The Graduate Union August 2024 Newsletter by Graduate House

THE GRADUATE UNION NEWS

AUGUST EVENTS

07, 14, 21, 28 Wednesday

BRIDGE NIGHT

7:15pm – 9:30pm

Join us for Bridge Nights every Wednesday evening. All levels of bridge players welcome. Player fees: Members $2, non-Members $5. Food and beverages at bar prices.

07 Wednesday AUGUST LUNCHEON

12:00noon – 2:00pm

With guest speaker Captain Rob Anderson. Details are on page 3.

09 Friday SPECIAL ESPRESSO COFFEE FOR INHOUSE RESIDENTS

7:30am – 8:30am

Special breakfast beverage for residents at Graduate House. Free for Resident Members.

15 Wednesday TWILIGHT LECTURE

5:30pm for 6:00pm start

With guest speaker, Lynn Allison. Cost: $20 Combo includes nibbles/drinks and attending lecture. Details are on page 4.

21Wednesday WOMEN’S FORUM

10:00am for 10:30am start

The topic of this forum is “Hacking and scamming, what does it mean for us all?” Join the friendly group of ladies who will welcome you warmly and you can choose to stay for lunch after the forum if you like.

Twilight Lecture

A Special Joint Dinner Event

Anil

Wadhwa

Ambassador Anil Wadhwa was a member of the India Foreign Service from 1979-2017 and has served as the Indian Ambassador to Italy, Thailand, Oman and Poland. As Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs of India he oversaw relations with South East Asia, Gulf and West Asia, Pacific and Australasia. He has served as the Indian Ambassador and permanent Representative to FAO, IFAD, WFP UNESCAP and worked with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague heading the Government Relations and Political Affairs and Media and Public Affairs Branches. He has served as India’s chief delegate to the East Asia Summit, Asean- India, ASEM, ACD, the Arab league, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, and ARF meetings.

Ambassador Wadhwa’s previous postings include stints with the Indian Permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva, twice to the Indian Embassy in Beijing, and in the Commission of India in Hongkong. He has led a CII task force for writing the Australia Economic Strategy report for the Indian government. Ambassador Wadhwa is currently a Distinguished fellow with the Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi and serves as an Independent Director and Advisor on the Boards of some corporate firms and organisations in India and abroad.

The University Club of St. Paul, Minnesota

Background and History

The Establishment of Private Social Clubs: In the early 1900s, Saint Paul was a prosperous urban center that to some extent, looked to the eastern United States and Europe for guidance on how to expand its social and cultural institutions. One expression of this ambition was the establishment of the city’s private social clubs: The Minnesota Club (1910), the University Club of St Paul (1913) and the Saint Paul Athletic Club (1917).

The University Club’s construction was completed in 1913, and it opened its doors to members that same year. The building was designed by Reed and Stem, who also designed Grand Central Station in New York City, the St Paul Hotel, the St Paul Athletic Club and numerous Summit Avenue homes.

The clubhouse was modeled after London’s great 1900s clubs, both in architecture and purpose. Today, it remains a member of a prestigious association of similar clubs located throughout the United States and the world - many of which were similarly chartered in the late 19th century and patterned after the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London.

All of these clubs occupied magnificent buildings, all as impressive as the greatest of their kind in the United States at the time, and each club had a different objective when it opened:

• The Saint Paul Athletic Club was a full service athletic/city club.

• The Minnesota Club catered to high level social, political and business leaders.

• The University Club welcomed applications for membership from the graduates of accredited colleges and universities. By the end of the twentieth century, only the University Club was operating under its original objective. In the 1930s the pool was added, and after the WWII, the University Club became the first of the three St Paul clubs to open its membership to women.

The University Club came under common ownership in the 1990s with the former St Paul Athletic Club, and played a pivotal role in saving the historic English Renaissance-style clubhouse when it re-opened its banquet facilities as part of the University Club.

In 2013, The St Paul Athletic Club (SPAC) fitness center was reborn in the modern era as a 68,000 square foot private recreational club, occupying the majority of the building and paying homage to its intended use when the club was built almost 100 years before.

The University Club and St Paul Athletic Club continue to review membership applications from graduates of (or those presently enrolled in) an accredited college and/or university, and welcomes individuals of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, religious beliefs and points of view to apply.

The Club TodayW

Situated high on a bluff with a magnificent view of downtown Saint Paul and the Mississippi River Valley, the University Club of Saint Paul is a members-only club that has been in continuous operation since its construction was completed in 1913.

The University Club is a private social and recreational club — and a legendary piece of local history, having played host to a “who’s who” list of Saint Paulites for more than a century. They are known for a certain amount of refinement and treasured traditions and they have facilitated a community in the very best sense of the word.

Over that same century, the University Club has provided the backdrop to large and small moments alike: weddings, anniversary parties, and corporate events — and their everyday memories. There’s always something to do at the Club - with versatile amenities and a packed calendar of events and programming for the whole family, the University Club becomes deeply integrated into the lives of its members.

Dining at The University Club

The University Club offers its members and guests beautiful indoor and outdoor dining spaces. Members get to enjoy a breathtaking view in the formal dining room which are open for lunch and dinner. The menus are seasonally inspired, and their in-house pastry chef prepares fresh bread and scratch-made desserts daily. Beignets are available at weekend brunches.

The Ramsey Room is for dining and features gourmet cuisine paired with stunning views of the skyline and the river valley. Nightly Happy hours, weekly Member nights, and regular Member events all showcase the amazing culinary talents of the Club’s Chef and kitchen team.

The beautiful outdoor deck overlooks Downtown St. Paul and the Mississippi River Valley. Open from Memorial Day until Labor Day, brunch, lunch and dinner are served on the beautiful, private two-tiered deck that overlooks the University Club’s “backyard” - the swimming pool, playground

and tennis court - all with a view of downtown Saint Paul and the Mississippi River Valley.

The outdoor deck is the perfect place for casual dining, and members and guests may also choose to dine inside in the Varsity Grill. Located on the lower level of the Club that opens to the deck, the Varsity Grill features a historic bar and a comfortable and inviting dining area.

Poolside - Members and their guests can choose to order from the popular Poolside menu. Pool runners will take your order and deliver to you as you bask in the sun, or enjoy eating your lunch or dinner at one of the umbrella tables poolside. Food service is available every day during the summer.

Member Bar - Located on the first floor, adjacent to the Ramsey Room, the Member Bar provides a natural “meeting and greeting” place for members, especially during our Friday Night Member Night.

The Varsity Grill, adjacent to the outdoor deck, offers a refuge on hot summer days, and Executive Members enjoy the option of poolside dining.

Fireside Room - filled with comfortable overstuffed furniture and tastefully appointed with brass chandeliers and Audubon prints, the Fireside Room invites conversation and exudes warmth.

Ramsey Room

The Deck

Swimming pool

Member Bar

Athletics & Recreation

Swimming pool - The club’s outdoor pool is available for members to use during the summer months. It opens on Memorial Day with the annual Pig Roast and closes on Labor Day with the annual Corn Roast (weather permitting, the backyard may extend its season).

The Sport Court - nicknamed the “Court for All Ages”, houses a multi-purpose sport court with basketball, volleyball, pickleball, a bocce court, a petanque/boules court, and a free play area with your favorite lawn games.

Fitness Center - the fully-equipped fitness center is located in a spacious, sun-filled room overlooking the downtown St. Paul skyline and the Mississippi River Valley.

The fitness center features state-of-the-art machinery with personal televisions and pulleysystem weight machines.

Elegant Meeting Spaces

Bookable conference and meeting rooms including the Library and our President’s Room.

Club Amenities

As a member of the Club, you can take advantage of our diverse calendar of programming, on-site gourmet restaurant, bars, fitness facilities, and reciprocal club access.

Sports Court Fitness Centre

Varsity Grill

Elegant meeting spaces

Varsity Grill

Fireside Room

Members Interview Series

Into its third year now, the Member Interview Series is going strong and is as popular as when it first began. Initiated in January 2022 as part of our anniversary celebration that marked sixty years of Graduate House as a Residential College, this series focuses on our members. We get to know them better through these interviews and we learn firsthand from our Residents members what it’s like to live here and hear their aspirations, views and suggestions as they pursue their academic journey. We are so grateful to Emeritus Professor Martin Comte OAM (Councillor and Vice- Chair of The Graduate Union Council) for diligently conducting these interviews. In this issue, Martin sits with Graduate member Dr Mary Ellis and Resident member Ms Prerana Chatterjee.

Graduate Member, Dr Mary Ellis

Many thanks for agreeing to this interview, Mary. Let’s start with you telling me something about your background.

I grew up in the small town of Alexandria, Indiana in the Midwestern United States. I attended college at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, majoring in English with a minor in Library Science. My first job was as a school librarian in Tipton, Indiana. I spent two years there before I went on to get my MLS (Masters in Library Science) at Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington. After that I worked as a librarian again, but got the bug to go overseas. So I returned to IU-Bloomington to study Applied Linguistics and got my second Master’s degree: an MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. That was a turning point because I then joined the Linguistics Department at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Then a big opportunity opened up: the Malaysian Government initiated a program with Indiana University: Institut Teknologi Mara/Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (ITM/MUCIA).

MUCIA is a Midwestern United States consortium of 10 public research universities that collaborate on large-scale international projects. English

teachers were in demand, so they recruited. I had a very good job in Wisconsin but decided to go overseas for one year. I ended up staying for thirtyfive. I taught with that program in Malaysia for seven years, which opened up a lot of opportunities for me. At one time we had one hundred and fifty Americans working there. We taught the first two years of an Indiana University degree, and then the students would complete their other two years in the United States. It was a great program. I got very immersed in Malaysia: it’s a wonderful multicultural country in which to live and travel. I made many good friends, both local and expat. When that program ended, I was offered a job by the Electricity Board of Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). They were starting a university, which is now known as Universiti Tenaga Nasional ( UNITEN). I started their English Language Program, working with faculty from the United States, and also from Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand, which had a ‘twinning’ program involving academics flying in and out from that country. This also gave me opportunities to go to Christchurch. Once again I decided to explore a different career path and considered getting a PhD. I had friends whom I had taught with in Malaysia who were

then in Singapore at the National Institute of Education (NIE), which is an Institute of Nanyang Technological University (NTU). They recommended me for a teaching position at NIE and I then moved to Singapore to join the Department of English Language and Literature. Similar to Malaysia, Singapore is also a dynamic, multicultural country and I have several good friends there. I continued teaching English for Academic Purposes at NIE, working with a group of Chinese students who were training mostly in engineering and business and then going on to do their degree in Singapore. When that program stopped, I segued into teacher education at NIE, which is the sole teacher education institute for teachers in Singapore. This was a wonderful opportunity in terms of research, teaching and service. My key areas of research –information literacy, academic writing, technology in education and communication skills – influenced my teaching and eventual choice of a PhD topic. As a Co-Principal Investigator on externally funded competitive grants – Deepening Literacy Skills through Augmented Reality and Building a Reading Culture – I explored the importance of information and digital literacy for today’s students. This was also reflected through my publications and

invitations as a Keynote Speaker in Tamil Nadu, India and Yogyakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. Teaching academic writing to undergraduates showed me the importance of understanding the research process and how it differs between students. Coordinating a communication skills course for pre-service teachers led to the codevelopment of Well Said, a mobile application for improvement of pronunciation which was introduced in undergraduate courses at NIE. I completed my PhD, Task-based information seeking as a constructive process: A study of Chinese ESL students, at Nanyang Technological University. I explored the impact of the research process using Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model (2008) which is based on understanding the cognitive and affective processes of information users. After completion of the PhD, I was involved in supervising undergraduate and Master’s level research students, serving as an internal examiner for Master’s and PhD students as well as being an external examiner for Masters and a PhD student from Edith Cowan University. I also co-developed a course on Communication skills for PhD students and was invited to be a judge for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT was developed at the University of

Photo taken at University of Milwaukee in Wisconsin, USA

This photo replicates the famous Prince’s Purple Rain album cover and was taken in Chicago at “Prince the Immersive Experience” - a tribute to the singer.

Queensland in 2008) competition at NTU. My NIE/ NTU experience afforded me opportunities to teach elsewhere, including Jakarta, Indonesia and Bahrain. I also helped to develop teacher education courses for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Singapore was a hub which provided several professional opportunities. Whilst in Singapore I also worked for the British Council as an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Examiner. My expertise in IT education resulted in my going to the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland – where I worked with faculty and students – and also being invited to Japan in 2018 as a Visiting Professor at Kobe Gakuin University (KGU) in Kobe. Then in 2020 I retired from Singapore and went back to the United States and taught for a semester in the Department of Languages at University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. At the end of 2022 I was invited back to Japan as a Visiting Professor at KGU for fall term 2022 (September 2022 to February 2023). I moved to Kuala Lumpur in September 2023.

