| Historical notes: | Aboriginal associations with the site now known as the University of Sydney
Material in rock shelters reveals that Aboriginal people inhabited the Sydney region at least from 20,000 years ago. About 3,000 years ago there appears to have been a major population increase of Aboriginal people in the area (and elsewhere throughout Australia), suggested by the evidence of many camp sites that seem to have come into use from that time (Haglund, 1996).
The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).
With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).
The foundation of the British penal colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 allied with the effects of a smallpox epidemic in 1789-1791 caused a massive disintegration of Aboriginal social structure around Sydney within the first decade of colonisation. Although there are accounts of some of the interactions between the early British arrivals and the indigenous people by writers such as Collins, Tench and Dawes, Aboriginal concepts of the cultural meanings of the Sydney landscape and its features were not recorded in detail. Other information about Aboriginal culture in Sydney before colonisation is embedded in physical traces left from their activities in the daily round of getting, preparing and eating food. No such traces have yet been recorded by the National Parks & Wildlife Service within the grounds of the University of Sydney, which is sited just four kilometres from Sydney Cove. The cleared land policy for the edge of the stockade meant that much evidence of Aboriginal occupation in this part of Sydney is long buried.
Further information is held within the oral history traditions of surviving Aboriginal families from the area. Dennis Foley from the University of Sydney's Koori Centre points out that the University of Sydney is situated between two Aboriginal tracks which were paved over to become Parramatta Road and City Road. According to family stories he has been told, the land in the corner where these tracks met, now known as Victoria Park, was an important 'sit down' site for indigenous people because of the fresh water provided by its natural springs. That land, now adjacent to the main campus of the university, continued in this function as a meeting place for some years even after the British occupation until Aboriginal people were forcibly removed around 1820. There are several archaeological studies planned for different heritage sites within the university and these are likely to uncover further evidence of the Aboriginal occupation of the land. For example Foley considered that there might be some indigenous women's sites in the vicinity of the Women's College.
The University of Sydney and its affiliated colleges
The University of Sydney was the first university in the Australian colonies. The preamble to its 1850 Act of Incorporation enunciated the social and non-sectarian context in which its educational objects were to be promoted: 'to hold forth to all classes and denominations of Her Majesty's subjects resident in New South Wales, without any distinction whatsoever, an encouragement for pursuing a regular and liberal course of education'.
The University of Sydney had features of both the University of London and the Queen's Colleges in Ireland, combining secular teaching by the University with provision for independent denominational colleges. It was a system never tried anywhere before. A 1854 Act to provide for the establishment and endowment of Colleges within the University of Sydney specified the colleges' role: to provide 'systematic religious instruction, and domestic supervision, with efficient assistance in preparing for the University lectures and examinations'. In 1855 the University was granted 126 acres at Grose Farm, as a site for its own buildings and to enable it to make sub-grants for affiliated colleges of the four major denominations (Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Wesleyan).
In 1881 the University of Sydney Senate resolved to open the University to women 'on an equal basis with men', following the lead of the University of Adelaide in 1877. Melbourne did likewise in the same year and quickly provided residential accommodation for women when Dr Alexander Leeper, the Warden of Trinity College, persuaded his Council to establish the 'Trinity Women's Hostel', the first university hostel for women in Australia, which opened in 1886. A permanent building was opened in 1891 but it was not until 1961 that Janet Clarke Hall (as it was renamed in 1921) became an independent affiliated college of the University of Melbourne.
A College for Women
When moves began in Sydney to provide accommodation for women students it was on a different basis from the University of Melbourne model. A collegiate residence for women was proposed by a group of University and professional men and in May 1887 a public meeting resolved that a 'College for Women' should be established under the terms of the 1854 Colleges Endowment Act but that it would be not be attached to any religious denomination. No change to the 1854 Colleges Endowment Act was necessary to accommodate such a college but because of the Act's requirement for 'systematic religious instruction', the new college was subject to the provision that 'no religious catechism or formulary distinctive of any particular denomination' should be taught. The College was to be non-denominational, but not without religion.
