Speech at the Presidents’ and Fellows’ Dinner held at King’s College Saturday 3 February 2024.
Greg Eddy, CEO, King’s College
President and Vice-President of the College Council Ms Kathleen Newcombe and Ms Allison Warburton
President of the KOCA Mr Blake Miller
President of the KCSC Mr Caleb Reiher
Presidents and Fellows
My fellow staff of the College and students of the College
Distinguished guests all
Rowena – thank you so much for your toast to the College. I think it’s important to recognise the gift that people keep giving to King’s. Rowena was introduced to the College by her predecessor as Treasurer, Mitchell Petrie himself a Fellow of the College some years ago. Ultimately, Rowena assumed the position of Treasurer and took membership of the Council. However, no sooner had she retired from that role and the Council 5 years later but she was elected a Fellow and soon after took a seat on the Board of Fellows. I love the way King’s manages to keep hold of people – how very fortunate we are!
How wonderful to have you all here tonight. This is something of a first to bring the Presidents and Fellows together and I can’t help but be struck by the years of service, commitment, and dedication that together you (those present tonight) have accumulated in being part of the life and fabric of King’s – so I tallied it up. I am no mathematician, but I estimate that together you have accumulated around1025 years and the greatest of these, present among you this evening is Mr Sam Harrison MBE who celebrated a milestone last year. Having entered the College in 1948 Sam clocked up 75 years of connection and relationship and much more with King’s in 2023. I might just add that in marrying Jennifer in whatever year she’s not very far behind him!!
So, the theme for the evening is “Look how far we’ve come and where we are going now”
I’m addressing the first part and then I will introduce Dr Michael Banney to take us through the second part.
You’ll be relieved to know that I am not going to read the Centenary history written by Fellow of the College and President of the KCSC in 1956 Dr Trevor Farragher. I am leaving his excellent centenary history to cover off the first 100 years up to and including 2012 when the book was launched by an Old Collegian and Fellow of the College and then Chief Justice of Qld, The Hon Justice Paul de Jersey AC.
The book is available for purchase if you need to brush up!
I do love Trevor’s conclusion and I’ve quoted it often and will do so again now to provide the link I need between 2012 and the years which have followed.
“And what does the Wyvern think of the events that have occurred during its first hundred years? He nods in agreement with Mike Vaughan that ‘it is at King’s that we spend perhaps the most socially formative, personally creative and intellectually stimulating years of our lives’. College life is an experience, rare these days, that enables students to live for a few years as part of a large, diverse community, with unique scope to flourish by contributing to, while gaining from, the communal life. After a century of reflection, the Wyvern has realised a truth that frees him: that the College continues, although change must come – some good , some not so good, some comforting and some radically disturbing. Reassured by his musing, he flicks his tail and sails among the trees whence he, in his own Wyvernic way, nurtures all new Collegians, and remembers all Kingsmen who over 100 years have made the College great. Yet the future is a different country, and they will do things differently there.
To be continued…….
And so it transpired! Indeed the future is a different country and no one can predict what it may hold.
In 2012 the College population was male and numbered 289 with the recent completion of the Centenary Building opened the year before by a Fellow of the College, Her Excellency the Hon Penelope Wensley AC (Who sends her sincere apologies for tonight). The President of the KCSC was Austen Smith. In that year the College won the double – Old Collegians’ Trophy for men’s sport and the Sir Zelman Cowen Cup for ICC cultural competition – it was the first and only time. The Centenary Ball was held at the Convention Centre for a 1000 people. The President of the Council was the Hon Justice Martin Daubney AM – Kingsman and Fellow. He is in Rome and sends his warm regards to all and his apologies.
The Master Plan was reviewed in 2013-2014, the College sent its first ever crew to the UK to row at the HRR in 2015, we introduced the Associate Members’ Program (there were 2 in the first year) and as resident numbers continued to grow, the Council made the decision to expand further and the Wensley Wing and extensions to the Old Collegians Learning Centre opened in time for the 2016 academic year. Additionally, the entrance to the College was greatly improved. In 2016 the College population was male only and numbered 327 and the men won the Old Collegians’ Cup again by a large margin and the President of the KCSC was Liam Spannenburg now Dr Spannenburg and the President of the Council was Dr Brett Robinson- Kingsman and Fellow of the College. We sent a squad to Hong Kong to play in the Hong Kong 10s for the first time.
In 2017 the 105th anniversary of the College was celebrated with another gala Ball held at the RNA Showground for 1000 but there was mounting pressure on Colleges to change and respond to an ever-increasing number of issues and to say the media could smell blood was an understatement – they were circling the Colleges – and especially those in Sydney. The Federal Government surveyed Universities around the country to investigate sexual harassment and assaults on campuses and the End Rape on Campus group better known as EROC vocally called out what they described as the “worst excesses of College life”.
On 29th November 2017 Elizabeth Broderick addressed a press conference at Sydney University with the V-C and the Heads of five of the six Colleges where she released her very thorough report into the Cultural Renewal of the University of Sydney Residential Colleges. Some of you will well remember that there were calls in the months leading up to its release to have these Colleges closed. At the time no College in this country could claim “this is not about us – it’s Sydney’s problem”. It is a well-documented fact that we all had the problem to varying degrees. Sydney University and the five Colleges accepted all the Broderick recommendations and so did we all around the country, and we all set about working to ensure that the excesses of behaviour outlined in her report were addressed here. Elizabeth Broderick (not coincidentally) delivered the annual Williams Lecture at the Williams Dinner in College in August 2017.
The pressure intensified on single sex Colleges especially those that were male only. That pressure and many other factors led the Council to announce in March 2019 that from 2020 the College would be co-residential. In 2019, Dr Robinson was still President of the Council (though probably wished he wasn’t as he was also Deputy Chair of Rugby Australia at the time, and he was dealing with a little issue around Israel Folau!!) The KCSC President was Maverick Ryan. The Old Collegians’ Cup was once again retained by the College, and we ended the year with 30 vacant rooms.
75 women joined the College in 2020 and the College was full with a waiting list. However, we all know 2020 provided us with challenges no one expected – what did Trevor say, “the future is a different country, and they will do things differently there.” Well, we certainly did – importantly and strategically we remained open throughout the year while others did not. I suspect for the first time in the College’s history only two people were allowed to sit at a table in the Dining Room at the one time. In the first year of Co-residency, COVID had an exhilarating impact and if you haven’t read the KCSC President of that year’s entry in the booklet, Liam Phelps says:
“As the 2020 Student President, I’m sure I must have had one of the most unprecedented years one has had. I had the privilege of being the first President to welcome female students to the college, whilst simultaneously having the challenge of leading the Student Club through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Being the only college that remained fully operational throughout the pandemic, we certainly had a different version of ‘lockdown’ compared to the rest of the colleges, but we won’t get into the specifics. The silver lining of being the only college on campus at the time was the comradery and friendships that formed. By the end of the year, I was living with three hundred of my best mates, despite getting close to wringing each other’s necks more than a few times. “
Dr Brett Robinson remained President through another difficult year and somehow, the men won the Old Collegians’ Cup for Sport while Kingswomen finished 5th in quite a remarkable first up performance.
During 2020 the College received 445 applications for 2021 – the greatest number ever and the College opened full with a growing waiting list in 2021. There were 570 applications for 2022 and we were so oversubscribed and got it so wrong we leased three houses directly across the road and shipped in five tiny homes to accommodate 30 extra students. There were 355 in College and 50 Associate Members. At the Council AGM in May of 2022, Brett retired as President of the Council and Ms Kathleen Newcombe was unanimously elected to the Chair. Mr Sam Kanizay was President of the Students’ Club and while the men did not retain the Old Collegians’ Cup for the first time since 2008, Kingswomen won the Colleges’ Cup for women’s sport in only their third year at King’s. In 2022, the 110th the Anniversary Ball was held for just over 1000 at the Convention Centre where Fellow of the College and KCSC President in 1942, Malcolm Whyte AO at the time 101 years old, stole the show with his toast to the College.
There were 650 applications for places at King’s in 2023 and over 800 applications for 160 places in 2024. 2023 was the Centenary of the KOCA led by the President Mr Blake Miller – KCSC President in 2006-2007and my thanks to the KOCA for their support of the Archives project and to the Committee so ably led by Roger Dooley (Fellow and KCSC President). I know many of you have visited the refurbished Tower which houses the Archives of the College. In speaking of its centenary, I was recently reminded by Fellow of the College, Lawrie Pane with us tonight of the significant role played by David Williams, Mat Darveniza, Sam Harrison and Lawrie himself who worked to revive the KOCA in 1964 – at that time under threat of going under! How fortunate we are that those Fellows of the College came to the fore with such effective CPR. The KCSC President was Will Bradley in 2023 and importantly the College engaged Minter Ellison to conduct a review of the Culture and Community of King’s which provided us all with valuable information and 12 important recommendations, all of which have been accepted by the Council.
Some more statistics for you. Of 355 residents in College this year 48% will be women and 52% men. There will be 100 Associate Members of the College – this makes King’s the largest College on campus. 204 students are returning which is the highest percentage in years and there will be 151 Freshers – the smallest in some years. The rental crisis in Brisbane is very real.
I very much hope that my race through time has not only given you all a valuable catch up on where the College stands today but that it has also highlighted the extraordinary roles played by Presidents and Fellows over the last 12 years but more so over the last 112 years – what a gift you have been to King’s and how very grateful we are for your immense talents and service to this place.
Thank you all!
And so, where to from here?
Dr Michael Banney, Kingsman and Fellow of the College is a Director of m3architecture. The firm was engaged some years ago to craft a new Master Plan. That Plan was reviewed by the Council last year and was approved by the University Senate in December 2023. To see where we are going now, I’m pleased to introduce Dr Michael Banney – and I note that his visual presentation is a “gift” to the College from him and his firm.
Thank you, Michael and thank you all.