Vale - St. George's College

From the Warden
A “Grand Opening”
of the main elements of
the recent major building
program is scheduled for
31 March 2011.
This opening will include the formal naming and dedication of
Newby Wing, Hackett Dining Hall, Rogerson Room and Elsey Room.
Newby Wing was occupied on 24 March this year, two days after
the 22 March hailstorm. The 30 student rooms and the two
tutor fl ats of Newby Wing, together with the 18 student rooms of
Memorial Wing which came on-stream in July 2007 has resulted in
a more than 30% rise in student numbers which now total 210.
St George’s College is committed to the view that coming to The
University of Western Australia and residing in a college, with its
range of great benefi ts, is a vastly superior university experience
than that provided by living off campus. The College needs to
balance the need and the will to provide the college experience
to a greater number of young men and women with not allowing
numbers to grow to the extent that the intimacy of the college
community and the overall college experience is compromised.
David Newby (1962) studied Law at UWA. He was at St George’s
College for four years, 1962 – 1965, being Senior Student in his
fi nal year. He was Western Australia’s Rhodes Scholar in 1966
and spent two years at Wadham College, Oxford University. David
became a partner at Robinson, Cox and Co at the age of 28 and
in 1977 he joined the Mars Group. He subsequently became
senior advisor to the Mars Family and Vice President, General
Counsel and Secretary of Mars, Incorporated, 1998 – 2004 in
Washington D.C. David forged a strong bond with St George’s
College, not least with his Warden, Dr Reynolds, who David
regarded as a wonderful mentor.
David Newby’s extraordinary generosity, together with the
funding partnership negotiated with UWA and support from other
Georgians, in particular Sir Rod Eddington (1968), enabled Stage
2 to be completed. In addition to Newby Wing the Stage 2 works
included a new kitchen and servery, another common room (Music
Room), a space for bicycles, a workshop and considerable storage.
The March hailstorm resulted in signifi cant damage to the Dining
Hall. Roof tiles were broken and as a result much of the canite
ceiling was water damaged. The College’s comprehensive insurance
cover will ensure that the majority of the costs of replacing dormers,
replacing all of the tiles and fi tting a new ceiling will be covered
by insurance. In addition the walls are to be re-rendered, the fl oor
renovated and the windows repaired. These works will be carried out
in the period November 2010 – February 2011.
The Dining Hall is to be formally named after our great benefactor,
Sir John Winthrop Hackett, exactly 100 years after The University
of Western Australia was constituted by an act of the West
Australian Parliament. Hackett was the principal driving force for the
establishment of The University and its fi rst Chancellor (1912 – 1916).
Jean Rogerson was a very prominent UWA identity for many years
and served for three years from 1983 on the St George’s College
Council. Ms Rogerson died in 1993 and by her will she directed
that The University and each of the colleges along ‘College Row’ be
her benefi ciaries. The old kitchen which had served the College well
for 80 years has been gutted and renovated and is now a common
room, decorated as a café. This space will be named Rogerson
Room in recognition of Jean Rogerson’s most generous bequest.
John Elsey (1941) studied law at UWA during which time he was
a resident at St George’s College. His two periods at the College,
1941 and 1946 – 1948 were interrupted by service in the RAAF in
the European theatre. Towards the end of his life and subsequent
to his death Mr Elsey was a very signifi cant benefactor of the
College. The old servery which adjoins the Dining Hall has become
another common room which acts from time to time as an annexe
to the Dining Hall. This space will be named after John Elsey in
recognition of his great generosity and commitment to the College.
31 March 2011 promises to be a memorable and exciting day
of celebration and refl ection as St George’s College enters its
81st year.
JOHN INVERARITY
WARDEN
The Georgian | December 2010 5