D EC E M BE R 2020 I SSUE 1 3
THE ST ANDREW’S COLLEGE MAGAZINE
Introducing our 2021 House Committee The Students' Club held elections on Friday 13 November to democratically select the 2021 House Committee. “There is so much that the 2021 House Committee hope to achieve in continuing the great traditions of College. Whether it’s retaining the four Cups, or making every event on the calendar one to remember, we will be working very hard to ensure it all happens.” - Digby Cooke, Senior Student-elect 2021 We are pleased to introduce next year's leadership team:
Senior Student - Digby Cooke Secretary - Cara Skirrow Treasurer - Harry Best Alumni Representative - Olivia Taylor Female Intercol Representative - Laura Grant Rosebowl Representative - Annie Miller Cultural Representative - Alice Litchfield Rawson Representative - Harry Mitchell Social Representative - Sai Abbaraju Male Intercol Representative - Tom van Dongen Honorary Assistant Treasurer - James Harding
Tough times - problems.....problems.... In difficult and troubling times, I found this perspective of Norman Vincent Peale interesting:
"If we didn’t have problems, we’d have to invent them, because our directional facility would be lost without problems. PROBLEMS HELP TO STEER A COURSE THROUGH THE YEARS." (Positive Living Day by Day p225 Jaico Publishing House Mumbai 2015)
This might have been the type of situation God had in mind when He said to Joshua,
“Remember that I have commanded you to be DETERMINED and CONFIDENT. Do NOT be AFRAID or DISCOURAGED, for I the Lord your God am with you wherever you go!” (Joshua 1:9) Rev Dr Gareth Clayton OAM, Chaplain
Contents 10
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Chair & Bird
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Strategic Plan 2021-2025
Semester Two has seen the return of students to the campus; our Chair & Bird discuss the College’s progress.
The next 5 year strategic term starts in 2021. Find out what exciting projects are planned.
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Palladian, Rawson & Rosebowl Reports
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Drew's News: Musical Theatre
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Where are they now?
The secretaries give their reports on the successful campaigns.
Kiran Gupta discusses whether it's time for change in the casting world.
We talk to one of our first ever postgraduates, and touch base with an alumna developing an App in Chicago.
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04 06 07 08 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 35
From the Chair & Bird From the Student Leaders Education & Student Life Update 2021-2025 Strategic Plan Public Art Project Academic Report Androvation Report DRAMSOC Report Music Program Palladian Report Rawson & Rosebowl Reports Taylor Scholars Dinner & Presentations Farewell to the Senior Tutor Staff Spotlight Drew's News Philanthropy Update Alumni Community: Where are they now? From the Archives Vale John Solomon & Dick Tooth From the Alumni Society Awards, Achievements & Obituaries
Blue & White is published twice a year by the College Advancement and Marketing teams for the St Andrew’s College community. We wish to thank all of our student photographers for their contributions.
Editorial Team
Photographers
Hannah Atwell Alana Chambers
Chester Burns (Fr 2019) Clare Armstrong (Fr 2018) Charlie Stuart (Fr 2020) Matthew Duchesne
Front cover image: Students enjoy the lawns in front of Main Building in Spring. Photograph by Matthew Duchesne
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From the Chair & Bird A year unlike any other on record. St Andrew’s College has, upon reflection, masterfully risen to every challenge and overcome a multitude of unprecedented obstacles to see this year out. Our sense of community is not only firmly intact but stronger and more valued than it has ever been. It is safe to assume we have fared much better than many others in our position. Happily, we have been able to continue this semester with many of our usual events and competitions, albeit each with its own COVID-safe twist. Six months ago we did not assume that our College program could be ‘normalised’ again to this extent and we are very grateful that this has been possible. It is with thanks to the House Committee, Students’ Club and College staff and particularly to Vice Principal, Dr Hester Wilson for her leadership of the College's COVID-19 response, that the ‘new normal’ has been such a success, and indeed so enjoyable. We threw these challenges at the students and their leadership, and with, I think, light-touch (and for that reason, appreciated) guidance from College staff, they have produced solutions that for the most part have worked, because they were owned by the students. In their various
roles, as either Mentors, Pastoral Leaders, House Committee members, leaders on the field, in the ensembles, at the Bar, or role models for getting the 'everything' balance right, the senior ranks led the College in discovering the sweet spot that exists between the unalloyed joy of College life and the necessary imposition of restraint. I am very grateful for this sensible embrace of the spirit of compromise. This issue of Blue & White is longer than ever before, full of event and competitions recaps, updates on all aspects of College life, as well as alumni interviews and a wrapup of the year from our 2020 Student Executive. You may also be familiar with our Drew’s News online blog; student editor Kiran Gupta (Fr 2019) has contributed an insightful new piece to this issue, ‘Musical Theatre: Is it time for a change in the casting world?’ on page 25. The Andrew’s community outside of the College walls are no doubt intrigued to learn how Semester 2 has played out for us. Will Cesta provides an informative review of everything our Education & Student Life Department has achieved over the past few months on page 7. Director of Music, Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith recaps the College’s music program and our Palladian achievements on page 16. One of the year's greatest achievements is that we have
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brought home all four Intercol Cups for 2020! Rawson and Rosebowl sporting events were also able to recommence in Semester 2, with modifications including strict limits on spectators and live-streaming some of the events. We have seen some highly competitive tournaments and some extremely skilled athletic and creative talent emerge from Andrew’s once again. You can read our Intercol updates on pages 17-19. Other events covered within these pages include this year’s Androvation ‘hackathon’ (page 14), the Taylor Scholars Dinner (page 20) and an enlightening piece about our upcoming public art installation (page 10-11). Whether you are a current student or member of our alumni community, you are sure to have very strong memories from within the walls of our Dining Hall; a place to dine, converse, celebrate and forge lifelong bonds with fellow Androvians. Dean of Studies Alex Wright shares with us the history of the Dining Hall on page 30. This issue we also shine the spotlight on our two longestserving staff members, Head of Housekeeping Lorraine Newton and Head of Works & Maintenance Bill Wallis. They have been part of the St Andrew’s family for several decades and this place would not operate nearly as smoothly without their daily efforts. You can learn more about Bill and Lorraine on pages 22-23. Whilst our calendar of alumni events has been much more restricted than usual, each interaction has been successfully held in a COVID-safe manner, and for this, we sincerely thank all of our guests, staff and students for their collaborative efforts. Two members of our alumni community, Jim Hawkins
(PG 1961) and Bec Weeks (Fr 2003) are profiled on pages 28 and 29. Keeping our relationship strong with our alumni community has been one of our great accomplishments in a difficult year. Indeed, it is our relationship with our community that has seen us come together to raise close to $80,000 for the COVID-19 Relief Fund this year, allowing us to help the 26 students who were in need of emergency financial assistance. We have refocused our efforts on raising further funds for means-tested scholarships, and have been heartened by the number of new named scholarships have been established in such a challenging year. Hannah Atwell provides an update on our Philanthropy Program on page 26. One of the most important elements of this Semester has been the coming together of Council to start planning for our next five-year strategy, encompassing 2021 – 2025. We will share more on our progress in the next issue of the magazine, but our areas of focus and initial goals are outlined on page 8-9. As always, we aim to ‘think big, start small, show impact.’ We now look ahead to 2021 and beyond, as we work towards achieving our vision for the College’s next five years. After the year that was, we know that the College is stronger than ever in facing down challenges and making the most of the opportunities that present themselves. The demand for a place in St Andrew’s College is more competitive than ever, and we will face the new year with confidence and anticipation. Wayne Erickson Principal
Charlie Taylor (Fr 1982) Senior Student 1985 Chair of Council
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From our Student Leaders We’re sure that not many people would say 2020 was easy, but looking back on the year that was, we can certainly say it was worth it. For four months, the St Andrew’s experience was a virtual one, as our students dispersed back to their homes; Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, New Zealand and even the United Kingdom. However, St Andrew's was quickly revived, as our men and women returned ahead of Semester 2. And so, for the following four months, we had the task of fitting an entire year into a third of that time and adapting old traditions to fit a 'new normal'. Looking back, we’d like to think we did a pretty good job at this. We squeezed in every Rawson and Rosebowl sport and a fair few social games too. There was time for every Palladian event and all the social events of a normal year (with the exception of two) and we created a new event - an afternoon Spring Carnival on the Oval - for good measure. We participated in community service at the Newtown Mission, tutored HSC students through the Pre-Tertiary Mentoring Program, and even managed to find a little time to study. It’s safe to say that Semester 2, 2020 has been one of the busiest semesters the walls of this College have seen and will long be remembered within the history of Andrew's. As we look to wrap up the year, we think it’s quite a blessing that we missed the initial deadline of this article. Because
now, we’re so proud to be able to say that in the last week - to aid the efforts of our teams who worked so hard throughout all of 2020 - we placed second in Dance, first in Netball and first in Rugby, resulting in the Rawson, Rosebowl, Palladian and University Cups all being returned home to St Andrew's! And so, come the end of 2020, the trophy cabinet is looking appropriately complete. There are friendships as strong as those of years past, which are bound to thrive after College, because they did just that throughout the months of isolation and Zoom. All in all, in contrast to how we signed off our last article - in the middle of lockdown and separated around Australia - we’re very pleased with how we can sign off this time round. Four Cups. Three of the highest quality leaders ready to take on 2021 (we wish the best of luck to Digby, Cara and Harry). Too many moments, achievements and memories to squeeze into a short article. And one College, which we think has managed a year that can only be described as completely unprecedented, quite excellently. Thank you so much for giving us the privilege of leading you throughout 2020. Jack Grant Adele Burke Ben Adams Senior Student Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer
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Education & Student Life Update Running a relatively normal program of events this semester was a lofty aspiration when the first semester issue of Blue & White was published. But over the past three months, College has flourished within the bounds of public health restrictions; a flurry of social events, professional development seminars, leadership training sessions and other activities culminated in a memorable outdoor Valedictory Dinner under a marquee. This semester, we offered tutorials in 151 subjects (both in-person and on Zoom), as well as a range of Academic Skills workshops (eg, LaTeX Foundations and Legal Study Techniques) and 1-on-1 academic planning sessions. Our language program (a modest Semester 1 pilot project) has flourished into a comprehensive program offering Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish classes at different levels to students who do not already study languages. Our team acknowledges Lucile Boutruche, the mother of Androvian Loic Cameron, who has given many hours of her time to tutor French while living abroad.
