WARDEN'S INTRODUCTION

150 years in the making – we’ve created something special

PROFESSOR KEN HINCHCLIFF (TC 1976). WARDEN AND CEO

Professor Ken Hinchcliff, Trinity College Warden and CEO

Trinity College is an incredible institution and I am privileged to lead it during its 150th year. I share a connection to our very special place with all Trinitarians, whether they were here last year or five decades ago. This is a place of learning and scholarship, lifelong friends, and quirky and not-so-quirky traditions. A place where Indigenous and nonIndigenous young women and men find their way, become independent and develop into leaders.

The College changes each year, but the elements remain the same. As we celebrate 15 decades of Trinity, we honour the memory of those who contributed so much to its founding and development.

Perry, Leeper and others described a college that would be an antipodean version of the long-established residential colleges at Oxford and Cambridge. Leeper was careful to cast Trinity not as a mirror of his alma mater – Trinity College Dublin – but rather as an Australian interpretation ‘true to their traditions of the past and their instincts for the future’.

Leeper’s vision was realised early on and now after 150 years Trinity’s identity and sense of community is as strong as ever. We have moulded the institution into three separate but complementary divisions (the Residential College, Theological School and Pathways School), united in that they all champion academic excellence, personal growth and social responsibility, and by the fact that going through any of these divisions means joining a global community of friends and supporters.

I’m proud of everything Trinity College has achieved over the years and the way the organisation has grown and adapted to stay relevant and respected. Our pre-eminent College has shaped and influenced the lives of two governors-general; three high court justices and more than 50 judges; three state premiers; innumerable sportsmen and women, including 16 Olympians; captains of industry; stars of the stage and screen; scientists and inventors; and ordinary, hard-working women and men, as noted in Peter Campbell’s new book that details Trinity’s history.

Trinity’s enduring influence on the lives of our students is also evident in the number of alumni who demonstrate their belief in the institution by entrusting us with the care of their offspring, some of whom are the fourth generation of their family to attend the College, and some of whom have siblings and cousins as members.

Of course, Trinity also welcomes and nurtures those who will be the first generation of their family to attend, as my wife, Carole, and I were, and who, like us, will see their children become Trinitarians, too.

I trust you enjoy reading this 150th anniversary edition of Trinity Today and hope you will keep it as a memento. It’s a reminder that as a member of the Trinity College community you are part of something special.