The proposal was practical (it was unlikely that there would be enough women students to support separate denominational colleges), was in accord with current educational philosophy, exemplified in Parkes' 1880 Education Act and was financially astute. As an affiliated college of the University, the College for Women would be eligible for a government building subsidy (matching public subscriptions) and for an annual endowment for the Principal's salary. In 1889 the 'College for Women' was established and endowed by the New South Wales legislature and being named in its Act as 'The Women's College' had to use this name thereafter. By 1891 sufficient funds had been raised to meet the conditions of the Endowment Act and the first College Council was elected. Louisa Macdonald, a Scot and classical scholar, was appointed principal at the end of 1891 and arrived in Sydney in March 1892 when the College opened in temporary premises in Glebe. Australia's first university was now home to the first University college for women in Australia. It had just four students.
The site and building designs
In July 1891 the College Council requested a site for the College within the University grounds and eventually accepted a treeless paddock with a frontage to Bligh Street (later Carillon Avenue) next to St Paul's College. Like the other colleges, the Women's College would be located at the furthest remove from the University and without any direct means of access to it.
In October 1891 a sub-committee of the Council invited plans for the new building in a limited architectural competition and four months later recommended designs by the firm of Sulman and Power. Opposition from fellow Councillors and public criticism from members of the architectural profession for conflict of interest in its selection procedures caused any decisions to be held over until the arrival of the new Principal, when, working with a new committee, Sulman and Power were formally appointed the college's architects. Work began in December 1892 and the new building was officially opened in May 1894.
The new building
The building committee broke away from the sandstone Gothic Revival architecture of the University, choosing instead the 'Federation Free Classical' style, appropriate to the climate and to the College's finances. Essentially domestic in style and arrangement, the building was more akin to a large family residence than an educational institution. Even the Principal's quarters were comparatively modest for her rank (thanks to the College Endowment Act) as the highest paid woman in New South Wales. As originally built, the College housed twenty-six students, the Principal and five domestic staff. The design owed much to that of the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital at Concord, recently completed by Sulman and Power, and an obvious and much commented on connection between the firm, the Women's College Treasurer James Walker and one of its major donors, Eadith Walker.
The grounds
Work began on the grounds began in 1893. The main element of the landscaping was contributed by the architects whose design accommodated the sloping site by creating four levels linked by steep banks: an upper level to the east of the main building; the platform for the main building; the entrance drive; and the lower garden. These terraces and banks created a dominant but entirely artificial setting for the College in an otherwise featureless landscape, facing west towards St Andrew's College and ignoring the street frontage.
The first trees, a long row bordering the lawn on the western boundary, were 'ceremonially planted by a number of men and women whose names were more or less closely connected with the history of the University and the College' in the winter of 1893. Plants, shrubs, bulbs and flower cuttings were provided by well wishers, including James Walker and his wife from their home, Rosemont in Woollahra while trees and shrubs were supplied from the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital.
Slow progress and plans for the future
When the new building opened in 1894 the College had six students and it was not until about 1906 that it was fully occupied. The earliest students came mainly from Sydney and its suburbs and from Queensland and it was not until about 1911 that the College began to accommodate a significant number of country students. From the beginning, its academic stance was serious and scholarly but not without other diversions. In its earliest years, College students comprised 10-20% of all women in the University and made a substantial contribution to University sports teams and other student organisations.
In 1909 the Council was considering the future and the College was granted an additional piece of land to the north of its existing grounds. By 1914 there was enough in the Extension Fund to request the remainder of the government endowment and a small 'garden pavilion' ('Cottage') was built in 1916. In 1918 a house on Bligh Street (The Maples) was rented and was purchased the following year.
When Louisa Macdonald retired in 1919, after twenty-seven years as the College's founding Principal, the Council resolved to erect an additional building 'in recognition of Miss Macdonald's services to the College and to the cause of women's education in Australia'. The proposal prompted consideration of what form any additions to the College should take. After a period of acute indecision the Council finally decided to forgo a master plan for future development based on the original design but instead to build more student rooms on the east side of the existing building and then to build a new dining hall as the Louisa Macdonald Commemoration. Joseph Porter Power, now in partnership with John Adam, continued as the College architect.