I came to Australia a few months ago to work towards a partner visa application. My partner, who is a citizen of Malaysia, has residency here.

With your broad experience teaching English across cultures and countries I’m hoping that you will be able to assist us in the course we plan to offer residents in Semester 2. It is principally designed for international students enrolled in coursework Masters degrees – but will also be of assistance to students regardless of whether they are studying for a Masters or a PhD. We want to assist students in the writing of papers (including abstracts and appropriate bibliographic referencing), presentation skills, and the writing of proposals, be it for their university studies or for conference acceptance and presentation.

I would be delighted to assist! My research and teaching experience have shown me the importance of understanding what students go through when faced with what can be a very daunting task. Thoughts, feelings and actions change throughout the research process, and providing assistance when needed is important for a successful outcome. Presenting research in both written and spoken form effectively is important and such skills can be improved. I am happy to continue helping out at Graduate House in whatever way I can.

Thank you. I will follow this up with you after we have finished this interview. But let us now move on to why and how you came to choose Graduate House whilst you are staying in Melbourne.

Interestingly, in 2016, I had my academic sabbatical in Australia. I had a semester off from NIE and spent six weeks here. I wanted to see, as a result of my own doctoral research, how Australia trains its teachers in the area of information literacy and how they impart that knowledge to their students. I was fortunate in having connections that resulted in my starting out in Sydney and my friend, Robyn Cox, who was teaching at Australian Catholic University, arranged for me to visit the library there. I found out that they were doing wonderful things. I then came to Melbourne and visited Australian Catholic University here. After that I went to Perth, and visited Edith Cowan University, followed by two weeks in Adelaide at the University of South Australia (UniSA). It was a wonderful sabbatical. In searching for housing prior to leaving, I looked for university lodging in each of the Australian cities I was visiting. When looking online for somewhere to stay in Melbourne I found Graduate House. So my first experience here was in 2016. Then, in early January this year, my partner and I stayed at Graduate House for just a few days. We were in the Stella Langford Wing, which was lovely. So when I found out that I had to come back here to work on my visa, I again chose Graduate House. By this time I had become a member of the Graduate Union. I was so fortunate to be able to stay here. I have been telling others over and over that the opportunities you get to meet people are wonderful. I have met people from so many disciplines who have shown me around the city, taken me places and introduced me to their friends. I have really appreciated the warmth and hospitality of the Australian people. And the way Graduate House is managed is very effective: they really care about you, and that is so obvious. They followup on things. Holistically, to have a management that obviously looks after people and does those extra things, like having special Christmas meals in July, monthly coffees and a Mid-Year party, is very special. And for people who come from abroad all of this is especially important. Logistically, the location of Graduate House is excellent: you have the university and all of the events going on at the university. You have this dynamic city, which you can easily walk to. It’s stellar!

Mary, I’ve so enjoyed the conversations we have had over the past few months – including, of course, this interview. I look forward to seeing more of you in the coming years when your visa comes through. Every good wish, and thank you.

Resident Member, Ms Prerana Chatterjee

Many thanks for agreeing to this interview, Prerana. How long have you been living at Graduate House?

I’ve been staying here since February 2022.

Over two years! You’re a long-term resident. What degree are you doing?

I’m doing a PhD in the Architecture Faculty at The University of Melbourne. My specialization is heritage, and I’m looking at local perceptions of heritage in the Indian context – specifically in my home-town, Kolkata. People belonging to different regions have different perceptions of heritage. In India (as with Australia) we have been a Commonwealth country with the British kingdom being a presence on our land for a long period of time. So, most of our heritage and heritage conservation practices have been laid out by the British, and hence the indigenous view of things, their perception and feel of place, has not been documented very much. I am looking at what indigenous people think about this landscape and what, exactly, they consider to be heritage, and what is the meaning and what are the values associated with this heritage. This is an empirical study involving talking to people, interacting with them, and interviewing them. Unlike most studies on heritage which had traditionally involved an expert-based approach in documenting, intervention and appraisal, my research harnessed a grounded survey approach which aimed at understanding the inhabitants’ feelings, memories and attachment towards their place that they acquire from being rooted to the landscape. There is a huge amount of data that have been gathered, analysed, and documented. I have just crossed my 3rd year milestone assessment at the university, and people are already expecting a really good project out of it. I’m working towards submitting my thesis by February next year, 2025. And I hope to be graduating a few months after that. I was so thrilled to have qualified to do my PhD at The University of Melbourne for it is one of the best in the area of heritage. My research was largely based on environmental psychology which I was totally new to because I come from backgrounds of architecture and urban design, with a focus on historic cities, which I have always been fascinated

with. I initially contacted my now supervisor, Professor Ray Green, not with a view to studying here, but because of a book he wrote about local perceptions of coastal towns along the Great Ocean Road in which his psychology-based research methodology for gathering local people’s perception on historic landscape fascinated me. I just wrote an email to him asking if he thought his methodology is workable in an Asian context. And in his reply when he asked me what project I was working on, I said that I was thinking of doing a PhD. He responded by asking if I would be interested in applying to do it at The University of Melbourne. I had no idea that I would end up in Australia. Like many other students in India, I aspired to study at European or American colleges. But later, being inquisitive about study on heritage at The University of Melbourne, I looked up some of the past research projects and publications at the Architecture Building and Planning Faculty only to realise that it is one of the best in this field. In fact, the heavy global reputation of the department made me very nervous initially when I commenced my PhD degree program here. I had immense respect for my supervisor who was widely experienced and has extensively published in this field of research, and his academic prowess

initially made me panic when I interacted with him, even during mundane meetings. But, with time, as our professional experience grew, I gradually discovered a friend in him; a humble person, kind and young at heart, his vigorous fervour to dedicate himself in pursuing research to know the unknown has been tremendous inspiration for me. It helped me build my academic personality and transform from a student to a professional researcher. As you were saying before we commenced this interview, embarking on a PhD is like going on a journey where you gradually build up trust and respect and the supervisor-student relationship grows with time.

I know from my own experience as a PhD supervisor (and working on my own PhD research 45 years ago!) that it is especially nice to get to this point. And it’s not just a one-way street: the supervisor is also learning as the student’s research produces new information or insights, etc. And, of course, the supervisor has an understandable pride in the work of his or her students.

Absolutely! And any ‘strictness’ is because the supervisor wants to get the best out of you. I greatly respect that. In 2023 my Mum passed away, and just before I started my PhD my Dad passed away. This made it an especially tough journey for me. However, both of them were academicians and they had always trusted in my abilities of becoming an academician like them in future. Although it took me time to gather strength in my heart and carry on in this journey, my supervisor was wonderful in giving me confidence in myself. He said things like “I know you have great research capacity and a lot of skills within yourself: it’s just in a nascent state and needs to get activated”. He stood beside me but was also very strict. Despite being tough on perfecting my research output, he supported me all along the way – in fact, he had so much faith in the quality and progress of my project, that before I appeared for my 2nd year review he told me that he was confident that some people would be envious of my work and the amount and kind of data that I had collected. He instilled confidence in me that my project is rare and fascinating, and that since all data collection and analysis have been adequately done, my task from then on was to articulate it in the best way possible. I was ebullient when he assured me, saying “I promise you that people here are going to read it and learn new things.” And he acknowledged that I had been through a lot, but stressed that he strongly believed in my abilities to do it.

I’m so pleased to hear about the support you are receiving from your supervisor. But I’m extremely sad to learn what a tragic beginning it was in your journey. And, as you have said, you have been living at Graduate House since the start of your journey. How did you come to choose Graduate House?

I knew nothing about Melbourne, but one of my father’s college friends who lives here introduced me to places in and around the city. His daughter was a brilliant student who graduated with a full scholarship from Monash University and worked as a chartered accountant in the CBD. She is a huge inspiration for me. When I received a Melbourne Research Scholarship for the PhD degree program, he assured my mother that The University of Melbourne is the best in Australia – and Graduate House is the best place to live. My uncle is very familiar with the campus and he also spoke highly of Graduate House. My supervisor also advised me to check out Graduate House because it has a great community, with people from all parts of the world staying here; he added that since I was into heritage I would especially like it. I still remember the first day I arrived at Graduate House: Tim, who has lived here for a long time, took me all around and I remember seeing all of these drawings of buildings and maps on the walls and I thought, ‘Wow’! Immediately I knew that I would love staying here. In fact, the only accommodation at the time was in the flats in Barkly Place, but I ended up liking it. And although I’m now in one of the Barry Street accommodations, I keep coming to the main building to interact with my friends in here. I really like this kind of accommodation which although small, is very cozy and complete with an ensuite, and allows me to focus on my studies, writing, and hobbies which comprise sketching and calligraphy. Some of my friends here have encouraged me to move to the main building, but I enjoy the 7-minute walk here through the lush green University Square which is calming and healthy – it’s always quite an experience. The walks through the lovely parks, bicycles at the cycle-parking, the skateboarders rolling and perfecting their flips, people meeting for discussion and debates with friends for hours over coffee: this is the culture of Melbourne. And Graduate House has very cleverly and positively inculcated this culture of Melbourne revolving around academia: people with the best minds from all over the world come to study here and you get a chance to study and interact with them. And many of them may go out into the world and become the well-known researchers, scientists, artists, musicians, dancers, writers, lawyers, philosophers

and thinkers of tomorrow. And although we may be miles apart, we shall always remember each other and be united by this precious part of our lives that we spent and enjoyed so much together at Graduate House. So having a chance to interact with these people and be part of this very prestigious community is special. I haven’t found any other place in Melbourne that is like Graduate House.

You’re right: we are unique. Similarly, I understand that the Graduate Union is the only union of university graduates worldwide.

The Graduate Union is one of the best student unions I have known. It has been a platform for meeting, interacting and learning from some of the best personalities in academia. It is a great place to socialise with and know people and their works across a spectrum of disciplines. I am so fortunate to have made some fantastic friends here: Magid from the USA, Sophia from South Africa, Xiaomin from China, Vicky from Australia, Charles from Scotland, Farhat from Pakistan, Justine from France, Guilherme from Brazil, Kristina from Portugal, Rosemary from Australia, Laura and Daniel from Italy, Christina from Finland, Thirangi and Tisakya from Sri Lanka, Hikaru from Japan, and Shivjeet from my own country India: we have become a family today because of The Graduate Union. We hail from different disciplines of study, and we love discussing current research and discoveries in our respective fields; and I must admit that my own PhD research has highly benefitted and has become multidisciplinary from their valuable inputs. We also enjoy hanging together and discovering Melbourne.

Many of my professors in India were delighted that I would be studying at The University of Melbourne. Indeed, Professor Shivashish Bose, a heritage conservationist, urban designer and architect who was my teacher during my Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.), and whom I considered as my guru, had been in Melbourne in the past for his research on heritage and urban design and was very much impressed that I had qualified for this university, and although he didn’t know much about Graduate House, I keep talking to him about my experience here and the identity Graduate House has. I did my B.Arch. from Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) which, like Melbourne, has embraced the British culture, since it was the capital of the British Raj in India for over two centuries. We feel that aura, and Professor Bose is very happy that I am in a place which has respected and conserved the same heritage, culture, and identity in a most commendable way that is

worth learning for every aspirant in urban and architectural conservation.

This is so lovely to hear, Prerana. I’m hoping that after you graduate and if you are in India you might see clubs there in various cities that you feel have an identity with Graduate House and that you will write and tell us that they are worthy of us pursuing to develop a reciprocal relationship for our mutual benefit.

Absolutely! In fact, universities in India are rising in global standards of research today, and Indian students form a significant part of the global academic community from some of the best universities across the world. I believe Graduate Union can partner with some of these Indian academic communities and exchange knowledge, skills and social activities that contribute to the larger academic fraternity.

I don’t know where my future job will take me, but honestly speaking, in environmental psychology Australia is definitely one of the leaders in research and I wish to be part of this. I absolutely would love to extend the scholarship and reputation of The Graduate Union to my country India and try to expand the same through my academic and creative contributions.

Thank you – and I’m sure you will do this with great aplomb!

Now that I’m in my final year I’m looking for Post Docs. I definitely don’t want to leave Melbourne. But surely, my focus will be to dedicate myself to my discipline and research and it would be great if any university in Australia allows me to contribute my skills for the same.

I suspect several universities in Australia would love to have you on staff. And some would say that perhaps our winters are a reason to leave Melbourne, if only for a few months each year.

