Blog

Current students in residence in the College have volunteered to help elderly, vulnerable or needy Old Collegians and friends of the College, and our neighbours in North Adelaide, with tasks that may otherwise be difficult for them during the pandemic – for example, with shopping, or household or garden jobs, or family responsibilities.

Already several students have spent many hours helping out in these ways.

If you live in Adelaide and would like help from College students at this difficult time, please let us know by emailing stmarks@stmarkscollege.com.au or phoning us on 08 8334 5600.

We’re all in this together!

Among the students offering help are, from left, Sophie Ludbrook (Charitable Foundation President), Ryan Williams (Library Assistant), Ashlee Nichol (Senior Academic Tutor), and Ben Jenner (Charitable Foundation Treasurer).

A cross of poppies made in College and research on the lives of St Mark’s Collegians killed in World War II are among the ways that College students will mark Anzac Day and Founders’ Day this weekend.

The founders of the College nearly a century ago had all in some way been affected, in many cases very deeply, by World War I, which had just ended. They named the College “St Mark’s” after the Saint on whose day the Anzac landings at Gallipoli had taken place in 1915.

Each year the College marks Founders’ Day on the Sunday closest to Anzac Day. The College’s annual observances honour the sacrifices of those who served and died in war – including 20 members of the College killed in World War II – and also the sacrifices of those who worked and gave to create and to sustain the College since 1925.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic prevents the usual gatherings, but resident students have initiated a number of activities to remember and to honour the fallen.

Throughout this week, a student who has been researching Collegians killed in World War II is posting accounts of their lives on the internal student Facebook page.

These names are recorded in the memorial plaque in the War Memorial Building, opened in 1950 following a post-war fund-raising appeal. (Photograph above.)

The names of the Collegians killed in World War II will be also written in chalk on stone pavings near the pond to honour them on Anzac Day.

Also throughout this week, students are making paper poppies which together will form a cross to be placed in front of Downer House on Anzac Day.

Within social distancing requirements and recommendations from the RSL, some students will “Light Up the Dawn” with a sombre 6 a.m. observance on Anzac Day. Later in the morning, The Last Post and, following a silence of reflection, Reveille will be played throughout the College.

The RSL has also suggested that, to mark Anzac Day, people may wish to visit a local war memorial at any time of the day, within exercise/recreation and social distancing conditions.

To help fellow students with this, some St Mark’s students have prepared a map with photographs to illustrate a walk that can be taken from the College to the National War Memorial on North Terrace, past various other war memorials along the way. This too is going on the internal Facebook page.

As members of the College reflect on the sacrifices of those who died in war, many will also give thanks for the labours and generosity of our founders. The Head of College, Professor Markwell, spoke to students and guests at the Commencement Service in February about the sacrifice and commitment to service of one of the founders, Charles Allan Seymour Hawker MP, who had been seriously injured on the Western Front in World War I, and the founding Master, Sir Archibald Grenfell Price.

They and others of the founders of the College – such as Canon Julian Bickersteth MC and Sir Henry Newland DSO, both of whom served in World War I – are remembered in various ways, including with inscriptions and portraits, around the College.

Members and friends of St Mark’s may wish to consider RSL suggestions (which may be found here  and here) for various ways of marking Anzac Day on Saturday – and may wish to raise a glass to toast our founders on Founders’ Day this Sunday.

Lest we forget.

Photograph: The memorial plaque in Memorial Building. Sir Archibald Grenfell Price wrote that to these names should be added Dr William Delano Walker and Flying Officer Alexander Charles Douglas, who were killed with the Forces before hostilities commenced.

The late novelist Georgia Blain, the current Australian of the Year Dr James Muecke AM, and distinguished orthopaedic surgeon Professor George Murrell have been recognised by the College Board as Distinguished Collegians.

Since 2007, the College has from time to time recognised a small number of old Collegians of particular distinction (academic or non-academic) as Distinguished Collegians. Their names are recorded – along with Honorary Fellows, significant donors, and major College office-holders – on honour boards in the entry to Downer House.

Georgia Blain (1964-2016) was a celebrated novelist and one of the first women to attend the College in 1982. Already a prize-winning poet when she entered St Mark’s, Georgia went on to be, in the words of one writer, “acclaimed as a novelist, short story writer and essayist who transformed the everyday into works of extraordinary beauty and clarity”.