One component was the Pre-Tertiary Mentoring Program, with Androvians engaging with HSC students on a fortnightly basis throughout the year. We are extremely proud of this high-impact contribution. Competition is a very exciting aspect of student life at Andrew’s. The internal competitions have concluded, with freshers Micah Papalii-Talanai and Jennifer van Ratingen winning the Principal’s Poetry and Art prizes respectively (not to mention prizes in the Palladian Cup, which the College has brought home this year!) Other semester highlights have included live performances at College, seeing Taylor Scholar Projects flourish, and forging some meaningful musical partnerships with University ensembles (such as the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra). Congratulations to the College Staff who made this all happen as well as the College's tutors and other contributors.
Students have also been enjoying COVID-safe professional development events, including talks from alumni Campbell Hanan (Fr 1989), Head of Commercial Property - Mirvac, Luke Bortoli (Fr 1997), CFO - Afterpay (pictured), and Sam Clarke (Fr 2016), Co-Founder - Clipboard, as well as a comprehensive psychometric test training program.
As always in a College that looks ahead, we’re also planning what’s next. This issue of the magazine also outlines our new Certificate of Cross-Disciplinary Problem Solving, but that won’t be the only new program in 2021. Additional courses, an expanded Pre-Tertiary Studies Program and a College record label are all in the works.
In Semester 2, over 100 students completed Student Leader Training to become eligible for 2021 leadership positions.
Will Cesta Director of Education & Student Life
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2021-2025 College Strategy The Council of St Andrew’s College gathered on a Saturday in October for a strategy workshop session to start determining the 2021-2025 strategy for the College. We are now at the end of our current five year strategy, with many gains and achievements made in the years since 2016 and we now look ahead to plan for the future. Outcomes of the Strategy Workshop Council supports the four existing Strategic Objectives, which will continue into the next strategic term: 1. Attract and retain a diverse and distinctive community of students 2. A world-class College Life Program 3. World-class Facilities 4. Engaging in enduring relationships with our community Council supports these four new overarching Strategic Imperatives for the next strategic term: 5. Communications Strategy 6. School of Humanities and Social Sciences & Developing Human Capacity 7. Building Plans 8. Transitions Research Communications Strategy We will work hard to push out more ‘good news stories’ to our community, and broader society, to counteract the damaging
and negative media coverage that we have received, and will likely continue to receive in the future. There is a lot to be proud of in College – and we need to share all of it. We want to promote our success and achievements on an ongoing basis. We will consider building a larger standalone Communications and Marketing department, centralised under a Manager, to help strengthen our position. The use of external agencies will be required to steer us in the right direction. Our value proposition is strong; we want to share this across more channels and reach a greater audience. We will work on defining the tone and personality of our ‘brand’ to ensure consistency. School of Humanities and Social Science & Developing Human Capacity Returning to our history of conferring degrees in the Theological Hall, the College will move towards offering micro-credentials in the near future, before eventually conferring full degrees as the School of Humanities and Social Science. This new project will be backed by comprehensive audience and market research and will eventually involve TEQSA accreditation and official course registration. A pilot course will be taking place over the summer holidays - a Certificate of Cross-Disciplinary Problem Solving - as a first step for this project. To complement this, we will also continue to enhance the
1 Students in front of Main Building 2 The Council Strategy Workshop took place in the College Chapel.
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Professional Development offering for students, with the goal to develop their human capabilities: critical thinking, creativity, adaptive mindset, communications, collaboration, problem solving, ethics; and prepare them for the evolving workplace. Building Plans After the large undertaking, and successful completion of, the Thyne Reid Link building, we are concentrating on ‘quick wins’ in the short term. Amongst these plans include a renovation of the JCR, the entrance to the University (Cadigal Ave and Western Ave), an upgrade of the Thyne façade and refurbishment of Harper apartments along with Gillespie Hall. Resolving what will be the next stage of the Harper Master Plan will also take place; the Northern Building, Learning & Performing Arts Centre, Eastern site and a potential café. Building a case for support via community engagement is a high priority in achieving the proposed building work. Transitions Research We will work towards setting up a ‘Transitions Research Institute’. We are interested in supporting the resilience and success of young people aged 15-25 through this research. Conducting research and sharing our findings with the community (though events, communications, articles and reports) will help build our reputation as a respected academic institution and will also set us apart from other colleges and formalise and extend an already strong culture of evidencebased research and evaluation. We want to define ourselves as a ‘subject matter expert’. It will give the College greater insights into the behaviours and challenges of young people within our community and provide high value information for decision-making to support our overarching strategy. This research can also be used to connect with and better serve the members of our alumni community.
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Additionally, special projects that will be incorporated into our five year plan: • Determining the ideal size of College • Reconciliation Action Plan – partnering with Indigenous education foundations and increasing the numbers of Indigenous students in our college community. • Possible creation of a Middle Common Room (MCR) • Sustainability in College • Celebrating 10 years of women in College in 2022 – prepare throughout 2021 • Review of our Foundation & Alumni Society (SACAS). • Expanding upon our Pre-Tertiary Studies Program • Professional caretaking of our Archives and Libraries Throughout November, the Senior Executive team have been putting together the detailed 5 Year Plan including continuing programs, enhancements to existing programs and new programs. Similar to our efforts in 2015 when planning the current strategy, each imperative will examine the ‘direction of change’ – from where we are now to where we are going, and where we will be, over the next 5 years. Further work will continue to be undertaken to define the steps needed to achieve each of our imperatives, and ensuring that we align our commitments to our vision and values. We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress throughout the next strategic cycle. Wayne Erickson Principal
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Public Art Project - BECOME THE PART St Andrew’s College is delighted to announce that it has commenced the first stage of its Public Art Master Plan, meeting the final DA condition of the Thyne Reid Link (TRL) development. Over the past 18 months, the College’s Major Works Committee have overseen a staged process to commission the first public artwork at St Andrew’s, which will be created by renowned Australian artists and father and daughter duo, Michael Snape and Agatha Gothe-Snape. The City of Sydney, in their Public Art Policy, defines the term “public art” in the broadest sense as artistic works or activities accessible to the public. The work may be of a temporary or permanent nature, located in or part of a public space or facility provided by the private sector, as the conceptual contribution of an artist to the design of public spaces and facilities. Michael and Agatha, in collaboration with FJMT Architects, have articulated a vision to produce a unique piece of “public art and landscape architecture that inverts the sense of enclosure and social cloistering the current courtyard evokes.” The sculpture, titled ‘BECOME THE PART’, will be approximately 10m long and 2.4m high, consisting of planes of 25-millimetre steel plate arranged to form part of the Carillon Ave & Missenden Road corner boundary of St Andrew's College. The words ‘BECOME THE PART’ will be cut out of four deliberately arranged steel panels. From opposing angles
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this work can read as 'BECOME ART’, ‘BECOME PART’, ‘COME’ or simply ‘BE’. The individual letters from these words, once cut from the panels, will be folded into self-supporting forms to become functional outdoor furniture positioned throughout the surrounding garden courtyard, extending the literal and metaphorical footprint of the work. “Each letter-seat promotes a different quality of respectful and mutually consenting social engagement between sitters, determined by how the strokes of the letterforms arrange the bodies they hold.” The existing brick wall of the College in the artwork’s location will be removed for the work and surrounding garden, allowing us to finally welcome members of the surrounding Newtown community into a corner of College. In doing so, “Become the Part suggests that by making ourselves more visible to one another, we will always be in a state of becoming part of something other than ourselves.” Newtown locals, university students, hospital patients and alike who pass through the corner of Missenden Rd & Carillon Avenue will be encouraged to visit and use the landscaped space and furniture for social gathering or a quiet spot for reflection. For Snape, who is a sculptor of national significance, and Gothe-Snape, whose practice spans improvised and procedural performance, visual and public artworks, this
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project will be their first formal collaboration. Snape has held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and New York and has received a number of major public sculpture commissions in locations across Australia including Melbourne, Darling Harbour, Bondi, Kings Cross and Balmain. His work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Gold Coast City Gallery, Queensland; Macquarie University, Sydney; McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Melbourne; Orange Regional Gallery, Orange; the Melbourne Powerhouse Museum and in numerous Private Collections. Gothe-Snape has participated in numerous international exhibitions including the 20th Biennale of Sydney and the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art and at national institutions such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum of Contemporary Art. She has had multiple solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Brisbane and Perth and has produced commissions for Kaldor Public Art Projects. In 2020 Monash University Museum of Art held a major survey of her work. The two artists explain that their “shared lineage have created a fertile ground for the process of making ‘BECOME THE PART’. Bound by a common interest in the relationship between the opacity and transparency of poetic language; the formal manifestation of letterforms and an ongoing enquiry into the body’s relationship to the sculptural, Become the Part reflects a moment of cross-generational dialogue and play. Further, engaging with the College community as a father-daughter collaboration has enabled
them to create a sense of familial intimacy with the College, and ask challenging and incisive questions of both each other and the College.” In addition to providing a physical art work for the College and wider community, the project will offer ongoing educational and engagement opportunities for our students, students at the University of Sydney, patients at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and RPA Hospital, as well as the wider art community and general public. The artists’ ongoing relationship with the College will also assist us to continue to build and expand on the many conversations this art work will generate. Once completed, the art work will become an iconic piece of Sydney’s public art landscape that many generations can enjoy – much like ‘Forgotten Songs’, an installation of fifty birdcages by Michael Thomas Hill in Angel Place, or the colourful sculpture ‘ Day In, Day Out’ by James Angus at the entrance to 1 Bligh St in the CBD. We look forward to welcoming our community to the unveiling of this artwork in mid-2021. For further information about the public art project, please contact the College. Ian Smith Director of Operations
1 & 2 Impressions of the artwork and landscaped garden. Images courtesy of FJMT Architects.