Honestly speaking, I think there’s a beauty in Melbourne’s winters. I was walking along Bourke and Collins Streets recently and it’s the smell of coffee that keeps you warm. Whenever people ask me about Melbourne, I say that you have these chilly mornings and all you can smell is coffee and you can see the coffee bars open with people seated reading, writing and working on their laptops – it’s the city of academia. There are students, including many international ones, and teachers and lecturers all around. It’s a ‘feeling’: people are celebrating knowledge and whatever; it has an Oxford kind of vibe, which I find amazing.

If you ever decide not to work in architecture you should consider working in publicity – beginning with promoting Melbourne.

I should also tell you that I very much enjoy art and I draw and do calligraphy myself. Melbourne has some of the best exhibitions and galleries in the world. And the State Library sometimes presents various exhibitions of historic art; last week, for example, I saw an exhibition on historic botanical and zoological art. It is experiences like these that make Melbourne even more appealing.

At some stage I want to show you some of our exciting concert and performance venues in buildings both old and new – and, indeed, in parks. But to return to Graduate House, can you suggest any additional things that we might consider to further support our residents? What else can we do to make the lived-in experience more pleasurable?

I must say that the breakfasts here are my most favourite part of the day. And particularly the Sunday breakfasts which, thanks to Marwa, are very special and varied – sometimes Middle Eastern. They are delicious and exotic. Also, sometimes in the evening Nelson will prepare a congee or a fabulous seafood dish. Indeed, the food is one of the best parts of Graduate House – not only is it healthy, but the experience of sitting down and eating it with others in the community in the dining hall is wonderful. Many of the things I have learnt about Australia and elsewhere I have heard around the dining table – and from people from all around the world. As Oscar Wilde used to say, the experience around the dining table is one of the best trainers of the human mind; it has helped me tremendously to learn the art of socialising, eloquent debating, discussion, and presenting my thoughts succinctly and cogently to unknown strangers. Initially I was a bit shy speaking to people: I had never studied outside India. But the Graduate House dining experience helped me learn to interact with people confidently. The experience also instilled in me that I’m not a stranger: I’m here to learn, to gather knowledge and to share my own knowledge. To sum it up: the food is good, the ambience is good, and the people are wonderful. I’m very proud to be part of the Graduate House community.

What a wonderful testimony to Graduate House! All of us associated with it are privileged in meeting people like you and in learning

something of them and their worlds. Our residents bring so many exciting personal skills.

I agree – they come here with a lot of skills. One of my friends, Charles Merewether, was looking at my sketchbook which contains some of my random urban sketches and suggested that I make some drawings of the Melbourne University campus. I also asked him for suggestions of what I can do with my drawings. To my delight he suggested that I consider having an exhibition. He suggested I could do it at Graduate House. After this, my friend, Guilherme, who is a resident here, took me around the university and showed me some beautiful old buildings and other parts that I was not familiar with, including some courtyards. It would be a great project for me. I find that the drawings that hang on the walls of Graduate House add so much to its personality. I told Charles that it would be an honour for me to draw parts of my campus because it has been part of my life. A PhD is a great milestone and I would love to remember it by sharing my drawings with Graduate House. I would like to talk to my friends and ask them for suggestions for parts of the campus that they would like to be drawn – and if the drawings are considered good enough I would be happy for them to be exhibited. And if you have any suggestions for parts of the campus – or even any particular rooms at Graduate House that you would like drawn, please tell me. I would love to do it.

I will happily help you to have an exhibition. I want to stress that people come to Graduate House with multifarious talents. This is just my story, but there are other residents like my good friend Magid, for example, who is a talented playwright. We all enjoyed a brilliant play written and directed by her at a theatre in St. Kilda recently. It would be lovely if Graduate House could showcase the talents of its residents. My uncle often said to me that Melbourne is a cosmopolitan city where you can always find a place – and to the extent that a city can give you an identity, you can also give your identity back to the city. I believe the same can apply to Graduate House as well. I’m very proud to be part of this fraternity. I would love to give back to Graduate House which is now part of my identity.

Prerana, you have inspired me. I feel so privileged in having met you, and it has been such a great pleasure having this conversation. I wish you every success not just with your PhD, but in life itself.

Twilight Lecture Series

The Honourable (Hon) Jennifer Coate AO

18th April

Shining a light on the sexual abuse of children in institutional settings: What did we learn?

This revived series of Twilight lectures was launched on 18th April by the President of The Graduate Union, The Hon Diana Bryant AO QC who introduced the first speaker, The Hon Jennifer Coate AO.

Our esteem speaker, The Hon Jennifer Coate is a former Judge of the Family Court of Australia, involved in many Royal Commissions including the Australian Government Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, President of the Children’s Court of Victoria, Judge of the County Court of Victoria, the first female State Coroner of Victoria and Chair of the Victorian Victims of Crime Consultative Committee. The Hon Jennifer Coate was appointed to the Victorian Law Reform Commission in June 2020 and in 2024 was appointed as the Acting Chair of that Commission.

Prior to the nationwide Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which

Dr Maurita Harney

16th May

Artificial Intelligence: A philosophical perspective

Dr Maurita Harney is a philosopher who has taught and researched philosophy at The ANU, at Swinburne University of Technology where she was Head of Philosophy, and at The University of

commenced in 2013, there had been a long line of inquiries into various aspects of the sexual and other forms of abuse of children in institutional settings. However, the groundswell of support for a national inquiry gained momentum after the increasing number of high-profile examples of failed institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

The Commission’s work was an examination of a range of institutions in which children were sexually abused, but it was also an examination of allegations of widespread institutional failures and practices and cultures that provided cover and protection to perpetrators, either inadvertently or intentionally and in many cases, failed to respond appropriately, if at all, once aware of such abuse. At the end of this sobering presentation, a flurry of questions and comments erupted from the audience and the resultant discussions could have continued for some time. Ultimately Dr Wheat thanked The Hon Jennifer Coates for sharing some insights into the almost overwhelming, often confronting, task undertaken by the Commission. What came out of that five-year process were 17 volumes of recommendations and requirements levied on a number of institutions; these are subject to ongoing monitoring and review.

Melbourne where in recent years, she has been Honorary Senior Fellow (Philosophy). At the 16th May, Twilight lecture, Dr. Harney’s presentation was on Artificial Intelligence: A philosophical perspective.

Maurita’s interest in AI (Artificial intelligience) goes back during the 1980s and

1990s when she was teaching arts and computer science students at The Swinburne University of Technology. Maurita spent time at U.S. and European universities meeting with AI researchers. She has maintained an interest in the breathtaking new developments in the field and up until a few years ago, when the topic of AI was raised, she became more interested again, realising also that while some things have changed, others havent.

Maurita’s interest here is part of a more general concern with the question of what it means to be human when the boundaries which have traditionally separated humans from nonhuman animals, on the one hand, and from digital technology on the other, are being blurred if not erased. “The problems with AI are basically philosophical not technical” (Terry Winograd, Computer Scientist and former AI researcher, Stanford University).

With many generated AI programmes, you get the feel of how spectacular the nature of AI does today. Her approach has been in the philosophy perspective with issues arising from recent developments in AI. These developments compel us to confront questions of both a conceptual and an ethical nature and getting behind some of the social impact with the deeper questions including understanding and getting into the nature of truth and fakery, nature’s creativity, the meaning of sentient, empathy and ethical. There is also the danger of decontextualizing AI. At a time when governments globally are considering the ‘guard rails’ necessary to manage new AI-powered technologies, these philosophical issues cannot be ignored.

Coming back to the defination of AI, Maurita quoted Scientia Professor of AI at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW, Toby Walsh (in one of his latest books, Faking It) who suggested that AI can be taken to mean the ability to perceive, act and learn from an ever changing world.

Artificial can mean either not natural (in the sense that it is human crafted), and can also mean fake. So AI is, as the name suggests, artificial and fundamentally different to human intelligence. Yet often the goal of AI is to fake human intelligence. This deceit has been there from the very beginning.

The underlinimg point is, AI is forcing us to deny that we human are a part of nature and it does this

by transferring the attributes traditionally thought to be uniquely human into machines. This is an area that intersects with many of the concerns that arise in AI research. Reality check is needed here - AI is not about human , it is about information processor so if you take the pocket calculator as an example, you get the input numbers and the operation going and getting the solution to the mathematics problems.

We have to be careful about losing or outsourcing things like the ability to chose or make decisions. Accompanying that is the attribution of moral responsibility — when things go wrong, where does the problem lie — is it with the programmer, the corporation, the system, or the individual? It is really unclear where the responsibility lies and there is also the question of transparency and ability to source training data.

Maurita added that the role of AI can be in formating personal relationship, analyzing and recognising faces using pixels, having them coded and then sending it to networks.

Moving on to empathy and Emotional AI, the role of Emotional AI actually dates back to 1966, with the ability of a program Joseph Weizenbaum createdthe first chatbot named Eliza which was intended as a method to explore communication between humans and machines. Many early users were convinced of Eliza’s intelligence and understanding, despite Weizenbaum’s insistence to the contrary and other academics believed that the program would be able to positively influence the lives of many, particularly those with psychological issues.

To sum up, AI is transforming what it means to be human, including aspects of our humanity such as empathy and sentience.

During Q and A, Maurita addressed many questions and exchanged her views and comments with the attendees. Dr. Wheat concluded the lecture session, thanking Dr Maurita Harney for her time in preparing the presentation and sharing her perspective on AI.

Dr. Heather Wheat also extended invitation to everyone to the next Twilight Lecture on Thursday, 15th August with guest speaker, Lyn Allison who will be speaking about Introduction into the world of Fungi. Information on the lecture is on page 4 for this Newsletter.

AGM Dinner with Margot Foster AM BA LLY OLY

Thank you for inviting me. Before I start, I would like to share an article in The Guardian this month about the eldest daughter syndrome. It is not a health or mental diagnosis, but something that has been trending on Tik-Tok. These are the symptoms (which can affect even those who aren’t even the eldest) and is probably just a science theory:

“You have an intense feeling of responsibility.”

“You are an overachiever, type A and very driven.”

“You worry a lot and probably have anxiety.”

“You struggle with people-pleasing behaviours.”

‘You have a hard time placing and upholding boundaries.”

“You resent your siblings and family.”

“You struggle with feelings of guilt.”

‘You have a difficult time in your adult relationships.”

Now a little about me. As I got older, I took into consideration the importance and effectiveness of what I have done and what I do. My parents and the opportunities they have given me is the unsurprising starting point. I took what was on offer and combined that with my personality and the

Australian national representative and Olympic medal winning rower, Margot Foster AM is a highly experienced lawyer with over 30 years in private practice. Her legal background complements her skills and experience for practical, effective and good governance which is a constant focus of her board roles.

Margot Foster AM was awarded Member (AM) in the General Division on the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours (Australia) List for significant service to sports administration and governance at the state and national level, as an elite athlete, and through support for women in sport.

We are honoured to welcome Margot to the 2024 AGM Dinner.

decisions I had made, and that has brought me to where I am today — some of these are the outcome of so many influences.

My parents met while playing sports, both were into swimming and they formed a lifelong partnership. Dad was a doctor and mom, a physio. I have two younger siblings, a sister and brother who are both quite close in age. I had plenty of opportunities in school, first to Strathcona in Canterbury and then to Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC) for senior school. I was a good student, conscientious, studied enough and played many sports. I was annoyed that in my second year at PLC, they decided to abolish the medals for women in sports competition (because I thought that I would be the winner at the swimming levels every year for the length of my time there).

They had decided that equality and competition was not a good idea and that didn’t play well with me even back then.

My parents were very kind and generous and we always had what we needed (not necessarily what we wanted). They had complete trust in me, which I think was really important. When I was 13¼, they sent me on a trip to Southeast Asia with 30

strangers. At that time of no phones or mobiles and being by myself — now looking back, I thought it was a really good experience. They had confidence in me that I could look after myself and I had a fantastic three weeks lying on the beach in Kuta. Even though I was just 13 years old, I got chatted up at a nightclub in Singapore on my second night there.

My father was an Olympian, who played water polo for Australia in the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. Dad was in one of the photos as a treating doctor when he was attending to a Hungarian player during a match between Hungary and Russia. So we grew up having a father who was an elite sportsman. Mom was also active in sports. She fences, swims and is a good golfer.

Having an Olympian as a father was one of those things that was with us, and the expectant that their kids will exceed at sports was always there — not that we felt that we had to go to the Olympics even though the memorabilias were all over the house. I had thought of going into the 1976 Olympics as a swimmer, having had plenty of training at the Olympics pool after school. My parents had decided that in the interest of the family, they weren’t going to sacrifice their future or our future (me, my brother and sister) by altering our ambition to try and get to the Olympics. Plus, they felt that I was better off doing HSC and University rather than the Olympics. They were not pushy parent at all.

