2 THE GAZETTE 1979 1979 THE GAZETTE 3

ELECTION OF DEPUTY CHANCELLOR

Directors of the Australian-AmericanEducational Foundation which admin­isters the Fulbright ScholarshipScheme and has been Chairman ofthat body since 1977.

In 1976, Professor George becameChairman of the Australian AtomicEnergy Commission on a part-timebasis and was Australian Governor onthe Board of the International AtomicEnergy Agency in Vienna from 1976­78. Since 1977 he has been a memberof the National Energy Advisory Com­mittee, Australia.

Professor George was elected a Fel­low of the Australian Academy ofTechnological Sciences in 1977 andearlier this year was appointed anofficer of the Order of Australia inrecognition of his services to engineer­ing and science.

Through Professor George a linkhas been formed with the Asian In­stitute of Technology in Bangkok. Hisinitial contact with that institution wasin 1977 as an adviser on the settingup of a new Division of Energy Re­sources. He became a member of theBoard of Trustees of the Institute in1978 and of the Executive of theBoard in 1979.

During Professor George's time asVice-Chancellor the University hashad to face the twin challenges of ageneral decline in growth associatedwith difficult financial conditions andthe development of a new MedicalSchool.

The University has always placedconsiderable emphasis on its relation­ships with the community in which itoperates. Along with other membersof the University the Vice-Chancellorhas been involved in a wide range ofcommunity activities.

Since 1976 Professor George hasbeen one of the four Australian

The period has also seen a majorreview of university government andthe introduction of significant changes.

Professor George's contribution toeducational activities has not beenconfined to the University. Currentlyhe is Deputy Chairman of the Aus­tralian Vice-Chancellors' Committeeand an Australian Member of theCouncil of the Association of Com­monwealth Universities. He has repre­sented the University at the Sixth Con­ference of the International Associationof Universities in Moscow in 1975, theConference of the Association of Com­monwealth Universities held in NewZealand in 1976 and the Conferenceand Congress of .the Association ofCommonwealth Universities held inCanada in 1978. In 1976 he visitedWest Germany with a party of sixAustralian Vice-Chancellors as a guestof the West German Government.

As well as being Vice-Chancellor,Professor George holds a PersonalChair in Engineering in the University.His research interests have lain in thearea of energy resources and conver­sion with particular reference to directenergy conversion and more recentlysolar energy. He is the author of morethan 50 scientific papers and reportsin these fields and received a Premiumof the Institution of Electrical Engin­eers, London in 1965 and shared theElectrical Engineering prize of theInstitution of Engineers, Australia in1971.

PROFESSOR D. W. GEORGE, A.O., REAPPOINTED VICE-CHANCELLOR

The Vice-Chancellor

The Chancellor of the Universityf Newcastle, Sir Bede Callaghan,as announced that the Council of the

University had reappointed ProfessorD. W. George to the office of Vice­Chancellor. Professor George's initialappointment was for a period of fiveyears and he has been reappointed fora further seven years.

In coming to Newcastle to take upthe post of Vice-Chancellor ProfessorGeorge returned to the city in whichhe had begun his academic career; in1949 he was appointed Lecturer inElectrical Engineering at the WoodStreet College of the Newcastle Tech­nical College and held that appoint­ment for two years before moving onin a career which took him to theBroken Hill Technical College, theU.K. Atomic Energy Establishment atHarwell in Britain, the Lucas HeightsEstablishment of the AustralianAtomic Energy Commission and, in1960, the University of Sydney.

Professor George became Vice­Chancellor of the University on I

alanuary, 1975, coming to that office"om the University of Sydney, where

he had held the p. N. Russell Chairin Mechanical Engineering since 1969.At the time of his appointment to

ewcastle he was also a Fellow of theenate and Chairman of the Pro­

fessorial Board in that University.

Page2234668

1010121316161718

The Hon. Mr Justice Michael Kirby.

Election of Deputy Chancellor .Psychologists gather on campus .... .... .... .... ....Professor D. W. George reappointed Vice-Chancellor.The Vice-Chancellor's letter to graduatesProfessor's research into drugsProfile - Professor A. M. RitchieThe Challenge of Social DemocracyEconomics Professor appointedReassessing The AwabakalPreventive psychiatry ....Educationists' role outlined ....Research in Chemical EngineeringStudy of capacity to resist infection .The changing University landscape ..The changing University landscape

CONTENTS

Dr. Ching Chi-Cheng, Dr. Lee Hsin-Tien and Dr. Hsu Lien-Chan.' from the Institute. ofPsychology, Academy of Sciences, Peking, pictured with the PreSIdent of the Australian

Psychological Society, Professor Peter Sheehan, during the Conference.

In February 1975 the Judge wasappointed the first Chairman of theLaw Reform Commission. The respon­sibility of this Commission is, withinreferences received from the Com­monwealth Attorney-General, SenatorDurack, to reform, modernise andsimplify the law of the Common­wealth.

Mr. Justice Kirby practised as aSolicitor for five years before beingcalled to the Bar in New South Walesin 1967. He practised at the Bar untilhis appointment as a Deputy Presidentof the Australian Conciliation andArbitration Commission in 1974 atthe age of 35. At the time of hisappointment his Honour was a Mem­ber of the New South Wales BarCouncil.

PSYCHOLOGISTS ON CAMPUSThe University of Newcastle was

the venue for the Thirteenth AnnualConference of the Australian Psycho­logical Society in August, 1978.

About 400 psychologists from theUnited States, Britain, Papua NewGuinea, Holland, New Zealand andall states of the Commonwealthattended.

Among the several distinguishedvisitors was the first delegation ofpsychologists from China to visit aforeign country.

Their visit was the outcome of con­tacts made in Peking by ProfessorJ. A. Keats, of the University of New­castle, when he visited there as partof a group from the University's De­partment of Psychology which touredChina in May, 1978.

The Honourable Mr. JusticeMichael D. Kirby, a noted jurist andChairman of the Law Reform Com­mission, was elected Deputy Chan­cellor of the University of Newcastlein 1978.

In 1977 Mr. Justice Kirby was ap­pointed to the Council of the Univer­sity to fill the vacancy caused by theretirement of the former Chancellor,Sir Alister McMullin.

Mr Justice Kirby, was born in Syd­ney and attended Fort Street Boys'High School and Sydney University.At the University, he took the degreesof Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws,Bachelor of Economics and Master ofLaws. The degree of Master of Lawswas conferred upon him with FirstClass Honours.

Cover PhotographMay 9, 1978, was the day on which theMedical Sciences Building was officiallyopened. The Chancellor of the University(Sir Bede Callaghan) referred to theadmission of the first 64 students to theFaculty of Medicine and the completion ofwork on the building as significant markersin the development of the University.Emeritus Professor Peter Karmel, Chairmanof the Tertiary Education Commission, per­formed the opening ceremony.