Fifteen student rooms were completed in 1923 while additions to the servants' wing provided three more and quarters for the Bursar. The scale and design of the new dining hall, completed in the following year, announced the transition from 'house' to College; from the domestic scale of the 1890s to the institution of the 1920s.
With the completion of the Louisa Macdonald Commemoration Hall, the original dining room became a student common room and the common room at the other end of the building became an addition to the library. With the remaining funds from the government endowment, the back wing of The Maples was pulled down in 1928 and a three-storey wing added, providing accommodation for seventeen undergraduates, two graduates, a tutor, the gardener and a maid.
1920s-1930s
Under Miss Macdonald the College community functioned as a late Victorian or Edwardian household with the Principal as its head. Its daily routine, begun with prayers, centred on the communality of meals. Changes instituted in 1919 by the new Principal, Susie Williams, transformed the College into a different institution, with additional administrative and academic staff and a more business like Council.
The Maples was leased then purchased in 1918. Major alterations and additions occurred in 1928 with surplus funds from the government endowment funding the partial demolition of the back wing of The Maples and the addition of a three-storey wing providing accommodation for seventeen undergraduates, two graduates, a tutor, the gardener, Miss Warren, and a maid. In the summer vacation The Maples was used by staff and students who chose to remain in residence while the main College building closed for the holidays.
In the inter-war period the College grounds matured, creating 'an oasis in the drabness of an industrial suburb'. The strength of the original landscaping was still visible, but softened by mature trees and shrubs. Memorials to former students, Mary Dunnicliff and Marjorie Gladwin, beautified the garden: a sandstone seat on the lowest terrace; and a sundial in the back quadrangle. Flags of stone or cement gradually replaced asphalt paths. In 1932 the area between the Principal's flat and the common room was transformed into a small brick paved courtyard.
Miss Williams continued the tradition of inviting friends of the College to plant trees. Along the boundaries, fences were replaced and on the Carillon Avenue frontage an impressive brick wall was built. In 1936 the timber gates were replaced with wrought iron.
By the early 1930s the College had over 70 students. The Depression caused a temporary decline in numbers but in 1936 the College was overfull and the Council decided to build.
The Williams wing 1936-1937
The architect for the new wing was R G Simpson and the design was part of a larger scheme for future development, although there is no evidence that this was ever endorsed by the Council. A quadrangle, formed by the new wing, the dining hall and a cloister, following the line of the original terracing, was the focal point of the new accommodation which provided fifteen students' rooms, a visitor's room, large bathrooms and pantries. All of the student rooms faced inwards, leaving the corridor and services on the Carillon Avenue side where a 20-foot belt of trees gave protection from traffic noise and privacy from 'the undesirable class of building opposite'. With the construction of the connecting cloister, the ground to the west was excavated and that to the east was filled in, accentuating the difference in level between the two parts of the garden.
The scale and materials of the new two-storey wing were in sympathy with the College's existing architecture with features such as the artificial stone dressing on the projecting bay providing visual links between the old and the new. In similar fashion the arches of the cloister were modelled on the verandah of the original building.
Work began in November 1936 and the building, named the Susie Jane Williams Commemoration Wing in honour of the second Principal of the College (1919 to 1935) was officially opened on 6 July 1937.
The expanding University 1920s-1930s
In the 1920s and 1930s the University began to encroach on the colleges. Originally centred on the Main Quadrangle and then, from the 1880s, extending along Science Road, in the early 20th century major new science facilities were built at some distance from the main University buildings. Physics (completed in 1925) and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (opened in 1930) were both built on the south side of the hockey oval while the New Medical School (opened in 1930) was sited close to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
In 1928 the rough road built by St Andrew's College from Bligh Street to their Principal's lodge was extended to the corner of the new Physics building to make the first part of Western Avenue, finally giving the Women's College a 'street frontage', albeit within the University grounds.
Wartime and its aftermath
Restrictions, rationing, labour shortages and lack of materials made adequate maintenance of the College buildings almost impossible for the duration of the Second World War and even when the war ended there was little improvement. Only the most urgent repairs could be contemplated, if the necessary labour and materials could be found and basic maintenance took years to achieve, due to a shortage of good quality materials.
