Lumen Winter 2014 - Flipbook - Page 17
1960s Alumni Profile
Francis Wong
Colombo Plan proves a turning point
An architect, educator and institution builder, University of Adelaide graduate
Francis Wong is one of many success stories to emerge from the Colombo Plan,
an initiative started in the early 1950s to assist developing countries.
The father of Senator Penny Wong—
Australia’s first Chinese-Australian woman
to be elected a Labor MP—he gained
a Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) from
Adelaide in 1967.
Having grown up in poverty as the son of
a widowed servant in the household of
an English colonial family, Francis Wong’s
future prospects were limited. But winning
a Colombo Plan scholarship was a turning
point, and he left the colonial context of his
native British North Borneo to arrive in a
rapidly modernising Australia of the 1960s.
Mr Wong has fond recollections of his time
at the University of Adelaide, and believes
that the staff were not only helpful but
genuinely cared for the needs of the students.
He recalls his training in Building Science
under the pioneering Derrick Kendrick and
the focus on environmental concerns which
continues to define his attitude to architecture.
He also recalls his close relationship
with his Honours supervisor Albert
Gillissen, who introduced him to the latest
prefabrication techniques for his project
on industrialised building systems.
Mr Wong became the epitome of the
professional free-thinker, an agent of
modernisation that the program had
sought to produce.
Returning to the new state of Sabah in
independent Malaysia in 1967, he joined a
generation of Australian-trained students
who were not only responsible for the
mobilisation and institutionalisation of the
profession in Asia, but they helped shape
the modernisation of the new society.
As an architect, Mr Wong has dedicated
a substantial part of his life consulting for
local authorities on important legislation, and
also helped establish the Sabah chapter of
the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM),
serving as its Founding Chairman.
He was also instrumental in establishing
various educational institutions to support
the new generation of professionals. In his
design thesis at the University of Adelaide
he observed that “the gap between the
man with a degree from overseas on the
design board and the unskilled personnel is
getting wider and wider”.
He continued to work towards reducing
this gap in architectural education through
various initiatives and as Dean of Studies
at the Sabah Institute of Art after his
retirement from architectural practice.
The influence of my
university professors
towards the value of education
has come one full circle. It is
now my turn to prepare the
younger generation for
globalisation. Without my
professional training in
Australia, I would not have
achieved as much as a
citizen of my country.
Seeking alumni support
Mr Wong was interviewed recently in Sabah
in the context of current research by Dr Peter
Scriver and Dr Amit Srivastava of the School
of Architecture and Built Environment that is
exploring the role of Australian-trained architects
in the development of the modern architectural
profession in South and South-East Asia.
The project hopes to gain a better understanding
of the impact of our alumni in the region in areas
such as built works, architectural education and
the propagation of professional networks. Any
alumni who can assist should contact Dr Peter
Scriver (peter.scriver@adelaide.edu.au) or Dr Amit
Srivastava (amit.srivastava@adelaide.edu.au)
Francis Wong, 1966 (National Archives of Australia A1501/1, A6776/2)
|e University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 15