I finished HSC, managed to get into Law and Arts and Dad asked me, while waiting for results, if I wanted to go to Trinity College. He had been in there when he was doing his medical degree and I had replied no - I was just too scared. Dad signed me up to a life membership of PLC Old Collegian Association. It was a princely sum $17 for a life membership then so it was truly worth my money.

During my first term at The University of Melbourne (UoM), I met many law students who said they loved living in Trinity and I eventually joined them, moving in at the beginning of second term of my first year. I stayed for 5 years and loved it. The first time that women were admitted to Trinity College was in 1974, so 1976 was my third year of the intake and I had absolutely no concept of the fact that I was one of the very first few women. It never occurred to me at that time but it was really easy and we were well accepted with no discrimination or sexism.

For the first couple of years, I swam, played tennis and was asked to go rowing which I declined. I was asked again and after many no’s, I said yes. The reason I said no - there was a public-school boy I knew when growing up, who tended to exaggerate his rowing success which really turned me off. I rowed for three years when I was in college.

I also began my initial recipient board career by being on the Trinity student committee (they are now combined with UoM). I was the first women on the student committee - I stood for senior students.

After that, I began my rowing career, and ended up doing stroke with most of the crew. We had lots of fun including an intervarsity trip to Canberra with the crew. The coach at the time decided that it would be great for us to have a photo of eight, the Melbourne Uni 8, sitting outside the old of Parliament House — it was a happy memory.

When I finished Uni, I moved back home and did my article ship with a firm in Box Hill and at that same time got into my rowing career — my first selection with a Victorian crew. I started my own legal practice the year after and met a bouncer during articles who took a liking to me and had referred me to a lot of criminal work. I spent the first few years of my legal practice in Pentridge — an interesting way to start my legal career!.

I love rowing and I proved to be quite good at it even after a few frustrations along the way. I don’t know if I ever thought about going to the Olympics, however it was one of those progression that finally got me there.

I won races that were needed to win to qualify and that led up to the 1984 Olympics — it was very exciting to be finally selected — it was my first international regatta. (It was quite unusual not to have had any other competition before your first international regatta).

We didn’t stay in the Games village in Los Angeles because the rowing venue was north of LA in Santa Barbara, so we stayed in hotels instead. There were 5231 men and 1569 women at the 1984 games – a big discrepancy in comparison to this year’s Olympics in Paris where there will be 50/50 men and women particpants.

We had not had many led-up regatta and our coach had decided that we will row a certain way. But when we got to the games and had our first race, he decided that we needed to change the way we rowed, which was quite challenging. He and I had a difficult relationship maybe because we were from different professions. There was a bit of competition between us and we had a couple of moments. So we got into the finals. which was held at a fishing lake called Lake Casitas and we were Women’s Coxed Four and in lane 5. After the race,

we were told that Australia came in fourth place. We were unhappy (naturally), and as we were sitting there feeling dejected and thinking, what a waste of time making it all this way and only coming in fourth ... and then an official announced that we actually came in third place. As it turned out, we then decided that it was actually worthwhile coming to the Olympics!

I was also appointed to what was then the Flinders Park Trust and the Olympic Park Trust, now called the Melbourne Olympic Park Trust. I worked out that I was unemployable, as I was used to running my own practice and had continued to do that. I am very grateful to the late Mr John Cain for the opportunity.

I returned home and with my legal practice continuing, I lined up for the 1985 World Championships, in Women’s pair stroke. We won gold at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh Women’s Eight stroke, and I am pleased to say that I am still the reigning champion because there has been no rowing competition since.

To date, the next Commonwealth games have not announced a host country, and even if they did, there will not be any rowing championship, due to too few participations from countries plus it is too expensive to hold a rowing event.

I continued rowing locally in 1987 and thought that I will win everything required in order to be selected for the 1988 games, except that the men who constituted this selection panel for Australia in rowing at that time decided that no women will be selected to the games, notwithstanding my excellent performances in 1984 and 1986. So there were no option and no recourse back then to challenge this non selection rule. The only mechanism would be to bring it to state supreme court — clearly an unfit situation for dealing with disputes such as this, particularly a time sensitive matter which needed to be resolved very quickly. Some of the girls in the team tried to appeal (without success), so we didn’t get to the games. I thought it was okay for me, as my legal practice was going on well and I have also, at that time, been appointed to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) inaugural Athletics Commission. I had also thought of trying it out for the 1992 Olympics but found it was all too hard, so I gave up the idea.

Having the advantage of my Olympic success, law background and my initial appointment to the AOC Athletic Commission, I thought that I would apply to the Body Corporate of Victoria Women Consulting Council. The Premier at that time, John Cain appointed me and he subsequently appointed me to Melbourne Olympic Bid Committee for the 1992 Olympics.

And so that had kept me busy and I had a couple of other things to do and was happy to move on.

I had not intented to be on Boards even though (as it turned out), I have been on a long list of boards. It has been a combination of my legal background, interest in words, documents and making processes going well that have kept me going, plus that fact that I am quite pedantic.

Not all of those boards I have been on are sports focus. Being on the AOC Athletic Commission had led me to the Board Member SPARC – New Zealand Sports Commission. This appointment was the first time they have invited an Australian on their board. SPARC is a combination of two existing organisations into a new body.

Here is an example of how some small comments made casually could inadvertently have a big effect. I was having a conversation with the Chairman of that new committee on the topic of whether the funding for the NZ sports should be focused on participation or elite athletics and I had said, elite athletics of course — and that turned out to be the direction that NZ sport took. I would like to think that I had some influence over that, because that was the focus the NZ sports took for the last 20 years.

Even though I was on many other boards during my legal practice, I never really practiced any sports law. I figured that one could be on these boards without any conflicts on advising sports organisations. Having had a long association with sports organisations, I became the recipient of the Contribution to Sport and Sports Law Award in 2011.

Along the way I had a crack at politics — I was the federal candidate for Melbourne Ports in 1996 and had come in second place. I knew that I was never going to win anyway because I was going up against Clyde Holdings. I had a 3 year campaign which I enjoyed but when asked if I would have another go — I said no.

Ten years ago, I decided that I had enough of being a lawyer and have been very happy with that decision every since. I turned my attention towards governance and realised that it is a combination of all the things I have done — the boards that I have been on, my skills, my interest, etc. As a lawyer I updated myself regularly with compulsory Continuing Professional development(CPD). My interest now lies in governance and helping other boards do better with governance programs.

The Womens Sports luncheon that I currently host started with a group of friends wanting to just catch up regularly. It has become an quarterly event for women who have a role in sports, with networking opportunities — though we haven’t really worked out the reason for this event, it is actually just a fun event.

I have a continued association with Trinity College, having been on their board for awhile and was once the President of the Alumni association. In 2017, I became a fellow at Trinity — a nice addition.

I was invited to be on the board of Motorsports of Australia, and guessed that my appointment was due to the fact that I was the only one among them who did not know anything about motor sports. I accepted the position and felt that I could bring my skills and experiences to the role. I considered too that they didn’t have any women on board, and with my law background, I know how the Australian sport system law works which is helpful to the board.

This refers back to the conversation with the Chairman of the NZ sports about participation or elite funding. Before I joined the Board of Motorsports Australia, it was a called Cams. (Confederation of Australia Motor Sport). It was a name not known to many and I had explained the issue – and so in 2020, they made the change to its trading name to better reflect its standing as the peak body for motorsport in Australia. Again that conversation – a good example of a small conversation having a big impact. We didn’t have any pushback about the name change and as I said, it did tell a story.

I also chaired a small organisation called Sports Environment Alliance, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to lead, educate and empower the sport ecosystem to take action for and influence a sustainable and regenerative future. Their main purpose is getting sport organisations and sports facilities to consider their environmental impact and try to navigate that. It was a very interesting and quite challenging task.

I chair two committees for World Sports. These are integrity communities – one is for World Athletics Election Oversight Panel (EOP), and the other one for World Sailing. World Athletics committee hold an election once every four years with the purpose of making sure the candidates are on track, are righteous and not making unrealistic promises to increase votes.

I was in Budapest last year for the World Athletics Championship, and this year I will be going to Singapore for World Sailing — these are enough to keep me going.

Back to how I started - I am grateful to my parents for the opportunities and feel fortunate to have people supporting me along the way.

To sum up, how dID I score on the eldest daughter scale?

• “You have an intense feeling of responsibility”- I reckon I take responsibility seriously but don’t have an intense feeling about it.

• “You are an overachiever, type A and very driven”-I probably am and I am also very good at down time.

• “You worry a lot and probably have anxiety”- I don’t stress about anything as I know I will get stuffs done.

• “You struggle with people-pleasing behaviours” – I don’t like conflict very much.

• “You have a hard time placing and upholding boundaries” - I disagree on this one.

• “You resent your siblings and family.” - I definitely do not, however I must add that my brother, (also an Olympian) won a bronze medal in kayaking at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Thank goodness it was not a gold! or I would be resentful.

• “You struggle with feelings of guilt” - no, I do not.

• “You have a difficult time in your adult relationships”- not really.

Lastly, I feel that I like doing things and achieving well, enjoy contributing and have a very competitive feisty spirit and what I have done today is satisfying only up to a point. Enjoyment come and will come from what I might do next.

Thank you Margot for sharing your incredible story. Your achievements, hard work and dedication is such an inspiration to all us.

June Monthly Luncheon

with Dr Ross Bastiaan AM RFD*

Eighty years ago, 6th June 1944 was D-Day – it was a day that changed the course of history, not only in Western Europe but also in the world. The landing of troops on the beaches of Normandy was given the name Operation Overlord.

On 5th June 2024, the eve of the 80th anniversary of D-Day 1944, we welcomed Dr Ross Bastian AM RFD, our guest speaker to our June Luncheon.

For over 35 years, Dr Bastiaan has placed around the world, over 280 large commemorative bronze plaques to tell Australia’s militarily and social history. Dr Bastiaan was a Melbourne periodontist in private practice for 51 years. This is his story.

Background

Thank you for having me. I graduated in 1973 and I did Masters degrees from Melbourne and London Universities, and set up practice here in Melbourne as a periodontist. However, today I’m not talking about dentistry but about another side of my life —its about making Australian history. It started a long time ago. I was raised in an environment where we, as common as in those days, serve the country (and so we knew a lot about wars and heroes). People are always wanting to know about these heroes.

Australia sent almost 1.5 million men and women overseas to serve their country at war and they are forgotten over a passage of time. Many gave up their lives to serve the nation. When we were threatened, we lost about 102,000 Australians. The Australian war memorial commemorates them very well and we see some of them as we pass through towns and that is how we know of its in association with the war.

My determination is to make sure that the new generation could read these stories. Thousands of sites for these memorials exist in some difficult terrain and some are well looked after. There are 146 countries where our war heroes were buried.

There are thousands of cemeteries covering the landscape of France and Belgium as illustrated here on a current Mischellen Road Map. France is the centre of war graves and the little dots on the map represent cemeteries around these areas along the section of the Western Front. The number of lost lives are horrifying.

The Commonwealth war dead number 1.1 million, in 23,000 sites in 146 countries.

Australia’s dead lie in hundreds of cemeteries around the world.

Cemeteries and Memorials

Each cemetery has a basic design with an arch to go through. This is Jeruselem with Kipling’s words on it, ‘not lest we forget’. Kipling wrote it because his son was killed in the great war and it affected him terribly.

Our Australian War Memorial in France is predominately the biggest and the hype of the Western Front overlooking the field of Cathédrale d’Amiens, located on a small hill just outside Villers-Bretonneux. In front of it lie the graves of over 770 Australian soldiers. From the top of the tower is a sweeping view of the now calm landscape.

So different it is from that of El Alamein. The 1942 picture shows a rough desert cemetery. I did a marvelous job of put it together (obviously still without grass), and regularly tomb stones and stone had to be replaced. But El Alamein remains an extreme issue due to the need to meet the demands of the area; e.g, Christian crosses had to be removed. Each tomb has an extinct pattern, this is the coat of arms for the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces), and has the name of the recipient and date of birth and death. The families of the deceased are allowed to write some words below.

Australia has five big memorials located at the Western Front, each divisions were nominated by the French (who gave us that land) with one in Pozeires.

Australia’s national war memorial, built and finished in 1938 has a magnificent tower and the view from the tower looks down at the cemetery. Around the sides are the names of those with no graves – these are our people whom, from 1700s, have been lost in battlefield here and no one knew where they lie.

