South Wales University ofTechnology in 1952, anappointment that recognised foodtechnology was a viable universitysubject. Educated in Germany as anorganic chemist, with a doctoratefrom the University of Berlin andresearch experience in biochemistry,he migrated to Britain in the 1930s— there were few positions foryoung scientists of Jewishextraction in Hitler’s Germany. Bythe late 1930s, he had arrived inSydney as part of the CarnegieFellowship scheme, having recentlymarried Irene Eyck.

Even though organic chemistsaren’t generally interested in food,an opportunity arose during WorldWar Two for his involvement in thenew American discipline, FoodTechnology.

Those involved in the Americanwar effort were looking for placesin Australasia where canned foodmight be processed under strictquality controls for US troopsstationed there.

Fritz Reuter and others from CSIRand the Sydney Technical College(where he had taught since 1938)decided to take up the challenge:how to educate industry inminimising food spoilage. Hedevoted the next few decades tothis aim, taking a leading role in thenew Food Technology Association,establishing and editing theprofessional journal Food Technologyin Australia and advisingorganisations around the world,including the governments of Asianand African countries, on aspects offood technology.

Hosting visits of overseas food missions arranged under the Colombo Plan was a nationallyimportant task carried out by Dr Reuter and staff of Food Technology from the early1950s. Dr F.H. Reuter, far right, with Dr K. Shridharani, Mr Durga Das and Mr A.K.Gupta at Food Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, March 1957. (CN682/14)

Baxter – the personStories about Baxter are legion, andpopular memory views him ashigh-powered and authoritarian.Yet, some of the anecdotes suppliedto us by his contemporaries presenthim as very approachable andsociable, especially on an informalbasis.

Baxter apparently made a habit ofdining in the cafeteria in the MainBuilding, along with any guests hemight have been entertaining, sothat prominent academics andpoliticians were often queuing upwith students and general staff.

Then when the upstairs diningroom was opened in the Round-house, Baxter ate there severaltimes a week joining whatever tablehad a spare seat. After lunch hewould leisurely wander back up tothe Chancellery via Basser Steps,and was most open to casualconversation along the way.

Information of this kind aboutBaxter – or indeed any othermembers of the university – helpsto leaven what can otherwise be aheavy and deadly serious view ofany one facet of university life, andprovides the researcher with analternative perspective.

These are some brief accounts of therange and type of evidence col-lected as part of the researchproject. None of this would havebeen possible without the generoussense of community that sostrongly binds staff and students –then and now – to UNSW, andcreates the desire to contribute tothe preservation of its historicalheritage. For that, we are thankful.

The history will be availablethrough most major booksellers andthe UNSW Press (tel. 02 9664 0999or [email protected]).

Karen Hutchings

Continued from page 14

For details of anniversaryevents, contact the Office ofPublic Affairs and Develop-ment (ph: 9385 3277 orwww.unsw.edu.au/50th/festival.htm.)

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16 – Origins: Newsletter of the UNSW Archives – No. 4 – November 1998

How to contactthe Archives

Hours of opening are9am-5pm Monday to Friday

Closed weekends, publicholidays and from Christmas

Day to New Year’s Day.

Advance noticeof your visit will enable us

to assist you better.

AddressUniversity Archives

Level 1, University Library

UNSWSydney NSW 2052

TelephoneUniversity Archivist

(02) 9385 2907Assistant University Archivist

(02) 9385 2906Oral History Project

(02) 9385 2908

Facsimile(02) 9385 1228

[email protected]

World Wide WebUniversity Archives:

www.library.unsw.edu/~archives/archives.html

Oral History Project:www.library.unsw.edu.au/~archives/oral.history.html

Origins is prepared by the staff ofthe University Archives, and

designed and typeset byPublishing and Printing Services,

UNSW

ISSN 1326 – 5407

Oral History in the Archives

Students in the 1960sA major survey of studentexperience at UNSW in the 1960sis currently underway. Morethan eighty graduates havecompleted and returned detailedquestionnaires, many alsoproviding photographs of theirtime at university. Anyonewishing to participate shouldcontact the Oral History Project.(Full story p1.)

Michael and Jenny Birttalk about their lifeand timesOn 26 November 1997, theGovernor of New South Walesand former UNSW Chancellor,the Hon. Gordon Samuels,launched Not an Ivory Tower: Themaking of an Australian vice-chancellor, based on interviews withMichael and Jenny Birt. About 120people attended the launch,hosted by Professor John Niland,UNSW Vice-Chancellor andPrincipal. In launching the book,the Governor said that its title,Not an Ivory Tower, ‘provides anexcellent frame for the Birts’account of the endless diversityand exposure, concentration andapplication and real-politik of avice-chancellor’s life.’ In 1998,Jenny Birt was awarded thedegree of Doctor of the Univer-sity for ‘her contributions ... to thecultural identity and spirit ofUNSW’. (For more about the book,see p4.)

InterviewsTranscripts of interviews with thefollowing people will soon beavailable for research purposes inthe University Archives (subjectto access restrictions): MichaelBlunt, Malcolm Fisher, Stephen

Angyal, Ray Golding, JessicaMilner Davis, Harold Oliver, JohnKennedy, Fritz Reuter. (See also‘Biographical Profile’ p15.)

Australian GraduateSchool of ManagementProfessor Philip Brown, the firstdirector of the AGSM, has beeninterviewed about his life,including his undergraduateyears at UNSW in the 1960s, as apostdoctoral student at theUniversity of Chicago in the late1960s, and his contributions to theAGSM in the 1970s. A transcriptof the interview should beavailable in the UniversityArchives late 1998. Other peopleto have been interviewed aboutthe establishment of the AGSMare Sir Rupert Myers, MalcolmFisher and John Stringer. Tran-scripts of these interviews areavailable in the Archives.

Storage and Handlingof tape recordingsThinking of recording somethingfor posterity? The problem is thatcurrent recording materials,including cassette tapes anddigitised formats, can deterioraterapidly unless stored appropri-ately, according to sound conser-vators attending a technicalworkshop at the National Libraryof Australia conducted by theAustralasian Sound RecordingsAssociation. Appropriate storagemeans a stable temperaturebetween 12-18 degrees celsiusand a relative humidity of nomore than 40%, and that can onlybe achieved by installing a specialair-conditioner. The Oral HistoryProject has prepared a manual onthe storage and handling of taperecordings, which can be con-sulted in the University Archives.

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