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Academic Report 2020 has been a challenging year for College and the broader community. It began with the tragic season of bushfires followed by the unprecedented disruption of COVID-19, which saw most of our students return home and engage with their College friends and activities remotely. Unfazed, our students continued to work and apply themselves to the best of their ability. In Semester 1 2020, our students achieved the best academic results since we first starting tracking in 2002, collectively achieving a semester average mark of 73.92. These results mean a larger number of ‘Thistles’ in 2020, which are awarded to students with a High Distinction average (85+) in Semester 1. We have awarded Thistles to 33 students. In comparison, in 2019 we awarded 17 Thistles, and until we changed the rules of the award in 2017, the College only awarded 15 Thistles annually. To acknowledge this growing group of high-achieving students, in 2017 we also created the Senior Tutor’s Merit Award for students who achieved a Distinction average. In 2020, 164 of our students have received this award. These are terrific achievements for a group of young people who have navigated the uncertainty of 2020 with aplomb. Our students have been ably supported by our Academic Area Tutors, who rapidly adjusted their tutoring to Zoom
in the early days of the pandemic. In Semester 2, the AATs have been catching up fortnightly to share ideas for teaching and learning. It has been wonderful to watch them grow as academic leaders. This is my final contribution to Blue & White as Senior Tutor. It has been a privilege to have been a part of this place since I arrived in 2011 as Dean of Students before becoming Senior Tutor in 2014. I want to thank the St Andrew’s College staff for their support, particularly Principal Wayne Erickson, Chair of Council Charlie Taylor, Vice-Principal Dr Hester Wilson, other members of the Senior Executive and the Education and Student Life team. Most of all, I want to thank the students for the vibrant way they throw themselves into university and College life. Your commitment to excellence in everything you do is exciting to witness. I wish you every success now and into the future. Elly Howse Senior Tutor
Image: Students, Staff and Honored Guest USYD Pro-Chancellor Alan Pettigrew gather in the Dining Hall for the Scholars Soiree to celebrate the year's academic achievements.
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St Andrew's to offer courses The traditional conception of a university college: existing to offer students academic tutorials, pastoral care, social opportunities, arts and sport programs, but not courses. In Australia, courses have been treated as the (almost) exclusive domain of our 43 universities. We will be challenging this assumption by introducing a course of our own. In January 2021, St Andrew's College will offer a three-week Certificate of Cross-Disciplinary Problem Solving to 20 of our high-achievers who want to make a significant impact on the world. Consistent with the College’s desire to offer a zero-compromise educational experience, the Certificate will be the first in Australia to feature as many course contributors as students. Some of Australia’s leading academics and professionals will gather at College to teach practical problem-solving techniques and theoretical problem-solving. Students will also attend guest lectures, participate in professional development events and solve real-world problems in small teams. All modules will be tied back to problem-solving and a range of related soft skills: leadership, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, creativity and logic. There has been no shortage of academics and professionals willing to contribute. Course contributors include Chair of Council, Charlie Taylor (Senior Partner, McKinsey &
Company), Ian Jackman (Barrister, Eight Selborne), Eleanor Gammell (Head of Programs, Small Giants Academy), Assoc. Prof Stephanie Topp (Associate Professor, James Cook University), Dr Grant Hill-Cawthorne (Head of Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, UK Parliament) and Ellie Hewitt (Director – Real Time Payments, Visa). This project is not merely about creating professional opportunities; it’s also about improving thinking, cultivating a deep love of learning, and acquiring skills needed to make a positive impact on society. This entails challenging the myth that humanities study and professional development are mutually exclusive endeavours. As the world of work changes, a “technical specialist” without the capacity to write well, communicate clearly and understand people problems, will be less successful, and likely less intellectually satisfied. This is also about demonstrating the value of an uncompromising educational experience, one with ondemand student support, low student-teacher ratios, and as much emphasis on student experience as on content. This is just the first step in the College’s journey to offer exciting, innovative courses. Will Cesta Director of Education & Student Life
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Androvation 2020 Androvation, our annual start-up competition, promised great things in its fourth year. Our student entrepreneurs sought to develop their 3-day Minimum Viable Product (MVP) into a pitch for $3,000 seed funding. The programme kicked off with Dr Steven Hitchcock discussing ‘Politics of Science and Technology’, providing insight about some of the problems humanity faces, and how to develop unique, original solutions. Teams formed in the genesis stage as a number of ideas were entertained. Bec Weeks (Fr 2003) dialled in from Chicago to discuss the development of her company’s new app Pique and Annabelle Scott (Fr 2011) from Tempus Partners gave a crash course into the investor’s perspective in venture capital relationships. As ideas morphed into existence, each new insight into the business world reinvigorated the groups to review their ideas. Sam Clarke (Fr 2016), co-founder of extracurricular management system app Clipboard, toured the various groups for more intensive individual feedback sessions. Craig Blair (Fr 1987), co-founder of AirTree Ventures, generously came in for a ‘fireside chat’ to share insights into his diverse career path and the world of venture capitalism. Androvation culminated in 10-minute pitches to our judging panel, comprising College Director, Will Cesta, Former Vice Principal, John Sergeant (Fr 1983) and Jason Weeks (Fr 2005). Tom Woodcock (Fr 2018) took home the winning prize with his idea 'Flashmob', which aims to re-shape the flash sales industry by incentivising customers to purchase goods more quickly when a sale goes live. The soundbite Tom used was: "Buy now. Get paid later." In essence, the quicker someone purchases the product from its initial release, the more likely they are to receive a portion of their money back. The theory is that by increasing sales by just 4%, Flashmob will break even on their discount model for any product sold, and with the added incentive created by discount opportunities, more than 4% more customers will look to purchase the goods quickly. It was an extremely nuanced pitch; enough to convince the judges that it was worthy of winning Androvation. The calibre of the pitches this year reached a new tier; the presentations and engagement across all groups were strongly commended by the judges. Lachlan Martin (Fr 2019) Androvation Secretary 2020 Read the full report: www.standrewscollege.edu.au/androvation-2020/
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DramSoc Report Whodunnit! This year, the St Andrew’s College Dramatic Society (DramSoc) performed Ken Ludwig’s Edgar Awardwinning comedy murder mystery The Game’s Afoot. Written in 2012, but set in the 1930’s, the play is full of non-stop action, hilariously witty and slapstick comedy, and takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster of twists and turns to find out ‘whodunnit’. The story follows William Gillette, a highly successful actor, who on the closing night of his performance of Sherlock Holmes is shot in the arm. Gillette then spends the length of the play endeavouring to find who attempted to kill him, and in doing so adopts the persona of Sherlock Holmes in his real life. The play was directed by Alice Litchfield (Fr 2019), and the cast consisted of leading man Jeremy Elliot (Fr 2020), as well as Estelle Catelan (Fr2019), Alice Litchfield (Fr 2019), Sam Reckling (Fr 2020), Joel Gray (Fr 2018), Charlie Stuart (Fr 20120), Onor Nottle (Fr 2020) and Onyi Nwamadi (Fr 2020) (centre left image). The talented cast put in hours of rehearsals each week (top left image), and the passion and drive given by each of the cast members was what took the show to the calibre at which it was performed. The script demanded moments of intense stage combat, and the cast enjoyed navigating this arena and learning new skills in how to convincingly play life and death on the stage. Given the limits of COVID-19 on the creative arts this year, the cast felt very grateful to still be able to perform and bring the show to a live audience. DramSoc productions are a collaboration of St Andrew’s College students, and a special mention must go out to our Androvians who spent countless hours building the set which stood 4m tall, included two staircases, a second level, and a secret door which would slide away to reveal a hidden room (bottom left image). From the grand set, to the felicitous costumes and the sensational talent of acting, the show was a great success, and each and every student involved should be commended for their efforts. Alice Litchfield (Fr 2019) DRAMSOC Secretary 2020
