I count myself in nothing else so happy, as a soul remembering my good friends (Shakespeare, Richard III)
On 25 October the members of the Undergraduate College gathered to acknowledge the 69 Paulines departing after three or more years at St Paul’s. Tributes or ‘valetes’ were made by Henry Blackwell, James Camilleri, Lucy Eyres, Fin Hancock, Alex Johnston, Hugh Kennedy, Mikey Mingay, Mathu Pushpakumar and Oliver Thorne. Alex Back proposed the Loyal Toast and Ed Taylor proposed the Toast to the Valedictorians. The Senior Student Simon Toscan proposed the Toast to the College and in doing so reminded the community of its obligations to do well in the world when they emerge from their time at Paul’s, and as future alumni, continue to take an active interest in the life of the College.
Tiffany Kwong, in College 2018-21, was the first female student to be admitted to St Paul’s College and was the very first applicant accepted into Graduate House back in 2018. Along with large numbers of other USyd students she was a “COVID-graduand” and denied the formal University graduate ceremony during that period. In the spirit of tradition the University organised a day of special ceremonies in October for anyone wanting a catch-up.
Tiffany (JD) and a fellow Graduate House alumnus Yash Bhoola (MBus), in College 2019-20 and Tutor 2021-23, had their conferring of degree ceremony on 18 October and in the staff procession were the Dean of the Sydney Law School Prof Simon Bronitt, Academic Resident in College 2019-20, and Director of Community Engagement at Paul’s Richard Morgan.
The Paul’s Formal took place on Friday 20 October under a star-filled sky in the College Quad. Everything was meticulously planned and executed by the Formal Committee of the 2023 Students’ Club plus their ringmaster and assistants! ‘Circus’ was the theme enhanced by the lighting, ‘tent’, side-shows, donkeys and ferris wheel which created a fantastic ‘wow’ moment for the 800 guests as they entered. the event included DJs and fireworks, cocktail bars, dancing, roving performers and, of course, the College wonderful caterers TWS providing a range of food and beverage options throughout the night.
The next opportunity to party in the Quad will be the St Paul’s College Union’s Summer Soiree from 6pm on Saturday 2 December. Book your tickets here.
As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973, the performing arts in Australia are particularly in focus. Much is being said this year about the great impact the building has had on the arts in Australia and, of course, the image of the building making Sydney one of the most recognizable cities in the world. Fortunately all aspects of art, performance, drama, composition, writing, architecture, physics, chemistry, design, engineering and construction are all embodied in this one iconic structure—a great modern wonder of the world.
There is an enduring but little-known connection with our Chapel. John Coburn’s Curtain of the Sun and Curtain of the Moon (1973) have recently been restored and Sun is returned to the stage of the Joan Sutherland Opera Theatre. At St Paul’s our Chapel features significant modern art including the set of limited edition screen prints Seven Days of Creation by John Coburn (1969-70) which were printed by his wife Barbara Coburn.
The architecture for the Chapel was influenced by Henry Ashworth “who was working with Corbet Gore on the Sydney Opera House” (A Atkinson, Hearts and Minds, 2017, p. 308). Ultimately the design was the work of John Mansfield (in College 1924-28) and Peter Reed (in College 1928-32). The Warden at that time, Rev’d Peter Bennie, was also Opera House-connected and was one of the leading lights to come to the defence of Jørn Utzon.
Pictured: the works by John Coburn in the Chapel (top); below is “The 6th Day God created man”. Next is “Curtain of the Sun” on show in the Opera House for its 50th Anniversary ‘open house tours on 21 October 2023. Bottom is the College Chapel and the Opera House shells.
We are interested to learn of any more Pauline connections to SOH which may form the basis of another news post. Please contact Richard Morgan at the College.
Unauthorised immigration arrival by boat was the topic of PhD student Jake Davies, in College 2022-22, on Monday 16 October. During this seminar Jakes presented his research findings from a comparative study that reviewed the Fraser Government years to the present. He has worked from relevant archives and current policies of successive Australian governments and the UNHCR, and assessed the “diplomatic overtures” to Australia’s relatively harsher methods of handling illegal arrivals by boat after 1999. Like all the Graduate House Seminars this presentation caused lively debate amongst students from many different parts of the world. A truly international gathering.