Changing lifestyles
Until the late 1940s the type of accommodation and pattern of communal living embodied in the design of the original College continued to be adaptable to contemporary needs. The College was supported by resident domestic staff and the other academic and administrative staff, of whom there were few, were single women and lived in ordinary College rooms. All meals were taken communally. By the late 1940s this style of domestic life was changing and so, with an increase in the size of the College, was the administration.
An extension to the College was planned in the late 1940s, despite post-war restrictions, but fund raising was a slow process. Pressure on student accommodation continued. In 1954 the College had 89 students in residence and 14 in hostels in Carillon Avenue owned by Moore College.
Reid wing 1958
Additional accommodation became a reality in 1955 thanks to a substantial private donation. The Council decided that the optimum size of the College would be about 150 'for the present', so that the whole student body could still be accommodated in the existing dining hall. Reid Wing, named in honour of its donor, was Ellice Nosworthy's first large commission for the College and provided rooms for 31 students, a small flat for the Assistant Principal and a common room and music rooms. It was the largest single increase in the size of the College in its history, enlarging the college community to 129 students, graduates and tutors. The Reid Wing was partially demolished and the rest refurbished in the mid 1990s.
The Murray Report 1957 & AUC funding; 1958-1970
In 1957 the Commonwealth Government's Committee of Inquiry into the Future of Australian Universities, chaired by Sir Keith Murray proved the impetus and the means for a massive building programme within the University of Sydney and all its affiliated colleges.
The College Council's initial response to AUC funding was another piecemeal solution. Additions were made to the Williams wing and to the staff quarters behind the kitchen and when these were completed in 1960 the College reached its target size of 150 students and tutors.
In preparing submissions for funding in the 1964-1966 and 1967-1969 triennia the Council opted for radical change and decided to double the size of the College with a new residential wing for 120-130 students and an extension to the dining hall by J L S Mansfield of Fowell, Mansfield & Maclurcan.
Work began on the dining hall additions in January 1965, a flat-roofed extension, with low ceiling, on the south side of the existing hall. Some of the original windows and frames were reused in the new south wall.
Changes to the Main building 1965
An important concomitant of the projected growth of the College was the impact that this would have on the administration, including the need to provide adequate out-of-hours coverage by residential staff. The use of the College during vacations also had a significant impact upon staff, managerial and maintenance requirements. The College had been used for educational conferences and meetings, and specifically for women's groups, from Miss Williams' time, albeit on a fairly small scale. By the time extensions to the College were planned in the 1960s the 'conference trade' was an important adjunct to College finances. New facilities needed to serve a double purpose for students in term time and conferences and visitors in vacations. In 1965 the whole of the ground floor of the Main building was converted from residential to administrative office use.
The Langley wing and the New Common Room 1964-1969
A major feature of the plan for the new accommodation was that it could be built in two stages, funded over two triennia of AUC grants. The location for the new four-storey building, designed in a Y-shape with a central stair, was the paddock. In addition to student rooms, there would also be small flats for tutors and provision for married couples. Stage 1 of the new residential wing, the central stair and south-east arm of the Y-shaped building, was occupied in Lent Term 1966 and to provide secure access between the new building and the old, a covered way was provided at first floor level, modelled on the arches of the original building, as R G Simpson had done in the 1930s.
Work on Stage 2 of the new wing began in 1967 and was completed by 1969, bringing the number of student places in College to 251. The Women's College was now the largest residential college within the University of Sydney.
The final part of the expansion scheme was a new common room, built on the site of the Cottage, which was demolished in December 1967. The design provided for a large, multi-purpose hall that could be used for theatrical performances, conferences, dances and other social functions. The Menzies Common Room was opened by Sir Robert Menzies on 5 July 1969 when the new wing was also officially opened and named in honour of Miss Langley.
Following the completion of building works, the Menzies courtyard was landscaped and native trees and shrubs were planted around the Langley wing, with hibiscus on the west side of the north wing and a rose garden on the east.
Social change in the 1960s-1970s
The 1960s and 1970s saw considerable changes in social and sexual mores that were inevitably played out in College and University life. In 1973 all students were provided with keys to the front door security system. All students were now free to come and go, as and when they chose, and to bring visitors into College at any time. Such freedom came at a price and security, noise, the nature of community life, the limits of personal freedom and the costs of maintaining it were frequent topics of discussion.