Photo: Newcastle Morning Herald

THE VICE-CHANCELLOR'S LETTER

4

Graduates of the University whohave been unable to visit the campusat Shortland for some years wouldprobably be surprised at the visibleevidence of growth and change sincetheir student days. Less immediatelyevident, however, are the effects ofthe severe financial restraints of thelast three years after the earlier periodof steady growth. Similarly, the factthat the student population droppedin 1978 and again in 1979 might notimmediately meet the eye, althoughthe long term consequences of boththis fact and the present financialstringencies are the most serious issuesfacing the University today. I welcomethis opportunity to comment brieflyon the state of health of the Univer­sity, knowing that our graduates willshare our concern over its presentdifficulties, as much as they takepleasure in the many items of goodnews that can be reported in thisissue of THE GAZETTE.

FINANCES:

Writing prior to learning the detailsof the 1979 Budget, but knowing onlytoo well the Federal Government'spolicy of financial restraint in the fieldof education, it is certain that the icywinds will continue to blow across ouractivities and very severely restrictmany initiatives which otherwise couldbe launched and for which a HunterValley-based demand is known toexist. Whilst the announcement in1978 of the triennial grants for 1979­81 appeared on the surface to providerecurrent funds at a steady level forthese three years, many hidden coststurn this into a reduction in real termsof the order of $500,000 each year,which can only be accommodated byreduced grants to departments and thefreezing of staff vacancies as theyarise.

At present there are more than 50established positions which cannot berefilled in order to balance the budget,with a consequential pressure on botha range of academic activities and theadministrative support that theserequire. In addition, the absence oftriennial grants for capital works or

THE GAZETTE

equipment gives us no confidence thatthese grants can be anticipated for1980 or 1981, even at their presentminimal levels. On the capital worksside, this defers for an indefinite timeurgently-needed facilities such as theLibrary extensions and the AnimalHouse, together with relief for over­crowded departments such as Bio­logical Sciences. On the equipmentside, rlanning for the replacement ofthe University's main computer, theICL1904A, is proceeding, but thenecessary funds of approximately$500,000 can only be found overseveral years and have not yet beenaccumulated.

The problems are not, of course,those of the University of Newcastlealone - all Australian universitiesare experiencing similar difficultiesand in some ways we have fared betterthan others. The earmarked recurrentgrants for the new Medical Schoolhave been maintained so far, as havethe capital grants for the building ofclinical facilities at the Royal New­castle and the Mater Hospitals. Also,the recognition by the Tertiary Edu­cation Commission that too-close anexus between student level and fund­ing (e.g. an annual grant in directproportion to the student numbers)can produce serious planning prob­lems at a time when student numbersare falling, came at an opportune timefor us. Nevertheless, it would be foolishto pretend that standards can be main­tained with diminishing resources,despite the dedication of the staff todo all in their power to minimize theadverse effects.

ENROLMENTS :

During the first decade of the Uni­versity's independent existence (1965­1975) the number of students enrolledincreased two and a half times, from1726 to 4434. From 1975 to 1977,the rate of increase dropped to ap­proximately 2% per annum, with apeak enrolment in 1977 of 4621 stu­dents. In 1978 the total enrolmentfell to 4429 and this year it is downto 4364, despite the intake of the firsttwo years of medical students.

1979

TO GRADUATESAt the same time there has been a

pleasing steady increase in the numberof post-graduate students (336 in1976 to 403 in 1979). The sameeconomic factors which have directedstudents away from first-degree studiesmay partly explain this increase, butrestrictions in the number of Com­monwealth post-graduate awardsavailable have not assisted in increas­ing interest in post-graduate study andit is good to note the improvingqualifications of those commencingpost-graduate study (i.e. the numberwith first class honours degrees).

It is difficult to predict the enrol­ment pattern of the University for tnext few years, although some tenden­cies are clear. The number of studentscoming from overseas has continuedto drop (188 in 1977, 160 in 197and 145 in 1979); the percentagestudents who are part-time has con­tinued to increase (41 % in 1977,43% in 1978 and 45% in 1979), ashas the mature age entry; and the per­cent of female student enrolments hasincreased from 33.5% in 1976 to37% in 1979.

Some of these factors will influencethe recurrent grant for the triennium1982-84, which is related to studereload rather than student enrolmentand takes into account weightingfactors for part-time students, post­graduate students, etc. Planning fothe University's submission has alreadcommenced and has to be completedby the end of 1979. During 1980 wewill be visited by the UniversitiesCouncil for detailed discussions of thissubmission, and the opportunity willbe taken to press on the Council and.through it, the TEC and the Govern­ment, the real needs of the University.

INQUIRIES :

Planning of the University's futurecan now be considered in the contextof the Williams Committee Report,with its overview of post-secondaryeducation for the whole of Australiato the year 2000, and the relationshipof the educational system to the em­ployment needs and priorities of the

1979

country. Much commented-upon inthe Press, but regrettably often beforeits lengthy contents had been fullyabsorbed (1152 pages spread overthree volumes), this major inquiryrepresents the third large-scale surveyof University activities, following theMurray Report in 1957 and the Mar­tin Committee Report in 1964. It is adocument which repays a careful read­ing, although it is unclear as yet whichof its 113 recommendations will beacted upon by governments.

Contrary to the Press misquotes,the Committee did not recommend thereintroduction of tertiary fees, butrather that a proposed tertiary researchentre include Ha study of the feasibil­y of a fee system based on costs" in

its program. Equality of educationalopportunity is considered by all as anobjective highly to be desired but not

ecessarily attained either by the pre­ent arrangements or those which pre­

ceded them - hence the need for care­ful study before any change be imple­mented. It is only one of the manyrecommendations with funding impli­cations for the government to con­sider.

The sections dealing with univer­sities represent only a minor part ofthe Report, but are nevertheless of

reat importance to us. Recommend­ations include the full restoration oftriennial funding; increased fundingfor the Australian Research GrantsCommittee and the National Health

nd Medical Research Council; thebuilding up of post-graduate centresin universities with special researchgrants; and the restoration of the num­ber of Commonwealth Post-GraduateAwards to the levels prevailing in1975 and 1976. The Report providedhelpful support for the importance ofStudy Leave at a time when this hascome under criticism and had been thesubject of a separate report to govern­ment by the TEe.

Of particular interest to us in New­castle was the possible treatment bythe Williams Committee of the prob­lems of smaller universities and thequestion of amalgamation.s with ad­jacent Colleges of Advanced Edu­cation. In the event, no such recom-

THE GAZETTE

mendations came forth, but greatercollaboration between institutions isurged and, in particular, arrangementsfor joint staff appointments or part­time secondments of staff in the fieldsof teacher education are suggested.The Higher Education Board inN.S.W. carried out its own inquiryinto cooperation between the tertiaryinstitutes in the Hunter Valley during1977 and 1978 under the chairman­ship of Professor Gilbert Butland, butthe final outcome of this inquiry isstill unknown.

The University is committed witha firm resolve to the maximization ofeducation opportunities in the HunterValley, particularly at the presenttime of severe financial restrictionsand looks forward to the closest co­operation with the Newcastle Collegeof Advanced Education and othertertiary institutions to this end.

RESEARCH:

One of the pleasing items of newsto report is the ever-increasing levelof research grants being received bythe staff of the University from outsidefunding bodies. In 1979, for the firsttime, the total of grants receivedexceeds one million dollars, makingpossible the appointment of the pro­fessional support staff without whichmany of the projects could not pro­gress. Fourteen projects are supportedby the ARGC ($300,175), fourteenfrom the NH & MRC ($150,794) andmany other significant grants fromvarious Foundations, government de­partments, banks and health organiz­ations have been received.

