St Andrew's College, University of Sydney

St Andrew's College is a residential college for women and men within the University of Sydney, in the suburb of Newtown. Home to over 336 male and female undergraduate students, postgraduate students, resident Fellows and graduate residents.

St Andrew's College
University of Sydney
Location19 Carillon Avenue, Newtown, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates33.891234°S 151.183516°E / -33.891234; 151.183516
Full nameSaint Andrew's College
MottoChristo, Ecclesiae, Litteris (Latin)
Motto in EnglishFor Christ, the Church and Scholarship
Established1867
Named forSaint Andrew the Apostle, patron saint of Scotland
Sister collegeOrmond College, Emmanuel College, Knox College
PrincipalWayne Erickson
Undergraduates308
Postgraduates22
WebsiteWebsite

The College, governed by its own elected Council, is situated within the campus of the University of Sydney. Set in its own picturesque grounds, it has offered residency, academic and social support to students for 150 years.

The College enables students to get the most out of their University education – a combination of intellectual independence, academic support from the Residential Life team and personal development through involvement in Students’ Club activities such as a wide range of sporting, philanthropic and cultural activities and the gift of lifelong friendships.

The St Andrew's College Incorporation Act received Royal Assent in 1867 in the 31st year of the reign of Queen Victoria and was only replaced by an updated Act as recently as 1998. 1867 is therefore the date taken as the College's foundation, and in 2017 the College celebrated its sesquicentenary as Australia's third oldest university college. In 1870 the College Council first met and in 1876 the students entered the grand sandstone Scottish baronial building now known as the Main Building.

The College is a non-denominational independent institution of Protestant origins situated upon its own sub-grant of Crown Land and governed by a Council under the St Andrew's College Act 1998. Diversity of faith is genuinely welcome.

History

St Andrew's College was incorporated by Act of Parliament and received Royal Assent from Queen Victoria on 12 December 1867. The St Andrew's College Act 1998[1] replaced the St Andrews Incorporation Act 1867. This change means the Principal may be member of the laity and the religious affiliation of councillors has been broadened to include all Protestants. Adam Thompson became the first Principal of St Andrew's in 1872. He was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh who had come from his Hawick parish to Sydney in 1861. The College Council first met in 1870 and the first 16 students began their studies in 1874, even before the Main building was completed in 1878. Increasing demand for places led to the opening of additions to the College in 1892 (Sulman Wing), and in 1907 and 1914 (Vaucluse extensions). The student population increased to 140 in 1953 when the Reid building was completed, to 200 when the Thyne building was opened in 1966 and again to 272 when the Hanks Building was completed in 2007.

St Andrew's College

The College occupies 4 hectares of land within the main campus of the University of Sydney and was built on a sub-grant of University Land.

Whilst the Theological Hall of the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales, now the Presbyterian Theological Centre, was without home, St Andrew's College allowed its members to live at the College (until it relocated to Burwood in 1983).

In 2001, the College Council resolved to admit female undergraduates for the first time, with the first such students taking up residence at the commencement of the 2002 academic year.[2]

Its motto Christo, ecclesiae, litteris is Latin for For Christ, for the church, for scholarship.

Every year, the College men compete for a sporting trophy, commonly known as the Rawson Cup, which was presented to the Sydney University Sports Union in 1906 by Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, and is the height of male intercollegiate sport. The cup is fought for throughout the year by men representing each of the University of Sydney Colleges accumulating points by competing in cricket, rowing, swimming, rugby, tennis, soccer, basketball and athletics. St Andrew's has enjoyed sustained recent success, winning the Rawson Cup in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. St Andrew's has won the Rawson Cup more often than all the other colleges combined.[3]

Since 2002, the College women have competed for their equivalent sporting trophy, the Macrae Archdale Cup, known as "The Rosebowl". The Rosebowl is contested by the five colleges that admit women. It consists of the sports of rowing, swimming, netball, hockey, tennis, basketball, soccer and athletics. The College won the Rosebowl for the first time in 2006, and also for the last nine years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The College has had unrivalled success in the Palladian Cup, winning the annual inter-college performing arts competition in 2017 for the third time in five years, and more often than all other colleges combined since the Cup's inception in 2001.