We had a few disasters — the Le Hamel battlefield was an important one and as such, an Australian war memorial was built. Rain washed away some of these words and nothing could be read so it had to be repaired five years later. I had suggested adding lavatories nearby because tour buses frequent these toilets and that is why Hamel has done well.

Some memorials do not work well, e,g Hyde Park in Sydney and is probably why it is not well known. There were constant cracking and leaking problems

Australian Graves at Villers Bretonneux

El Alamein 1942

El Alamein 2004

Australian Divisional Memorial - Pozieres

Australia’s National War Memorial- Villers Bretonneux, in France

Hamel Australian War Memorial

The Australian government built the Isurava memorial, it was quite a spectacular one along the Kokoda trail. I did it in 1992, where, at that time was bare and I had negotiated with the local tribes who had it written with what they wanted (not what we wanted) and so I opted to have the pigeon upfront with English words at the bottom and I made sure that the headman’s name was on it. It is still there and was a well worthwhile job.

My core job was still always a periodontist and the plaques placing was a sideline that grew to an extent where I never thought would. The fact that I had worked in Melbourne all those years ago also meant that I could pick my time to go, fund what I wanted and raised money — a unique situation — we were able get sculptors to do them.

The two special days where we all celebrate and commemorate, Anzac Day and Remembrance Day is shared by the nation. Anzac Day will live on; but Remembrance Day may not - there will come a time in the future where Remembrance day will be a long way from our memories. The whole atmosphere towards the past will move on for Australia.

I decided way back when I went to Gallipoli in 1998 to research for a book called Images of Gallipolli, base on some pictures I found in the dental school in London. There were 600 negatives and some were never used. I was disappointed to find that there were very little information in English. (Yet we talked about Gallipoli all the time while the veterans were still alive). Younger people who visit would not know a thing as there were no information and that was when I saw the concept of doing these ground work. I soon realised that young people don’t like words, they need maps and images and so we had them done in English, Turkish and other main languages.

I was fortunate to be able to complete a series of ten of the Battlefield and in time for the huge 1990 commemoration where we brought 63 original Anzac plaques back to our shores. I was appointed by the Australian government to be the guide to these old men.

Sometime in life, you get the opportunity to meet important people and one of my most unforgettable experience was meeting Mrs Margaret Thatcher. It was at a huge marquee event where the world’s prime ministers were meeting for a luncheon and I was at the side, observing. There were other dignitaries from Australia and Prime Minister Bob Hawke introduced me to Mrs Thatcher. He mentioned my work, the amazing job I had done plus how I did all of this with my own funding ... and she stood up, shook my hand and said “now that’s an achievement.”

Lone Pine Cemetery, Anzac Day 1990

Kokoda Trail Memorial - Isurava,

2002

I went on to place plaques in El Alamein and did some in the desert. I raised enough money to fund the project that used sand techniques - the work was sculpted, lettered and casted.

This is the Burke and Wills bronze plaque across central Australia. To do it. I started with a picture that was kept in the national collection and it was of Burke and Wills leaving the zoo at the start of the journey. I chose it, drew it and then used plastering and had it casted – it was made out of a single casting of bronze.

The plaque is one of a series of 13 plaques to mark the route of the expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is what the monument looked like when completed. The bronze is of high quality and very hard to vandalise. I did the four explorers that made the journey, added the map and kept the text simple, leaving out details like the general’s name on the bronze .

Money

Money was always needed for the work I do, they are mostly privately funded and I had raised around $1.4million over the 30-odd years.

The University of Melbourne (UoM)

The UoM a familiar area to me - my alma mater. I was approached to do something around the cenotaph area.

Initially made of stawell stone, it was built in 1926 to commemorate those who served or died in World War One and was unveiled by Sir John Monash on the 24th April 1926. It originally stood at the head of the main drive but in 1972, was relocated near the Law School and Wilson Hall.

The relocation works encountered some problemsthere were too many people involved in the process. There were 14 committee staff to meet with which meant too many academic ideas and inputs. A lot of negotiating went on to make the words readable and acceptable. This was during the Vietnam erathat generation at that time - as we all know and understood what went on and how controversial it was in Melbourne. I had a lot of problems getting the staff to agree on the words and had to acertain

at that time, what was important and what was not. It was very tricky when dealing with some very senior people and then having to make it relevant to today’s people.

This is an example of a problem I faced. This picture show a group of recruits from RAAF who were marching past old Wilson Hall and was a really good picture to use because I wanted it engraved but was

told that I couldnt as I didn’t get permission from the front row of people (because their faces were visible). Short that these people were probably not still alive, I was told to write to their families.

I did a World War II plaque at the University. It sits on a plinth and is located behind the cenotaph. I was really proud because this is my University. We did other things in different parts of the university.

I enjoy talking to old veterans from World War I. In this picture are the last two living Australian Light Horse men in Victoria. I had managed to get them to come to Caulfield Park-Beersheva to unveil the plaque.

Influence from War

And how did I get involved in all these? It was war that had influenced my family. My Dad (below left photo) served during WWII, and went across to England during the period. My Mom’s brothers (below middle photo) also served during the war.

Lawrence McCarthy, an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross was was my mentor and a very significant person in my life. I was determined to mark everywhere he went - he served on 13 battlefields. I raised the money for these plaques on the Western Front on all 13 memorials and they are looked after by the Australian government with Commonwealth funding.

The new generation of Australians may not always see what we see or know what we grew up with, so we need to leave some kind of message. For me, the future are these two young people looking over the fields and reading my plaques. It has been worthwhile for me.

Dear Ross, a big thank you! This is an extraordinary story! ....from all who attended and from us at The Graduate Union.

Australian War memorial Canberra

McCarthy VC (16th Btn. 1st AIF 1892 -1975)

The Future

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Kokoda Trail, PNG

112th Annual General Meeting (AGM)

of The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne

The President, Cr The Hon Diana Bryant AO KC, chaired the AGM and welcomed all Members present and online. Apologies were read, quorum was confirmed and no conflicts of interest was declared and the minutes of the AGM No. 111, held 16 May 2023, was adopted as a true record.

The President advised that the President’s Message was provided to all Members in The Melbourne Graduate sent to all Members prior to the AGM.

Key matters highlighted were:

Chair of Council, Cr Natalie Gray’s report. Chair of Council thanked the President for her support during the year and acknowledged outgoing Chair of Council Cr Mirabelli for his service. Some highlight of her report include:

• the Graduate Union Strategic Plan 20242026, advising that performance indicators are currently being developed to ensure the successful implementation of the plan for Members.

• the Graduate Union Master Plan and the positive contribution the new building would make to the precinct, along with the impact and legacy for The Graduate Union.

• the importance of ensuring relationships are maintained with members, with The University of Melbourne and the Heads of Colleges.

• the Doctoral Journey Program with students and academics of the University continues to grow in reputation and impact

• the Mentoring Program has been a great initiative for 2023/2024, with a good participation rate amongst mentors and mentees.

• Reciprocal rights with international graduate associations are continuing.

GM (General Manager), Mr Daniel Clark’s report. The GM spoke about the three goals set for 2023 that were met — reconnect with members, rebuilding the College Community and welcoming back attendees to meeting services.

• an increase in numbers of membership of The Graduate Union.

• Graduate House occupancy rose to 84.5% from 2022’s result of 58.5%.

• The Graduate Union (GU) Council’s completion of the Strategic Plan 2024-2026.

• Actions taken for the progression of the Stage 1 Master Plan Project.

• The Doctoral Journey Master Class Series was successfully undertaken.

The GM acknowledged Cr Muan Lim and Cr Mary Kelleher whose terms on Council have concluded and thanked them for their contribution over many years. The GM is grateful to all donors for their ongoing financial support of the Association.

The GM spoke of some of the initiatives of 2024, which include:

• demand for services continuing to grow;

• student groups being re-activated;

• an alliance with GSA (Graduate Student Association) in the development process;

• opportunities being investigated to enliven the Graduate House community;

• Meeting services continuing to grow strongly;

• the precinct that will change dramatically when the Parkville Station is commissioned and that Graduate House will be in a good position to be a part of that.

The General Manager thanked the staff for their ongoing support of The Graduate Union.

Financial Report For The Year Ended 31 December 2023

The Chair of the Finance and Audit subcommittee, Cr Muan Lim, spoke on the Association’s Financial Report for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Cr Lim reflected on the last two years as being extremely challenging for the Association, but with close monitoring of finances, the Association had managed to continue operating albeit with limited capacity. Revenue grew by $1M which was excellent, but the challenge was the high operating and maintenance costs. It was difficult to make a high surplus and to grow the Member’s Fund. The Association made a surplus in 2023 which was gratifying for the hard work done to keep the Association growing.

Cr Lim advised that it was time for him to finish up on Council and as Chair of the Finance and Audit subcommittee. He thanked the subcommittee for their work during the year.

Election of Council Members

There were three vacancies on Council and the Returning Officer, Stephen Luntz received two nominations. Therefore, there was no requirement to hold an election. The President advised the outcome of the call for nominations being:

• Cr Jane Tisdall

• Cr Michael Lynch

• Vacant

The President congratulated Cr Tisdall and Cr Lynch on their appointment to Council for a period of three years from Thursday 30 May 2024 to 29 May 2027.

Appointment of Auditor

The President spoke of the Finance and Audit subcommittee’s satisfaction with the work of the Association’s auditor, noting his thorough and unbiased auditing of the 2023 financial operations. The President recommended to Members the re-appointment of the current auditor and it was resolved for the appointment of Mr Wayne Tarrant, of MVA Bennett, to undertake the independent audit for the financial year ending 31 December 2024 be approved.

Motion for Special resolution: Proposed changes to the Rules of The Graduate Union

The President spoke of the need to change the Association’s Rules, to amend the Council subcommittee naming convention. The motion changes:

• the use of “subcommittee” to “Committee”;

• changing the name “Finance and Audit subcommittee” to “Finance Committee”; and

• changing the name “Disciplinary subcommittee” to “Accountability Committee”.

It was resolved that the amendments to the Rules of The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne Incorporated, as outlined in the Explanatory Memorandum for motion for special resolution be adopted.

Launch Of The Strategic Plan 2024-2026

The Chair of Council introduced The Graduate Union Strategic Plan 2024/2026 to members. The Chair commended the work undertaken by Council and the thorough approach to the development of the new Strategic Plan.

The process for the development of the plan included a thorough examination by Council on where it felt the Association should be by 2026. It also included a renewed focus on members, not just accommodation and meeting services. The development of annual work plans for Council’s Committees will ensure that the plan becomes a reality.

The President commended Council on the thorough approach it took to the development of the Strategic Plan.

Recognition of service

The President commented that The Graduate Union exists because people volunteer their time and their skills and that the Association is very fortunate to have people who maintain their commitment to The Graduate Union. The President acknowledged three Councillors who had finished a long commitment to the Association:

• Cr Vincent Mirabelli – finished his term as past chair of Council. Cr Mirabelli had done an outstanding job in steering the Association through COVID and very difficult times;

• Cr Mary Kelleher – finished her term after nine years on Council. Cr Kelleher was commended for her astute and generous contribution and service;

• Cr Muan Lim – finished his term on Council but will remain a member of the Finance Committee. Cr Lim was commended for his generous and knowledgeable service as Chair of the Finance and Audit subcommittee and six years on Council. It was noted that Cr Lim was the right person in his position during COVID.

Master planning update

The Chair reiterated how the Master Plan accords with the Strategic Plan. She advised that COVID had forced a delay in planning and that there was therefore a need to apply for an extension to the Planning Permit. The Association is now awarded an extension of permit for four years.

Council is now in a position to call for Expressions of Interest for partner organisation to work with the Association and to ensure that the building will be an asset which ensures the strongest legacy for the Association.

Underlying the construction, Council wants to ensure that the asset will facilitate the connection of people to make The Graduate Union more dynamic and fiscally sustainable into the future.

The underlying principles for any partnership proposal are:

• The Graduate Union is committed to retaining its current operation as a facility for graduates with wider services to members and the community;

• The Graduate Union is committed to retaining ownership of the current site which will become increasingly desirable following the opening of the Parkville Station in Grattan Street; and

• The Graduate Union is committed to entering into discussions with potential partners with whom it can work to achieve mutually agreeable goals for the future development of the site.

Questions from members were invited. To a question about why the City of Melbourne rejected the permit extension application. It was explained that it was to do with overshadowing of The University Square and heritage provisions. Both of these issues were dealt with in the tribunal hearing.

