St George's College, Perth

Last updated

St George's College
University of Western Australia
St George's College (original wing facade, 2023).jpg
The College, pictured in 2023
St George's College crest.svg
The current rendering of the College's coat of arms
Coordinates 31°58′26″S115°49′18″E / 31.973785028479945°S 115.82160989997718°E / -31.973785028479945; 115.82160989997718
AbbreviationSTGC
NicknameGeorge's
MottoNosse Deum Vivere (Latin)
Motto in EnglishTo know God is to live
Established1931
Named for St George
Architect
  • Hobbs, Smith and Forbes (Original buildings)
  • Hobbs Winning and Leighton (1962 and 1968 additions)
  • Palaiss Architects (2010 additions)
  • Whitehaus (2019 addition)
Architectural style Interwar Gothic
Colours
  •   Red
  •   White
GenderAll
Warden Ian Hardy
Chaplain Ven. Peter Boyland [1]
Residentsc.270
Website Official website

St George's College is a residential college within the University of Western Australia. Created through a bequest of Sir John Winthrop Hackett and the subsequent collaboration of the university and the Anglican Diocese of Perth, it opened in 1931, making it the oldest college within the university. Initially male-only, the College became co-educational in 1981. It is recognised for its architectural significance and appears on several heritage listings.

Contents

History

The first chancellor of the University of Western Australia (UWA), Sir John Winthrop Hackett, died in 1916. [2] In his will, Hackett made the Anglican Diocese of Perth a residuary legatee, [2] for the purpose of establishing a church college at UWA, with a chapel if possible. [2] [3] Upon the sale of Hackett's shares in The West Australian and The Western Mail in 1926, they ultimately received 138,285. [2] [4] [5] These funds were used to establish the College, [2] largely the result of efforts of Archbishop Charles Riley, who secured the land for the College from the UWA senate in 1923. [3] However, the senate was found not to have the necessary powers to allocate the land, a situation which required the University Colleges Act 1926 (WA) to be passed. [3] [6] The architectural firm of Sir Talbot Hobbs, E.H. Dean-Smith, and W.J. Forbes was engaged to design the College. [7] [8] Hobbs later became a member of the College Council, and donated a billiards table. [9]

The foundation stones of the College and the College Chapel were each laid on 8 March 1928 by Sir William Campion (Governor of Western Australia) and Riley, respectively. The College was officially opened on 23 April 1931 (Saint George's Day), although the Chapel had not yet been completed. [10] The Chief Justice of Western Australia, Sir Robert McMillan , died at the opening of the College having just delivered his speech. [11] [12] [13] The College catered for 24 men in its first year of operation. [14] It appears that both Riley and Archbishop Henry Le Fanu (who succeeded Riley upon his death in 1929) intended for St George's to serve as a theological college and host seminarians, although this was not possible under the conditions of the University Colleges Act, and St George's never taught theology classes. [15] Despite its close relationship with the Anglican Church, the College was open to students of any denomination from its founding. [16]

In one noted incident in 1949, all 74 residents of the College conspired to hoax the university by presenting a lecture on Modern Sculpture—is it a Hoax? from "M. Jean Leps", supposedly an avant-garde sculptor. Leps was, in fact, a resident of the College, and drew an audience of 450–500 people who largely praised his speech. [17] [18] [19]

The south wing was opened in 1962, and the north wing in 1968; both were designed by Hobbs Winning and Leighton. [7] [20] [21]

The College became co-educational in 1981 after 50 years of being male-only. [20] [21]

Memorial Wing opened in 2007, commemorating 14 members of the College who died in service in the Second World War and which replaced the memorial squash courts constructed in 1958. Newby Wing opened in 2010 alongside new maintenance and kitchen facilities, [21] [22] and that same year the College sustained significant damage in the 2010 Western Australian storms. [21] The chapel was restored in 2012. [21] Rodgers Wing opened in 2019, designed by Whitehaus. [23]