Principals
Principals of St Andrew's College
DatesNameNotes
1872 - 1874Revd. Adam Thomson
1875 - 1901Revd. Dr John Kinross
1902 -1920Revd. Dr Andrew Harper
1920 - 1937Revd. Dr Edward Erskine Anderson
1938 - 1950Revd. Dr William Cumming Thom
1950 - 1956Revd. Dr John McIntyre
1957 - 1974Revd. Alan A. Dougan
1975 - 1987Revd. Dr Hugh Cairns
1988 - 1991Revd. Dr Clyde Paton
1991 - 1995Revd. Dr Peter Cameron
1999 - 2008Dr William PorgesDr Porges acted in the roll of Principal from 1996
2008 - presentMr Wayne Erickson

Heresy Conviction Controversy

Scottish born Peter Cameron was appointed Principal of St Andrew's College in 1991, and thus became a minister in the Presbyterian Church of Australia. In 1993 while serving as Principal, Cameron was convicted by the Presbyterian Church of Australia of Heresy. He was charged for disagreeing with the first chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith (which as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, he was required "firmly and constantly to adhere thereto and to the utmost of [his] power to maintain and defend"[4] ) by questioning the writings of Paul in the New Testament. The charge related to a sermon that he preached on 2 March 1992 called 'The Place of Women in the Church' to 300 members of a Presbyterian women's organisation. In the sermon, Cameron supported the ordination of women to the ministry, criticised the Church's hard line on homosexuality, and attacked fundamentalist Christianity in general (Jensen, nd)[5] (de Maria, 1999)[6]

Today

St Andrew's College is home to 336 male and female undergraduate and graduate students and resident Fellows. All of the undergraduate students are members of the Students' Club, and the Junior Common Room. These are governed by an elected body of students, the House Committee.

The College is also home to 22 graduate students. These students are members of the Senior Common Room. They contribute greatly to the College's extensive tutorial program which covers as many of the subjects the University offers as it can. Residential members of the Senior Common Room are allowed to compete for selection on the College sporting teams. There are also University academics who reside at the College and are members of the Senior Common Room.

Facilities

The Junior Common Room is home to the College's fully licensed bar known as the "Highlander". This bar operates under the direction of the Principal, with a member of the Senior Common Room as licensee, but is fully staffed and run by and for the Students' Club and its members, and aims to operate profitably each year.

St Andrew's has excellent libraries, a Chapel, computer room, common rooms, photocopying and facsimile facilities, individual internet connections and room telephones with voicemail, a full-size oval, gymnasium and unrivalled sporting and social opportunities. It is supported by an Alumni Society and a Foundation Trust. Former residents have advanced to become Rhodes Scholars, Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholars, University Medallists, international sports people, professors, university Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors, highly successful business people, industrialists, financiers and respected members of every profession.

Intercol

Intercollegiate competitions in sport and the arts are contested annually by the residential colleges within the University of Sydney. Each St Andrew's success in Rawson, Rosebowl and Palladian events is celebrated by all students in the College with a Victory Dinner in the Dining Hall. In 2013 and again in 2015, St Andrew's College made history by claiming all four Cups (Rawson, Rosebowl, Palladian and University) in the Intercol competition. In 2014 and 2016, St Andrew's took out the Rawson, Rosebowl and University Cups and placed 2nd in the Palladian competition.

Students' Club

St Andrew's College Students’ Club is the representative body for the undergraduate residents of St Andrew's College and the House Committee is its governing body. The history of the St Andrew's Students’ Club dates back as early as 1896. The first Senior Student was elected in 1896 and the Students’ Club was emerging in embryonic form by 1901. Some time after 1902, a Students’ Club constitution was adopted in which the students undertook the duty of controlling the students’ Common Room, recreation, social life and sport.