After completing her Arts degree at the University of Adelaide, Georgia finished her Law degree at the University of Sydney.  Working first as a journalist and then as a copyright lawyer (who continued to write on copyright issues for many years), in the mid-1990s she turned to writing full-time, and her award-winning debut novel, Closed for Winter, set in seaside Adelaide, appeared in 1998. Her several subsequent books include the novels Candelo (1999), The Blind Eye (2001), Names for Nothingness (2004), Too Close to Home (2011), and Between a Wolf and a Dog (2016), the young adult novels Darkwater (2010) and Special (2016), and the short story collection The Secret Lives of Men (2013). Her Births, Deaths and Marriages: True Tales (2008) was published as she undertook a PhD in creative writing at the University of Western Sydney, and she continued with other writing, including regular columns for The Saturday Paper as she battled against brain cancer in 2015-16.

Several of Georgia’s books were shortlisted for major literary awards, and Between a Wolf and a Dog was awarded the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction and the 2016 Queensland Literary Award for Fiction.  Closed for Winter was adapted for film in 2009, starring Natalie Imbruglia and filmed in Adelaide, and The Museum of Words: a memoir of language, writing, and mortality, was published posthumously in 2017.

On her death in December 2016, just days before the death of her mother, the journalist Anne Deveson, Georgia Blain was described by one obituarist as “one of Australia’s finest writers”. “There is”, the obituarist wrote, “no better way of remembering Georgia than reading her work.” Georgia Blain is remembered at St Mark’s with warm admiration, now officially as a Distinguished Collegian.

Dr James Muecke AM, who was a resident student at St Mark’s throughout his medical studies at the University of Adelaide (1982-87), was named Australian of the Year for 2020 in recognition of his outstanding leadership in blindness prevention.

While at St Mark’s, James secured brilliant academic results and was also a superb sportsman, representing the College in swimming, soccer, football, basketball, athletics, tennis, and volley ball, and serving as Sports Secretary in 1986 (amongst other leadership roles).

The official announcement of James’s award as Australian of the Year says:

“Since starting his medical career in Kenya, 56-year-old Dr James Muecke AM has been passionate about fighting blindness. His focus now is the leading cause of blindness in adults – type 2 diabetes – a spiralling epidemic that’s impacting nearly one-in-ten Australians. It’s the fastest growing cause of vision loss in Aboriginal people and the sixth-biggest killer in this country. James wants to challenge our perception of sugar and the impact it has in the development of type 2 diabetes.

“Previously, James co-founded Vision Myanmar at the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology in 2000. The $1 million program has developed and operated eye health and blindness initiatives in Myanmar. Inspired by this program’s success, James also co-founded Sight For All, a social impact organisation aiming to create a world where everyone can see. With 80% of world blindness avoidable – and almost 90% in poor countries – James treats blindness as a human rights issue.”

In 2012, James was made a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to ophthalmic medicine, to the provision of eye health services and rehabilitation programs for Indigenous and South East Asian communities, and to professional organisations”.

St Mark’s has been delighted to be the venue for fundraising events for Sight for All, and has warmly congratulated James on his appointment as Australian of the Year – and now on his fitting recognition as a Distinguished Collegian.

For our news story about James’s appointment as Australian of the Year, including more details of his years in College, click here.

Professor George Murrell is a distinguished orthopaedic surgeon and Director of the Orthopaedic Research Institute at St George Hospital, Sydney, and Professor at the University of New South Wales.

George was a resident student at St Mark’s from 1978 to 1983 (except in 1981), and – as well as securing excellent academic results – was a champion athlete, served as Sports Secretary, and (amongst other awards) was awarded the Collegians Prize for most outstanding contribution to the College in only his second year in College.

The 1984 Rhodes Scholar for South Australia, George earned a Doctorate in Philosophy and university blues in athletics in Oxford, and was awarded the Royal College of Surgeons Arris and Gale medal. After a year in Cambridge teaching and rowing, he completed his orthopaedic training at Duke University in the United States. During a two-year fellowship in sports medicine, shoulder surgery and research at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, he gained a National Institutes of Health First Award, and an American Orthopaedic Association North American Travelling Fellowship.

George’s research has focused on the understanding, diagnosis, and management of disorders of the shoulder, and as a practising surgeon, he specialises in shoulder surgery and has a special interest in arthroscopic methods to repair and restore damaged ligaments and tendons.

George’s extensive work in orthopaedic research has been recognised with awards in a number of countries, and his co-authored volume on Research in Medicine, first published in 1990, is now in its third edition with Cambridge University Press. George serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Shoulder and Elbow, and Techniques in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. His team has won over 30 awards for their work and his fellowship program attracts surgeons from around the world.