The College drew some attention in 2019 over plans to host a summer school in collaboration with the controversial Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, which did not eventuate. [24]

In June 2023, the College commenced legal action against Kevin Palassis and his firm Palassis Architects, structural engineering firm Structerre and its CEO Gervase Purich, and hydraulic engineering firm PM White & Partners. [25] Since its construction in 2010, Newby Wing had suffered from extreme subsidence causing cracks in the walls of the building. [22] [25] In its writ to the WA Supreme Court, the College claimed that the defendants had breached their duty of care by failing to carry out their services with "reasonable care and skill", and alleged that Structerre and Purich had provided "misleading or deceptive" representations. [22]

Architecture, buildings, and gardens

The architecture of the original wing of the College and Chapel is described as Interwar Gothic, [7] or alternatively Tudor Gothic. [8] The College was constructed from red brick with Donnybrook stone dressings. [10] The façade of the College is closely modelled on the façade of the Old Court at Selwyn College. [10] The original wing encloses on three sides a grass quadrangle, which significantly differs from most Oxbridge-style quadrangles in that the three built sides feature deep cloisters at the ground and first floor levels to provide horizontal connection and reduce the impact of the summer heat. [10]

Rodgers Wing won the 2020 Master Builders-Bankwest Excellence in Construction Award for projects in the range of A$10–20 million. [26]

Chapel

The College Chapel, viewed from the north. Pictured during landscape renovation in 2021. St Georges College chapel, University of Western Australia, December 2021 01.jpg
The College Chapel, viewed from the north. Pictured during landscape renovation in 2021.

The College Chapel is aligned on a north-south axis and is entered from the south, rather than the traditional east-west axis. [8] The seating in the nave is arranged in collegiate style with pews facing inwards to each other rather than towards the altar. [27] [28] A similar arrangement is commonly found in the chancel of Gothic churches to provide for a smaller collegial group of worshippers. [29] The College Chapel expanded this format as the College population is collegial as a whole, removing the need for a separate congregation. [30] The pipe organ in its southern loft was built as part of the original Chapel construction by Josiah Eustace Dodd with jarrah casings. [27] [31]

The south façade features the five blazons of the Anglican diocese in which Crawley has been located: (from left to right) Canterbury, Calcutta, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth. [8] [32] The south windows feature (from left to right) Bishop William Broughton, Aidan of Lindisfarne, Augustine of Hippo, Saint Boniface, and Riley. [27] [33] The north windows above the altar feature (from left to right) Saint George, Jesus, and Paul the Apostle. [27] [34]

Heritage status

The College gardens were listed on the Register of the National Estate on 21 October 1980. [35] [36] The College was added to the National Trust on 2 April 1979, and the City of Perth Heritage List on 20 December 1985. [7]

College crest

The College arms were granted by the Garter Principal King of Arms on 5 March 1964, confirming arms used from foundation. The arms include black swans (indicating its location and proximity to the Swan River), a double-headed eagle (drawn from the Hackett family crest in tribute to its founder), and the Cross of St George. [37] The motto is drawn from the Second Collect at Morning Prayer. [37]

Wardens

No.WardenTerm startTerm endRef.
1 Rev. Can. Percy Henn 19311932 [38] [39]
2 Rev. Can. Charles Law19321940
3John Heywood Reynolds MBE 19401971 [40]
4Peter Simpson OAM 19711979
5Ben Darbyshire19802006
6 John Inverarity AM MBE 20062011
7Ian Hardy2012incumbent

Notable alumni

Academia

Arts

Business

Law

Politics and the public service

Religion

Sports

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Western Australia</span> University in Perth, Western Australia

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, a suburb located in the City of Perth local government area. UWA was established in 1911 by an act of the Parliament of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot Hobbs</span> Australian military general and architect

Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, was an Australian architect and First World War general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shenton College</span> School in Shenton Park, Western Australia

Shenton College is a public co-educational senior high school, located in Shenton Park, an inner western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Like many WA high schools, it is a partially selective school with out-of-area students accepted on a number of criteria. It is one of the largest schools in Western Australia, with 2,839 enrolled students as of 10 May 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crawley, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Crawley is a western suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. The area is part of the local government area of the City of Perth and was previously shared between the City of Subiaco and City of Perth. It is about 5.8 kilometres (4 mi) from the Perth CBD via Mounts Bay Road.

