The first Governing Body of University House consisted of Dr W.E.H. Stanner (Chairman), Professor P.A.P. Moran (Bursar), Professor John Eccles, Dr S. Fazekas de St Groth, and Professor Richard van der Reit Woolley, who were later joined by Professor Mark Oliphant. The first Master, Professor Dale Trendall, took the Chair on 3 November 1953 at the Governing Body’s sixth meeting. While many of these meetings were quite lengthy, the sixth meeting was hard to beat – it spanned five days!
In 1954, Sir Robert Garran was appointed the first honorary fellow of University House. He had also been the first recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the ANU in 1951. Garran was one of the authors of the Australian Constitution, and a great supporter of Australia having a national university.
Professor Dale Trendall, Master of University House, 1954 – 1969
“There come to all of us in life moments that are so charged with emotion that even their recall at some distant date has the power to send a tingle down the spine.”
So, Professor Dale Trendall remarked on his appointment as the inaugural Master of University House on 15 March 1954.
Born in New Zealand in 1909, Trendall was an archaeologist and classicist who arrived in Australia in 1939 having studied and worked at the University of Otago, Cambridge University, and the British Schools in Athens and Rome.
He took up the position of Chair of Greek at the University of Sydney, although he spent much of WWII working with the Special Intelligence Bureau in code breaking.
Trendall left Sydney to take up the position of Master of University House. He occupied three rooms at the top of J staircase, including a corner flat which he decorated with Greek vases, Australian paintings, and Persian carpets, with many furnishings in his favourite colour of blue.
As Master, Trendall dined at the High Table and was always served first.
In 1958, Trendall was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor of ANU, and held this role until 1964.
Dr Germaine Joplin, Steward, 1955-1957 and 1967-1968
Dr Germaine Joplin, a petrologist, studied at the University of Sydney and Cambridge University before joining the ANU Department of Geophysics in 1952.
A Fellow of the University House Governing Body since its inception in 1953, she also took on the position of Steward in March 1955. Her main area of responsibility was overseeing events, including those in the Ladies Drawing Room. This was all while she supervised PhD students, undertook her own research, and worked on a variety of publications.
She was noted by Professor Mark Oliphant as being more responsible for the smooth running of the House than any other person in its early years – “she solved the problems of domestic staff, care of silver and furnishings, and the many grumbles of residents”.
She remained actively involved in the life of University House even after she retired in 1968, while also being active in the Federation of University Women, and serving on the ANU Council from 1969 – 1975.
Ted Scarth, Manager of University House, 1957 – 1963
Scarth, described as a “solid Yorkshireman” with “military bearing” was appointed University House Manager on 4 February 1957. He was a master plumber but had also worked in all facets of hotels. He and his wife Marjorie managed the Acton Guest House (later known as Lennox House) and lived in one of the University’s cottages on Liversidge Street.
Described as even-tempered, dedicated, and detail-conscious, Scarth very much helped set the tone of University House and dealt with as many issues as possible before they reached University House Master Professor Dale Trendall.
When Scarth died suddenly from a heart attack in 1963 at the age of 57, there was a profound sense of loss amongst all at University House. The upstairs private dining room was named the Scarth Room in his honour.
Professor Ralph Elliott, Master of University House, 1974 - 1987
Born in Berlin in 1921 as Rudolph Ehrenberg, Elliott spent much of his early life in Scotland living with his uncle Nobel laureate physicist Max Born and later lecturing in medieval English language and literature. He migrated to Australia in 1959 and lectured at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University before relocating to Canberra.
Elliott was appointed Master of University House in 1974 and held this position for 13 years. He was particularly dedicated to the cultural and social life of the House and ANU and he launched the Music at Lunchtime series with students from the School of Music and served as President of the School of Music Friends while he was Master. He continued the tradition of hosting the University House Wine Symposia and chaired the university convocation lunches.
Dr Susan Bambrick, Master of University House, 1987 – 1991
On 14 August 1987, economist and Senior Lecturer in Economics, Dr Susan Bambrick became the first female Master of University House. Despite her gender, the title of Master remained, with Bambrick asserting that it was a “functional title not a biological one”.
Bambrick had been a member of University House as a PhD student at ANU and had later served as Deputy Master and Acting Master.
As a married female scholar, Bambrick faced multiple instances of discrimination. She recalled a luncheon at the Ladies Drawing Room, at which she was asked which department her husband worked in and then looked upon with disdain when she replied that he didn’t work at the University and that she was a scholar. As a married female scholar, Bambrick wasn’t entitled to the same University housing as her male counterparts. When she was pregnant with her first child, some of her colleagues determined she wouldn’t be able to continue work on her thesis and her scholarship was subsequently suspended. Nevertheless, she kept working but stopped visiting the staff tearoom when it became obvious her pregnancy made some colleagues uncomfortable. She ultimately had three children, with her eldest son Tim being the first child enrolled at the new University Preschool and Childcare Centre.
Bambrick had a long career at the ANU in the Faculty of Economics and served as Dean of Students from 1984 – 1987. She was awarded an OBE in 1983.
In her role as Master of University House, Bambrick had the challenge of managing the House during financial difficulties and overseeing significant changes to the management and staffing structures.
Dr Susan Bambrick recalled a memorable occasion when former Prime Minister and Honorary Fellow of University House, Gough Whitlam, attended the High Table….
“Gough Whitlam rang and asked if he might bring his Constitutional Commission to the High Table… Gough was seated on my right and opposite me was Professor Peter Russell, Professor of Politics from Toronto, who had arrived the day before. Gough leaned over the table and asked: ‘Professor Russell, what have you come to Australia to study?’ ‘The constitutional crisis of 1975’, was the reply. I heard a sharp intake of breath to my right. I was pretty tense myself. Then Gough replied with great courtesy: ‘Then you have everyone you need here. Allow me to introduce the former Commonwealth Solicitor-General Sir Maurice Byres…’