Of particular interest is the researchcontribution the University is makingto the growing R & D effort in Aus­tralia in the energy field, with theobvious relevance and importance ofthe Valley's coal resources to thenational program Grants from theNational Energy Research, Develop­ment and Demonstration Council for1978/79 total $446,932 and includeseveral solar energy projects as wellas major coal studies.

The University's research company,TUNRA, has also continued to makeavailable a range of expertise to com-

5

panies and organizations seekingresearch assistance. The profits fromthese activities are fed back to theUniversity and it was pleasing toreceive a cheque for $20,000 earlierthis year from TUNRA which hasbeen used in the Great Hall fordecorative and acoustic woollen drapesfor the rear of the Hall and for theimpressive timber screen on the stage.Coupled with an improved publicaddress system developed by Mr. E.L. Harkness, Senior Lecturer in Archi­tecture, the audibility of speakers inthe Great Hall has now reached apleasing level not hitherto attained.

THE FUTURE:

It is only too clear that the Uni­versity needs the interest and supportof its graduates more than ever before,as it seeks solutions to its variousproblems and searches for an optimumpath into the future. There is no wayin which a governmentally-fundeduniversity can escape the financialproblems being experienced by thecommunity of which it is a part, andwhich it serves. At the same time,much current criticism of universitiesis ill-informed and damaging to thetrue purposes of university educationand research and it is in this arenathat graduates can provide valuablemoral and vocal support.

I hope that you may be able to visitthe University on its Open Day onSunday, 29 July, 1979. We look for­ward to renewing contact with youand showing you some of the manychanges which are taking place.

D. W. George.June, 1979.

6 THE GAZETTE 1979 1979 THE GAZETTE 7

PROFESSOR'S RESEARCH INTO DRUGS

PROFILE - PROFESSOR A. M. RITCHIE

Soon after 'the University of New­castle was established, Alex Ritchiewas appointed Foundation Professorof Philosophy and Head of Depart­ment, with an establishment of four.Mr. A. J. Anderson had joined theCollege's staff prior to the arrival ofProfessor Ritchie and Dr. W. V.Donie1a had been appointed in 1959.Dr. D. W. Dockrill, Or. J. M. Lee,Dr. R. McL. Robinson and Mr. A.C. W. Sparkes came to Philosophy inmore recent years.

The first Dean of the FacuLty ofArts was Professor K. G. W. Cross,the English scholar and ProfessorRitchie was the first Sub-Dean. Hebecame Dean after Professor Crossdied in 1967.

Having been a member of the oldUniversity College and ,the new-fledgeduniversity we can take notice of hisopinions on certain matters, such asthe university's ideal size. "My maxi­mum student size is 5 to 6000 ­anything bigger will resuLt in over­crowding and affect 1he quality of ourresearch and teaching."

Professor Ritchie stated ,that he wasa great admirer of Professor JamesAuchmuty. During the College andearly-independence periods of theUniversity's life Professor Auchmuty'sleadership and communication skillswere particularly needed. He (Pro­fessor Ritchie) had shared ProfessorAuchmuty's interest in the SportsUnion's providing a wide range ofsporting facilities. "A tireless workerfor university sport during the periodin which growth and progress wasrapid was Mr. H. Bradford, theAmenities Officer," he said.

Professor Ritchie's portrait was acquired by his colleagues to indicate their appreciation ofhis work. Abo\'e: Marianne McKiIlIlOIl-Kidd, the artist, Professor Ritchie and Dr D. Dockrill

with the portrait.

As shown on a pewter mug whichhe received a·t this year's UnionDinner, he was the fin.t President ofthe Union. This honorary positioncaused him a lot of headaches. But herecounts with pride ,the first UnionDinner and the first Union Ball withformal attire and three bars instead of"B.Y.O.G." and trouble by 11 p.m.He produced a Union Honorary LifeMember's Badge inscribed "No. 1"."The Union was well and truly foundedbefore 1965," he said.

He was also happy in his next job- teacher at Sydney Technical HighSchool at Paddington. Unable to getleave without pay for a year, he re­signed and between 1950 and 1957 heworked on a Ph.D. at the UI1iversityof London, taught in many Londonschools and gave lecture courses in twoColleges. For six years he had thebenefit of close association with Pro­fessor H. B. Acton (his supervisor),the staffs of Bedford, Bikbeck andKing's Colleges and the L.S.E. "Awonderful place, London. Everyonecame there. My friends included Ayer,Ruth Saw, Findlay, Ryle, Blanchard,Bouwsma . . . . . . . . and there werethe meetings, libraries ... and Europe.

"With the Ph.D completed I hado face up to finding a permanent

job." He explained that the immediitteoptions available to him were either aheadmastership at a private Grammarchool in the U.K. or a lectureship

on half the salary he had received fromcasual teaching in London. Anotheroption materialised when he was in­vited to apply for appointment as aLeoturer with the University of N.S.W.at its College in Newcastle.

Since joining Newcastle UniversityCollege he worked, first, at Tighe'sHill, where the College and NewcastleTechnical College shared the same site,and, subsequent to 1966, at Shortland.n the early years Alex Roitchie's

students worked to get an Arts degreefrom the University of New England.The parent university, the University

f N.S.W., took over the degrees ofhese students later as its Humaniti~s

Department developed.

When Professor Ritchie joined theCollege, the students and the staffwere, as he describes, badly housedand undersupplied. However, theywere totally united by the movementfor the establishment of a universityindependent of Sydney control.

"There was wonderful interaction atTighe's Hill; it was possible for every­body in the small college to know eachother."

"One of the issues that united theCollege was that of providing a Unionat Tighe',s Hill. N.S.W. had ,to be wonover - they had ,to find the money ­and we did not own any buildings onthe site. But we got it."

Telegraph Point was on the other sidewith a 6.04 a.m. tr.ain up and a 5.10p.m. train back, allowing the family tomake a mid-year transfer.

On leaving Kempsey IntermediatHigh in 1930, he went to the Univer­sity of Sydney on a Teacher's Scholar­ship. After two years he did a TeacherTraining Course, so that he couldoomplete his degree while unemployedfor a' year. After .three years at Nynganhe returned, completed an M.A. atSydney in 1939, and spent the years1941-46 in the Army, with "interest­ing stints" in New Guinea and Borneo.

He was happy running the Rehabi­litation Training Centre at Ultimo onloan to the Commonwealth for twoyears after the war. "I taught Englishand History to ex-service men andwomen who wan'ted to matriculate forUniversity. They were mature andgood students."

Professor Smith

He has plans to develop a drug in­formation service, linked to a computerand working through hospitals andpharmacies, to provide information forG.P.'s and other health professionalsabout drugs.

mous university was approved in theearly 60's. It was a skin-of-the-tee'thdecision, made after Professor J. P.Baxter changed his mind," he said. "Iused to think we were handicappedbecause we are just 100 miles fromthe Sydney universities, but we arefirmly settled now and the closenessmay even be an advantage."