George Seddon was an Australian academic who held university chairs in a range of subjects. He wrote popular books on the Australian landscape embracing diverse points of view. He was well known for his book Sense of Place (1972) which brought the needs of the fragile Swan Coastal Plain to the attention of the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matilda Bay</span> Bay in the Swan River, Western Australia

Matilda Bay or Crawley Bay is a natural bay in the Swan River in Western Australia, adjacent to the Perth suburb of Crawley. It extends from Pelican Point to Mounts Bay Road below Kings Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of Perth</span> Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia

The Anglican Diocese of Perth is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The constitution of the Diocese of Perth was passed and adopted in 1872 at the first synod held in Western Australia. In 1914, the Province of Western Australia was created and the diocesan bishop of Perth became ex officio metropolitan bishop of the new province and therefore also an archbishop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Winthrop Hackett</span> Australian politician (1848–1916)

Sir John Winthrop Hackett Sr., generally known as "Winthrop Hackett", was a proprietor and editor of several newspapers in Western Australia, a politician and a university chancellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Murdoch</span> Australian academic and essayist (1874-1970)

Sir Walter Logie Forbes Murdoch, was a prominent Australian academic and essayist famous for his intelligence and wit. He was a founding professor of English and former Chancellor of the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth, Western Australia.

Sir John Alfred Northmore KCMG was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the state of Western Australia. Northmore was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in 1914 before being appointed Chief Justice in 1931. He retired in 1945 and died in 1958. He also served as Administrator of Western Australia from 1931 to 1933, fulfilling the functions of Governor after financial straits prevented a permanent successor to Governor Sir William Campion.

Sir James Winter Cruthers was an Australian media business executive and philanthropist.

Sir Frank Callaway was an influential music educator and administrator. He was born in New Zealand but spent the major part of his life and career in Perth, Western Australia, where he built the UWA School of Music. He was one of the most highly honoured musicians and music educators in Australian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Vernon Hackett</span> Australian philanthropist

Deborah Vernon Buller Murphy, best known as Lady Hackett or Lady Moulden, was an Australian community worker, philanthropist, and mining investor.

Patrick John (Paddy) O'Brien, was an Australian political scientist and author, teaching in the political science department of the University of Western Australia from 1969 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winthrop Avenue</span> Road in Perth, Western Australia

Winthrop Avenue is a major north–south road in the Perth suburbs of Nedlands and Crawley. For most of its length, the road travels alongside the south-western edge of Kings Park, connecting Thomas Street with Stirling Highway, Mounts Bay Road, and the University of Western Australia's Crawley campus. It is the southernmost section of State Route 61, which links Crawley with West Perth and Yokine.

Jennifer Anne Gregory is an Australian academic and historian. Her research and writing focuses on the history of Western Australia. As of September 2020 she is professor emerita at the University of Western Australia.

Benjamin John Small is an Australian politician. He was selected to serve as a senator for Western Australia, representing the Liberal Party, to fill a casual vacancy following Mathias Cormann's resignation. His first term lasted from November 2020 until his April 2022 resignation, and he resumed his term in May after being nominated to replace himself. Small was unsuccessful in his re-election bid in the 2022 federal election and his term as senator concluded on 30 June 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson Tucker (politician)</span> Western Australian politician

Wilson Robert Tucker is an Australian politician serving in the Western Australian Legislative Council for the Mining and Pastoral region. He was elected at the 2021 Western Australian state election for the Daylight Saving Party, with 98 primary votes, or 0.18% of the vote – believed to be the lowest primary vote for any politician elected to a parliament in Australia.