George (who has been followed at St Mark’s in recent years by his son, Alexander) has described his five years at St Mark’s as “wonderful and special”, and the College is proud to recognise him as a Distinguished Collegian.

When the current pandemic recedes, an event will be held at the College to honour Georgia Blain, James Muecke AM, and George Murrell. Details will be advertised on the Events page of the website, and all will be welcome!

Photographs: The late Georgia Blain, Dr James Muecke AM, and Professor George Murrell

St Mark’s College has established a Student Support Fund to support resident students whose financial circumstances have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the pandemic, many students have lost casual employment on which they depended to pay their College fees, and many parents of students have also lost their jobs or had incomes slashed.

Students already in receipt of this help have warmly expressed their deep gratitude, and that of their families, for this support. Many have said that it enables them to stay in College, and to continue with their studies, when all this was at risk, and is helping them cope through the stress and uncertainty of this time.

Following the decision by the College Board to create the Student Support Fund to meet this urgent need, students whose financial circumstances were significantly adversely affected by the pandemic were invited to apply for help from the Fund with their College fees, and to provide detailed information on their financial position.

Allocations have been made after careful assessment of this information.

As well as expressing gratitude for the support they have already received, students have committed to community service within the College and in the wider community – a tangible expression of their gratitude and commitment to “give back”.

The College has also enabled students who choose to return home for this period to do so without financial cost to them. Over half of the College’s students are continuing in College, and nearly half have chosen to go home during the pandemic. The College is maintaining strict social distancing and hygiene requirements to combat the pandemic.

The College will soon embark on a fundraising campaign to seek support from Old Collegians and friends of the College to fund this support for students – alongside scholarships and bursaries to enable students from diverse backgrounds to live and learn at St Mark’s over years to come.

Upon hearing of the College’s creation of the Student Support Fund, one Old Collegian and her partner immediately donated $5,000 towards the $240,000 Fund, for which our heartfelt thanks.

Donations (which are fully tax deductible) can be made through the Giving page on the College website here.

Are you able to help?

The College and all the students who are helped will be deeply grateful for your generous support.

Some of the many testimonies from students already supported by the COVID-19 Pandemic Student Support Fund include these expressions of thanks:

“…my family and I have been significantly affected by the current pandemic, on top of what was already difficult times for us over the past few years. The support provided by this fund will allow me to remain a contributing resident member of the College. I am very much looking forward to being able to continue here and play my part in allowing our community to remain a healthy, happy place to belong, through our support of each other.”

“The scholarship has removed an immense amount of stress from my daily life. It has enabled me to re-book the medical appointments I had postponed and or cancelled completely. This has now also improved my mental health. It has been the difference between living in Adelaide and continuing my studies or deferring and moving back to [regional South Australia].”

“Thank you is all I can say. … it is unbelievably heartening and humbling that the institution that I gratefully call home has my back when I most need it. I love living within our community, and because of this fund I have been given the opportunity to contribute to it for the coming uncertain months. I have seldom been more grateful.”

“I am so very thankful for this at this point in time following my Dad not having his contract renewed. It truly has taken a huge amount of financial burden off my family’s shoulders, and we are so grateful for this. Residing at St Mark’s during this difficult time has also been absolutely brilliant. The support that the college is willing to give and how the college has been keeping us all updated with the situation has been fantastic. It really is like a big family away from home, and that is something that at this particular time I have really cherished and appreciated.”

“This support will significantly aid in releasing the constant financial pressure on my family as we are unable to provide a regular income to pay for college fees. Most importantly, this financial aid will allow me to focus on putting more time and effort into my university studies and encourage me to participate more in the St Mark’s community so that I get the most out of my time here.”

“I would like to express my many thanks for the support the college are offering me financially and in other ways during these crazy times! The allocated funds will enable me to continue studying while residing at college. This will alleviate the stress and pressure that is placed on me during these times. “

“I would like to write to thank you for the financial support that you have extended to me following my application. It means a great deal to be supported without judgement in such uncertain times as we are experiencing now. From my first week at College, I felt welcomed and at home. I was constantly amazed with the amount of encouragement from the staff, senior collegians and the other first years. I feel that at St Mark’s, I am in an environment that I can thrive and focus all my time on my studies and achieve the very best that I am capable of.”

“… it is lovely to know that I can still call Mark’s home until the end of this year from the generosity of the fund.”