It is clear that by 1906 the Students’ Club was in full operation; with annual elections for Senior Student, Secretary, Treasurer and year representatives. By 1910 then House Committee included nine members, and sub-committees began to form to organise various Students’ Club activities, in a manner similar to today.

The Students’ Club manages a comprehensive schedule of social events during the academic year, on a college-only basis, or in conjunction with the University of Sydney's intercollegiate community.

The Constitution of St Andrew's College Students’ Club can be found here.

The House Committee is composed of the following roles:

  • The Senior Student
  • Honorary Treasurer
  • Honorary Secretary
  • Honorary Assistant Treasurer (HAT)
  • Alumni Liaison
  • Intercollege representatives
  • Social & Cultural representatives
  • Sporting representatives
  • fResher representatives

The House Committee members are democratically elected by their peers at the end of the preceding academic year.

Buildings

At present, the College comprises 4 main buildings, as well as a number of smaller ones. "Main" is the oldest of these, and was extended with the addition of the Sulman and Vaucluse wings. Further extensions on Main were carried out in the 1960s, and now it not only houses 90 students’ rooms, but has the college's dining hall, library, reading room, Junior and Senior Common Rooms, administration offices, the Kinross-Mackie Chapel and a number of tutorial rooms. Main predominantly houses freshers and sophomores. "Reid" is the second oldest building, and was opened in 1953, when it was simply known as the New Building. It is typically home to both Sophomores and Seniors. The Thyne Building was opened in 1966, the same year as the College's oval was constructed. This building typically houses freshers and Sophomores. The Hanks Building (referred to by students as "New Wing") was completed in 2007; it is home to only seniors and above. The rooms in this building are much larger and all have bathrooms.

The College also has a number of smaller buildings, such as the Harper Lodge (where high-ranking members such as the Vice-Principal live), the Dougan Lodge (a.k.a. the Bird's Cage, where the Principal lives), the Old Laboratory (a.k.a. the Country Club, which houses graduates, and is next to the tennis courts), the Gatehouse and Sulman Wing (graduate housing).

Notable former residents

Politics

Current

Former

Law

The Sciences

The Arts

Theology
  • Revd. Dr John Dunmore Lang, foundation Councillor 1870 - 1878. Lang was a prominent Australian Presbyterian minister, politician, activist, republican, and libelist.
  • Revd. Dr Andrew Harper
  • Samuel Angus, charged with heresy
  • Peter Cameron, former Principal and convicted heretic
  • John McIntyre CVO, Hunter Baillie Professor 1946–56, Principal 1950–56, Honorary Fellow 1990–2005, sometime Professor of Divinity and Principal of New College in the University of Edinburgh, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Dean of the Order of the Thistle

Academia

Military
  • Lt General Sir Iven Mackay, KBE, CMG, DSO & Two Bars, VD

Rugby Union

Wallaby Captains

Other Wallabies

Others

Rhodes Scholars

References
  1. SAINT ANDREW'S COLLEGE ACT 1998
  2. :: St Andrews College :: Timeline Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Vows - An Introduction to the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the Code Committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia Archived 2008-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Rod Jensen, review of Peter Cameron, Heretic, at Sea of Faith in Australia (SoFiA) http://www.sof-in-australia.org/heretic.htm Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Bill de Maria, (1999), Chapter 5: Religious Dissenter: Peter Cameron and the Heresy Trial, in Deadly Disclosures, Wakefield Press, Kent Town, ISBN 1-86254-457-3
  7. Who's Who in Australia (Herald and Weekly Times Melb, 1988) pp 558: Loxton, Alan Hamilton (1920 - )
  8. Wallace, Arthur Cooper (Johnny) (1900 - 1975) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
  9. Nothling, Otto Ernest (1900 - 1965) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Further reading
  • Cameron, Peter (1997). Finishing school for blokes : college life exposed. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-134-X.
  • St Andrew's College Annual Report & Magazine for 2005
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