The conversion of the Maples into postgraduate accommodation in the 1970s was another significant step. Alterations and additions by architects Joseland and Gilling converted the building's living quarters into self-contained two-room units for married couples, or to twin share by students. The refurbishment program was completed in May 1971.
In 1977 the Women's College went even further along the path of social change when it amended its Act to allow the admission of men to the College and the possible appointment of a male Principal. The College remained a College for women undergraduates, but admitted male graduates in the role of Tutors or Senior Residents.
Fire safety and the computer revolution 1980s-1990s
In the early 1980s work began on the long and expensive process of improving fire safety throughout the College, the need for which was emphasised early in 1989 when an arsonist set fire to the area beneath the dining hall, one of a number of such attacks in Sydney at the time. In the 1990s new fire stairs, sprinkler systems, self-closing doors and emergency lighting were installed throughout the College and The Maples.
In the early 1990s the Principal Dr Ann Eyland, drew attention to the need to upgrade student computer facilities. The outcome was the concept of a Resource Centre, combining conventional library resources (still poorly housed in the Main building) with computer rooms and additional tutorial space. The design, by Gerry Rippon and Ken Reynolds, provided for a new building (on the site of the old Reid wing music rooms and bathrooms) with storage space in the basement, a reading room on the ground floor and new student rooms above. An addition to the south side of the remainder of Reid wing provided tutorial and meeting rooms with accommodation above, while the rest of the ground floor was remodelled as a part of the Resource Centre. The Vere Hole Resource Centre, named in honour of benefactor, College historian and former student Dr Vere Hole, was opened on 23 March 1996.
Through the generosity of Mrs Caroline Simpson and members of the Fairfax family, the garden at the back of the Main building was landscaped and the old library rooms were remodelled and renamed the Miss Mary Elizabeth Fairfax Rooms, to complement the new work.
The restoration of the Main building 1999-2001
By the late 1990s, after a century of use, the original building was in need of substantial repair and restoration and in 1998-1999 a Conservation and Management Plan was prepared by Otto Cserhalmi & Partners. A grant from the Commonwealth Government Federation Cultural Heritage Projects Program enabled major works to proceed, supported by additional funds raised by the College Foundation.
This work included the: repair and conservation of brickwork and stonework; restoration of early rainwater goods and the conservation of the roof of the Main Common Room; restoration and repair of the front steps and landings in slate; removal of the bronze entry doors (installed in 1966) and making good the front entry porch; the replacement of floor and lights in the entrance hall and the installation of a new reception office; the replacement of floor and lights in the Main Common Room; and the refurbishment of study bedrooms. Otto Cserhalmi & Partners were the architects for the project, the completion of which was celebrated in May 2001.
Significant dates in the history of the Women's College
1850 Establishment of the University of Sydney, the first university in the Australia colonies
1854 Affiliated Colleges Endowment Act: provides for the establishment and endowment of independent, denominational colleges within the University. Colleges to provide for their students 'systematic religious instruction, and domestic supervision, with efficient assistance in preparing for the University lectures and examinations'.
1855 University granted 126 acres of land at Grose Farm for the university buildings and for sub-grants for affiliated colleges of the four major religious denominations (Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Wesleyan)
1877 University of Adelaide admits women students
April 1881 Admission of women to the University of Sydney 'on an equal footing with men' agreed to by the University Senate
[1881] Admission of women to the University of Melbourne
1882 First two women pass the University matriculation examinations
1885 First women students graduate from the University of Sydney
1886 Trinity Women's Hostel opened in the University of Melbourne
May 1887 Public Meeting held to discuss the establishment of a non-denominational college for women within the University of Sydney. Committees formed to raise funds and to attend to the legal aspects of establishing a college.