The GST distribution dispute is an ongoing political controversy concerning the distribution of goods and services tax (GST) revenue amongst the Australian states and territories and the federal government. The dispute was originally based upon Western Australia's (WA) dissatisfaction with its low returns, which led to reform in 2018. The 2018 reform guarantees all states and territories a minimum return on their contribution.

Louise Kingston is an Australian politician serving as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council to represent the Western Australian National Party for the South West Region.

References

  1. "Clergy News" (PDF). Messenger. Anglican Diocese of Perth. April 2024. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hunt, Lyall (1983). "Hackett, Sir John Winthrop (1848–1916)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 9. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN   9780522842739. OCLC   418885. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Wreford, Peter A. (1981). "The Founder And Planners". In Wills-Johnson, Brian (ed.). St George's College: The First Fifty Years. Nedlands: The Georgians. p. 4. ISBN   9780959411317. OCLC   27629436.
  4. Alexander 1963 , p. 512
  5. Taylor, Robyn (2013). "Creating the campus: a century of building". In Gregory, Jenny; Chetkovich, Jean (eds.). Seeking Wisdom: A Centenary History of the University of Western Australia. Crawley: UWA Publishing. p. 41. ISBN   9781742584881. OCLC   809948499.
  6. Alexander 1963 , p. 513
  7. 1 2 3 4 "St George's College including Cork Oak Tree". Heritage Council of Western Australia . 5 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Melville-Jones 2012 , p. 50
  9. Craven, Herbert A. (1981). "Early Years". In Wills-Johnson, Brian (ed.). St George's College: The First Fifty Years. Nedlands: The Georgians. p. 10. ISBN   9780959411317. OCLC   27629436.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Melville-Jones 2012 , p. 49
  11. Edwards, Eric J. (1986). "McMillan, Sir Robert Furse (1858–1931)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 10. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN   9780522843279. OCLC   418885. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  12. "Death of Chief Justice". The Western Mail . Vol. 2359, no. 46. Perth: West Australian Newspapers. 30 April 1931. p. 15. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023 via Trove.
  13. French, Robert (19 October 2016). The Changing Face of Judicial Leadership: A Western Australian Perspective (PDF) (Speech). David Malcolm Annual Memorial Lecture. Fremantle: High Court of Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  14. Alexander 1963 , p. 509
  15. Strong, Rowan (27 May 2014). McGowan, Andrew (ed.). "Archbishop Charles Riley, Theological Education and the Foundation of the University of Western Australia, 1903–c.1929". Journal of Anglican Studies . 13 (1). Cambridge University Press (published May 2015): 63–65. doi:10.1017/S1740355314000084. ISSN   1740-3553. OCLC   915879734. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024 via Cambridge Core.
  16. Alexander 1963 , p. 517
  17. "Many Uni. Faces Red Over "Jean Leps" Hoax". The Mirror . Vol. 26, no. 1415. Perth. 2 July 1949. p. 8. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024 via Trove.
  18. Smith, Charles Patrick, ed. (29 June 1949). "Students' Hoax". The West Australian . Vol. 65, no. 19641. Perth: West Australian Newspapers. p. 5. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024 via Trove.
  19. Wong, Jacqui (21 September 2009). Brophy, Lindy (ed.). "Hoax is part of our history". UWA News. Vol. 28, no. 14. Crawley: University of Western Australia. p. 10. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024 via Yumpu.
  20. 1 2 "Saint George's College". University of Western Australia . Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Wynne, Emma; Horsley, Lorraine (3 July 2015). "Perth's St George's College created to replicate Cambridge style". ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 Vierira, Isabel (6 July 2023). "St George's College, architects in dispute" . Business News . Perth. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  23. "St Georges College". Whitehaus. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  24. Hiatt, Bethany (3 July 2019). De Ceglie, Anthony (ed.). "UWA in a new western front". The West Australian . Perth: Seven West Media. p. 11. ISSN   0312-6323. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  25. 1 2 Prior, Neale (7 July 2023). De Ceglie, Anthony (ed.). "St George's sues over Newby work". The West Australian . Perth: Seven West Media. p. 61. ISSN   0312-6323. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  26. Gelavis, John (8 November 2020). "Choose from this year's best built apartments". The West Australian . Perth: Seven West Media. ISSN   0312-6323. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Melville-Jones 2012 , p. 51
