St. Mark's College (University of Adelaide)

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St. Mark's College, University of Adelaide
Full name	St. Mark's College
Motto	Spernit Virtus Humum [1] Excellence Reaches for the Stars (lit. "Excellence spurns the dry earth")
Named after	Mark the Evangelist
Established	1925
Master	Rose Alwyn
Location	North Adelaide
Residents	approx. 230
Admission	Co-educational since 1982, formerly all-male
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St. Mark's College is a co-residential college in North Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1925,^[2] it is affiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia, yet accepts individuals from all faiths. It is the oldest residential college associated with the University of Adelaide and also accepts students attending the University of South Australia, Flinders University and South Australian technical colleges.^[1][3]

The college houses just over 230 tertiary students in both dormitory and apartment accommodation. Normally about 20% of the student body come from overseas countries including New Zealand, Canada, United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Germany.^[4] Approximately 3,500 former residents form the Old Collegians' Association.^[5]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation and opening 1.2 Establishment 2 Governance 3 Accommodation 4 Buildings and grounds 5 Residential life 5.1 Marksenfest 5.2 The Gas Truck 6 Sport 7 Notable alumni 8 References 8.1 Notes 9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation and opening

In 1921, when the St. Mark's movement began, the University of Adelaide only possessed the original five acres, which the government in 1874 had granted it. Student affairs at the time, similar to the University's failure to provide residences, were also poor with inadequate Union facilities for its students. So much so that some of the strongest opposition to the founding of St. Mark's was based on the belief that this innovation might hinder a non-existing drive for better Student Union amenities. The founders also had to overcome several Scottish traditions of great weight. The first of these was that learning thrives best on 'haggis in a hovel' and consequently there is no necessity for the provision of residence or its official control. The second was that students need receive no tutorial assistance but should sink or swim on a few lectures from their professors each week. The duty of the professors was to give at least half their time to their own researchers. They were in fact 'the University' and students were of comparatively small account.

Early in December, 1921, Rev. K. J. F. Bickersteth, C. A. S. Hawker, C. R. Jury, C. T. Madigan, H. Thomson and Sir Archibald Grenfell Price met at St. Peter's College and formed themselves into a Provisional Committee. These men with the addition of Dr. H. Gilbert, H. O'H. Giles, C. C. Hayward, Dr. Henry Simpson Newland, Dr. W. Ray, Dr. Brian Swift, C. J. B. and C. H. N. Symon, and G. K. Thomas held their first formal conference at St. Peter's on December 16, 1921, and decided to establish a college and organize an inaugural meeting in the Town Hall. Negotiation for a site for the college began in earnest after the inaugural meeting held on May 22, 1922. By the end of the year, H. W. Hodgetts secured from the Downer family options to purchase for about £10,000 the historic residence of the late Sir John Downer at Pennington Terrace, North Adelaide, together with the adjoining land on Kermode Street, a horse paddock and ancient cottages. This, with the subsequent purchase of neighbouring houses and land, gave room for a college of up to 150 students. Consideration of the Constitution as submitted by Mr. Justice Poole and Mr. Harry Thomson lasted from December, 1922, until March, 1923. While the Constitution fully safeguarded the Anglican character of the institution, it admitted a number of non-Anglicans to the Council and opened the College freely to men of all faiths.

During the latter part of 1923, and throughout 1924, the Committees held numerous meetings in the Church Office and in the rooms of Professor Osborn and H. W. Hodgetts. Unfortunately progress was very slow, the funds which had purchased the property would not also suffice to open the College. Realising that the small funds available prohibited any building, the Council instructed the architect, W. H. Bagot, to adapt the Downer House to accommodate a single, or temporarily detached married Master; twelve tutors and students; a cook-housekeeper garlanded with the title of Matron, and two or three maids. In December the Committee considered some forty Australian and New Zealand applications for the Mastership, together with some forty English names forwarded to them by Sir Francis Wylie of the Rhodes Trust. They announced the Mastership of St. Mark's was to be Archibald Grenfell Price on 17th of December, who received a small sum of 450 pounds a year.

The original appeal was actually printed under the title Christ's College, but a movement soon developed for the name to be changed to King's. To Canon R. P. Hewgill was due the excellent compromise that the College should be named St. Mark's, after the Saint on whose day the Anzac landing took place. A little later, Professor Osborn and others designed the College Coat of Arms. The College colours also date from the first year. The University Council approved the affiliation of its first College on 31st October, 1924.

A most interesting decision was the compromise on alcoholic liquors. On this subject the Council sent the Master to see Bishop Thomas whose strong advocacy of teetotalism was well known. Price pointed out that both he and his Lordship would wish the College to avoid the occasional drinking orgies, which they had seen in Oxford and Cambridge, and asked the Bishop to support a compromise which would make the College damp rater than either wet or dry. Under this arrangement the Council would grant the students access to beer and light wines in regulated quantities, and indeed would allow them a buttery, but both the authorities and the Students' Club must see that spirits were rigidly excluded from the College.