To another question about whether Council had any concerns about the Federal Government’s planned visa changes to cap international students, The Chair advised that the current international student numbers for The University of Melbourne are growing consistently and that it is envisaged that this will continue to be the case due to the University’s international reputation.

The next AGM is scheduled on Thursday, 29th May 2025

The meeting closed at 6.30pm.

Members proceeded to the Member’s Lounge for pre-dinner drinks and canapes and then to combined Ian Potter and Stillwell Rooms for the AGM dinner.

Vale Mrs Yvonne McCredie

We are saddened to learn of the death of Mrs Yvonne Lorraine McCredie who passed away on 8th June 2024. Both Yvonne and the late Associate Professor David McCredie AM MD BSc FRACP (deceased November 2020) were very active members and strong supporters of The Graduate Union.

Yvonne was a Life member of The Graduate Union since 2004. David joined our association in 1950 and was awarded The Honourary Life membership in 2011. He served as a Councillor of The Graduate Union from 2001-2007 and was the Vice Chairman from 2003 -2006. The McCredies are familiar faces at Graduate House and were seen regularly in the dining room and at our GU Collegiate events, especially the Monthly Luncheons, Christmas parties, concerts and dinners.

For more than a decade, David and Yvonne spent part of each year on the Tiwi Islands, after initiating a volunteer project to investigate and improve kidney health in Indigenous children. They have a deep commitment to social justice and David volunteered his clinical services to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

We are grateful to the McCredie Family for their recent generous donation of a residential Indigeneous scholarship at Graduate House. The Graduate Union is currently working with The University of Melbourne in establishing the Indigenous scholarship.

Yvonne (left) and David (deceased 2020) in the Graduate House dining room. This photo was taken in 2018.

More than Poster Boys and Cover Girls

Indigenous Engagement in the Residential Colleges

by Dr Peter Campbell, JP, ALIA Registrar, Trinity College Theological School

There is little in the official records of the residential colleges affiliated to The University of Melbourne to suggest that Indigenous affairs were a topic of concern until late in the twentieth century. Certainly, formal engagement with Indigenous people is only relatively recent. Despite some scepticism that this was mere window-dressing, enabling predominantly white, wealthy institutions to appear as good citizens, the work of the residential colleges at The University of Melbourne must be recognised as being of immense value to the majority of students involved.

There are a few references at earlier dates. In 1902, Alexander Leeper, the warden of Trinity College — the oldest at the University, having enrolled its first students in 1872 — took his daughter to Healesville where they visited the ‘legendary William Barak, artist, spokesman for his people and leader of the Aboriginal groups surviving in the Coranderrk [Aboriginal] reserve, and he had cradled the oneyear-old Valentine in his arms’. 1. Valentine was later a student at Trinity’s women’s residence, Janet Clarke Hall, and from the 1930s worked in several organisations seeking justice for Indigenous people, including the Victorian Aboriginal Group, and the National Association for the Advancement of the Native Race. In addition, an ‘enormous’ collection of ‘aboriginal implements’ was presented to the Melbourne Museum by former Trinity student Samuel (‘Barney’) Mann in 1926. 2. Described by Baldwin Spencer as ‘one of the most valuable additions received for many years’, it placed the museum ‘ahead of any other in the world regarding the history and culture of the stone age’. 3. But these stories are only tangentially related to the colleges.

In 1951, The University of Melbourne students began raising funds for an Aboriginal scholarship. This was formalised by the Student Representative Council in 1953, and thence administered by the National Union of Australian University Students under the nickname ‘Abschol’. 4. College students backed the scheme and participated in numerous fundraising activities, including the Student Union’s

Portsea-to-Melbourne Trike Race, run first during Prosh Week in 1965 especially to raise funds for Abschol; students from International House won the race in two of its first three years.5.

It was not until the end of 1956 that the first three known Indigenous students matriculated to Australian universities, one of whom was Margaret Williams from Casino High School. Williams (later Williams-Weir) began her BA at The University of Queensland in 1957, on one of the first Abschol grants, but transferred to The University of Melbourne after one semester, completing the Diploma of Physical Education in 1959 to become Australia’s first Indigenous graduate. In Melbourne, she was a resident at University Women’s (now University) College, where she was also supported by funds devoted by the Australian Heads of Colleges Association to providing ‘a free place in each State in any University College’ for students

Margaret Williams, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne collection.

awarded Abschol funding. 6. In an interview in 2014, Willams-Weir expressed her gratitude to the colleges and university for their support, through scholarships and friendships, and noted that University Women’s College ‘gave me a home of likeminded people … we were more or less an extended family … an academic family. It gave me a home. It gave me time and space to study … and grow as an individual’.7.

Williams was joined at the University in 1959 by another Queenslander, (‘Alan’) Gordon Santo, also on an Abschol grant and studying the DipPhysEd. He was given a residential place at International House. 8. During the 1960s, International House students published several articles on Aboriginal affairs in their college magazine, keeping the subject front of mind in the lead-up to the 1967 constitutional referendum, but even that success did not materially change opportunities for Indigenous students at university, and there was little engagement with the issue in the colleges for the next thirty years. From the mid-1990s, however, small numbers of Indigenous students began to apply for college residency, though not all at the time were self-identifying or willing to have their heritage advertised. The then dean of students at Ormond, Phillippa Connelly, later head of Medley Hall, recalls providing bursary assistance to some on the basis of need, though there was not any formal ‘program’ to speak of at the time.9.

In 1993, with financial assistance from the University, Trinity chaplain Ron Browning organised for six students — five from Trinity and one from St Hilda’s — to visit Bathurst Island, part of the Tiwi Island pairing north of Darwin. The goal was to spend time in that community ‘learning more about the culture and current issues faced by the indigenous people of our country’. 10. A similar visit was made to the West Arnhem Land town of Maningrida in 1995, which was coordinated through the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, with the students helping in the health centre and visiting local sites with rangers to ‘learn and exchange knowledge of culture’. 11. Trinity students later went to Minyerri, south-west of Mataranka, and then on visits to East Arnhem Land organised by Lirrwi Tourism. Transit through Darwin often included meetings with such organisations as the Northern Land Council, the Department of Housing, and the Menzies School of Health Research. From 2003, students from the Trinity College Theological School also visited Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns.12.

During these years, all the residential colleges were broadening their student bases. Judge Peter Gebhardt, a former Trinity resident and school headmaster, became the ‘driving force behind Trinity College’s active support of Aboriginal students’.

In 1999, Gebhardt proposed inviting Indigenous leaders and artists to the college as visiting fellows, and personally funded the first appointees.13. In 2014, he gathered donors to create a prize for young Indigenous writers, with a residency at Trinity and publication in the journal Overland. He said that he ‘wanted to reach out into the community, because some Aboriginal students think the walls are a bit high around the place’.14. The inaugural winner of the Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize was Jessica Hart from Cairns.15. With Gebhardt’s backing, Trinity hosted Australian author and black campaigner Roberta (‘Bobbi’) Sykes, and Indigenous artist Ray (‘Kuwyie’) Vincent, a Dhungutti man from the NSW North Coast, as visiting scholars in July 2000. During a public lecture at the University, Sykes announced that Trinity was creating two residential scholarships for Indigenous students, funded by Trinity alumniRoger Riordan (through his Cybec Foundation) and Robert Champion de Crespigny.

Sykes also spoke to Trinity students at a post-dinner forum, challenging them to ‘dream of the future where black and white Australians lived together in a fair and equal society’.16. With assistance from Perpetual Trustees, Trinity created permanent visiting fellowships for Indigenous academics to ‘greatly enrich it as an educational community’, provide role models for Indigenous students, and raise awareness among the wider student body.17.

In 2002, Noongar author Kim Scott, the Western Australian winner of the 2000 Miles Franklin Literary Award, was a visiting scholar at Trinity. It was only from 2001 that serious financial support for Indigenous students commenced across Melbourne’s college system. One of the first Indigenous students at Trinity, Sana Nakata, observed that: ‘Without Trinity, I may never have known such a sense of community because I grew up as an outsider, always seeing two different ways of looking at the world.’ Clare Pullar, Trinity’s director of advancement, stressed that scholarships were not mere handouts, but that rather, a strong program was about enhancing diversity because ‘Our community is diminished if we don’t have indigenous students and the contribution they make fundamentally changes everybody else’.18.

In October 2001, Patrick Dodson was invited to Trinity to celebrate the successful first year of the ‘Indigenous program’. He thanked Trinity and its donors, who had ‘seen the importance of building an understanding and a broader perspective on how to deal with, or relate to, and be involved in the indigenous affairs of this country’.19.

Through these early years, the colleges relied on philanthropic support to fund residential places for Indigenous students. Riordan provided significant

funds to Medley Hall (now renamed Wilam Hall) both to rescue its ailing building and to create scholarships. Medley was also the first to harness ABSTUDY provisions under which students living in a college ‘attached to the approved education institution’ could elect to have their residential fees paid by ABSTUDY directly to the college or hostel, although their ‘normal fortnightly amount of Living Allowance’ would be reduced during term.20. For those students who were eligible for the ‘residential costs option’—and that was an issue, with strict guidelines and frequent denials—their college might now only need to assist with living costs. Delays in Centrelink confirmations of eligibility persisted, however, with a 2017 University submission to a House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs inquiry into educational outcomes noting that an Indigenous student may be admitted to a residential college under the assumption the student will be eligible … During the lengthy delay in processing ABSTUDY payments, the University or residential college must provide financial support for the student … any ABSTUDY payment received by the student in this waiting period is raised as an overpayment by Centrelink, which the student is required to pay back. 21. So the colleges continued to admit Indigenous students, as and when they could find funds. The first at Queen’s College was Shaun Moat, in 2005. From 2018, a Deloitte Indigenous Scholarship supported four students at Queen’s alongside a mentoring program. Since 2017, Queen’s has held an Indigenous Oration, now a cornerstone of its mission to ‘helpreduce the gap through education, to develop global First Nations partnerships, and to support the work of Indigenous scholars’. 22.

In 2004, the University’s chancellor, Fay Marles, visited Yirrkala in north-eastern Arnhem Land. There, she was introduced to Rärriwuy Marika, who told her that ‘young people needed to be prepared for a life where they could connect with a much wider range of people and be exposed to a variety of experiences’. Marles then organised for the University to finance a tour to Melbourne by a jazz band from Yirrkala school, which stayed at University House in 2005. On a subsequent visit, Rärriwuy’s aunt, Langani Marika, senior law woman of the Rirratjingu clan, proposed to Marles that she make a cultural visit to Melbourne, and this was formalised with Trinity College for 2007. 23.

Jon Ritchie was appointed to the new role of Indigenous programs officer at Trinity in that year, and his first task was the coordination of the month-long residency for Langani and Rärriwuy as visiting scholars. During their stay, the pair took part in three ‘Sunday Afternoon Conversations’ with students in which they explored Yolŋu relationships

with the land, law, ceremony and spirituality. Marles had also met Jenny Home, widow of Yolŋu artist and Elder Wandjuk Marika, Langani’s brother, and regular visits to Trinity by various members of the extended family, all prominent artists, have continued since. This resulted in Home and her daughter Mayatili Marika presenting a significant collection of valuable artworks to Trinity under an agreement to preserve Yolŋu cultural artefacts off Country.

While small numbers of Indigenous high-school students had attended Trinity’s ‘Young Leaders Summer School’ since 2001, twenty-two from Worawa Aboriginal College (Healesville), Mooroopna Secondary College (Shepparton), Kalumburu (the Kimberley), Darwin, Yirrkala, Minyerri and Areyonga (west of Alice Springs) attended in 2007 and were introduced to university life in Melbourne.24. In 2010, Trinity ran a specialist Indigenous Summer School, and the University then developed several annual high-school programs based on the same model, including the Residential Indigenous Science Experience for Victorian Year 9 and Year 10 students, and the Indigenous Leadership, Excellence and Achievement Program, created to ‘increase the aspirations of Indigenous students to attend university, equip them to excel, and provide them with the skills to become leaders’.25. Recruitment is overseen by Murrup Barak, and students meet staff, are introduced to the campus and facilities, and have a preliminary college experience.

Beneficial as these initiatives were, they affected the lives of a mere handful of students who were, generally, already academically strong. What was needed was a program that supported a wider range of students; the University also wished to improve pathways for Indigenous students and redress its ‘poor record in attracting and retaining them’. During 2007, Ritchie developed a model he called ‘Step-UP’, involving a series of collaborations beginning in early high school and progressing to Trinity where the final three stages occurred: Summer School, University Preparation (the ‘UP’), and finally undergraduate study at the University of Melbourne with residence in one of the colleges. Support was received from the Flora and Frank Leith Charitable Trust and the Jack Brockhoff Foundation to found the ‘Trinity College Indigenous University Preparation Program’.26.

By 2008, urged on by Professor Marcia Langton, this had developed into a joint venture with the University to create a ‘new and very original Arts degree program for indigenous students’ in which those who might not meet the direct-entry requirements could take the first year of their degree across two years, ‘in conjunction with a

number of academic development and support subjects’. This was formalised as ‘eight specifically designed bridging subjects’ taught by staff from Trinity’s Foundation Studies transition program for overseas students.27. The package included residence at one of the colleges and was to be known as the Bachelor of Arts (Extended), or BA(Ext). It was driven by Trinity dean Campbell Bairstow, supported by Brenda Holt (later head of St Hilda’s College) and, from 2011, Jeff Richardson, a successor to Ritchie in residential student support at Trinity. Two experienced Foundation Studies lecturers, Rosemary Blight (Drama) and David Collis (Mathematics), were seconded half-time to work on the curriculum and develop recruitment criteria.28. Trinity was able to attract funding of $100 000 per annum for five years from the Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund for student support payments, curriculum development and teaching costs.29.

Professor Richard James, director of the University’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education and later chair of the University’s Indigenous Strategy Reference Group, was a powerful champion of the idea for its equity and access possibilities. He chaired the first steering committee and acted as the University’s liaison with the colleges. Trinity’s warden, Andrew McGowan, approached Phillippa Connelly at Medley to ensure residential places could be offered. The University’s provost, Peter McPhee, formally launched the BA(Ext) on 24 February 2009 and thirteen students were enrolled for the first year. Trinity accepted four, with others placed at Medley Hall, Ormond, Whitley, Queen’s and Newman colleges. It was not an entirely smooth beginning, with several students failing to finish the year and others unhappy in their particular college. Two students felt especially isolated in colleges that were able to offer only a single place. Among the administrative issues confronted were the lateness of receiving some applications, determining what necessary ‘extras’ should be included in financial support, and understanding how college scholarships interacted with government funding such as ABSTUDY and the Indigenous Youth Allowance. After the initial trial period, Professor Ian Anderson proposed that the scheme be streamlined and the University operate only through Medley, Ormond, Trinity and Whitley, while academic progress matters fell to the associate dean of the Faculty of Arts, Parshia Lee-Stecum.

Collis was appointed program leader in 2014 and immediately set about revisions, employing more Indigenous teaching staff and beginning a long process of writing an ‘Indigenous-led curriculum grounded in Indigenous scholarship’ that came online in 2020. By the end of 2019, when Collis handed over to Indigenous teachers Maddee

Clark and Emily Direen, almost 150 students had undertaken the BA(Ext).30. A parallel course for Indigenous Science students, the BSc(Ext), had also been created, with the first cohort commencing in 2015. This was supported by the CSIRO as part of its Indigenous STEM Education Project.31. Further proof of the concept may be seen in the nearidentical ‘Extended’ degrees introduced at the University of Sydney from 2022.32.

As University-owned colleges, International House and Medley College were included under the University’s first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), introduced in 2011. There was, however, still little appreciation of the part colleges could play, with item 16 proposing a review of the BA(Ext) to consider ‘alternatives to the residential component’.33. Ormond was the first of the independent colleges to institute a RAP, created under the college’s Indigenous Program founded in 2008 by Associate Professor Jane Freemantle. The RAP was launched in August 2013 by Professor Langton. It assisted the college to ‘address the disparities in the recruitment, retention and successful completion of tertiary studies’.34. Ormond’s RAP was followed by one at Queen’s College in 2018, developed by senior staff and its Indigenous student support officer, Tyrone Bean.

The Trinity College Indigenous Culture Society was formed in 2013 to provide a platform for discussion of Australian ‘culture, identity, and history, promote action on cultural and social issues and challenge students’ attitudes and awareness’.35. Trinity’s Indigenous students organised an afterdinner forum in 2016 to explore the ‘diversity in Australian Indigenous culture that we have in our college’ and to provide views on ‘what it means to be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person in contemporary society’.36. By then there were seventy-six Indigenous students in residence at the University of Melbourne, the majority at those at colleges with greatest access to philanthropic support: Trinity (twenty-four students), Ormond (nineteen) and Medley Hall (seventeen).37. For Medley, a small college, this represented almost a third of the total cohort. A peer-support group called the Black Griffins had been created by thirdyear Indigenous student Emily James in 2015, and in 2016 Indigenous students were elected to four of the six executive positions on the Student Club committee. The club had earlier amended its constitution to include election of a permanent Indigenous Representative.38.

The first Indigenous Tertiary Education Conference, held in conjunction with the University’s annual Narrm Oration, given by journalist Stan Grant, was held at Trinity on 18 and 19 November 2016. It explored the theme of transition, and

acknowledged the vital ‘role and value of residential accommodation, in particular collegiate education, in supporting transition to tertiary study, and in contributing to retention and academic success’.39. During the conference, the College’s Indigenous art collection was on display in Trinity’s newly opened Gateway building. As part of its revised strategic goal to ‘advance higher education outcomes of Indigenous students’, in 2018 Trinity proposed the creation of an Indigenous Higher Education Centre and appointed Tammy Kingi as its first full-time Indigenous support officer. Ormond also has a dedicated support officer with the title Freemantle Fellow, and an Indigenous student is elected to the Student Support Committee.40.

Since 2019, Melbourne University Sport has hosted the Intercollegiate Buroinjin Cup on the University Oval, inviting the colleges to field teams playing this traditional sport. Smoking ceremonies and formal welcomes to Country are now part of the life of all the colleges at the University. Such activities help centre the thinking of all members of the college communities on the importance of ‘place’ and ‘belonging’, which is especially vital during orientation, when new students move onto campus for the first time.

Despite having at times been held up as poster boys and cover girls in order to show how well universities are doing in ‘fixing’ the issue of Indigenous education, the students at Melbourne’s residential colleges have, on the whole, benefited greatly from the support provided there. The colleges continue to play a vital role in the transformation of Indigenous education in this country, and the outcomes are proof that the

system is working. Tyrone Bean at Queen’s said in 2017 that ‘as long as we have people running this place—the College senior staff—backing the idea … then we will definitely achieve Indigenous programs here that will benefit non-Indigenous student as well’.41. Perhaps the ultimate accolade was provided the same year by Kay Attali from Trinity’s Advancement team: ‘The Indigenous cohort has grown to a point where it’s no longer a big deal to be an Indigenous student at Trinity, it’s normal; that’s a vast improvement’.42.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Marion Poynter, Nobody’s Valentine: Letters in the Life of Valentine Alexa Leeper, 1900–2001, Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2008, p. 4; Ian D Clark, ‘A Peep at the Blacks’: A History of Tourism at Coranderrk Aboriginal Station, 1863–1924, De Gruyter Open, Berlin, 2015, p. 166.

2. ‘Samuel Furneaux Mann’, Fleur-de-Lys, November 1954, p. 32.

3. Age, 29 October 1926, p. 8; Argus, 19 March 1927, p. 35; Michael Lever, ‘A Damaged Past: The Effect of Historical Artefact Collecting on the Stone Artefact Record of Victoria’, Excavations, Surveys and Heritage Management in Victoria, vol. 5, 2016, pp. 47–50.

4. ‘Scholarships for Aborigines’, The West Australian, 6 April 1953, p. 2; ‘Education for Aborigines’, Age, 14 July 1953, p. 15; ‘Students Offer Change to Aborigine’, Age, 8 September 1954, p. 2; Jennifer Clarke, ‘Abschol: More than a Scholarship Scheme’, National Library of Australia News, vol. 12, no. 1, October 2001, pp. 11–13.

5. J Curwen-Walker, ‘The Great Trike Race, 1967’, Satadal (International House yearbook), 1967, p. 17; John Alson, ‘President’s Report’, Satadal, 1967, p. 36.

6. ‘Aboriginal Girl Matriculates’, Canberra Times, 11 January 1957, p. 2; Rosemary Scouller, ‘What Is the Future for the Australian Aboriginal?’, Tharunka: Journal of the UNSW Students’ Union, vol. 7, no. 2, March 1961, p. 5; Andrew Trounson, ‘First Aboriginal Graduate, Margaret Williams-Weir, Honoured by Melbourne’, Australian, 23 September 2015.

7. Margaret Williams-Weir, interview with Nikki Henningham, University College oral history project, 2014. In 2015, the University of Melbourne honoured her with the naming of a lounge in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, and creating the Dr Margaret Williams-Weir Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowship, first filled by Noel Pearson.

8. Brian Jones, ‘Warden’s Report’, International House Council, 27 May 1959; Soedjadi Sastrosoegito and Richard Shiell, ‘Album of Student Activities, 1960’, International House archives; ‘What Happened to Gordon Santo?’, Semper Floreat (University of Queensland Student Union newspaper), 9 June 1959, p. 1.

A game of Buroinjin on the University oval, June 2024, Queen’s College, Instagram

9. Phillippa Connelly, personal communication with Peter Campbell, 16 December 2021.

10. Samuel a’Beckett, ‘Outreach’, Fleur-de-Lys, 1993, p. 41.

11. ‘Connections in the Top End’, Trinity Today, no. 56, summer 1998–99, pp. 26–7.

12. ‘Changing Lives in North Queensland’, Trinity Today, no. 62, December 2005, p. 15.

13. ‘Crabbed Age and Youth: An Unlikely Partnership’, Trinity Today, no. 85, November 2016, p. 32; Victorian Bar, ‘Obituary & Service: His Honour Peter Gebhardt’, 28 July 2017, https:// www.vicbar.com.au/news-events/obituary-service-his-honourpeter-gebhardt (accessed 8 June 2024).

14. Jack Latimore, ‘Literary Prize to Establish Indigenous Writerin-Residence at Trinity College’, The Citizen, 29 October 2013; https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/literary-prize-establishindigenous-writer-residence-trinity-college (accessed 8 June 2024).

15. Trinity College, ‘Winner Announced: Young Indigenous Writers Prize’, 6 May 2014.

16. ‘Dreaming the Future for White and Black Australia’, Trinity Today, no. 58, summer 2000–01, p. 22.

17. ‘New Scholarships and Visiting Fellowships for Indigenous Scholars’, Trinity Today, no. 58, summer 2000–01, p. 39.

18. Margaret Cook, ‘Ivy-clad Walls Give Way to Eucalypts’, Age, 25 April 2005. See also Donald Markwell, ‘Gender Equality and Cultural Diversity: A New Era’, in A Large and Liberal Education: Higher Education for the 21st Century, Australian Scholarly Press, Melbourne, 2007, pp. 183–9.

19. ‘In Celebration of Indigenous Scholarship’, Trinity Today, no. 59, summer 2001–02, pp. 12–15.

20. Department of Education Science and Training, ABSTUDY Policy Manual 2001, s. 7.3.4.12, https://guides.dss.gov.au/ abstudy-policy-manual (accessed 8 June 2024).

21. Margot Eden, ‘University and College Experience with ABSTUDY’, University of Melbourne, 8 February 2017; House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs, The Power of Education: From Surviving to Thriving Educational Opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students, Department of the Senate, Canberra, December 2017.

22. Nicole Crook, ‘Indigenous Relations at Queen’s College’, private paper, August 2021.

23. Faye Marles, Aiming for the Skies, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2012, pp. 177–86.

24. See, for example, ‘Students Get a Taste of Uni Life at Sumer School’, Deadly Vibe, 15 May 2008, https://deadlyvibe.com. au/2008/05/students-get-a-taste-of-uni-life-at-summer-school (accessed 8 June 2024).

25. See, for example, University of Melbourne, Indigenous Student Success Program: 2019 Performance Report, 2019, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0016/152800/ISSP-2019-Performance-Report-andAcquittal.pdf (accessed 8 June 2024).

26. Jon Ritchie, ‘Trinity’s Indigenous Perspectives: Stepping UP in 2008’, Trinity Today, no. 66, December 200, p. 9.

27. ‘About the BA (Extended)’, Trinity Today, no. 70, December 2009, p. 9.

28. Barbara Cargill (dean of International Programs), email to Trinity staff, 20 June 2008.

29. ‘Building the Capacity to Connect’, Trinity Today, no. 70, December 2009, p. 19.

30. David Collis, email to Peter Campbell, 25 November 2021. See also Lilly Brown and David Collis, ‘Preparing for the Gift: Two Educator’s Perspectives on Practicing Indigenous–Settler Relations in the Classroom’, in Sarah Maddison and Sana Nakat (eds), Questioning Indigenous-Settler Relations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Springer, Singapore, 2020, pp. 125–36.