Alex Ritchie was born in the bushhospital at Rylstone, while his parentslived in the minute township of Break­fast Creek. His father was a countryschoolteacher, whose various transfersin N.S.W. resulted in young Alex beinga pupil at a number of Famous PublicSchools including Garah, Ashford andLittle Plain. His father was transferredto Eungai Creek so that Alex couldtravel by train daily to Kempsey. Un­fortunately it was some miles from ,thestation and the train went ro Kempseyat night and back in the morning. But

with the University of Sheffield washalved in 1972, when he took up anappointment as Associate in Medicinewith both the University and the Shef­field Area Health Authority.

Up to the time of his arrival inNewcastle he carried out research inthe general areas of pharmacology andclinical pharmacology, his particularinterests being variability in responseto drugs and the reasons why, the in­volvement of general practitioners andother health professionals in theevaluation of new drugs and the deve­lopment of simple external methods oftesting the effects of drugs on bodysystems.

Professor Smith is thus well equipp­ed to continue his work on drugs intreating high blood pressure. This heis doing in collaboration with Pro­fessor T. Morgan. In addition he haslaunched work on the proper use ofmedication and the monitoring of ad­verse responses to it and initiated theinvolvement of pharmacists as veryactive members of the communityhealth care team.

Profile - Professor A. M. RitchieIt is 22 years since Professor Alex

Ritchie started at Newcastle as aLecturer in Philosophy. On December31, 1978 he retired, grateful thatthe development of ,the independentuniversity was allowed and confidentthat even further tightness in universityfunding will not prevent its core deve­lopment as a university.

He has exchanged Senate meetings,Faculty meetings, Committee meet­ings, ·telephones, papers, lectures andcontinuous relations with students forreading, writing, more time with hisfamily, a little more golf . . .(at least).

Alex Ritchie could face retirementknowing that he was an enthusiasticparticipant in the establishment of ayoung university which possesses itsown distinctive character. "We wereenormously lucky when the autono-

Professor Tony Smith, who tookover as Professor of Clinical Phar­macology in the Medical School inMay, 1978 combines in himself clin­ical and research experience in the useof drugs.

He graduated in medicine from theUniversity of Oxford in 1955 and afterholding several hospital appointmentswas appointed a research fellow in theUniversity of Sheffield, where he in­vestigated modes of action of somedrugs in treating high blood pressure.

Dr. Smith went in 1963 to the newMedical School at the University ofLagos, Nigeria. In addition to teachingmedicine in Lagos he carried outstudies of cardiovascular disease as itpresents in West Africa.

After two and a half years he re­turned to the U.K. with an academicappointment in Pharmacology andTherapeutics at the University ofSheffield. He was promoted to SeniorLecturer in 1967. His research interestin this period was the mode of actionof drugs on the kidney and in treatinghigh blood pressure. His association

THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

Mr Dunstan on his arrival at Pelican airport,

8

Mr Don Dunstan, former Premierof South Australia, made a forcefulstand in support of women's rightswhen he delivered the 1978 NewcastleLecture in the Great Hall of the Uni­versity.

Having stated that he believed theachievement of genuine equality ofopportunity and dignity by womenwas probably the major challenge forsocial democracies during the nextdecade, Mr Dunstan explored histheme before a near-capacity audienceof some 1000 people. He amplifiedhis theme as follows:

In our society women are still recog­nised as being different from men, in anon-biological sense, and they are stillin the position of having to argue forrights as though they were a small,disadvantaged minority group withpeculiar problems. The reality is, ofcourse, that women make up 50% ofour population, but in most areas oflife they are treated as a sub-species,lacking influence and deprived ofresponsibility.

Any profile of women indicatesthree changes in women's lives of greatimportance in recent years. The firstis the falling birthrate and the effectsthis has had on women's domesticsituation; the second is the continuedincrease in female employment; andthe third, that most of this increaseoccurs amongst married women.

The most remarkable change inwomen's lives in the last twenty yearshas been their increasing participationin the work force. This change wasprecipitated by the great increase inthe tertiary or servicing sector of em­ployment. Indeed, from 1971 to 1977the female workforce in my State,South Australia, grew at three timesthe rate at which the female populationexpanded.

However, the worMorce and worksituation was constructed by adultmales for males and is still, all toofrequently, arranged around theassumption that a proper participantin the workforce has somebody athome to cook her meals, do her wash­ing, bring up her children; in short do

THE GAZETTE

all the work necessary to maintain aproperly productive worker.

I have been criticised for placing toomuch emphasis on the rights and roleof women in the workforce, andparticularly the role of marriedwomen.

From one side I have been told thatthis emphasis is somehow demeaningto women who are homemakers. Othercritics say it's wrong to encouragemarried women to re-enter the work­force because of high unemploymentamongst the young. Worst of all I'vebeen told that it's married women whoare stealing men's jobs - even thoughmany women are forced by economicnecessity to perform tasks which fewmen would contemplate.

1979

I, and my Government, reject thescriticisms for what they are - non­sense. People should be able to com­pete equally for jobs regardless of theirsex or marital status.

But the various legal blows forwomen's rights, like South Australia'sSex Discrimination Act, have not al­ways been translated into changes inpeople's attitudes. Customs and pre­judices enshrined in a history of dis­crimination against women cannot besimply legislated away.

Women are still under educated,under trained, under unionised andforced to work in the lowest paidoccupations with little hope of ad­vancement.

1979

Equal pay has not meant equalopportunity and women workers arestill clustered in a narrow range oftypically "female" occupations.

Women work at women's work, anddespite their increasing numbers in theworkforce they are not participatingon equal terms.

The Fact Bulletins put out by theSouth Australian Department ofLabour and Industry and my Women'sAdvisory Unit show that one-third ofall working women in South Australiawork in clerical occupations. Indeed,more than one-third of Australia'sworkforce is competing with itself fora particularly narrow range of jobs.

There are twenty-seven jobs whichare recognisable as being performedby women, as compared with overthree hundred jobs which aretheoretically open to both men andwomen, but in practise are performedby men. It's staggering, but of the 246South Australian women who com­pleted apprenticeships in 1977, all but21 were hairdressers.

Women do not join unions becausethey feel they can gain very little fromthem . . ' despite the fact that the lotof most women workers is down atthe bottom, earning less money, withlittle chance of self-improvement oradvancement within the context of thework place.

But nowhere is the challenge forwomen's equality of opportunity sopressing as in the area of education.

It is, of course, true that womenare equally as intelligent and capableas men. But it's also true that womenare brought up very differently frommen and are often deprived of theopportunities to realise their capabil­ities.

Retention rates for secondary schoolgirls have improved in recent yearsbut most girls are still limited by thenature of the courses taken. Indeed,our research has shown that Australianschools still tend to channel girls alongtraditional lines, emphasising tradit­ional "female" skills. This tendency,of course, is paralleled and reinforcedby family attitudes, which often appearto give encouragement and incentivesto sons, but not daughters, to persist

THE GAZETTE

through high school with mathematicsand science, and to train for highlyskilled, high status occupations.

Many young women, particularlythose employed in factory or clericalareas, feel alienated from their work.Deprived of opportunities to take onresponsibilities, work is often seen asa finite quality in their lives. It issmall wonder, then, that sometimesthey see the only solution as being aMr. Right coming along to "take themaway from all this".

