The University Archives turns 70 on 3 May this year. To celebrate this milestone, check the blog at the end of each week for the week’s special stories from our collections.
5 February 2024
A Conflict of Interest?
The University of Sydney News reported on 3 September 1985 that Dr Brian Trudinger and his research team at the Westmead Centre conclusively proved that women who smoke while pregnant can risk starving their babies of nutrients. It would appear, however, that the study was, oddly, partially funded by the Australian Tobacco Research Foundation (ATRF), a collaborative venture established by three major tobacco companies operating in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s. On 7 December 1981, Senate listed the bequests, donations, gifts and grants received by the University. One of the grants received for research included $8,055 for the Obstetrics and Gynaecology departments from the Australian Tobacco Research Foundation to study, “the effects of maternal cigarette smoking on foetal cardiovascular and respiratory dynamics, 1982-1983”.
Smoking in Pregnancy Research Team at Westmead Hospital (1985), [REF-00012608]. University of Sydney Archives, accessed 05/02/2024, https://archives-search.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/31066.
6 February 2024
Ribbit Ribbit
This drawing of a frog by Kenneth Bray, a 1931 Bachelor of Veterinary Science graduate, was drawn in 1928 during his first year of study. Bray was told that if he spent as much time listening to lectures as he did drawing what he saw under the microscope, he would do better in classes. Despite this warning, Bray successfully completed his First Year Examinations.
Veterinary Science I Notebook (Mar 1928), p. 3 (PDF), [REF-00088059]. University of Sydney Archives, accessed 06/02/2024, https://archives-search.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/140742.
7 February 2024
Don’t Judge a Building by its Façade
The Neoclassical sandstone façades of the Bank Building, from the early 1850s, were originally part of the headquarters of the University’s first bankers, the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney (CBC), which stood on the corner of George and Barracks Streets. When CBC decided to build a larger premises near Martin Place, it offered the ground and first storeys of the building to the University. Professor Leslie Wilkinson argued that the cost of dismantling, transporting, and reassembling the CBC building would be approximately £1000, far less than the cost of building from scratch. The older sections from the CBC building were then merged with Professor Wilkinson’s designs and became home to the School of Chemistry.
Bank Building (26/09/1950), [REF-00077153]. University of Sydney Archives, accessed 07/02/2024, https://archives-search.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/127339.
8 February 2024
Help Your University
When the University reached its 75th anniversary in 1927, the celebrations included a fundraising appeal. The 75th Anniversary Appeal Committee was established and met for the first time in December 1926, where it was decided that, “…an appeal be made to graduates and friends of the University for financial assistance”. The Committee determined that the priorities of the appeal was to raise money for the Library, Roads and Grounds, Sport, and University Departments.
The fundraising goal was set at £250,000. The large sum was justified by the Committee in a paper that stated, “…though seemingly large, it is really small when the needs that have to be met are considered”. At the time of the Appeal, “Nearly everyone of the University’s 46 departments…is understaffed. Some have no money to spend on books. Others have a quite inadequate allowance for maintenance. Philosophy has only one lone teacher; there are other departments that average one teacher to about 200 students”.
One approach to raising money involved the production of two sets of stamps. The first sheet of stamps, the ‘Founders and Benefactors Series’, depicted the images of key University figures, whilst the second set showed University buildings with a plea to ‘Help Your University’. The Committee had 1,750 ‘Founders and Benefactors’ sheets printed and 7,500 copies of the stamps depicting buildings.
Some Founders and Benefactors – 75th Anniversary Appeal Fundraising Stamps (Circa 1927), [REF-00083323]. University of Sydney Archives, accessed 08/02/2024, https://archives-search.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/133910.
9 February 2024
Archives: Dull and Dusty?
We don’t think so and neither do Diploma of Museum Studies students, Michael Crayford and Sophie Lord!
The Diploma of Museum Studies was first offered by the University in 1976 and was at the time the only tertiary/university-based course in such studies in Australia. The postgraduate degree was pioneering in its inclusion of both theoretical and practical study, with students being able to undertake ‘internships’ at the Macleay Museum. The Board of Studies for the Diploma in Museum Studies, on 14 August 1975, recorded a “Statement for the Purpose and Scope of the Course” and noted that, “There has been a recent increase in the number of regional museums in this country concomitant with similar increases in all parts of the world. It is essential that properly trained staff be available…This need results from the fact that museums have come to mean more than a collection of objects. They have become aware of their role as a public service – their function in society”.
The Board, at its first meeting on 11 July 1975, tabled a proposed syllabus. The draft course outline noted that the degree would take one full academic year to complete and was open to all, “…University Graduates in Arts or Science who have included courses appropriate to some aspects of museum work in their undergraduate studies”. The course would cover the History and Purpose of Museums; Organisation and Administration; Buildings and Equipment; The Collections; Preservation, Restoration, Maintenance and Storage of Collections; Scientific Activities: Research; Display; The Public; Education; Practical Work; and Special Subject. The Board discussed, “…a Federal government scheme which met the cost of compulsory excursions” and noted that, “Neither the Chairman nor Professor Smith…anticipated difficulty in calling on other institutions to release staff for part-time teaching”.
Museum Studies Students Michael Crayford and Sophie Lord (1983), [REF-00012929]. University of Sydney Archives, accessed 09/02/2024, https://archives-search.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/31396.
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