31. Prem Mudhan, Christopher Banks, Caja Gilbert and Kirsten Sadler, Bachelor of Science (Extended): Evaluation Case Study Outcomes Report, CSIRO, Canberra, 2019.

32. NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc., ‘New Bachelor Degrees at the University of Sydney for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Commencing 2022’, October 2021, https://www.aecg.nsw.edu.au/2021/10/19/newbachelor-degrees-at-the-university-of-sydney-for-aboriginaland-torres-strait-islander-students-commencing-2022 (accessed 8 June 2024).

33. University of Melbourne, Reconciliation Action Plan, 2011–2013, 2011, p. 10.

34. ‘Reconciliation Action Plan, 2013–2015’, New & Old: Ormond College Magazine, no. 87, December 2013, pp. 14–15.

35. Trinity College, ‘Proposed Constitution of the Trinity College Indigenous Culture Society (TCICS)’, September 2013.

36. Douglas Briggs, email to Trinity College ‘resstudents’ list, 12 September 2016.

37. University of Melbourne, ‘The Colleges of the University of Melbourne 2016’, intercollegiate report.

38. Phillippa Connelly and Emily James, ‘Settler Friendly, Straight Friendly’, paper presented at the 1st Indigenous Tertiary Education Conference, Trinity College, 19 November 2016.

39. David Collis, ‘The Next Step: The Trinity College Indigenous Tertiary Education Conference’, Trinity Today, no. 85, November 2016, pp. 11–12.

40. Di Bambra, email to Peter Campbell, 19 November 2021.

41. Sally Dalton-Brown, ‘Flying the Flag for First Nation(s): Tyrone Bean, Queen’s Inaugural Indigenous Student Support Officer’, In Aeternum, November 2017, p. 19.

42-. Trinity College, ‘Kay Attali: The “Bloodhound” with a Big Heart’, 17 November 2017, https://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/ about/news-media/news/kay-attali-the-bloodhound-with-abig-heart (accessed 8 June 2024).

Women’s Forum

At the 19th June Womens Forum, Sue Colvin gave a presentation on Mark’s Country Place (MCP). This is a non-profit, long term project located in Kyneton, central Victoria, which has been a passion and a dream for Sue and her husband Stuart Colvin, inspired by their special needs son, Mark. MCP is currently being developed into an all access, rest and recreation garden with the focus on people of all ages, abilities and disabilities. It is designed to be a safe place where individuals, carers, clients and families can enjoy quality time in a relaxed rural setting.

After 2 1/2 years in the planning and permit process, work is finally beginning on site development. The project is designed to be developed in three stages where the first stage will include a car park, amenities building, a vegetable garden and orchard.Tree planting is also scheduled to begin in the early stages of development. It is planned to include some client feedback in Stages Two and Three which will begin after the completion of Stage One.

The presentation was well received by the Womens Forum group, with many questions from the members.The donation of a tree to MCP from the Womens Forum was offered and graciously accepted with thanks by Sue, on behalf of Mark’s Country Place.

Find more information, go to: https//markscountryplace.org

From left: Maxine Cooper, Elizabeth Carvosso, Wazila Khan, Sue Colvin, Josie Thomas, Fiona McConnell and Emily Cross

Seventy Years of The Graduate Union publications now available online

Publications from The Graduate Union began in 1950 and as time went, the hardcopy documents (some of them are still in the admin office), naturally deteriorated. As a way of maintaining historical accuracy, we took on the task of digitizing these documents so that they are safely preserved for future generations. Below is a timeline of our publications. They are accessible on our website at: https://www.graduatehouse.com.au/join-us/ publications/

The Melbourne Graduate

The first issue of The Melbourne Graduate was published in August 1950. In the forward message on page 3, Sir John D.G.Medley, (Vice-chancellor at The University of Melbourne at that time) wrote:

The second issue was published in November 1950. From 1950 to 1954, eight more issues of The Melbourne Graduate in this similar format were published, in a size narrower than A5 and with various colours for front cover. They were not published on a regular schedule and as stated on the inside cover, it was: Published, as occasion demands or finances permit, by the Executive Committee of The Graduate Union

From 1955-1956, three more booklets were printed and they were without a coloured cover.

From 1957 onwards, The Melbourne Graduate were published monthly in A4 size with the page numbers continuing from first to last issue of each year. They incorporated the periodical newsletter and Graduate House bulletin. The number of issues were reduced over the years and from 1974 onwards, The Melbourne Graduate were published quarterly. In 2001, monthly newsletters were introduced as a separate pamphlets to promote collegiate events and provide updates.

2011 was a significant year - the celebration of 100 years of The Graduate Union. The theme for the celebration was leadership. All issues in 2011 focused on the year long Centenary celebration, including a special supplement, The Centenary Booklet that featured the Founders Day Oration and Dinner speeches by Major General Michael Jeffery AC (former Governor-General of Australia) and Twilight Lectures by Major-General Jeffrey Rosenfeld AC OBE and Laureate Professor Peter Doherty.

From 2012 onwards, The Melbourne Graduate adopted the newer format that is being used today. Also known as the Annual Report, The Melbourne Graduate is published in April of every year.

The Graduate Union meet the Victorian publishers’ legal deposit obligation by lodging every volume of The Melbourne Graduate to the State Library Victoria Collection.

To read these issues, click the year and then the month issue.

The Graduate Union Newsletters

All Newsletters from 2011 to current are assessible at The Graduate Union website. To read these back issues, click the year and then the month.

Other Publications

A Short History of The Graduate Union was published in 2002, to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of The University of Melbourne. The book maps the progress of the graduates in achieving their aims from the establishment of The Melbourne University (Graduates) Association in 1911 (later called The Graduate Union) to the establishment of Graduate House.

Our Story was published as part of the Centenary celebration. Conceptualised by members of the Centenary Committee, including two Graduate House residents in 2011, the book consist of a timeline of our association and a collection of residents’ stories as a remembrance of their time spent at Graduate House.

To read these books, scroll down the publications page to Other Publications and the click the book title.

Grattan Street is back!

After six years of Metro Tunnel construction, Grattan Street finally fully opened in June 2024, with a single lane of traffic in each direction on Grattan St between Flemington Rd and Royal Parade. This section of Grattan St has been upgraded with wider footpaths, new pedestrian crossings, new bike lanes, more bike parking spaces, new seatings, more trees, new bus shelters and a brand new Parkville station, located at the foot of our Parkville campus, set to open in 2025!

Grattan street is designed with low-height landscaping to provide a green link between Royal Parade and University Square. Changes are also made to Royal Parade/Elizabeth Street to include a new tram super stop, realigned traffic lanes, bicycle lanes, footpaths and pedestrian crossings.

Parkville Station is directly below Grattan Street between Royal Parade and Leicester Street and has 4 entrances, each with accessible entry via escalators and lifts:

• Grattan Street opposite Barry Street (main entrance)

• corner of Grattan Street and Royal Parade

• Grattan Street outside the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre

• Royal Parade outside The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

for the Full story, go to: https://www.innercitynews. com.au/carlton-and-parkville-reunite-grattan-streopens-after-six-year-wait/?utm_

Impressive progress at Parkville

Major construction at Parkville Station is now complete, as the opening of the Metro Tunnel in 2025 draws nearer.

Parkville will be connected to the rail network for the first time when the station opens, making transport easier for thousands of medical staff, students, patients, and family members.

The station, measuring almost 270m (metres) long, 30m long wide and sitting 30m below road level is the second of five new state-of-the-art stations to be finished as part of the Metro Tunnel Project. It will provide a quick and easy rail connection for Victorians to the busy health and education precinct.

Since construction began back in 2018, crews have worked to remove an Olympic-sized swimming pool of dirt to create an opening space for the station to be built beneath Grattan St. The station has a footprint around the size of one-and-a-half MCGs, carefully designed to fit among the area’s existing health, research and education institutions.

Passengers will enjoy an open, well-lit station concourse, with the Grattan St entrance’s 54-metrelong and 6.5-metre-wide steel and glass entrance canopy allowing the station to fill with natural light.

The station’s landmark artwork Vernal Glade by internationally acclaimed Melbourne artist Patricia Piccinni was installed in March on the concourse, allowing the art to be bathed in natural light from the skylight canopy above.

Parkville Station will include a pedestrian underpass beneath Royal Parade that will be accessible and free for all pedestrians during station operating hours, allowing people to easily walk from The Royal Melbourne Hospital to the University of Melbourne without needing to wait for traffic.

As major construction comes to an end below ground, crews have begun returning space to the public. The Metro Tunnel team is making excellent progress on train testing in the tunnels and on the Cranbourne/Pakenham and Sunbury lines, with trains undergoing more than 2000 hours of testing so far.

The Metro Tunnel will connect the busy Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines via a new tunnel under the city, creating an end-to-end rail line from the north-west to the south-east, freeing up space in the City Loop and better connecting all Victorians to jobs, healthcare, and education.

Source: https://www.cbdnews.com.au/impressiveprogress-at-parkville/

To read about the Parkville station design, go to: https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/metro-tunnel/ stations/parkville/station-design

On Tuesday 11 June,

held a Stakeholder Day at

Station with conducted tours to the nearly completed station throughout the day for invited groups from selected organisations. Our group of 17 (comprising members on Council, staff and residents) from Graduate House participated in the event Prior to the tour, we were treated to complimentary giftbags, coffee, pastries, paella, pancakes etc. from the temporary food marquees. Thank you, Metrol Tunnel Project and CYP Design & Construction Joint Venture for the very impressive tour.

Main Entrance of Parkville stationon Grattan Street, opposite Barry Street

Vernal Glade, artwork by internationally acclaimed Melbourne artist Patricia Piccinni, is made up of more than 500 Japanese handcrafted tiles, with a colour palette of pink, orange, green, and yellow designed to evoke calm, optimism and warmth for passengers in the busy health and research precinct.

Metro Tunnel Project

Parkville

We thank the following organisations and members for their event bookings at Graduate House in May and June 2024

Welcome to the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (ANZAPPL)

ASME Victorian Chapter - Council Meeting

Association of German Teachers of Victoria Inc. (AGTV)

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE)

Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Limited

Australian Psychological Society (APS)

Australian Research Data Commons

Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN)

Carlton Parkville Probus

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Australia

Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) Manufacturing Division

Chief Operating Officer Portfolio (COO-P)

CopRice

Department of Infrastructure Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Department of Medical Education

Department of Nursing

FEIT TLL - AIATSIS Dinner

ForestWorks

Melba Group

Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education (MSPACE)

Mental Health First Aid Australia (MHFA) Standard Instructor Training course/ Teen Instructor Training Course

Feedback

Michael Quin - ExPAV Group

Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller Incorportated

Parkville Conference of St Vincent de Paul

Pelvic Pain Victoria - Politics in Pelvic Pain

Per Capita Inc.

Peter Doughty (Italian Conversation Lunch)

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre - CoE CIT Strategic Day

Phoenix Australia - Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health

RACI Health Safety and Environment Group

Read Cloud - VET Applied Language PD Day

Research and Enterprise - Chancellery, Research and Enterprise Team Planning Day

Research, Innovation and Commercialisation

Researcher Developer Unit

Retired Seniors Officers Lunch

Retired Veterinarians Group Luncheon

RIC Business Development and Innovation

Rod Watson Luncheon event

Rotary Club of Carlton/ Rotary District 9800

Foundation Committee

Sandy Bennett - MURL Lunch

School of Electrical, Mechanical and Infrastructure

Engineering Workshop

Slavery Links

Soroptimists International of Melbourne Inc.

Stroke Association of Victoria

The Graduate Union Collegiate events and meetings

Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) Alliance

Excellent service from staff - always professional and very helpful, so it was very easy to organise our event at Graduate House. The function room and spaces allocated worked very well for us, and the food as always, was great!

Staff were absolutely very helpful and they go out of the way to assist and ensure that our event ran smoothly.

Fiona Fleming, Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology

2024 Mid Year Fundraising Appeal

The 2024 Mid-year appeal‘s focus is towards Advancement Support such as:

• Mentoring Program

• Membership Pin Design

• Doctoral Research Series

• Semester 2 Writing Program

• New Flags for the front of Graduate House.

You are also invited to contribute to our ongoing

To donate, please turn this page >>>

• Building Fund (to upkeep Graduate House as we continue to provide high quality affordable college accommodation for graduate students and visiting academics from all over the world).

• 60th Jubilee Appeal (celebrating the opening of Graduate House to provide graduate accommodation).

• 110th Anniversary Appeal (celebrating the founding of our organisation in 1911).

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