1889 Act to establish and endow a College for Women
1891 Sufficient funds raised for the subscribers to elect the first College Council
1891 Opening of permanent building for Trinity Women's Hostel, Melbourne [later named Janet Clarke Hall]
July 1891 First meeting of the College Council
October 1891 College Council appoints committee of three Councillors to invite sketch plans for new college from no more than eight architectural firms
February 1892 Committee recommends acceptance of design by Sulman & Power. Decision deferred pending the arrival of the new Principal, Louisa Macdonald from London
March 1892 Arrival of Louisa Macdonald, the first Principal. Sub-committee formed (Sir William Windeyer, the Principal and Professor Scott) to confer with the Government Architect and Sulman & Power concerning further designs for the College.
March 1892 The Women's College opens in temporary premises in 'Strathmore', Glebe
April 1892 Sulman & Power appointed architects to the College
September 1892 Senate authorises the Women's College to take up the site formerly promised to the Teachers' College
November 1892 Council agrees to accept the site
December 1892 Work begins on site: Bignell & Clark builders
Winter 1893 First trees planted bordering the lawn on the western boundary by men and women closely associated with the University and the foundation of the College. Asphalt tennis court formed at back of building.
February 1894 Building work completed: college designed to accommodate twenty-six students
March 1894 Principal and six students move into the new building [later known as the Main building]
April 1894 College coat-of-arms designed
5 May 1894 Official opening of the Women's College by Lady Duff
August 1896 Casts of the Parthenon frieze in place in the College dining hall
1906 College fully occupied for the first time
November 1908 Senate agrees to grant additional land to the College
1909 One and a half acres added to the College site on the north side: known as the paddock
1914 The Women's College of the University of Queensland opened
1914 College seeks additional endowment from the Government for extensions, to designs of Mr Power
1916 Balance of endowment funds secured
April 1916 A 'garden pavilion' to house six students built to the east of Main building, known as 'The Cottage'. Architects Power & Adam
1918 College leases The Maples, a house adjacent on Bligh Street [Carillon Avenue]
1919 College purchases The Maples
April 1919 Council resolves to erect an additional building 'in recognition of Miss Macdonald's services to the College and to the cause of women's education in Australia'
1921 Original plan for the extension of the College abandoned. Extra accommodation to be provided by building rooms on the east side of the main corridor; a new Dining Hall to be the Louisa Macdonald Commemoration Hall
1921 Tower converted into student room[s]
October 1922 Tenders called for new work
1922 Addition to original building: 15 rooms built on the east side of the Main corridor. Removal of most of eastern verandah of original building but small portions left in centre and at south end. New dining hall [the Louisa Macdonald Commemoration Hall], kitchen and maids' quarters built over site of original kitchens. Part of original servants' quarters remodelled. Original dining hall converted into common room and original common room to be used as extension to library. Architects Power & Adam. Builders L Shaw & Co.
11 April 1923 Foundation stone laid for the Louisa Macdonald Commemoration Hall
1923-1924 Installation of electricity in Main building
October 1924 Official opening of the Louisa Macdonald Commemoration Hall with specially commissioned portrait of Miss Macdonald above High Table
1924 College now accommodates 60 students
1926 Small pantry built next to the Main Common Room [the original dining hall]
1928 Back wing of The Maples demolished and three-storey wing added to accommodate seventeen students, two graduates, a tutor, the gardener and a maid
1929 Construction of brick wall along Carillon Avenue boundary
1931 Maplewood dado added to small vestibule and up staircase leading to dining hall
1935 Maplewood dado panelling added to entrance hall
1936 Wrought iron gates replace timber gates on Carillon Avenue entrance
1936-1937 Construction of new wing, to south of Louisa Macdonald Commemoration Hall with accommodation for fourteen students and cloister (walkway) connecting it to the Main building. Architect R G Simpson
6 July 1937 Official opening of the Susie Jane Williams Commemoration Wing
1937 University Women's College in Melbourne opened
1943 College over crowded; some students living three to a room
1946 St Catherine's College in Perth opened
1947 St Ann's College in Adelaide opened
1947 Roof damaged by violent hail storm
1947 Sketch plans prepared for appeal for funds for additions to College
1950 Loggia in tower converted into rooms. Kitchenette installed in Principal's flat.
Ground floor room in Main converted into Senior Common Room and another room as common room for resident staff
1951 Additional small staircase added to north end of Main building with new bathrooms on mezzanine levels. Small lecture room & adjacent student rooms on ground floor incorporated into the library [the original common room]. Architect Ellice Nosworthy
June 1952 The Mary Fairfax Library opened
1954 Eighty-nine students in residence and 14 in hostels in Carillon Avenue owned by Moore College
1955 Mrs Mary Reid offers donation over four years that enables new building to be planned. Council decides that size of the College will be limited to 150 'at the present' following discussions at Heads of Colleges Conference in Melbourne where the economic size of colleges was discussed.
