Lumen Winter 2014 - Flipbook - Page 11
Lord Howard Florey, whose role in the discovery of penicillin
and making it available in sufficient quantities to save millions
of lives in the war, received the Nobel Prize in 1945
Graduates in the Mayo Refectory, 1930
A man for all seasons
Building bridges
Max Harris, poet, editor
and publisher, has generally
been regarded as the
founding father of Australian
modernism in the arts. By the
time he commenced studies
in economics and arts at the
University in 1939, he was
already recognised as a poet
and intellectual. Between
1941 and 1945 he edited
Max Harris
the avant-garde journal
Angry Penguins which aimed to promote the international
influences of surrealism and modernism into the Australian
artistic scene. Mr Harris also played a central role in
establishing Penguin and Sun Books paperback imprints in
Australia and became, through his Mary Martin Bookshop,
one of the best known booksellers in Australia. He was also
a senior newspaper columnist and a well-known arts critic
on radio and television.
The University Footbridge linking
the playing fields and the North
Terrace campus is a permanent
reminder of the huge generosity
of the Waite family. Peter Waite
left his magnificent Urrbrae
estate to the University in 1914
for an agricultural institute and
his daughters Eva and Lily Waite
continued the tradition by helping
to fund the bridge, which they
formally opened in May 1937 with
Governor Sir Winston Dugan.
Lasting legacy in books
The generosity of the Barr Smith family is
remembered every time someone steps into the
University’s library. Robert Barr Smith served as a
member of the University Council for 19 years and
during his lifetime his donations exceeded £20,000,
which included £9,000 to improve the library. Further
donations followed. The foundation stone of Barr
Smith Library was laid by Mary Isobel Barr Smith
in September 1930, and two years later the Barr
Smith Reading Room was completed at a final cost
of almost £35,000 from funds donated by Tom Elder
Barr Smith. He later bequeathed a further £10,000
to buy books, and ongoing interest earned from the
donations continues to fund more purchases to this
day. The Latin inscribed frieze below the gilded ceiling
of the Reading Room commemorates the major
donations of Robert Barr Smith and his family.
Milestones and achievements
1927
1938
1930
Construction of the Lady Symon and
George Murray buildings, cloisters
and refectory
1932
The student newspaper On Dit
is first published
1932
Adelaide University Rugby
Club formed
1933
Constance Eardley hired as
curator of the Adelaide and Waite
Institute herbaria
1933
1936
1936
Bonython Hall built following
a bequest by Sir John
Langdon Bonython
1938
The University of Adelaide
Theatre Guild is formed
1941
Award-winning children’s author
Colin Thiele graduates with a
Bachelor of Arts and Diploma
of Teaching
1945
Penicillin pioneer Lord Howard Florey
wins the Nobel Prize for physiology
and medicine
1947
1947
Staff Association established
1948
The Observatory building completed
The Graduates Association and
University Union amalgamate
allowing graduates use of the union
buildings and facilities
Australia’s first Diploma in Oenology
established at Roseworthy
Agricultural College
Construction of Medical School
South commenced
Barr Smith Library Reading Room
|e University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 9
