Trinity College Newsletter, vol 1 no 24, May 1984

Page 1

Hundreds of guests throng on the Bulpadock before the 1984 Centenary Dinner of the Union of the Fleur de Lys.

558 CELEBRATE THE CENTENARY OF THE UNION OF THE FLEUR-DE-LYS "Tonight we celebrate the centenary, if not of the birth at least of the conception, of the Union of the Fleur-de-Lys." Thus began the Warden's address to the 558 guests present at the Centenary Dinner of the Fleur-de-Lys at the College in February. It was the largest function, so far as is known, ever to be held in the College grounds. Before dinner, held in a large gaily decorated red and white marquee, the guests gathered for drinks on the Bulpadock. At the same time the brief Annual General Meeting of the Fleur-de-Lys elected Sir Brian Inglis as President for a further term, and Mr Tony Buzzard as Secretary. The great amount of personal time and effort Mr Buzzard put into organizing the Dinner ensured that it was such a splendid occasion. The College staff also responded nobly to the extra demands laid upon them and can be proud of the way things turned out. Sir Brian proposed the toast to the Union, and the Warden replied with the toast to the College:— "Representatives from all decades are present here tonight — Mal Macpherson Smith, Bill Lempriere, Bishop Alan Winter, Reginald Blakemore and Reg Crisp are some of those here from the 1920's, Peter Parsons, James Guest, Arthur Hughes and others from the 1930's ... We cover not only time, but space as well — Campbell MacKnight and Rosemary Grabau from Canberra, Peter Pockley and Mark Johnson from Sydney, Murray Clapham from Malaysia and Boyd Munro from all over the world! "This occasion should not pass without our recording the deaths of two distinguished Trinity members — the Reverend Canon Purvis Sherwood in Manchester and Sir Clive Fitts, the cultured and humane physician, who died this week." (The address given at a memorial service for Sir Clive is printed elsewhere in this Newsletter.)

A PUBLICATION OF TRINITY COLLEGE WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE Registered by Australia Post — Publication No. VBG 4336

"Conceived in 1884 and brought to birth on Trinity Monday in 1885, the Union of the Fleur-de-Lys has usually been something of a sleeping giant. "Some of you will recall the dispute in the early 1930's over the closing of the Buttery. (An account of this by Reginald Stock is printed in this Newsletter.) It was the Union of the Fleur-de-Lys which, roused from inactivity, sought to intervene between the Warden and the students. As a direct result of this, a new position of Dean was created, whereby the Dean would act as a buffer between the students and the Warden. And what would the College be without its Deans? We are fortunate that tonight we have with us two former Deans — Ray Gregory and James Merralls, and our present Dean, Dr Bryan Deschamp. It is also a joy to have with us Mrs Josephine Cowan, wife of the third Warden, and the fourth Warden, Dr Robin Sharwood. "The Union of the Fleur-de-Lys today is large and flourishing, and Dinners are held regularly in Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Brisbane. We have had a London dinner, and I look forward to one in Adelaide, and the possibility of one in New York. "As well as commemorating the centenary of the Union, I am mindful that on this very day, 10th February, in 1870, the Foundation Stone of our first building, the Leeper Building, was laid. "The hopes of our founders, of successive Wardens, and of many generations of the Union of Fleur-de-Lys continue to be fulfilled as young people are brought together in Trinity to enjoy the advantages of collegiate education and to grow in understanding of themselves and others."


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Trinity College Newsletter, vol 1 no 24, May 1984 by Trinity College Collections - Issuu