Changing the assumptions andattitudes which contribute to the nar­rowing of women's life options willprove women's biggest battle.

Research undertaken in South Aus­tralia in 1976 indicates that 89% ofwomen in the workforce have no post­secondary qualifications. The compar­able figure for men is 71 % .

Women outside the workforce areprobably less trained and less edu­cated. Indeed, when we turn frompost-secondary work qualifications topost-secondary education women arejust as badly off, For every two malesat University there is one woman.

If we are to provide properly forwomen we must recognise their truesituation while insisting that they donot have to be limited by it. Womenclearly have singular needs with regardto information, and because of theirsocial situation there are special kindsof information which will be morerelevant to them than to men.

For instance, women have specialneeds for information about contra­ception, abortion, their legal rights asthe victims of domestic violence orrape, or in their claims for sexual free­dom.

These issues are important, partic­Ularly as society has so often definedwomen in terms of their sexuality.

When Debra McCulloch, myWomen's Adviser, went overseas on astudy trip earlier this year, she dis­covered that Australia was well pro­vided for in terms of resources forwomen. However, many women leadfairly isolated lives in our communitiesand they are not always aware of theresources that exist to help, especiallyin times of crisis.

9

The South Australian Governmenthas established, as a pilot project, aWomen's Information Switchboard, inan attempt to study the needs withinthe community for specialised infor­mation services.

Women are seeking advice from theSwitchboard a!bout a whole range ofwomen's issues, but the most difficultproblems are those connected withwomen's rights to pensions andwomen's rights in law.

Within marriage women are not yetequal partners although it may onlybe at the point of separation anddivorce that this becomes clear.Women still do not have an automaticright to half the assets of a marriagefor there is still an attitude current inAustralia that a person who pays forassets from earnings received outsidethe home has more rights to tboseassets than someone who has providedunpaid labour within it.

The difficulties that women faceunder the law derive directly from thebelief that a woman is her husband'sproperty and, as such, has fewer rightsthan he does.

If we are to develop our talentsfully we must educate and employwomen to the best of their ability.

That is the challenge. The realityis, however, that Australian womenare still discriminated against in mostaspects of their lives. That discrimin­ation may not be enshrined in law butis certainly entrenched in attitudes.Indeed, as I have said before, I believethat women in Australia are still toooften seen by men as being primarilysex objects or mother figures - stereo­types instead of individuals, depen­dents instead of equals.

But it won't always be that way.

The changing role of women, par­ticularly with their increasing partici­pation in the workforce, is alreadybreaking down many barriers towomen's equal place in public life.But the equal right to work must beseen as paramount.

Women will never be able to realisetheir potential as individuals if theyare denied the right to economic inde­pendence.

10 THE GAZETTE 1979 1979 THE GAZETTE 11

REASSESSING THE AWABAKAL

ECONOMICS PROFESSOR APPOINTED

lasted a little longer than the Awabakaland Darkinoong, with whom they hadhad tribal connections for centuries.For example, "Brandy", the last full­blood of the Gringhai, of the Dungogarea, died after the turn of the cen­tury, a well known and loved, butforlorn, local figure. In the Gloucesterarea, the Barrington aborii¥nes, oncea large group, maintained an urbanpresence, as did the substantialWorimi and some sub-tribal pocketstill after 1900. Some hordes of PortStephens aborigines roamed the landthat had belonged to them for count­less centuries, broken and progres­sively losing full blood status, until the1920s.

Tribal identification has been madeextremely difficult by this disinteg­ration. In the Hunter Region languageand place names known to settlershopefully may provide clues to originaltribal boundaries.

the Crown would protect the aboriginalrace, no coordinated steps were takento arrest the progressive disappearanceof tribal units that were a living andlively part of early colonial days.

Basically, and perhaps inherently,the Europeans of that period wereracist; the people of Australia, in ageneral sense, were no different tothose of New Holland. They closedtheir eyes to what had happened inNew Zealand. Hostility developed intoopen warfare in places, For the abori­gines this meant slaughter, since thespear was no match for the gun.

In this region the tribes, for mostpart, broke up and slowly but surelybegan to disappear, with remnantsremaining scattered anywhere wherewhite man had not intruded. Tribalboundaries no longer had meaningand application.

Tribal groups at Port Stephens

Mr Haslam examines one of a clusler of m."slerious slone slruclures found in PorI Slephens. Ti,e sill' is slill classified. Mr Haslam, ill com­pany wilh a /lumher of ahorigillal alllhropolo"ical o!ficers from Ne'" SOli II1 Wales ami l'iCloria. \'isiled Ihis sill' some monlhs ago. They also,011 a Irip !roll/ G ra!lolI 10 Lake Mac<llIaril', IIISpecll'd a IIl1mher o! COll,lllille sacred slOlle slmclllll'S /lsed !or cerell/o/lial purposes a long limebefore lite mh'l'lIl of ... llill' 1111'11, TillS lIlId u/lter Ill'''' illforlllilrioll ,1/1"~l'sIS a period IIf slllI/e slmClllre lIClil'ily amo/lg coastal Iribes of New

SUIlIIt WlIles,

The last of the Awabakal people ­"Old Margaret, of Swansea" - diedin hospital at the turn of the century.Her story is probably one of ,the first

Aecorded publicly of disputed land""ights involving aborigines living on

their traditional terri1'ory, their longestablished patrimony.

It took about 100 years, sincefirst European contact in Newcastle(called by the aborigines Muloon­binba) in 180 I, for this tribe tocompletely disappear - a race knownto have lived in the regi'on for about8000 years and probably able to claima presence of up to IS ,000 years.

And as the Awabakal began to"moulder in the dust", so also didother tribes in the region: theWonarua and Darkinoong began ,1'0dwindle in numbers to the final pointof extinction. Notwithstanding officialdeclarations from time to time that

Professor Sharpe

Some early missionaries in NSattempted deep study of some tribeswith which they were associated,notably Revs L. E. Threlkeld and W.Ridley. These types of interested his­torians were strongly influenced bymissionary zeal, but they recorded lan­guage better than most. In faot,Threlkeld must be regarded as out­standing in his linguistic efforts topreserve the language of the Awabakal­speaking people.

Newcastle and Lake Macquarie willalways have a significant place inaboriginal history; at Belmont, on theeastern shores of Lake Macquarie, thLondon Missionary Society establisheits first station in I825, called by theAwabakal "Bahtabah" (hillside by thelake), with Lancelot Threlkeld, ahumanist as well as a language scholar,as the first missionary. ...

This venture failed, not because oflack of missionary endeavour, butmore so because the Awabakal abori­gines whom the mission sought toserve by conversion to Christianity be­gan to decline in numbers, as washappening with other coastal tribesnorth and south of Sydney.

There are few de.tailed and accunlJteaccounts of aborigines in their fulltribal state kom the period of firstcolonisation. In relatively quick timemany coastal tribes in NSW sufferedex:tinotion (one Wlonders whe.ther theterm "extermination" would be moreappropriate) without their language,or even a working vocabulary, beingpreserved. It is improbable that theexact land boundaries of these tribes,long since forgotten in the most part,will ever be known.