  28. Pierce 1985 , p. 3
  29. Pierce 1985 , pp. 3–4
  30. Pierce 1985 , p. 4
  31. "St George's College, Crawley". Organ Society of Western Australia. 1971. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  32. Pierce 1985 , pp. 1–2
  33. Pierce 1985 , pp. 2–3
  34. Pierce 1985 , p. 5
  35. "St George's College Garden". Heritage Council of Western Australia . 10 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  36. Lilleyman, Gillian (2013). "Creating a landscape". In Gregory, Jenny; Chetkovich, Jean (eds.). Seeking Wisdom: A Centenary History of the University of Western Australia. Crawley: UWA Publishing. p. 17. ISBN   9781742584881. OCLC   809948499.
  37. 1 2 Low, Charles, ed. (1971). A Roll of Australian Arms. Illustrated by Allan K. Chatto. Adelaide: Rigby Limited. p. 54. ISBN   9780851791494. OCLC   246821.
  38. Cardell-Oliver, John (1983). "Henn, Percy Umfreville (1865–1955)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 9. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN   9780522842739. OCLC   418885. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  39. Henn, Wilfrid E. (1982). A Life So Rich. Perth. pp. 65–66. OCLC   221766303.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  40. Legge, J. D. (2012). "Reynolds, John Heywood (1905–1981)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN   9780522861310. OCLC   418885. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  41. "First of his race at university". Pelican . Vol. 26, no. 1. Nedlands: University Publications Committee for the Guild of Undergraduates. 5 April 1957. p. 5. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2024 via UWA Collected.
  42. Packer, Clyde (1984). "Maxwell Newton". No Return Ticket. North Ryde: Angus & Robertson. pp. 100–129. ISBN   9780207150289. OCLC   27505894. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  43. Clarke, Connie (6 December 2016). "Perth photographer Jarrad Seng is 'up for anything'". PerthNow . Seven West Media. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  44. Falkiner, Suzanne (6 April 2016). "Randolph Stow: Pictures, Letters and Conversations". Westerly . ISSN   0043-342X. OCLC   1376935565. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  45. "Annual lecture honours Randolph Stow". UWA Impact. University of Western Australia. 13 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  46. Blaxland, John (2021). "Barnett, Tudor Harvey (1925–1995)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 19. Acton, ACT, Australia: Australian National University Press. ISBN   9781760464127. OCLC   418885. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  47. 1 2 John Day (7 November 2002). "Acts Amendment (Student Guilds and Associations) Bill 2002" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Western Australia: Legislative Assembly. Archived 22 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine
  48. Kennedy, Peter (28 April 2023). De Ceglie, Anthony (ed.). "From diplomat to people smuggler". The West Australian . Perth: Seven West Media. p. 60. ISSN   0312-6323.
  49. Wilkie, Dan (6 May 2010). "Into the breach". Business News . Perth. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  50. "Ian George Medcalf". Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Parliament of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  51. Heydon, J. D. (2010). "The Public Life of John and Nancy Stone". Upholding the Australian Constitution: The Samuel Griffith Society Proceedings. Samuel Griffith Society. ISSN   1327-1539. OCLC   37225230. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  52. Falkiner, Suzanne (2016). Mick: A Life of Randolph Stow. Perth: UWA Publishing. p. 62. ISBN   9781742588339. OCLC   952155629.
  53. Smith, Charles Patrick, ed. (8 December 1949). "Rhodes Scholarship to Mr. S. B. Rosier". The West Australian . Vol. 65, no. 19780. Perth: West Australian Newspapers. p. 2. ISSN   0312-6323. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023 via Trove.

Works cited