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Music Program Despite creative use of Zoom over first semester, it was a huge relief for all College musicians to return to live musicmaking at the start of the pre-semester program. Our chamber strings (aka ‘Chemble’) and jazz band resumed physically-distanced rehearsals immediately, while choir still a high-risk activity in NSW Health’s view - required some extra flexibility. Daily short sessions allowed each chorister to receive one-on-one coaching, as well as weekly group get-togethers covering skills development including diction, aural training and even south Indian vocal percussion. All the hard work via Zoom paid off, with our piano trio and jazz band triumphing in Palladian Group Instrumental. The trio included our two major music scholars Nina Fan and Arianna Ricci, as well as Angela Shin (all 2020 freshers) performing one movement of a Mendelssohn Piano Trio, and was mentored by Artist-In-Residence Ben Adler. Dynamic duo Jim Osborne (Fr 2019) and Ben Herlihy (Fr 2017) led our largest band yet in Dizzy Gillespie’s ‘Manteca’. Although not selected to compete, James Armstrong’s Chemble is the strongest iteration of this group since it began, learning all of Bartok’s fiery ‘Romanian Dances’. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the single Palladian Vocal event combined solo and ensemble heats. Two outstanding freshers, Arianna Ricci and Micah Papalii-Talanai, showcased
St Andrew’s diversity, with Arianna performing a virtuosic ‘Alleluia’ by Mozart. Micah’s performance of his song ‘Love Can Save’ united the College Choir and his band from Punchbowl High, named '320' after their music teacher's room number. Micah and guitarist Lucas Tekii co-wrote the song after the Christchurch mosque attacks, and it was an honour to welcome his band members, and to see the Choir work together to arrange this powerful song. With half the choir on stage with Micah, and the other half joining ‘offstage’ from the Manning Bar balcony, the performance placed third. Apart from our ensembles, music-making has continued in the SCR and at student events, with Ben and his band Chutney, our resident ensemble the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, a virtual choir Taylor Scholar project by Lily Harper (Fr 2016) and assisted by Adrian Whitehall (Fr 2016), in corridors, in practice rooms, each and every day. The St Andrew’s musical community is thriving and, based on 2021 applicants, will continue to do so. Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith Director of Music Image: The College Choir performing at the Valedictory Chapel Service in November.
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Palladian Report I would like to give a huge congratulations to all 2020 Palladian competitors! Despite a condensed competition timeframe that added some chaos, we managed to win the overall point score and take back the Palladian Cup that has eluded St Andrew’s since 2017. This was only made possible by a multitude of excellent performances, including but not limited to; 3rd place in Debating, 1st in Oration, 1st in Art, 1st in Solo Instrumental, 3rd in Vocal, 2nd in Dance and who could forget both 1st and 2nd in Group Instrumental! These wins secured Drew’s 18 points and a significant 6 point lead over 2nd place. I can confidently attribute the success of these campaigns to the excellent leadership that the respective secretaries showed in their organisation, dedication and enthusiasm throughout this semester. They managed to successfully ‘roll with the punches’ that COVID-19 had thrown our way and for that I am very grateful.
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It’s difficult to briefly articulate the chaotic, impressive, nerve-wracking, talented and amazing Palladian 2020 competition. What is usually a year-long competition was condensed into 5 months so as you can expect, it was a semester filled with auditions, practice upon practice, astonishing performances and of course some thrilling wins. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to Palladian this year, whether that be supporters, performers or secretaries, we did more than enough to take home the Palladian Cup for the 10th time in the competition's 20 year history! Callum Cooke (Fr 2018) Cultural Representative 2020
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1 The Jazz Band (performing at Valedictory Dinner) took out second place in the Group Ensemble 2 The St Andrew's 'Small Dance' Group took our second place in the Dance Competition 3 Jennifer van Ratingen's winning Palladian Art piece, titled 'Inherit'.
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Rawson & Rosebowl Reports RAWSON St Andrew’s has claimed equal first (tied with St Paul’s College) in this year’s Rawson Cup, and as the current holder, will retain the Cup for the next twelve months. This is a tremendous result following a tumultuous year, and a testament to our men’s unwavering commitment to representing our College with pride and determination. A big part of St Andrew’s success is the ingrained culture for each campaign to be professional and committed, whilst also having strong team cohesion. The secretaries of each sport ensured that we were still able to foster these ingredients through being organised and adapting the traditions and culture sessions to the current COVID-19 restrictions. Training sessions were hard to organise; multiple campaigns overlapped due to the additional Semester 1 sports being deferred to Semester 2. Organisation was the key to ensuring enough time was allocated to training. The Rawson campaign was of an extremely high calibre across the board this year and it was so exciting to have such a close finish between Paul’s and Drew’s – it really brings out the best of the college spirit when the race to the Cup is neck and neck. We rallied hard this year to make sure the athletes felt well supported with the smaller capacity crowds. It was very special to see each Drew’s team tunnelled off to their game led by bagpipers. These traditions keep the spirit of the Rawson campaign alive and well, particularly with each college bringing their own unique chants and traditions. It’s fantastic to witness the passion and the atmosphere. Hamish Sheehan (Fr 2018) Rawson Secretary 2020
ROSEBOWL St Andrew’s College has won the Rosebowl Cup for the twelfth year in succession, winning 7 out of 8 contested sports. Despite not playing a single game before being sent home due to COVID-19, the Andrew’s women came back eager and got straight to work. We quickly accepted the changes to fixtures, game time and limited spectator numbers, thankful to even be able to play the Rosebowl competition sports at all. 2020 was a very different year with all of the changes and restrictions. However, the enthusiasm, dedication and commitment from all our athletes and supporters didn’t waver, if anything it went to a whole new level. Whether it was waking up for 6am training sessions three times a week, swimming in a freezing pool over winter or even watching some of the competitions from a Facebook livestream on a blurry projector, everyone was keen to get the best out of this year. Credit must be given to each sports secretary, who had their teams performing at such a high level in such a condensed amount of time. Their organisation and passion helped everything run smoothly in what was a busy, but very enjoyable semester. I’m very proud of our women for their efforts in bringing home the Rosebowl Cup once again, as well as the rest of College who supported every match and event. Although we had limited spectator capacity, there was never an empty seat in the stand; this support never went unnoticed and we are truly lucky to have that ingrained in our walls. Annabel Martin (Fr 2018) Rosebowl Secretary 2020
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1 Rawson & Rosebowl Rowing Teams 2 Rawson Rugby Team 3 Katinka Morris fends off Sancta in the Rosebowl Hockey 4 Ash Dribbus makes an attempt for goal in the Rosebowl Soccer Final 5 The College Bagpipers see off the Rawson Basketball Team 6 Olivia Bird in action for the Rosebowl Tennis 7 Jasper Gotterson makes a break in the Rawson Basketball 8 Tom Mackenzie-Wood leads the field in race at the Athletics.
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Taylor Scholars Dinner & Presentations
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In October, the College hosted the annual Taylor Scholarship Dinner. This is a special evening during which our current Taylor Scholars had a chance to present their projects for the year to Charlie Taylor (Fr 1982, SS 1985), benefactor of the program and Chair of Council. The Taylor Scholarships were established in 2015 and have to date supported over fifty students. The Scholarship supports and encourages senior students of College to continue engaging meaningfully with College life by way of developing and implementing a special interest program that aims to benefit and increase the diversity and depth of the St Andrew's experience. The evening saw the students present in a modified Pecha Kucha format, where the presenter has twenty slides and fifteen seconds of commentary each. The aim is for the presenter to ‘talk less, show more’, and provides students with valuable public speaking experience that can be used in future business presentations, as well as in other educational settings. Guests learned about eleven different projects over the course of the evening, from Taylor Scholars Hugo Mactier and Jack Richards (Drew’s Fitness), Lily Harper (Virtual Choir), Rohan Browning (Indigenous Mentoring Program), Sam Vail (Performance Workshops), Zac Whitehead and Tom Dowse (Investment Club), Xander Hoskinson (MyStory Podcasts), Lachlan Barrett (Recruitment and Training
for the Pre-Tertiary Studies Program), Nicky Craze (Jam Sessions for All), Mei Zheng (Academic Talks), Tom Hunt (Expedition Society) and Ben Herlihy (Jazz Band Mentoring). The 2020 Scholars all faced the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown only four weeks into their first semester. Of particular interest was the ingenuity they displayed with working around those restrictions, and adapting their projects to the new normal. We thank Charlie Taylor for his incredible generosity in making the Taylor Scholarship program possible. Hannah Atwell Director of Advancement
2 1 Charlie Taylor with the 2020 Taylor Scholars 2 Charlie, Scholars and guests listen to the project presentations.
