Wesley College, University of Sydney

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Wesley College
University of Sydney
Wesley College, University of Sydney coat of arms.png
LocationWestern Avenue, University of Sydney NSW, 2006
Coordinates 33°53′21″S151°11′09″E / 33.8892453°S 151.1858654°E / -33.8892453; 151.1858654
Full nameWesley College
MottoMinistrate in Fide Vestra Virtutem (Latin)
Motto in EnglishServe Virtue in Your Faith
Established1917
Named for John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church
Sister college Queen's College, University of Melbourne
Master Lisa J Sutherland
Residents265
Website Website
The main entrance and buildings of Wesley College SydneyUniversity WesleyCollege.jpg
The main entrance and buildings of Wesley College

Wesley College is a co-residential college of 265 students within the University of Sydney. The college occupies a site on the main campus of the University of Sydney and was built on a sub-grant of Crown land. Wesley is one of six on-campus colleges at the University of Sydney which provide accommodation. In 1923 the college averaged 45 students. [1] Originally the college accommodated only men but when women were admitted in 1969 Wesley became the first of the colleges within the University of Sydney to become co-educational. Its current head is Lisa Sutherland, who has held the position since 2010. [2]

Contents

The college chapel owned a Latin version of the Bible which dated to 1479, and may be the oldest bible in Australia, but has since gone missing. [3] [4]

Wesley College in the 1930s. Wesleycollegecamperdown1930s.jpg
Wesley College in the 1930s.

Buildings

The interior of the Wesley chapel in the 1930s Wesleycollegecamperdownchapel.jpg
The interior of the Wesley chapel in the 1930s

The Edwardian Gothic main wing of Wesley dates from 1917 and was designed by the winner of a competition, Byera Hadley (1872–1937), [5] an English-born architect who had emigrated to Australia in 1887. Construction of the design was expected to cost £20,000. [5] The brown face brick and sandstone building originally consisted of the central wing, dining room, chapel and Master's residence. It has a steep slate roof and is topped with a copper flèche. The interiors are detailed in a neo-Gothic style with polished timber staircases and wainscotting, leadlight windows and quatrefoil plaster ceilings. [6] The chapel, also designed by Hadley and completed in 1919, [7] was paid for by benefactor Frederick Cull. [6]

In 1922 the building's original design by Hadley was completed with the opening of the Callaghan Wing. [8] Alan Dwyer designed the Cecil Purser Wing in 1943 and in 1960 Brewster Murray added the Wylie Wing. Further extensions were added in 1965 when Fowell, Mansfield & Maclurcan increased the capacity of the chapel and in 1969 when the same firm designed the Tutors Wing. [9]

Student life

Rawson Cup

Every year, Wesley men compete for the Rawson Cup, which was presented to the Sydney University Sports Union in 1906 by Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, and is the height of male intercollegiate sport. The cup is fought for throughout the year by men representing each of the University of Sydney colleges accumulating points by competing in cricket, rowing, swimming, rugby, tennis, soccer, basketball and athletics. Wesley has won the Rawson Cup on seven occasions.[ citation needed ]

Rosebowl Cup

The female sporting trophy, the Rosebowl Cup, has been won by Wesley on more occasions than any other college.

Social calendar

Students are also in charge of organising their own social calendar throughout the year, including sponsor bars, formal dinners, victory dinners, racing days, as well as the annual Informal (for 1200 people with live bands and DJs) and the annual Black Ball.

Masters

Notable alumni

Wesley College honoured alumni (as at 2019) Wesley College Honours board (as at 2019).jpg
Wesley College honoured alumni (as at 2019)

Science, medicine, and academia

Politics, public service, and the law

Military

Business

Royalty

Arts and humanities

Sports

Other

Rhodes Scholars

References

  1. 1 2 "Principal of Wesley College". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW. 8 March 1924. p. 18. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  2. Malcolm Brown (25 August 2009). "Hissy Fits are over – a Woman's in Charge Now". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  3. "The Oldest Bible". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 February 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  4. "Church Quest For Our Oldest Bible". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 February 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  5. 1 2 "New Wesley College". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 January 1916. p. 17. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Malcolm (October 2006). "Frederick Cull Councillor 1915–1942". The Wesleyan: 14.
  7. Bogle, Michael (August 2011). "Byera Hadley (1872‐1937)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  8. "Wing for Wesley College". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 February 1922. p. 15. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  9. Howells, Trevor (2007). University of Sydney Architecture. Sydney: Watermark Press. p. 142. ISBN   978-0949284754.
  10. "Wesley College". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 1916. p. 18. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Wesley College". The Courier-Mail . Qld. 18 August 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  12. "To retire at end of year". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane. 15 August 1938. p. 3. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  13. "College Master to retire". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 September 1942. p. 11. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  14. "Distinguished guest speaker". Goulburn Evening Post (Daily and Evening ed.). NSW. 18 September 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  15. Brown, Malcolm (2012). "Webb, Norman Charles (1925–1985)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
  16. Australian Rugby. Retrieved 28 September 2012