Abstract
In this chapter the history of the founding of Australian universities is explored. It looks at the key influences for such foundations, which overseas universities were seen as models and who were the key people involved. This began with the founding of the University of Sydney in 1850. Subsequently universities were founded in each colony, and in the case of Western Australia, in that state, after Federation. Given the diversity of the then colonies, later states, the distinctive influences and decisions about the need for each university are explored. The beginnings of languages teaching in each university is discussed as is the priorities for particular languages. The analysis also reveals that the quality and continuity of languages teaching in some institutions suffered due to staffing issues and financial constraints.
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Notes
- 1.
Turney, Bygott, and Chippendale are the authors of A History of the University of Sydney Volume 1.
- 2.
British universities had the denominational college structure and the Church of England, as the Established Church and training of its clergy, at their heart.
- 3.
State Library and National Museum of Victoria founded in 1854 and the National Gallery of Victoria founded in 1861.
- 4.
The first residential college, Trinity College, was not established until 1872.
- 5.
According to the South Australian Register of Friday 1 August 1879, the Union College Council had been given the Hughes money and relinquished it to the University movement, believing that, through the University movement, the money would have greater benefit for the public than using the money for theological education.
- 6.
Turney et al. (1991. p. 4), disagreed with Woolley, saying universities had already been developed in British North America. However, the first universities in British North America were private universities. The University of Sydney was indeed the first colonial public university of the British Empire.
- 7.
Pearson believed that Spanish and Italian were commercially important for the colony as trade was developing with new countries. However, Spanish and Italian were not taught until the 1920s and then only in the instructor mode.
- 8.
The term ‘reader’ was generally used to denote a paid academic position ranked above senior lecturer but below professor.
- 9.
The first Australian woman to become a papal countess in her own right.
- 10.
Here the term ‘Reader’ is used in a different sense to that on page 44. AS indicated above, such Readers would not be paid by the University but directly by their students.
- 11.
Readers were to be paid directly by their students.
- 12.
For British universities, languages of the Middle East and Asia were all included in the term Oriental Languages, reflecting British imperial interests of the time.
- 13.
It was an Oriental Studies department in a very broad sense, encompassing mainly Semitic Studies.
- 14.
Thomas Jollie Smith had studied Japanese as he intended to undertake missionary work amongst the Japanese in Korea.
- 15.
Eastern languages was the term Fowles used rather than Oriental or Asian languages.
- 16.
According to McLure (2011, p. 4), J.B. Conyngham was the first candidate to be offered the chair, but it was Bernard Key who was subsequently offered the chair and took up the position. De Garis does not mention Conyngham at all.
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Baldwin, J.J. (2019). The Founding of Australian Universities. In: Languages other than English in Australian Higher Education. Language Policy, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05795-4_2
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