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Farewell to the Senior Tutor, Eloise Howse the University’s systems and structures, and her mature, intelligent insight to the undergraduate mind, were notable strengths in managing this challenging 'link' role between students and senior staff. Ms Howse was appointed as the College’s 25th Senior Tutor at the commencement of the 2014 academic year. In that role she has led, and continued to build the College’s expanding program of academic support for our students, bringing her extraordinary cross-disciplinary understanding of the University’s networks to the challenge of identifying and enlisting tutorial and mentoring resources, thus sharing the benefits of her nuanced expertise with the College community.
We are sad to announce the departure from College of our long-serving Senior Tutor, Ms Eloise Howse. The following is an excerpt from the Honorary Fellowship citation presented to Council in November: Ms Howse joined the St Andrew’s community as a graduate member at the beginning of the 2011 academic year, accepting appointment as the College’s 17th Dean of Students, following the conclusion of her term as the 82nd President and CEO of the Students’ Representative Council at the University of Sydney. Ms Howse graduated with First Class Honours in Arts, and in completing her Master’s degree in Public Health, she won the Edmund Barton Medal for Postgraduate Leadership, a University of Sydney award which recognises visionary leadership, excellence, dedication and commitment to the University. As Dean of Students, she excelled in the leadership of a team dedicated to the provision of front line pastoral care for the students of St Andrew’s. Her previous residential college experience, her broad and deep understanding of
In a blossoming teaching and research career, Ms Howse has taught in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney and the Australian Catholic University, was a senior officer in the Healthy Sydney University project, and is a Research Fellow of the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre of the Sax Institute. Her research output covers important work in public health, mental health, well-being and chronic disease. Her standing as a leading public health professional has been of critical importance in the College’s response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Outside of the College and University, Ms Howse has found the time to serve as a Board Member of Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, and stood as a candidate for the seat of Balmain in the NSW Parliamentary election in 2019. In all of these public and professional engagements, as well as through all of her personal interactions, Ms Howse has contributed enormously as a senior member of the College community for a decade. She has been a dedicated and much-loved member of the Senior Common Room, yet has also managed to maintain and enrich the connections with the undergraduates who have benefitted so much from her kindness, her expertise and her care. The College Council has made Ms Howse a Honorary Fellow of St Andrew’s College. We wish her all the best of luck with her future endeavours and look forward to welcoming her back to College again soon. Wayne Erickson Principal
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Staff Spotlight: Bill Wallis & Lorraine Newton
Bill Wallis has been working at St Andrew's for over 30 years and knows more about the ins and outs of the College's Buildings than even the most seasoned student. Lorraine Newton has been at College for even longer, managing the Housekeeping Team for most of that time. We caught up with them for a quick chat about their time at Andrew's. What are your roles here at St Andrew’s, and how long have you been here? Bill: I work in maintenance and infrastructure, and have been here about 32 years. Lorraine: I’m the housekeeper, I’m responsible for all the student rooms in the College. I’ve worked here 43 years, and I’ll stay a few more because I still like it! A lot must have changed in the years you’ve been here? B: It has markedly changed, particularly with the introduction of co-res. It used to be quite difficult with the damages. In the early days we were just trying to hold the place together. L: It used to be mostly footballers, and they had free reign. They could be a bit destructive! However, as we’ve moved
along, the outlook and focus for students has shifted to include music, drama, and academics and they have calmed down. B: The major change came with the introduction of women. A significant change for the better. L: The outlook of the College changed then, and the behaviour of the boys changed dramatically. They settled down a bit more. Although now the girls are just as excitable at the boys! What does a typical day look like for you? L: I do all the rosters, and make sure all of my team are here, and they have their sheets and chemicals. I’ll do a patrol of the buildings to check if anything is out of place, or anything needs to be done. That’s a typical day if nothing else comes up! B: It’s part organisation, and part putting out fires. There isn’t really a typical day, but that’s what I like, the variety of the job. What aspect of your role at College do you like the most? L: I like the beginning of the year, when all the freshers come and they are so thrilled just to be here. It’s an exciting time, and their excitement is infectious. B: I enjoy challenges, so building projects are really enjoyable
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for me. My first major project was the refurbishment Reid bathrooms, and the next was Thyne bedrooms refurbishments. What is your favourite meal at the College? B: I think it’s controversial, but I used to love the meatloaf. Now it’s the spaghetti bolognese, or nachos. L: Lamb cutlets! Could you tell us something that might surprise us? L: When I was 12 I represented my school in High Jump! B: There is a portrait of Dunmore Lang in the Senior Common Room, and he married my first two Australian ancestors. He was a Presbyterian minister, and the church was in the city, though it’s been knocked down now.
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What do you like to do in your spare time? B: I restore vintage motorcycles. I have three at the moment, though I had six at one stage. There are a lot of spare parts in my garage. L: I spend time in my garden, go for walks, and lunches and movies with the ladies. Where would you go for your dream location? B: I’d like to go to England and Scotland, where my ancestors are from. They came to Australia in the 1830’s. My ancestor had the first Government contract to do the excavation works for the first railway line between Redfern to Rookwood Cemetery. L: I’d go to Italy on a foodie tour, and explore all the little villages.
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If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see cast as you? L: I’ve thought about this! Sandra Bullock for a younger me, Susan Sarandon for the older me! B: Hmm. I’ll have to get back to you. Ok Bill, if you were stuck on a desert island what three things would you bring? B: Can I be practical? Water, a hat, some sunscreen. Lastly, do you have any advice for the students? L: I would say don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun! But also have a plan. You must have a plan! B: Be good to the staff! We thank Bill and Lorraine for all the work they have done at the College over the last four decades and also for taking the time out of their busy schedules to do this interview.
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1 Bill on one of his motorcycles. 2 Lorraine at College, some years ago. 3 A much younger Bill working on the plumbing near the Sulman Wing.
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Musical Theatre: Is it Time for a Change in the Casting World? Suspension of disbelief. Three words that are often thrown around on the theatre casting table or in rehearsal. The phrase basically acknowledges that a theatre audience must accept that the action on stage forms part of a pretend reality. After all, no performers really die in Les Miserables nor is there really a river in the middle of the stage in Phantom. This all seems fairly obvious. But what is especially interesting is where the barrier for using this idiom lies. There is an increasing tendency for directors to use this expression when it suits them but when it comes to truly interrogating some of the systemic barriers in musical theatre, the phrase suddenly leaves their vocabulary. However, with the world being upended due to COVID-19, maybe it is time for the industry to have a refresh and truly consider the benefits of more inclusive casting in musical theatre. Musical theatre has often craved traditional casting, especially in Australia. When looking at professional casts over the last 20 or so years, there is very little diversity in casting. Indeed, this is reflective of the broader Australian entertainment industry where over 75% of employees are “white, male and aged over 35.” The argument often purported is that theatre needs to reflect the historical context and often that excludes racial and gendered minorities.
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But this goes back to the issue of suspension of disbelief. If the audience knows that they are going to see a show, then should this really matter? To put this question into practice, let’s look at the musical, Hamilton. The whole premise of the musical is that there is a suspension of disbelief. By casting an African-American male as George Washington and surrounding him with an extremely diverse cast, it becomes exceedingly clear that this kind of suspension of disbelief does not detract from the performance nor its commercial success. In fact, Hamilton is a musical that has completely revitalised the musical theatre world. It grossed $4-5 million every week before the pandemic and this isn’t even including album streams and scalping prices. So when considering this, can we really say that there is no impetus for systemic change? Unfortunately, before musical theatre shut down a lot of the discourse around diversity would amount to mere tokenism. This is where diversity was consciously and carefully curated in order to meet basic requirements and adequacy for marketing purposes. SBS managing director James Taylor recently referred to this as a 'tick box' approach to diversity, which actually does more to hinder change than adequately make cultural change. This is because it creates the false illusion that this form of diversity is wholly satisfactory. Needless to say, but a tick box method is not going to be sufficient to truly make systemic change.