1956 Former balcony areas in centre of east side of Main building (first and second floors) converted into student rooms, known as the Fitzhardinge rooms. Architect Ellice Nosworthy
1956-1958 Construction of new Reid Wing to east of Main building with rooms for 31 students, a small flat for the Vice Principal, common room and music rooms. Architect Ellice Nosworthy (who lived at Women's College while studying architecture at Sydney University in the 1920s).
1957 Murray Report on the future of Australian universities
12 April 1958 Reid Wing opened
1958 Senior Common Room enlarged by combining two rooms on ground floor of Main building [formerly students' rooms]
1958 Student's room in former loggia of tower incorporated into the Principal's flat as private sitting room
1959 New entrance made to College from Western Avenue
1959-1960 Additions to north and south ends of kitchen wing staff quarters [Back Alley]
Additions to east and west ends of Williams wing for additional student accommodation. Architect Ellice Nosworthy
1960 College reaches target size of 150 students and tutors
1960-1961 Window in south wall of Main Common Room [original dining room] removed and opening lengthened to give a garden view, as a memorial to former Principal, Camilla Wedgwood. Installation of Wedgwood plaque. Architects Ellice Nosworthy and Leslie Wilkinson
1962 Council resolves to double the size of the College
April 1963 JLS Mansfield of Fowell, Mansfield and Maclurcan formally requested to submit sketch plans and estimates for new student accommodation and for extension to dining hall
1964 New accommodation to Y-shaped plan to be built in two stages in 'the paddock', to the north of Main building
1965 Addition to Dining Hall & works in kitchen. Architects Fowell, Mansfield & Maclurcan
13 March 1965 Foundation stone laid for Stage 1 of new residential wing [Langley wing]. Architects Fowell, Mansfield & Maclurcan
1965 Alterations to rooms on ground floor of Main building [original students' rooms] for use by administration (offices for Principal, Vice Principal, Secretary, Household Manager, Housekeeper). Architects Fowell, Mansfield, Jarvis & Maclurcan
1966 Stage 1 of new residential wing completed and fully occupied
1966 Installation of bronze framed glass doors to enclose front porch. Architect Ellice Nosworthy
1967-1969 Construction of Stage 2 of new residential wing [Langley]. Architects Fowell, Mansfield, Jarvis & Maclurcan
1967 Construction of covered walkway between Reid & new wing [Langley] and enclosure of existing 'cloister' between Williams and Main building. Architects Fowell, Mansfield, Jarvis & Maclurcan
1967 Modifications to Main building for construction of Menzies Common Room and demolition of The Cottage. Architects Fowell, Mansfield, Jarvis & Maclurcan
1967-1969 Construction of New Common Room [Menzies Common Room]. Architects Fowell, Mansfield, Jarvis & Maclurcan
1967 Former visitors' room on ground floor of Main building converted into enquiry office at main entrance
1969 New residential wing [Langley] completed. College accommodates 251 students and is now the largest residential college within the University of Sydney
5 July 1969 Langley wing and the Menzies Common Room officially opened by Sir Robert Menzies
1970-1971 The Maples refurbished for postgraduate accommodation. Architects Joseland & Gilling
1972 Replacement of balcony on top floor of Main building. Architects Joseland & Gilling
1972 Floor of front verandah on ground floor of Main building lifted to replace broken pipes from roof drainage, to remedy damp. Front steps replaced. Renovation of fireplace and chimney in Main Common Room
1974 Alterations to Principal's flat. Architects Joseland Gilling & Assocs
1976 Refurbishment of Main Common Room: heating system installed; new lighting with spotlights, dimmers & sidelights; plaster casts removed, room repainted including the timber ceiling
1977 Overhaul of accommodation behind kitchen [Back Alley], previously used for resident domestic staff, converted for student use
1977 The Women's College Act amended to include the admission of men to the College and the appointment of a male Principal
1978 Installation of thermal and smoke detectors
1981 Installation of fire detection system in main body of College