The research began with the tribalterritories mainly embraced by theLower Hunter region but also includeda section of the coast, extendingnorthwards from Port Stephens, be­cause of historical affinities. In New­castle, the name of the regional tribe- Awabakal - is perpetuated inseveral ways, such as the AwabakalCooperative Sooiety and the AwabakalField Studies Centre at Dudley.

sites of the ,two Threlkeld missions)and listening to camp fire stories oftimber cutters in the Morisset district.

Dr. Sharpe has carried out researchon financial markets funded by theReserve Bank of Australia, the Aust­ralian Finance Conference and severalAustralian Savings Hanks and since1976 he has been a member of theAustralian Government (Academic)Economics Advisory Panel.

He is an active member of the Coun­cil 9f the Economic Society ofAustralia and New Zealand, N.S.W.Branch.

My research began many years ago.I had developed a deep interest insettler and aboriginal history becausemy work as a journalist covered wideareas of former occupation by tribesnow extinct. Even as a youth I hadan inquiring mind, prompted by manyvisits to Lake Macquarie, the Wata­gan Mountains and other areas. Myfirst introduotion to aboriginal history,local in character, resul'ted from talesI heard from my grandfather and hiscl'onies - all members of early settlertamilies at Belmont and Toronto (,the

Mr. P. A. Haslam, a retired jour­nalist, delved into local aboriginallanguages and culture when he wasConvocation's first Visiting Scholar.He writes:

Fortunately, aborigines in NewSouth Wales have not suffered thesame fate as those in Tasmania ­as yet full extinction has not occurred.There is hope that the remnants ofsome tribes, in particular those fromthe North Coast, will supply enoughinformation about their culture toallow tribal tradition and pride to berestored.

The third Chair of Economics hasbeen filled by a man with an establish­ed reputation in finance and monetarytheory and policy. He is Dr. Ian Gay­ford Sharpe, aged 37, who was bornin Sydney but received his universityeducation in :he U.S.A., with thedegrees of B.S. from the SouthernIllinois University, M.A. and Ph.D.from Stanford Univensity. Dr. Sharpehas held teaching appoin'1:meThts atStanford University, Simon FraserUniversity and the University ofSydney, where he was previously Sen­ior Lecturer in Economics.

12 THE GAZETTE 1979 1979 THE GAZETTE 13

A. Yes, that is true. It is probablyuseful, however, to differentiate be­tween the Department of Educationand the Faculty of Education. TheDepartment offers undergraduatecourses through the Faculty of Artsand those with an appropriate levelHonours Degree may proceed to M.A.studies. The majority of postgraduatestudents follow a different route, how­ever, enrolling in the Faculty of Edu­cation after completing their firstdegree in another Faculty.Q. How important is the Diplomain Education in your work?A. The Department has always re­garded the one year Diploma as animportant program and has sought toprovide a relevant, professionally­oriented course for intending teachers.Some students now enrol in a con­current program during their third andfourth years, pursuing both degree anddiploma studies full time over a twoyear period. Despite the importanceof the Diploma, however, it is onlyone of several major activities.Q. What other developments haveoccurred?A. The major developments haveoccurred in postgraduate degree offer­ings. The first postgraduate degree isthe Bachelor of Educational Studies,a coursework degree. Those whograduate from this program may enrol

OUTLINEDROLE

The Secretary, University of Newcastle, 2308, of

• Changes in marital status

• Names and addresses of other graduates who are not

on the mailing list for "THE GAZETTE"

• Your change of address

PLEASE ADVISE

ANSWER:The Department's activities fall intour major areas. First we are invol­

ved in undergraduate teaching, offeringEducation 1I, Education IlIA andEducation IIIB and Education IVwithin the Faculty of Arts. Thesesubjects may be taken by students en­rolled in other Faculties also. Second,the Diploma in Education is offeredthrough the Faculty of Education as aprofessional preservice course for in­tending teachers. Graduates from anyFaculty are eligible to enrol in thiscourse. Third, we offer a variety ofpostgraduate coursework units whichaim at extending professional develop­ment in education (not only teaching)and which provide opportunities forstudents to specialize in depth. Someof these programs provide a qualifyingroute to higher degrees within the

Professor Raphael hopes to developa programme which will provide back­up for those Centres already existingwith other urgent c-risis counselling forpeople who perceive themselves asstressed and near "breaking point."

Professor Raphael who is 44, re­ceived her M.B., B.S. degrees at theUniversity of Sydney in 1957. In 1967she received the Diploma of Psycho­logical Medicine of the Australian andNew Zealand College of Psychiatristsand in 1976 she was awarded thedegree of Doctor of Medicine of theUniversity of Sydney.

Professor Raphael is a Fellow of theRoyal Australian -and New ZealandCollege of Psychiatrists and a Member

tlf The Royal College of Psychiatrists.

~UESTION :• Could you outline the major activities

in which your Department is involved?

• EDUCATIONISTS'The Foundation Chair of Education Faculty of Education. Fourth, the

was occupied in 1968. Since that Department offers opportunities fortime the Department of Education has research which may lead to the degreedeveloped a reputation for teaching of Master or Doctor. Staff of the De-and research. In this article the Dean partment of Education are able toand Sub-Dean of the Faculty, together develop their research interests in anywith the Head of Department, discuss of these four areas.the work of the Department with The In addition, the Department co-Gazette. operates with the Department of

Psychology in offering courseworkunits towards the degree of Master ofPsychology (Educational) in theFaculty of Science. Supervision ofresearch students within this programis also carried out by Department ofEducation staff. Other members con­tribute to the teaching of ReligiousStudies within the Faculty of Arts.Q. Is the study of Education arelatively recent development at thisuniversity?A. No, undergraduate courses inEducation were commenced back in1955 and were taught by visiting staff.This arrangement continued until1968 when the Foundation Professorand a full time staff were appointedto the Department of Education. Atthe end of 1975 a Faculty of Edu­cation was established to oversee pro­fessional postgraduate courses andresearch in Education.Q. Is the Faculty of Education con­cerned entirely with postgraduatestudies?Professor Rap/wel

Preventive Psychiatry also hopes toprovide outreach psychological coun­selling for such groups as the recentlybereaved, patients experiencing motorvehicle accidents and persons sufferingstress through illness, surgery or majorlife events such as divorce, unemploment and so forth.

She is hoping to establish an Aust­ralian Centre for Preventive Psychiatrywithin a Professorial and AcademicUnit in Newcastle. Preventive Pchiatry aims at a wider commumeducation for bet1er psychologicaladjustment.

PREVENTIVEPSYCHIATRY

Professor Raphael, who recentlytook up her appointment as Foundat­ion Professor of Psychiatry with -theUniversity, is particularly experiencedin ·the sphere of preventive psychiatryand is intending to develop major pro­gr.ammes aimed at the preventioo ofpsychiatric illness and the lesseningof psychiatric disorder within thecommunity.

Professor Beverley Raphael intendsto promote and develop some inno­vative forms of psychiatric care in theNewcastle and Hunter Region.

has caused varying degrees of self­inflicted denigration, and even humi­liation. There is, as I found, anotherside to the aboriginal story.