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Generally, we might accept that change in such a large industry takes time and the status quo is likely to prevail in the absence of any clear impetus for change. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that most productions have shut down. As dire as this is for the industry, the silver lining is that this has allowed for a refresh in the industry that has not been possible before, the shows and theatres can be refreshed and so can casting practices. This starts with changing the method of casting. Too often, professional theatre auditions are closed off to the general public which means that only a select few can ever make it into the upper echelon. By opening up more auditions to the public, the workload on casting directors may increase but it may also afford more opportunities to a greater range of performers and thereby increase the overall diversity in casting. But all the changes in casting practices will not make any difference if there isn’t a meaningful dialogue about what representation truly means. Mere tokenism will not suffice but rather, suspension of disbelief when it comes to representation should be normalised so that diverse casting does not seem abnormal, rather, is seen to be reflective of a broader, multicultural society. In doing so, musical theatre will begin to represent what society is now rather than what society was in the past. By normalising this culture, it will also mean that more opportunities are given to Australians. Pippin, due to launch in November this year, came under fire by veteran performer Prinnie Stevens for casting an international performer in its starring role instead of giving the role to a local woman of colour. While the producers argued that no local performer had the requisite skills required, it could easily be argued that by providing exposure to local artists, their skills and reputation will develop so that they seem more suited to leading roles. It is clear that change needs to occur. With the diverse cast of Hamilton coming to Australia next year, it is the perfect opportunity to start normalising adequate representation in Australian musical theatre. COVID-19 has provided the perfect opportunity to refresh and potentially, the opportunity to make real change in the musical theatre industry. Whether that change occurs or not, only time will tell but if there is ever a time to shake things up, it is now. Kiran Gupta (Fr 2018) Drew's News Editor Read all of the other student-written blog pieces from across the year: www.drewsnews.org
1 The Manly Musical Society's Les Miserables cast at Glen Street Theatre in April 2019 2 The author, Kiran Gupta performing as part of this production.
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Philanthropy Update Despite the challenges that we have faced this year as a College community and as members of the wider Australian and International community, it has been amazing to see a spirit of philanthropy or ‘giving back’ continue to thrive. We first called upon our community earlier in the year for their help to respond to the impact of the pandemic and together we raised just shy of $80k for the SAC COVID-19 Relief Fund. As a result we were able to help all 26 students who applied for emergency financial relief. More recently, we have turned our focus to increasing the funds of our meanstested scholarship funds, in order to secure the future for rural and regional, Indigenous and government school students. We have also been working with a number of alumni, parents and friends of the College to establish a number of new meanstested, named scholarships in 2020. These include The Adam Casselden SC Scholarship, established by Adam Casselden (Fr 1990), and The Blair Scholarship, established by Craig Blair (Fr 1987) and Melanie Caffrey, which will both assist rural and regional, Government school students take the step to come to College. The Wines Family Medical Scholarship, established by Andrew & Lian Wines (Fr 1988, SS 1991), will support a student studying medicine or pre-medicine and The Nancy Reardon-Fonseca Scholarship, established by friends of the College, Adrian and Nancy Reardon-Fonseca, will support a female undergraduate student from New South Wales to attend College. And last, but certainly not least, is the David Anstice (Fr 1966) Rural & Regional Annual Scholarship, which will provide a full scholarship to an all-rounder from rural and regional Australia with capacity to make contributions to the community post-university. But that’s not all that David has done. He has also set St Andrew’s and its supporters a
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challenge – if we can match his scholarship with three new similar-size scholarships, he has promised to double his own scholarship gift! We look forward to meeting this challenge. Support for the new building has also continued and The Sukkar Family/ Jordan Sukkar (Fr 2009) Andrew Murray (Fr 1961, SS 1961), Laura & Russell McKinnon (Former Council member) and Mark Burrows (Fr 1962) all dug deep to help fund new bedrooms. To date, we have raised over $4.6M towards our over-arching campaign goal of $7M to enable access to Andrew's. We thank every single one of you all for your incredibly generous support. Know that each gift you have made, no matter the size, is making a difference. We also know that philanthropy comes in all shapes and sizes and our community are also generous with their time. Thank you to all of the alumni, parents and friends of the College who have volunteered their time on committees or taken part in the various Professional Development Programs for this year. It would not be possible to run the range of events, activities and programs without your support and participation, so thank you. You can read more about the progress of the Philanthropy Program in our Annual Philanthropy Report, which will be published in the first half of 2021. If you would like more information before then or have questions about making a gift or a bequest, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Hannah Atwell Director of Advancement
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Philanthropy Events DONOR THANK YOU MORNING TEA & LUNCH In September we invited our Donors to join us at College for tours of the new Thyne Reid Link Building, followed by either a Friday lunch or a Sunday morning tea. These two smaller events were held in order to say thank you to our Donors, in lieu of the annual Founders & Benefactors Dinner, which was postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19.
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Donors had a chance to see just how their generosity provides students with the opportunity to grow and learn in a safe and welcoming environment, and with access to stateof-the-art facilities. Principal Wayne Erickson and Director of Advancement Hannah Atwell hosted the tours, showing guests the new Kenyon Common Room and Taylor Gym as well as music rooms, tutorial rooms and bedrooms. We took the opportunity to welcome new members who were present to the Highlander Club, created in recognition of those who have donated over $25,000 ot the current Campaign. Members were presented with a thank you gift consisting pair of 100% cashmere scarves custom-made in Scotland, in the College’s registered tartan.
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1867 CIRCLE LUNCH This year was our most popular 1867 Circle Event yet, requiring us to move it from its usual location in the Reading Room up to the Chapel to accommodate all guests. 1867 Circle Members and their guests were taken for a tour of the Thyne Reid Link building, before returning to the Chapel for a program of lunch, musical entertainment and a guest speaker panel. The music was provided by James Armstrong (Fr 2019), who, accompanied by pianist Estelle Shircore Barker, played the first movement from Schubert’s Violin Sonata in A Major.
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Following this was our guest speaker panel, whose selection was in the spirit of elite sport and the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Moderated again by Foundation Board Member Amanda Mostyn, guests heard from Connor Murphy (Fr 2020), Hannah Buckling (Fr 2010) and Glenn Kable (Fr 1981), our aspiring, current and seasoned Olympians respectively. The lunch was a welcome opportunity for many members to catch up, and for their guests to revisit the College and reminisce about their days as students. 1 Amanda Mostyn at the 1867 Circle Lunch 2 Donors walking across the Glen to the new Building 3 Guests enjoyed lunch and morning tea in the Chapel 4 Hilary Cairns shares a laugh at the 1867 Circle Lunch 5 Wayne Erickson with new Highlander Club members the Plaskitt Family and Tony Sukkar.
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Jim Hawkins (PG 1961) closer to their clinical instructors. “The clinical teaching of dentistry relies on private practitioners providing most of the instruction when students are working on patients. Students should get to know their instructors so they can become their mentors." This is what Jim did to become a better student and graduate. For this, he believes College really helped. "Getting a Master’s degree was challenging at the time, and College kept me in the academic environment.” But the College’s most important work, Jim says, is that it “brings a disparate group of students together and unites them for life”. Fresher groups remain strong, and he himself is still in touch with the friends he made in 1961. Jim Hawkins arrived at St Andrew's College in 1961 while studying his Masters, one of just four postgraduate students during a time when they were new to the system, and the College had not quite worked out where to place them. Jim shared with us his fond memories of College, his love of sailing, and what drives his continued commitment to philanthropy. In the 1960’s the Australian Universities Commission began encouraging postgraduate study, a move which led to Jim Hawkins deciding to do his Masters in Orthodontics. After spending his undergraduate years moving between faith based hostels, university halls and student flats, he made the move to St Andrew’s. The then-Principal Alan Dougan had been proactive about inviting postgraduate students to the College. Despite Colleges at the time having a reputation for partying over studying, Jim approached St Andrew’s to see if there was a spot for him, and as he says, “the rest is history”. It wasn’t initially smooth sailing however, as it wasn’t made clear where the postgraduates sat in the College hierarchy. Seniority for students was based on how long you had been at St Andrew’s, and the postgraduate students were not initially recognised as senior members of the community. After 12 months, they were finally invited to join the Senior Common Room. “It was a bit tricky,” Jim recalls, “but the right thing to do. We fitted in better because of a similar age group, we had some of the best conversations when we were in the SCR and lifelong friendships were made”. Now retired from orthodontics, Jim is still passionate about his profession and teaches part-time in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Sydney. He says that with the current trends in teaching, his advice to students is to become
While the strong social bonds remain the same, much has changed since Jim was at College. He recalls a very different Formal Dinner than the one held now. “It was a flat-out program. We arrived, stood, the Principal said Grace, we ate and thirty minutes later said final Grace." Jim believes that it was at one of these formal dinners that the College hosted the first woman to be invited to sit in the Dining Hall. He is almost correct - in the College's first fifty years, women frequently dined in Hall as guests, but this was before living memory. The long hiatus in female company was indeed broken by Dame Pattie Menzies, wife of then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Menzies had actually been invited to open the Menzies Wing at John’s, but being Presbyterians, Alan Dougan invited them to Andrew’s for a Formal Luncheon. “It was a great coup,” Jim recalls. He credits the College with building his confidence, and making him more socially adept. “You are quite naive when you graduate, but being put into a larger environment with people who had different educational and social backgrounds made you more comfortable in wider society.” A keen sailor since he was a teenager, Jim volunteers at the Australian National Maritime Museum as a guide, and was a Foundation Member at its formation in 2010. As a guide, his interests are HMB Endeavour, and the HMAS’s Vampire, Onslow and Advance. Jim’s philanthropy extends back to his College too. A long time benefactor of St Andrew’s, Jim has been a generous supporter of the College for 35 years. When asked what drives him to give to St Andrew’s, Jim simply says “to give something back to a place that gave me so much. I had a good time at College, and I want to give back.”