Early in March, 1925, the first Council was elected, a few days before the College opened. By March 25th the founders had entries from a resident tutor, A. E. M. Kirwood, M.A., a University Lecturer in English and a man of very fine character, and nine students, L. A. G. Symons, A. Walkley, Kells Price, S. J. Douglas, B. Griff, L. F. Casson, W. D. Walker, B.Sc., C. J. Glover and G. W. W. Browne. The Governor, Lieutenant-General Sir Tom Bridges, opened, and Bishop Nutter Thomas blessed, the College.^[6]

[edit] Establishment

During the initial years accommodation and equipment were severely lacking due to shortage of funds and labour costs being extremely high before the depression. The domestic situation was so dire that in 1927 alone three Matrons, fifteen cooks and innumerable house maid waitresses came, saw and departed, and in 1928 Mrs. Grenfell Price (the Master's wife) broke down and was forced to go overseas to recuperate. This brought on a continuous growth policy by piecemeal extensions, where the purchase of land and development of buildings was initiated when the college could afford it.

From the outset the Council placed a great emphasis on building up a resident and non-resident tutorial system, this emphasis has created a framework which is still in practice today. Scholarships and Bursaries were also began early on to aid clever or needy students, a policy which the "record" of 1934 described as "the most important development after 1927" and "a vital feature of college life".

The College also was developing its emphasis in societies and sport early on. As early as 1928 a College Wranglers' Club was established to conduct debates and entertain distinguished guests. The College as well as competing in the University games and societies of the time also held internal games and sports as Intra-College sport did not exist.

In 1939 the College seemed set for a period of steady if unspectacular advance in service to the community and more immediately to the University, when the Second World War intervened and was followed by an almost complete revaluation and reorganization of University life.^[7]

Women were first admitted to the college in 1982.^[9]

[edit] Governance

The college has three administrative bodies; they are the Council, the Administration and the College Club Committee. The Council is made up of members of the Anglican Church, the University of Adelaide, St. Peter's College, the Old Collegian's Association and senior resident students. It is concerned with long term strategic planning and financing, and is largely separated from the college community.^[10] The Administration is responsible for the everyday running of the College.

The College Club is an entirely separate entity to the college administration. All undergraduate residents of the college are members of the College Club (or "Junior Common Room"). Their committee is elected each year by the students, and is composed entirely of students. The College Club Committee is primarily concerned with organising the many social and sporting events throughout the year, as well as intercollege relations with other college clubs in Adelaide and around Australia.^[11]

[edit] Accommodation

First year students (known as freshers) are allocated single rooms in one of the three co-residential dormitory buildings on campus: Newland Building (3 floors),^[12] Memorial (3 floors)^[13] and Hawker Annexe (1 floor).^[14] Each fresher "floor" is a semi-autonomous social group, looked after by a "Floor Tutor", a senior student who provides pastoral care and support for first-year students. Individual rooms are provided with Internet and phone connections, and there are shared laundry and bathroom facilities on each floor. All rooms and external doors are accessed by individual smart card locks.

More senior students may apply for specific rooms within the dormitory buildings, the much sought-after Hawker House mansion,^[15] or one of the many apartments with self-contained kitchen, lounge and bathroom facilities.^[16]

[edit] Buildings and grounds

Downer House

This residence (designed by Rowland Rees for Sir John Downer in 1877^[17]) was the first building to be acquired by the college. It now houses college administration, the Junior and Senior Common Rooms, an academic tutor's apartment and computing and printing facilities.^[18] A draft of Australia's Constitution was prepared in the building's ballroom in 1897.^[19]

Newland Building

This was the first of the college's dedicated dormitory accommodation, completed in six stages from 1926 to 1964. The architect Walter Bagot drew inspiration from precedents in Oxford, as it was the first tertiary dormitory in the colony and thus without local architectural influences. It remains unique in Adelaide. Most rooms in Newland building are assigned to freshers.^[20]

Memorial Building

Also completed in stages, "Memorial" (named for the students who fell in World War II) was intended to include a dining hall and eventually enclose the tennis courts completely, forming an Oxford-style quadrangle. However, the "quadrangle" plan was abandoned with the construction of the new dining hall on the southern edge of the tennis courts.^[21]

Grenfell Price Dining Hall

The centrally located dining hall was built in 1961 to accommodate growing numbers of students. It has seating for up to 250 people.^[22] The College Library on the first floor comprises over 16,000 volumes.^[23]

Allister McLeod Sports Pavilion

This modern gym, completed in 2005, is open to students 24 hours a day. In addition to weight machines and free weights, there are a number of exercise machines, including treadmills, a rowing machine and a stairmaster.^[24]

Tennis Courts

Bounded by the above four buildings are four grass tennis courts that provide a versatile recreation space in the centre of the College.^[24]

Hawker House

A Victorian mansion was acquired by the college in 1970 through an anonymous donation, and named for South Australian politician Charles Hawker. It is also available for student accommodation, and is usually populated by senior students.^[15] A bungalow-style extension was later added for fresher accommodation, known as Hawker Annexe.^[14][25]

New Cain / New Abel / Matherson / Lewis / Wall

Awkwardly named for the buildings that were incrementally demolished or enveloped as the new structure grew, these three-bedroom apartments are each equipped with laundry, kitchen and lounge facilities. The newest extension, opened in 2007 and incorporating the Matherson, Lewis and Wall buildings, mirrors Memorial Building to the east. The newest apartments vary in floor plan and are occupied mostly by senior students.^[26]

"The Pond"

This small quadrangle is the central meeting place of the college. The cruciform pond features a sculpture of St Mark.^[27]

Chapel

The old Downer property stables were converted to a small chapel in the 1970s by a student at the college.^[28]

Walkley Cottage

Built in 1839, Walkley cottage is the oldest brick building still standing in the state of South Australia.^[29] It now houses the Dean of the college and the Dean's family.^[30]

[edit] Residential life

Residential colleges differ from Halls of residence and Frats in that a residential college is itself a discrete social group, with its own traditions and activities unrelated to those of its affiliate University. In-house catering and a range of other services are also provided, making it a largely self-supporting community. St. Mark's College offers extracurricular opportunities in theater, music, journalism and community service. There are also a large number of social and cultural events each year, including O Week festivities, the College Ball, the College Play, a comedy night, numerous "Arts Evenings" to showcase student talent, the Prosh parade (traditionally led by St Mark's students), and a number of dinners. Most of these events are organised by the student body. ^[31]. Additionally, the dining hall serves Formal Hall (sit-down dinner in academic gowns) four nights per week during the academic year.^[22]

[edit] Marksenfest

"Marksenfest" is the College's one event open to the general public, and is modeled on Oktoberfest. Hundreds of people come to the College grounds every year for the distinctly German-themed day. The event features an array of premium beers, plus food and festivities including a bouncy castle, sumo wrestling, arm wrestling, jelly wrestling, keg races, oom-pah band, jazz band, and a DJ or contemporary live band.^[31]

[edit] The Gas Truck

The college owns and maintains a recently reconditioned 1936 Dodge truck. Known as the "Gas Truck" or "Gassie", it is used to transport collegians to and from social and sporting events, and is a favourite icon of the college.^[31]

[edit] Sport

St. Mark’s College competes in an inter-college sporting competition against Aquinas College, Flinders University Hall, Lincoln College and St Ann's College for the Douglas Irving Cup (formerly, and still usually referred to as, the High Table Cup). Competition takes place throughout the academic year in the following sports: tennis, swimming, cricket, debating, basketball, Australian Rules Football, soccer, netball, hockey, table tennis, volleyball and athletics.^[16]

Sporting competitions held internally include pool and table tennis.^[16]

[edit] Notable alumni

With an Old Collegian's network of over 3500,^[5] St. Mark's College has been the home of many notable members of the community. These include:

• Robin Ashwin,^[32] Rhodes Scholar, former Australian ambassador to the USSR and former Master of the College.^[33][34]
• John Bannon,^[32] Premier of South Australia 1982-1992 and former Master of the College^[35]
• Justice BM Debelle QC,^[32] judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia.^[36]
• Julian Disney,^[32] Rhodes Scholar, founder of the Global Governance Group.^[37][38]
• Professor John Finnis,^[32] Rhodes Scholar, one of the world's leading authorities on legal philosophy and jurisprudence.^[39] His Treatise Natural Law and Natural Rights, is regarded as one of the definitive works of natural law philosophy.^[40]
• Robert Hill,^[32] former Australian Minister for Defence, now Australian ambassador to the United Nations at New York.^[41]
• Professor Tony McMichael,^[32] member of the UN Panel on Climate Change, director of the Australian Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health.^[42]
• Justice RG Matheson QC,^[32] former judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia.^[43]
• Chief Justice Robin Rhodes Millhouse QC,^[32] Chief Justice of Kiribati, former judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia, former Attorney General for South Australia, first Australian Democrats parliamentarian.
• Professor Ivan Shearer AM,^[32] member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee,^[44] Former Dean of Adelaide and Sydney University Law Schools.^[45]
• Mike Smith,^[32] Australian ambassador to the United Nations at Geneva.^[46]

[edit] References

• Walkley, G (1985). St. Mark's College: The Buildings and Grounds, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, SA. ISBN 0958881308
• Price, A G (1968). A History of St. Mark's College, The Council of St. Mark's College, Marion Road, Netley, SA.
• Kerr C (1983). Archie, the Biography of Sir Archibald Grenfell Price, Melbourne.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• College web site
• Old Collegians' Association

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