1982 Installation of fire detection system in The Maples
1988 Installation of smoke doors, smoke seals, door closers etc. in Menzies, Main and Reid wing. Architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners
1989 Fire in box room and dry store underneath Dining Hall. Reinstatement of Dining Hall timber floor, some damage to panelling
1990-1991 Installation of new fire stair Main, Reid and Menzies, emergency lights etc. Architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners
1990-1991 Installation of sprinkler system
1990 Installation of new fire stair in Williams wing, emergency lights etc. Architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners
1991 Installation of emergency lighting etc. The Maples. Architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners
1991 Installation of emergency lighting etc. Langley wing. Architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners
1994-1996 Resource Centre built. Part of Reid wing demolished and new library, computer rooms and basement storage constructed. Remaining section of Reid wing remodelled with additions, as computer rooms, library and archives rooms and tutorial rooms on ground floor with student accommodation on upper floors. Architects Gerry Rippon & Ken Reynolds
23 March 1996 Vere Hole Resource Centre officially opened by the Chancellor Dame Leonie Kramer
1996 Remodelling of rooms in Main previously used for library; renamed the Miss Mary Elizabeth Fairfax Rooms. Architect Howard Tanner & Interior Designer Leslie Walford
1996 New landscaping in courtyard between back of Main building and Menzies Common Room. Designers David Wilkinson & Gay Stanton
1998 Installation of telephone and data access points in all student rooms
1998-1999 Conservation Management Plan for the Sulman & Power building [Main building] prepared by Otto Cserhalmi & Partners
1998 College applies for grant from the Commonwealth Government Federation Cultural Heritage Projects Program to conserve the Main building
1999 Grant received from Commonwealth government
1999-2000 Major restoration programme for Main building. Repair and conservation of brickwork and stonework; restoration of early rainwater goods and conservation of roof of Main Common Room; restoration and repair of front steps and landings in slate; removal of bronze entry doors and making good the front entry porch; replacement of floor and lights in entrance hall and installation of new reception office; replacement of floor and lights in Main Common Room; refurbishment of study bedrooms. Architect Otto Cserhalmi & Partners
2003 Installation of two wall-mounted display cases in Menzies Corridor. Replacement of old bulletin board leading to the Dining Hall with new. Handcrafting three mahogany pedestals replicating column mouldings in entrance hall. Zeny Edwards and Lewis and Lewis, Cabinetmakers.
Principals of the College
Miss Louisa Macdonald 1892 - 1919
Miss Susie Jane Williams 1919 - 1934
The Hon Camilla Wedgwood 1935 - 1944
Miss Julie Fitzhardinge 1944 -1946
Miss Betty Archdale 1946 - 1957
Miss Doreen Langley 1957 - 1974
Dr Leonie Star 1974 - 1981
Miss Valerie Street 1981 - 1989
Dr Ann Eyland 1990-1996
Ms Quentin Bryce AO 1997-2003
Mrs Yvonne Rate 2003-
Students who were the first, or among the first, to graduate or qualify in certain professions
Ellice Nosworthy and Leonore Lukin - two of the first three women to graduate in architecture
Sibyl Gibbs - first woman to practise at the NSW bar (as Sybil Morrison)
Marion Horton - third woman to graduate in Science in the University of Sydney
Patricia Littlejohn - first woman to graduate in Veterinary Science in University of Sydney
Mary Dunnicliff - in first graduation for the Diploma of Education
Justice Jane Mathews - first woman to be appointed to Supreme Court of NSW
Margaret Telfer - first woman Registrar of an Australian University and first woman Registrar of a Commonwealth University
Ruth Dobson OBE - first Australian female career diplomat appointed an Ambassador
Professor Marie Bashir - Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, University of Sydney and Director of Mental Health, Central Sydney Area - first woman to be appointed Governor of New South Wales |