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Bec Weeks (Fr 2003) management consultant at Bain and Co, where she worked for five years across Australia, the UK and the US. She took time out from Bain to complete a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Harvard University, with a focus on social entrepreneurship and behavioural science.
Bec Weeks (Fr 2003) was one of the first 100 women to attend St Andrew's College in the early 2000's and today is the co-founder of a behavioural science app called Pique. We caught up with Bec over Zoom to chat about her time at College and her career moves since. Born and raised in Sydney, Bec Weeks was inspired to go to College to make the most of campus life: “My dad did the first two years of his commerce degree part-time at night while he was undertaking a cadetship at an accounting firm. He always said he wished he’d had more time on campus to have the full university experience, so he was particularly supportive when I said I wanted to apply.” Bec’s tertiary plans were cemented after meeting some Androvians during Open Day; their warm, outgoing personalities immediately made her feel welcome. Bec resided in College during a period of significant social change; the introduction of women at St Andrew’s had happened only the year prior. Sport was Bec’s main focus, participating in hockey, athletics, swimming and tennis, for which she held the captaincy in her second year. She led the tennis team to victory and the first-ever Rosebowl Victory Dinner. Bec is impressed with the calibre of talent amongst Andrew’s women today particularly in the sporting arena, noting that “the College is in a virtuous cycle, continuing to bring great women into the community.” Although sport was a big factor in her enjoyment of College, the sense of community, friendships and memories made still remain her favourite parts of College. After graduating with a Bachelor of Economics and Social Sciences/Bachelor of Laws, Bec spent two years working for a law firm and a Federal Court judge before becoming a
She returned to Australia to help grow the federal government’s behavioural science research team, BETA. Now based in the US, she has been working with two leading academics to develop a behavioural science app, called Pique. Bec found herself inspired by this field of research and wanted to provide people with access to these insights to enrich their lives. The Pique app aims to achieve this, introducing users to helpful concepts from the academic literature and demonstrating how to apply those ideas in their lives: “We pique your interest in a new concept and help you try it today and beyond.” Bec finds that the US is the perfect place to conduct her work as it provides access to academics conducting ‘cutting edge’ research in the field, as well as great access to capital, talent and customers. Bec enjoys building a start-up and said, “It’s pretty exhilarating to be setting our vision and building the team to execute on that vision. Of course, since we’re a small start-up, I also do a ton of lessexhilarating things, but they’re all in service of our mission, which is a powerful motivator.” COVID-19 has impacted Bec’s ability to travel; in her spare time, she has been practicing the ukulele, yoga, and recommends everyone watches Hamilton on Disney Plus. Her advice for young entrepreneurs? “Make sure you’re passionate about what you’re working on, that it’s something you really enjoy and find all-consuming.” Being a part of our alumni community is of great benefit to Bec. “As an Androvian you have access to a whole lot of alumni who would love to help in whatever way they can. Reach out. People are more willing to help than you might think. (Let me know if I can help with anything relating to start-ups, behavioural science, or being an ex-pat in the US!)” Bec also recently volunteered her time as a mentor for the 2020 Androvation event and dialled in from Chicago to talk about start-ups and behavioural economics. The Pique App is available for iOS on the App Store (head to getpique.app).
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Dining Halls: Foresight & Food The ‘talking walls’ of the College’s three Dining Halls – the Munro, Sulman and Nosworthy Dining Halls – have much to tell us. They have seen a century-and-a-half of hospitality and student caper. But they also tell a history of foresight and hope for the future. It has been the practice of the College to put up oversized Dining Halls for the guests with whom we will break bread and the new students who will fill buildings yet-unbuilt. The Scottish architect of Main Building, William Munro, gave the College two grand, double-height Halls. The Old Library on the upper level and the original Dining Hall below encode an architectural message about what a university college should be: a place for common talk over a common meal, with books to keep oneself occupied. From 1876 to 1893, Munro’s Dining Hall was the principal public space of the College. Students dined there each day with Principal Kinross and his family, where they were often joined by University Professors and Theologians. The room, elegantly decorated with stencilling and stained glass by Lyon Cottier & Co., was also the students’ common room. Food has always been important to College members. However, the diet of students in 1880 was very different from today: there was no main evening meal and frugality made coffee a treat only for winter. At the end of the 19th century, College was outgrowing the old Dining Hall. The Council went looking for an architect to build a new Hall and found one in the preeminent Sir John Sulman who was beginning work on the Women’s College. So began a fruitful architectural coupling between Women’s and the Dining Halls of St Andrew’s. Observant visitors to the current Chapel will notice two doors in the southern wall. These are the two service doors which mark it as the second Dining Hall which Sulman built for College in honey-coloured Hawksbury sandstone between 1892 and 1893. This Dining Hall was supplied from a relatively cramped kitchen, a rare photograph of which survives in the College’s Archives. Following the addition of sixty rooms in Reid Building in 1953, the Dining Hall was once again bulging in an over-nourished way. Dinner was served in two sittings and the prospect of Thyne Building made the question urgent. However, rather than build a Dining Hall adequate for the College’s present needs, the Council elected to build for the future. Instead of building for 140 diners, they made room for 350. In 2020,
under COVID-19’s cudgel, this space allows us to feed the College in comfort – an unforeseen benefit. This is in keeping with the fatidic foresight of mid-century Councils which, as early as 1944, were already developing a master plan for 400 students. The current Dining Hall is the work of two of Sydney’s most significant architects. While the plans bear the name of the esteemed and elderly Professor Leslie Wilkinson, it was his one-time student, the equally eminent Ellice Nosworthy, who did much of the work. Nosworthy was an alumna of The Women’s College and had been their Honorary Architect for many years, so brought a deep understanding of collegiate life to the project. She also has the distinction of being one of the first women to graduate as an architect in Australia. They cleverly inserted an enormous Jacobean Hall between Munro’s and Sulman’s earlier wings, creating the charming Jacaranda courtyard and a cavernous Junior Common Room downstairs. The elegantly wrought gas lights from the Sulman Dining Hall were then moved to their current home in the Nosworthy Dining Hall, leaving sooty palimpsests behind them. The Nosworthy Dining Hall was opened in 1960 and since then has been the heart of College life. It has seen the first Valedictory Dinner, the first Mothers’ and Fathers’ Dinners, and been host to a great many distinguished guests from Governors to Professors and businesspeople. With the completion of the Thyne-Reid Link in 2020, the College has grown to 350 and we have renewed cause to celebrate the wisdom of a Council that planned for a distant future. This year is the Diamond Jubilee of the Nosworthy Dining Hall. On this anniversary we should remember the farsightedness that moved the College to build a Dining Hall for twice the number of students then in residence. Alex Wright (Fr 2015) Dean of Studies and Acting Archivist
1 A view of the kitchens of the Sulman Dining Hall and the women who kept the College going, c.1910 2 Munro’s Dining Hall as it is today. The stencilling on the walls was restored to the original Lyon Cottier & Co. design in the 1990s 3 The Nosworthy Dining Hall late last century. A peripatetic gas lamp from the Sulman Dining Hall has found a new home by the High Table 4 The Sulman Dining Hall, c.1910, with the original gas lamps still in place on the back wall.
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The College Menu in the 1880s: Dietary as of present Morning 8am Oatmeal porridge & milk Meat – Steak Chops or Cold Joint Bread & Butter Mid-day 1.15pm Meat – Roast & Boiled (Poultry once per week) Puddings of some description Afternoon 6pm Bread Butter & Jam & Tea Evening 9.30pm Bread & Cheese with Coffee in winter months
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Vale John Solomon & Dick Tooth In the fifteen years after World War II, St Andrew’s College attracted a remarkable group of able young men who made their mark in sport in the College and far beyond. Of this group, John Solomon and Dick Tooth were exact contemporaries, three weeks apart in age, who studied Medicine together from 1948 until 1954. Both distinguished themselves as outstanding examples of the athlete scholar whilst at school – Solomon at The Scots College, and Tooth at Newcastle Boys High – and very quickly in College athletics, swimming, cricket and rugby. Solomon was a dashing batsman and an inspiring wicketkeeper, captain of the College cricket team from 1952 until 1954, while Tooth earned his University Blue in cricket in 1953 and captained the College team from 1952-1954. But rugby was their principal sport. Solomon became College rugby captain in his second year and, while Solomon toured South Africa as captain of the Wallabies in 1953, Tooth captained the College team. Two years later the pair of them, famous for their joint contribution to the back line in University rugby, played together for the Wallabies in New Zealand. Solomon played a wider role in College than Tooth. Solomon represented his year cohort on the House Committee from his fresher year until he became an exemplary Senior
Student in 1954. In mid-1953, when he went to South Africa with the Wallabies, he had been succeeded briefly on the House Committee by Dick Tooth. Both Tooth and Solomon, played for their university, state and nation with great distinction. John Solomon had also been the primary reason for Saxon White, another Andrew’s Wallaby, choosing to come to Andrew’s, and White at once joined the College rugby team which Solomon captained. Dick Tooth joined the SUFC in 1949 and his last season was 1956. In his first year of playing he started in 3rd grade, but was in 2nd grade by the end of the season. The next year, he was picked from 2nd grade to tour New Zealand with the Combined Universities team. It was only after this tour that he was finally selected to play 1st grade at Sydney Uni. He subsequently played 68 games for Sydney Uni, of which 55 were in 1st grade. In 1956, he was captain of the Combined Australian Universities rugby team which toured Japan, the first sporting team to travel there after the war. Between 1950 and 1957, he also played 14 games for NSW, and 19 games for Australia, 10 of which were Test Matches. He played against both Fiji and the All Blacks, including two Tests as Captain against the All Blacks in 1957. After spending a couple of years in the UK continuing specialist training in orthopedics, Dick returned to Australia in 1961.
