Adelaide University Tour

It may look like the student assembly line...the raw material in through the main gates while the finished product make its way to Bonython Hall for graduation day. At Adelaide University its a process which has been going on for one hundred and twenty five years. For tour guide Brian Ward, these halls of academy are full of history both distant and personal. He was a geography tutor at Adelaide University for many years and he certainly knows his way around here. "It is by far the smallest campus of any University in Australia. When it began on this site in 1882, we occupied only five acres here." Previously classes had been held in rented and borrowed rooms throughout the city. But soon our civic fathers were in search of a more suitable and central location.

"So they decided to approach a wealthy man who was a pastoralist who owned mines in Moonta, Wallaroo and Kadina. Walter Watson Hughes was asked whether he would contribute to Union College and he soon replied and said yes, I offer you twenty thousand pounds."

It paid to be brash back in those days, that was worth between three and six million dollars, a handy sum which paid for the construction of one of North Terrace's architectural gems - the Mitchell Building. It was opened in 1881 and for all intents and purposes was the university for many years. And in keeping with Universities of the old world, this new house of learning in a new colony drew heavily on architectural influences from overseas.

"And the capitals or the pillars you'll notice have an intricate leaf design. If you look more closely at them you'll find that each capital was different from the other. This was quite a deliberate feature emulating, what was commonly in medieval times, in cathedrals and great buildings in Europe".

For many years the Mitchell building with its gracious stairway and leadlight window, housed the library classrooms and laboratories, where the emphasis appears to have been on a hands on approach. It now houses some amazing artefacts which reflect this institution's impact on industries which are now so important to South Australia. And in keeping with South Australia's reformist zeal, Adelaide University also played a key role in changing attitudes about who was worthy of higher education.

"From the beginning this University admitted women. It was quite unusual. It was part of the early negotiations with the British Parliament that we should be allowed to admit women. We're also one of the first universities to offer science as a formal degree."

The Heritage Exhibition contains the rare and the unusual. Remember George the Orang-utan, an old favourite at the Adelaide Zoo, well he obviously made the ultimate sacrifice for medical science.

The university has had a number of wealthy benefactors, one of them pastoralist and music lover Sir Thomas Elder, who throughout his lifetime provided more than one hundred thousand pounds.

"And so this building behind us - the Elder Conservatorium - is a perpetual reminder of his most substantial future support."

As the university grew, so did its need for a ceremonial hall befitting its role in the community. Enter another philanthropist, Sir John Langdon Bonython the owner and proprietor of The Advertiser. Bonython Hall was completed in 1936 the year of the State's centenary. Over time the University has expanded down to the banks of the Torrens taking over the old agricultural showgrounds which were situated behind the Elder Conservatorium and the old Exhibition Building. Its an area which now adjoins the Barr Smith Library, built in the 1930s as the Mitchell Building took on a more administrative role.

"It's now known as the undergraduate reading room. It really is a gorgeous space, beautiful ornate ceiling, tiled illuminated lettering in a Latin script beneath the ceiling and then the large airy light windows for such a large space, beautifully light with natural lighting and then the book storage space below."

At the time it was meant to hold 15,000 volumes and accommodate two hundred readers, said to be ample for one hundred years to come. The entire library now holds more than two million books. All of this is not the sole domain for students and staff, the library and other sections of the university are open to the general public and can be accessed as part of one of the Alumni Association's weekly tours. For details contact the Alumni's office on (08) 8303 3196. For more information you can email info@postcards-sa.com.au