In more than one area in NSW Iv,isited I sensed slight movementsto return to tribal pride, a desire tore-establish identity to ensure thatshould there ever be "a last of hisrace" he will -truly die as an aboriginal.We have welcome evidence of thistrend in our region; only time willdetermine whether this move to re­capture some of the lost culture issubstance or shadow.

Old Margaret, the last full blood andmother-tongue speaking member of theAwabakal tribe of aborigines, who died atNewcastle Hospital at the turn of the CUI­

tury. She had lived all her life at Swansea,and more than a century ago figured in theColony's first public controversy involvingaborigines ownership of land. TheA wabakal tribe for thousands of years hadoccupied a te:'ritory that embraced New­castle, Lake Macquarie, part of the CentralCoast, Coalfields and mouth of the Hunter

Valley.

What has been ignored is that theAwabakal held control of the Wata­gan Mountains in this area, which areclose to Laguna and contain some ofthe remarkable paintings of theAwabakal. These mountains weregiven sacred mention in Awabakalceremonies of initiation. There is alsoa cave painting of a whale scene inthe Wollombi district; only the Awa­bakal could be the authors of sucha painting because they were the tradi­tional owners of seaboard territorywhere whales somet'imes becamestranded.

Some historians have been inclinedto underwrite the history of the Awa­bakal. This underestimation appliesalso to Threlkeld, who had prominentvisitors at his Toronto mission station,including Hale (United States) andLudwig Leichhardt. The latter spenta little time on both sides of LakeMacquarie in 1842.

It is wrong to assess aboriginalattitudes by examining situations inwhich the excessive drinking of alcohol

Threlkeld recorded successful resis­tance by the Awabakal to intrusion byroving bands of Kamilaroi andWorimi. Of special significance is themilitary outpost system the Awabak·alhad in the Watagans. Pioneer timbercutters reported having found muchevidence of Awabakal presence in themountains.

However, the native poems andsongs left behind by Mrs. Eliza Hamil­ton Dunlop, wife of the first magist­rate of the Wollombi district, Mr.David Dunlop, whose convict-builthome between Laguna and Wollombistill stands in excellent condition, arewritten in Awabakal. She wrote manyof her words as Threlkeld did with the"'fig" sound as a prefix.

A case in point is the Wollombiarea. Some historians asse·rt that thisand nearby areas were occupied bythe Wonarua, Darkinoong .and Kami­lal10i (also written from early times asComleroy). The last named was knownfor its continued aggression in theHunter Valley, moving down f.rom theNorth to threaten and harass tribalpeople of long occupation.

From left, Assoc. Professor Alan Barcan, Head of the Department of Education, Dr Eddie Braggett, Sub-dean of the Faculty and ProfessorRan Laura, Dean of the Faculty of Educarion pictured in the Department's Curriculum Resources Centre.

14

for the coursework Master of Edu­cational Studies degree. This is aterminal qualification. Those studentswho wish to study to a higher levelcomplete the Bachelor of EducationalStudies (including a thesis component)and enrol in the research-orientedMaster of Education program. Stu­dents who have reached an appropriatelevel may enrol as candidates for thePh.D. degree.

Q. Is this postgraduate programdifferent from those of other AustralianUniversities?A. A number of Universities allowstudents to enrol in a Masters Degreeas the first postgraduate Educationdegree. We have sought to avoid thisby introducing the B.Ed.Stud. whichis equivalent to the Masters Degree atPass Level in some other institutions.In turn the M.Ed. at the University ofNewcastle approximates a MastersDegree at Honours Level.

In effect we have three differentroutes for postgraduate students.Those with a Bachelor of Arts Degreein Education at Honours level mayprogress to the research M.A. degreeand beyond. Those who have notspecialized in Education in their firstdegree may do so through researchand study in the B.Ed.Stud., M.Ed.and Ph.D. degrees; and those whowish to confine themselves to course­work study may follow the B.Ed.Stud.and M.Ed.Stud. programs. In suchways we have sought to provide forstudents who wish to follow differentacademic paths.Q. How many postgraduate studentsare enrolled in the Department?A. There are 87 students enrolled inthe postgraduate Bachelor of Edu­cational Studies (39 additional stu­dents graduated in April 1979), 30 inMasters Degree programs, and 11 inthe Ph.D. program. In addition thereare 150 students enrolled in the Dip­loma in Education.

Q. What are the major researchareas of the postgraduate students?A. You can imagine that 130 post­graduate students have a wide rangeof interests, but their research tendsto fall into six general areas:(a) foundation subjects: history,philosophy and sociology of education,(b) educational psychology,

THE GAZETTE

(c) curriculum studies and curriculumdevelopment,(d) special education,(e) educational administration, and(0 education in developing countries.

Many students cross these bound­aries and become involved in appliedstudies involving a number of areas,e.g. the Psychology of Reading, Multi­cultural Education, etc.

Q. Has your Department alwaysstressed research?A. Research has always occurred inthe Department, but it would be trueto say that its importance has increasedover the last five years. The ERDCis a major source of grants, althoughprivate agencies, State Departments,and the Australian Government haveall sponsored research projects.

Q. Do you encourage contacts withlocal schools?A. Some of our work is directly con­cerned with schools, particularly inthe Diploma in Education program.Lecturing staff have established goodrelations with local schools and oftenvisit them on a weekly basis. We havea threefold relationship with them.The public and private schools helpinduct teacher trainees into their futurevocation and a major purpose of ourwork is to facilitate this transition.Equally important, however, is theresearch which is engendered fromsuch contacts. We have research pro­jects currently underway in schools inScience Teaching, Evaluation of Stu­dents' progress, History, Mathematics,Reading, Community Involvement,Preschool Education, etc. Other pro­jects use the local schools for researchpurposes, even though our own stu­dents are not involved. We havefound that the Regional Office of Edu­cation and the Catholic EducationOffice cooperate with us and supportus in our work. This support forresearch is also forthcoming fromSpecial Schools, Preschool Centresand Hospital Schools. As a Depart­ment we also assist the local schools:through inservice and continuing edu­cation programs, we are in constanttouch with teachers and admin­istrators, conducting workshops andrefresher courses, and introducingschool staffs to new developments. TheDepartment maintains a Curriculum

1979

Resource Centre whose major functionrelates to preservice education, but ithas also been used by local teachers.Hence, much of our work is related toschools, but preservice education ofteachers is not the only area of ourwork in this regard.

Q. Is your work concerned only withschools?A. No, our interests are much wider.Our Multicultural Education programbrings us in contact with other nation­al groups in the community and in­volves us in migrant studies. Some ofour staff have been involved in assist­ing flying instructors in methods ofinstruction. For some years studentsand staff have been involved in com­munity and recreation centre worproviding personnel and assistinghonorary consultants. The Depart­ment's technical staff has collaboratedwith academic staff in the productionof films for television and teachipurposes, and at present is producina film with the assistance of a localhospital. Studies of adolescent prob­lems, particularly those of school­leavers, have been researched. Othermembers of staff are exploringattitudes to death and death educationemploying medical, legal and otherprofessional groups as sources of in­formation. We have been involved inwork at a Corrective Centre close tNewcastle. These types of researccontinue side by side with the moretraditional type research into history,philosophy, psychology and sociologyas they are related to the field of edcation. It is apparent, therefore, th .work in schools is an important aspectof our work, but that the Department'sinterests spread much more widely andare often cross-disciplinary in nature.