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Despite never having coached before, he was persuaded to coach the Sydney Uni 1st grade side. He coached for three seasons, from '61 to '63. The teams appeared in the Grand Final in all three seasons, winning in both '61 and '62. John Solomon began his Sydney Uni and NSW representative career in 1948, aged 19, playing 5/8, centre, wing or fullback in a career of 44 1st grade games for Uni and 19 for NSW. He made his debut for Australia in 1949, in the Bledisloe Cupwinning campaign, and went on to play 14 tests, appointed as Captain for the first time in 1952 at 22. He captained the Wallabies in 8 tests, including two tours of New Zealand and a four-month tour of South Africa. The highlight of his career was beating the Springboks in the second test of the tour in Cape Town. The Springboks were the reigning world champions and this was the first time they had been beaten in fifteen years. In a surprise gesture, fitting the rarity of the result, the Springbok forwards chaired John from the field. John coached the Wallabies in three tests against the Springboks in 1956, and enjoyed Premiership success as coach of Sydney Uni between 1964 and 1967. John was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, and inducted into the Australian Rugby Hall of Fame in 2016. Despite the extraordinary spread of their extra-curricular lives, both Tooth and Solomon, completed their studies and went on to forge distinguished medical careers. John Solomon specialised in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He won the Obstetrics prize upon his graduation in 1954,
then studied at Oxford University for a year on scholarship before working at King George V hospital in Sydney for forty-two years, where he delivered over 6000 babies. Later in his career he focused on Gynecology Oncology and was a founding member of the King George V Gynecology Oncology Unit. Dick Tooth practiced as an orthopedic surgeon and was a sports medicine pioneer, particularly in the new field of arthroscopic surgery in Australia. In 1971, he performed the first full knee reconstruction in Australia; his patient was Johnny Warren, captain of the Socceroos, who recovered fully and went on to lead the national team to a World Cup tournament for the first time, in 1974. Dick was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2019. Upon reminiscing on their incredible careers, it is perhaps fitting to conclude with the proposition that the University has never been far away from the orbit of the lives of these legends. John’s grandchildren were in residence in Andrew’s; and Dick’s daughter Liane, an international sporting representative in her own right, lends her name to the University’s championship trophy for women’s intra-mural sport. Dick also was a member of the 1867 Circle (formerly the Dick Spann Circle) and a Foundation Director as a result of his support of the scholarships and building programs. Based on the story written for the SUSF Legends Lunch by Wayne Erickson & the late Prof Ian Jack.
1 The St Andrew's College 1954 Rugby Team - Solomon is seated in the centre front row and Tooth sits to his left. 2 Solomon passes to Tooth in the 1st Test in Wellington (8-3) at the 1949 Australian University Tour of New Zealand. Photos courtesy of the College Archives and the Solomon Family.
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The Alumni Society's activities have been curtailed this year by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the year we have: (a) brought forward our last remaining instalment of our donation towards the construction of the TRL Building. The Society has now contributed $50,000 for this purpose with a specific request that the money is spent by the College in consultation with the Senior Student towards the fit-out of the common spaces of the new building. (b) contributed $15,000 towards the Principal's COVID-19 relief fund to help students (preferably those with an alumni connection) who would otherwise be facing financial difficulties in attending College given changed circumstances. This is in addition to the $13,000 that is contributed each year for Alumni Society Scholarships. We like to think these donations are made on behalf of alumni who would have otherwise contributed directly if their own circumstances would have allowed but for the pandemic, drought, flood, fire etc. A number of our regular activities have been disrupted including our Annual Dinner, Young Alumni, Rawson Cup and Rosebowl events. A significant disappointment was the cancellation of this year's Annual Dinner as we know reunion years look forward to catching up with their mates at that dinner. We have decided to hold a combined dinner in 2021 rolling all of the 2020 and 2021 reunions into one. We will be writing to you about that next year.
many alumni have towards the College. While we have only begun that process, we do see several fruitful areas being: (a) a deeper engagement in the professional development/ careers programmes of the College and creating pathways and opportunities for current students and recent alumni particular in a tighter economic environment; (b) the development of a more sophisticated way in which the Alumni Society (and the College) talk to and engender meaningful relationships with alumni including encouraging and facilitating the lateral relationships between freshers and also amongst interest groups spanning fresher years (such as DramSoc members); (c) continuing to broadly support the Students' Club and in particular its strong record of self-government; and (d) continuing to advocate on behalf of the alumni including as to the College admissions policy around the admission of rural and regional students and the connections of alumni. A large vote of thanks is owed to the Alumni Society Committee members for their contribution this year and also the members of the Advancement Office headed by Hannah Atwell for their support of Alumni Society activities.
The Committee has also spent a little of the downtime navel-gazing and thinking about how we can improve as an organisation.
I would also like to thank Charlie Taylor (Chair of Council), Niall Cairns (Foundation Chair), the Principal (Wayne Erickson), Hester Wilson (Vice Principal), Secretary to Council and Director of Operations (Ian Smith), Jack Grant (Senior Student), members of Council, the Foundation Board, College Executive and House Committee, and the students and staff of the College for the work that has been done to keep the College open in a COVID-safe way and in some real sense thriving during the pandemic. The College has been on the right side of that very difficult choice.
We have started on a strategic planning process and would welcome any of your thoughts and suggestions about how we can cultivate and harness the incredible goodwill that
Alex Rhydderch (Fr 1994) Senior Student 1997 President, SACAS Committee
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Awards & Achievements The College would like to congratulate the following alumni on their awards and achievements in 2020:
Queens' Birthday Honours:
Emeritus Professor John William Longworth AM (Fr 1961)
For significant service to tertiary education, and to the agricultural sciences.
Former Councillor/Hon. Fellow Dr Jennifer (Jill) Gordon
For significant service to psychological medicine, and to professional medical bodies.
Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
Ashley Gray's (Fr 1985) recently published book - The Unforgiven: Missionaries or Mercenaries? has been shortlisted for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The Award is the world’s longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize.
Australia's Best Whisky
Will Edwards (Fr 2007) is the Founder of Archie Rose Distilling Co. and their whisky has been judged in 2020 as Australia's Best Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards in the US.
Women’s Talent Identification Camp Selection
Clare Wheeler (Fr 2017) has been selected for the Women’s Talent Identification Camp with the Westfield Matildas,. The camp provides opportunity for some of Australia’s most promising female footballers to be evaluated by the Westfield Matildas’ coaching staff as the national team program recommences.
Buildcorp Wallaroos Training Squad Selection
Jemima McCalman (Fr 2018) has been selected in the Buildcorp Wallaroos Training Squad that will meet at the AIS in Canberra in the first week of December. This will be the first national camp for the team in 2020 as they continue preparation for Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.
Obituaries The College has learned of the following deaths in our community. Our sympathies are extended to their families. Mr Malcolm Lyel Adams (Fr 1964) Reverend Richard Alan Engel (Fr 1947) Mr Ross Hood Adair (Fr 1955) Dr Norman Campbell Douglas (Fr 1945) Mr Geoffrey David Karpin (Fr 1955) Dr Kerry Anderson Rathie (Fr 1959) Dr Dick (Richard) Tooth RFD OAM (Fr 1948) Mr Peter H W Gilmore (Fr 1976)
Commander Roger Shellard Mr Peter John Scales (Fr 1950) Dr Peter William Stewart (Fr 1947) Mr Rod (Roderick) Richardson (Fr 1967) Dr William Horton Manton (Fr 1950) Mr Peter Scott Macphillamy (Fr 1944) Mr Robert Thomas Dunn (Fr 1962)
If you know of any other recent deaths in our community, please contact: +61 2 9565 7302 or alumni@standrewscollege.edu.au
St Andrew's College within the University of Sydney 19 Carillon Avenue NEWTOWN NSW 2042 +61 2 9565 7300 www.standrewscollege.edu.au