no.
`-' 7
~rinity
College newsletter
April 1985
Cambridge—Selwyn College: the Chapel, seen from the College entrance
THE WARDEN AT LARGE Four Months on Leave in Cambridge and Jerusalem Leaving Trinity in the hands of Dr. Peter Wellock, who took over as Acting-Warden as well as being Dean and Chaplain, I attended a delightful Fleur-de-Lys Dinner in Sydney on 29 September last year and flew next morning to England. After a memorable term in Selwyn College Cambridge, I returned, via Jerusalem, at the end of January 1985. Cambridge In Selwyn, thanks to the generosity of the Master and Fellows (as well as Dr. Humphrey Cripps, the father of our own Robert Cripps, who undertook to reimburse Selwyn for the cost of my being there) I was given the status of Visiting Fellow Commoner. This is a way of enjoying the privileges of a Fellow with none of the responsibilities. In return I took as full a part as I could in the life of the College and also became a kind of honorary assistant chaplain. Selwyn is, of all the Cambridge Colleges, the one most like our own, and I felt immediately at home. It is likely that my visit will lead to further such exchanges, in both directions, between Melbourne and Cambridge. Among other things, in Cambridge I attended several superb courses of lectures: on Plato's Republic by Professor Miles Burnyeat; on the Book of Judges in Hebrew by Dr. Andrew Macintosh; and on Platonism and Christianity by Professor Hen ry Chadwick. Cambridge remains an exceptionally lively centre for intellectual pursuits, and this enthusiasm is shared by the undergraduates to a degree undreamt of in Australia. Selwyn, named after the missionary Bishop of New Zealand, has a strong Anglican base and a vigorous Chapel life very similar in ethos to our own. I also visited a number of other Colleges, including King's, Trinity, St. John's, Christ's and Queen's. In St. John's, I was the guest of Dr. Humphrey Cripps at a superb Fellows' Dinner, which began in an elegant panelled room four centuries old, lit entirely by candles in antique solid silver holders. At Christ's, my host was John Adamson (1977), and the Dinner was further enhanced by carols sung by men from the choir at King's. They will sing for their supper, provided the supper is of the same standard as their singing. It was. These visits have strengthened my determination to maintain a full collegiate life in Trinity.
In all the Colleges I was struck by an increasing interest by undergraduates in attending formal dinners (as against the cafeteria-style meals served earlier in the evening), and by the importance given to choral and other music. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday in Selwyn there is a choral evensong with a choir of twenty-four men and women students who show great dedication to their work. On other days I would attend evensong in King's or John's—invariably a sublime experience. Despite the hundreds of tourists in King's, I never found that the service became a mere concert. Many who came from curiosity must have been surprised to catch a glimpse of a Beauty beyond this world.
Oxford From Cambridge I made several sho rt trips to Oxford, where with our Bursar, Mr. Don Leane, and his wife, who were on their honeymoon, I inspected rooms and facilities in both Christ Church and Balliol College. In all the Oxbridge colleges great stress is placed on the importance of vacation conferences, and on upgrading rooms and other facilities so that increased conference income can subsidize student fees. It also became clear to me that Colleges will soon need to provide computer terminals and word-processing facilities for their students. Libraries will need videotapes as well as books, especially for language learning and medical subjects. Trinity cannot afford to become an anachronism in a modern world. Several times I was a house guest in Christ Church Oxford of the Chaplain, John Shepherd (1960), and his wife Joy. I was the guest speaker at a Henry Aldrich Society Dinner in Christ Church and also attended both a College Corporate Communion and the famous Advent Carol Service. The College Corporate Communion, followed by dinner, is held once each term, and is attended by over 200 people—Fellows, Students and undergraduates together with their families. It is valued as a major College occasion. (John Shepherd is one of our own graduates, and recently received a Ph.D. in Music from Cambridge.) New York From Cambridge I also flew briefly to New York. Here, as well as attending the Trinity Dinner described elsewhere, I visited Trinity Church Wall Street, which once made a grant of $2,000 for our Theological Library. Bishop Max Thomas, who helped us secure A PUBLICATION OF TRINITY COLLEGE WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE the original grant, wrote a strong supporting letter to the present Registered by Australia Post — Publication No. VBG 4336 Rector urging him to listen sympathetically to my request to