Q. How does the publicaiion of"Educational Enquiry" fit into yourwork?A. Members of staff have the usualavenues of publication open to them,but we decided in 1977 to publish ajournal entitled "Educational En­quiry" for a slightly different purpose.It was found that much of the researchbeing done by our students was notbeing disseminated, and, to assistthem, we now publish the journaltwice each year. Our purpose is two­fold: we assist many students in pub-

1979

lishing their first article; and we pub­licize some of the innovations whichare occurring in education at the locallevel.Q. What are the growth areas inour department?

A. Enrolments in Education coursesare growing and the Department ofEducation is expanding in most of itsareas of interest. There has been aeduction of enrolments in the Dip­

loma in Education program overrecent years (although they have notfallen this year), but we believe thatteacher education is an ongoing-pro­cess with both preservice and inservicecomponents. Any reduction in pre­service numbers has been more thanbalanced by an increase in postgrad­uate work. In specific areas, SpecialEducation and Educational Admin­istration are developing quickly.Q. What is being done in SpecialEducation?A. In 1970 the Department com­menced an Educational Clinic forschool children who could benefit fromremedial help in areas such as reading.Since that time the activities of theclinic have expanded and more than

THE GAZETTE

400 children have received assistance.A second lecturer in Special Educationwas appointed in 1978, and the edu­cational problems of mental retardatesare currently being investigated. Wehave experienced an increase in thenumber of postgraduate students inSpecial Education, and we anticipatefurther developments to cope with theincreased demand. Work is underwayin schools for autistic children and inclasses for mentally retarded children.Children with specific learning difficul­ties and illiterate adults are two areasof increasing focus.Q. . . . and Educational Admin­istration?A. This is a major growth area inschools and other institutions. At pre­sent we have a large number of com­mitments to provide managementinservice programs for school admin­istrators. Staff have received manyrequests to conduct courses in regionalcentres throughout the Hunter Valleyand beyond. In order to satisfy thelonger term needs, we have expandedour coursework offerings in Edu­cational Administration at the post­graduate level, and more than 50

15

students have enrolled in such unitsover the last two years. Presentresearch projects include alternativestructures for participating in school­based decision making, and permanentpart-time work and job sharing.Q. There has been considerable talklately about the future of Educationat the University. Do you have anycomment about this?A. Yes, I think you are referring tothe Butland Committee's recommen­dations for rationalization of tertiaryeducation resources in the HunterValley. We must bear in mind thatat the moment they are only recom­mendations. We have already saidthat the preservice education ofteachers is an important aspect of ourwork, but it is also true that therehave been many developments withinthe Department over recent years, andthat these have broadened our work.Postgraduate studies are expanding,areas of growth are evident, and theDepartment's teaching and researchare widening. We are very confidentabout the future of the Department ofEducation

16 THE GAZETTE 19791979 THE GAZETTE 17

RESEARCH IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

STUDY OF CAPACITY TO RESIST INFECTION

The chan{?ing University landscape. As the campus del'elops, in concord with the eucalyptus bush, students and staff find that learning andresearch is. indeed, helped by quietness. The Unit'ersity is used for concerts, plays, lectures and other community-oriented functions, as wellas being a popular point of call for visitors to the Hunter Vallev. The main pathway leading from car parks to Mathematics, Commerce,

Economics. LeRal Studies, Gef'!?raphy, The Union and the Auchmuty Library.

Professor Clancy

Professor Clancy is a Fellow of theRoyal Australasian College of Physi­cians and a Fellow of the RoyalCollege of Physicians of Canada.

Professor Jameson

Professor Jameson has beenacademic VISitor at many univerSitiesin Canada, the U.S.A. and Australiaand spent some time working in thepetrochemical industry in the USAas a research engineer on advanceddesign projects.

• Teach students how best to usePathology services - essentialgiven the current economic clima,te,where Pathology services are somisused.

• Develop a post graduate trainingprogramme in areas such as allergy,for which no proper training existsin this country.

• Extend an understanding of im­munology to non-medical areas,such as to nurses, teachers andothers.

Professor Gancy, who is 37, holdsBachelor of Medicine and Bachelor ofSurgery Degrees in the University ofSydney and a Ph.D. degree in MonashUniversity.

In 1972, he accepted an appoint­ment as Assistant Professor in theDepartment of Medicine at McMasterUniversity, Hamilton, Ontario, whichhas an educational programme some­what similar to that being developedat Newcastle.

He has published extensively inthese areas and has turned his atten­tion recently to the spreading of liquidson solid surfaces.

Although much of the work isfundamental in nature, Lt finds app­lication in various ways, not only inthe chemical industry, but also inmineral separating and water treat­ment.

"I certainly plan to get my researchgoing again as quickly as I can, and Ihope to spark off collaborative workwith other members of staff," he says.

He graduated originally from theUniversity of New South Wales andthen obtained his Doctorate of Philo­sophy at Cambridge University. In1965 he was appointed Lecturer inChemical Engineering at ImperialCollege and was promoted to SeniorLecturer in 1970 and to Reader in1971.

He is a member of the Society ofChemical Industry and the Institutionof Chemical Engineers, London andwas awarded the Junior MoultonMedal of the latter Institution in 1966.

Professor Robel1t Clancy expects todevelop a regional clinical immuno­logy service and research projectsrelated to body resistance against in­fection and allergies.

Professor Clancy resigned early in1978 as Staff Specialist for the Depart­meIllt of Clinical Immunology at RoyalPnince Alfred Hosp~tal at Camperdownto take up his appointment to theChair of Pathology in the MedicalSchool. His particular interes.t isClinical Immunology, a disoipline thatis concerned with the body's immunesystem, responsible for defence againstinfection, and cancer.

"At the Medical School, we hopeto examine the pattern of infection inthe Newcastle community and itscapacity to resist infection," he said.

As well as participating actively inthe Medical School's educational pro­gramme, Professor Clancy and hiscolleagues hope to:

Professor Graeme Jameson, newlyarrived Professor of Chemical Engin­eering, wants to see the research workdone by his department into combust­ion science and engineering prosper.An enviable reput3Jtion has been builtup for its work, he says.

At the same time there are otherareas in which Professor Jameson hashad some background experience ­pollution control, mineral separation,coal preparation, etc. - which are ofdirect relevance to industries in theHunter Valley, and where he can pos­sibly make some contribution.

Professor Jameson, aged 42, wasappointed to the Chair of ChemicalEngineering after it was vacated byProfessor Ian Stewar.t. ProfessorStewal1t retired on December 31, 1977.

Professor Jameson's research inter­est is the behaviour of interfaces, orsurfaces, between bodies of fluid. Heexplained that examples of these inter­faces are the surfaces of spray dropletsor bubbles, which occur in chemicalplant.

18 THE GAZETTE 1979

The en/ranee /0 the Great Hall of the Unil'ersity, where landscaping has produced irnpressil'e results.