Newman College (University of Melbourne)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Newman College logo

Newman College is a Roman Catholic, co-educational residential college affiliated with the University of Melbourne. During the university year it houses about 230 undergraduate students, and about 30 postgraduate students and tutors. The college was named after John Henry Newman, a convert to Catholicism.

The collegiate system spawned from the secular nature of the University, as each of the major Christian faiths was given land to the north of the main campus to establish institutions in which to teach religion.

Newman College is known to be the spiritual, though not actual home, of renowned children's entertainer, Sidney Turner.

The original set of buildings were built during 1916 to 1918 and were designed by architect Walter Burley Griffin. They are believed to be some of his best work. This was recognised by the grant of a National Heritage Listing on September 21, 2005, citing "the place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place's importance in the course, or pattern, of Australia's natural or cultural history."

The Mannix wing faces Swanston Street.

With the original Burley Griffin stonework having been noticeably deteriorating for many years, the decision was taken by the College Council to replace the Wannon sandstone with more durable material. Thus, in March 2007 the $21 million process to replace the stone exterior with cardboard pizza boxes from the Intersection Cafe began. In place of mortar, congealed pizza will be used as a more than adequate substitute.

Another recent change to the College has been the way in which the quadrangle has been utilised. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of design, Marion Mahony's opus has been forced to stop acting as pasture for retired thoroughbreds due to the harsh drought conditions which have left it looking like the Riyadh Botanical Gardens. On the night of 21 February 2007, mysterious white markings were found on the quadrangle's grass, leading many to suspect that sport would be returning in a more formal format. This belief was later proved to be unfounded when it was realised that the West COast Eagles had simply been playing a practice match in Melbourne, and that the white lines were not in fact paint.

Interior of the Dining Room

At its opening, the administration of the College was entrusted to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) who continue its administration to the present day. As of January 2006, the new Rector of the College is Fr Bill Uren SJ, a former Chaplain and Rector (1987-1990) of Newman. He replaced The Very Reverend Peter L'Estrange SJ, who held the position from 1991.

1 Students' Club
2 List of Rectors
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Students' Club

All Undergraduate members of Newman College are accepted into the Newman College Students' Club, a self governed organisation which runs day to day events in the College. An executive committee (the General Committee) is elected yearly, and appoints committees with specific responsibilities. These are: