Lumen Summer 2013 - Flipbook - Page 24
story by Genevieve Sanchez
Polglase Bequest
supports pursuit of scie
Norman and Patricia Polglase had known for many
years that they would remember the University of
Adelaide in their Wills.
I
t is only after their passing that we
have come to learn about the lives
of the loving and generous couple
behind the Norman and Patricia Polglase
Scholarship.
Norman studied at the University of
Adelaide from 1939 to 1946, graduating
with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Art Gallery of South Australia patron,
Max Carter AO, was Norman’s best friend
through university and for many years
after. He says he owes a lot to Norman’s
friendship during those years.
“He was well regarded at the University
– he was not only a bright student but
he got on well with everybody and had a
great sense of humour,” says Max.
“He was a gentleman and it was one of
the pleasures of my life that I knew him.”
Norman met his then wife-to-be,
Patricia, through a mutual love of films at
a WEA film course. At the time they were
both well established in their careers –
Norman as an Industrial Chemist with ICI
(Imperial Chemical Industry) and Patricia
as a Deputy Matron at the Hutt Street
Private Hospital.
They married in 1953 and, apart
from living interstate when Norman was
transferred within ICI, they spent most of
their lives in Adelaide, where they indulged
in their shared passion for books, music,
film and entertaining their close friends.
With no children of their own, Norman
and Patricia’s nieces Ann Fuller and
Wendy Joyner were happy to share
their memories of ‘Uncle Norman’ and
‘Aunty Pat’.
“They were very avant-garde and
sociable – he loved wine, she loved food;
22 Lumen | Summer 2013
between them they were very good
hosts,” says Wendy.
“Uncle Norman was very dapper and
well-groomed; a charming and earnest
man and a great entertainer,” adds Ann.
Both Norman and Patricia were
voracious readers, Wendy and Ann
estimating that their two-bedroom unit
would have contained about 3000
books – a library built around their
shared interests.
A passionate photographer, Norman
shared his enthusiasm at length with
anyone who cared to hear about
the mysteries of cameras and film
development, and he was a member of
several photographic clubs. Leaving ICI
after more than twenty years of service,
Norman went on to teach small business
studies at TAFE until he retired.
Norman passed away in 2005, at
which time his family learned of his and
Patricia’s desire to leave a bequest to the
University of Adelaide. Following Patricia’s
death in 2009, the family was reassured to
hear that the bequest was to be applied
according to the wishes of Norman
and Patricia.
Established in 2010, the Norman and
Patricia Polglase Scholarship is awarded
to students commencing a full-time
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Masters
by research program at the University of
Adelaide in the Faculty of Sciences.
PhD student Sophie Underwood was
honoured to be selected as a recipient
of the Scholarship in 2011. Graduating
with Honours in a Bachelor of Science
(Space Science and Astrophysics) in
2009, Sophie is now undertaking further
research in astrophysics and particle
physics and is extremely grateful for the
support the scholarship has given her.
“The additional funding has aided me
in many ways, including paying my living
expenses, which enables me to devote
more time to my studies, to travel to
conferences and to collaborate with a
fellow physicist in New York. It has also
helped me to form stronger ties with other
physicists which will be crucial for future
research endeavours.”
The Executive Dean of the Faculty
of Sciences, Professor Bob Hill, is also
very grateful to Norman and Patricia for
the support the scholarship provides to
Sciences students and their research.
“Generous donations like this allow our
best and brightest students to pursue
their research qualifications without the
stress and burden of financial hardship.
Students undertaking a Masters or PhD
program with us may end up changing the
world with the outcomes of their research
career,” he says.
While Norman’s own studies in Science
in the 1930s and ‘40s would have been
very different from Sophie Underwood’s,
his niece Ann believes he would have
taken an active interest in Sophie’s area of
research.
“If he were alive to see his bequest
he would have loved to have learned
about the research of recipients such as
Sophie,” says Ann.
“I think the fact that it’s a new frontier
would have excited him; he was always
interested in what was new and different;
he loved progress and new ideas.”