The College community is delighted to learn that Prof Ben Saul (in College 1995-97) has been appointed as a Special Rapporteur to the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. Ben is the Sydney University Challis Chair of International Law and a Fellow of the University Senate.
Ben’s work with UNHRC54 will provide independent advice on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. This is a mandated role which has been operating since 2005. Ben succeeds a long list of eminent international jurors and is the first Australian appointed to this important unpaid role. These mandate-holders act independently of governments and as such play an important role in monitoring sovereign nations and democratically elected governments and policies.
Over three nights of full houses in late September the College presented the 59th season of Victoriana! under the direction of Jack Stephens, the College’s Director of Music. Performing the traditional ‘fare’ was a large group of current College men and women singers backed by members of the Chapel Choir. This musical talent was supported by old Paulines at the piano and on the stage and another 18 current Paulines working behind the scenes. From Tattinger to Queensland prawns; from Fandango to the Galloping Major, the show was a great success.
In 2024 planning is underway for four big nights to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Victoriana! either side of the Semester 2 mid-sem break – Fri 27, Sat 28 September, Fri 4 and Sat 5 October.
Join us for an evening of drinks, dinner, dancing and fireworks to celebrate the end of the academic year & the start of Summer! Saturday 2 December 2023, 6pm to 11 pm in the College Quad and Salisbury Bar Dress: Summer chic Tickets available until sold out $140 per person ($100 for 2023 Paul’s Residents)
St Paul’s College Union Summer Soirée
The Warden & Committee of St Paul’s College Union invite the St Paul’s College Community of alumni, students, the partners and parents and friends to celebrate with us at the Summer Soirée Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/summer-soiree
The Rawson Football team continued their phenomenal winning record, taking out a fifth consecutive tournament win. The outstanding effort was only exacerbated by the fact that they didn’t concede a single goal throughout the entire campaign. Photo of their ‘black tie’ Victory Dinner held outside in the Quad.
Def. St John’s 3-0, def. Wesley 3-0, def. St Andrew’s 2-0.
The Rosebowl side showed a lot of promise, unearthing some talented prospects on the way to their equal third place finish. The future is bright.
Def. by St Andrew’s 2-1, def. Wesley 1-0, def. by Women’s 1-0, def. Sancta 1-0, def. by John’s 1-0.
Basketball:
Basketball is one of the few Rawson sports that is still any college’s game. A nail-biting victory against Drew’s, and bouncing back from a 17pt deficit against John’s meant the Paulines finished second place overall. Wesley took the gold, and the Androvians ended the tournament in an unfamiliar third place.
Def. by Wesley 64-59, def. St Andrew’s 63-61, def. St John’s 57-39.
The Rosebowl team showed no signs of chucking the towel in, despite their final placement on the ladder. Many players had not played much basketball before, but rolled up the sleeves anyway and got on with it.
Def. by St Andrew’s 53-24, def. by St John’s 43-35, def. by Wesley 57-25, def. by Sancta 52-44, def. by Women’s 43-20.
Tennis:
Rawson: 3rd place.
Rosebowl: 5th place.
(Final results have not been released yet).
Both athletics teams are training hard to finish 2023 in strong fashion. Most afternoons, there are great numbers putting in work on the Oval.
Other Sporting News:
A mixed college touch football tournament was held on the Oval in the afternoon of Friday September 15 to raise funds for the Boys to the Bush Charity. It was a great occasion attended by many. A raffle was held at the end of the day with some fantastic prizes, including a ticket to the highly coveted 2023 St Paul’s College Formal held in October.
The College rugby league team had two fixtures pencilled in against arch rivals St Andrew’s during the early weeks of semester 2, however, both fell through due player shortages on the opposition’s part. Hopefully this initiative will come back bigger and better in 2024 and the 13-man code continues to grow its presence on the intercollegiate scene.