“In January I also started a new casual job, working a few days a week to contribute to college fees. Unfortunately due to the current circumstances, I no longer receive shifts there which has substantially affected my income. I greatly appreciate this financial assistance as it allows me to push on with my studies and enjoy my final year of college and university.”

“This is my third year at St Mark’s College, and it would be an understatement to say that I have cherished every moment and experience that I have had while residing here. Not only has this amazing place been supportive of me through my studies, but it has also helped me develop into a positive, social and confident individual and I do not believe I ever would have been able to come this far if it wasn’t for St Mark’s. The importance of receiving such assistance with my college fees means that I am able to continue these developments and have many more experiences that I will hold on to for the rest of my life. After having work cancelled indefinitely due to the pandemic, I was very worried about how I would be able to earn money to put towards college and necessities. I really appreciate having this opportunity because it means I can continue paying off my fees without having to cause financial stress on my family. I am also now able to put more focus back on to my studies knowing that I have support to help me get through the rest of the year. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Such a generous support fund will go a long way to help me staying in Adelaide despite losing a considerable amount of my income… I cannot thank you and the College enough for all of the support you have given me over the years. I have worked incredibly hard to pay my own way since leaving home but I would not be where I am today or the person I am today without the college’s support not only financially but in so many other ways as well.”

Other details of the College’s response to the pandemic can be found on the News pages of this website.

You can support our students now through the Giving page. THANK YOU for your generosity to students in need!

Human resources adviser and lawyer Ms Cecilia White and educational leader and former Acting Head of College Mr Darren Pitt have today joined the College Board.

In announcing their appointments, the Chair of the Board, Ms Linda Matthews, said that Ms White and Mr Pitt would bring very valuable skills to the Board, together with a deep commitment to ensuring the best all-round educational experience for students of diverse backgrounds at St Mark’s.

Cecilia White and Darren Pitt have been appointed to the Board for initial three-year terms commencing today.

They succeed Dr Angela Evans AM and Mr Alister Lee, who retire from the Board after 14 and nine years of distinguished service, respectively.

Ms Matthews paid warm and deeply grateful tributes for the outstanding and tireless contributions which Dr Evans and Mr Lee have made to the College and its students, and looked forward to their continuing active involvement with the College.

Ms Cecilia White, BA, LLB (Adel), is a Director of Perks People Solutions, providing expert outsourced HR advice and support to employers across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Prior to this, Cecilia spent nearly 10 years in private practice as an employment lawyer, advising and representing South Australian employers across a broad and diverse range of workplace and industrial disputes, enterprise bargaining negotiations, workplace investigations and workers compensation matters.

Cecilia also held a senior management role in the South Australian Equal Opportunity Commission for eight years, where she gained experience in discrimination and sexual harassment disputes, community and stakeholder engagement and policy development. It was during this time that Cecilia developed a passion for equity and diversity and supporting leaders to create inclusive organisations.

Cecilia is a Nationally Accredited Mediator with the Resolution Institute of Australia, a Board Member of the Victim Support Service of South Australia, and a member of the Law Society of South Australia and the Australian Human Resources Institute.

Mr Darren Pitt, BA (Hons), PGCE, MEd, is an educator, educational leader and educational consultant with over 25 years’ experience working in schools in the United Kingdom, Queensland and South Australia, where he has demonstrated success in delivering exceptional outcomes in learning, wellbeing and holistic education in a number of high-performance organisations.

Currently in role as Executive Project Manager at Seymour College and working with the College Board, Darren is responsible for a number of high-level projects to improve organisational efficiency, performance and stakeholder experience.

Darren has also held roles as Principal of The Springfield Anglican College in Brisbane, and prior to that as Deputy Principal at Seymour College and Director of Teaching and Learning at St. Peter’s College, both in Adelaide.

In August-November 2019, Darren served as Acting Head of College at St Mark’s College, between Ms Rose Alwyn leaving to be Warden of St John’s College at the University of Queensland, and Professor Don Markwell commencing as Head of College at St Mark’s.

In his various educational leadership roles, Darren has gained extensive experience in developing and delivering on strategy, and in improving organisational culture and business performance.

Darren has also served on a number of Advisory Boards and Executive Committees in curriculum development, wellbeing and sport, and is experienced in delivering key note lectures on education and literature in universities in England and Australia.

Darren holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, an Honours degree in English Literature, and post-graduate certificates in Leadership and in Education.

To see the full membership of the St Mark’s College Board, click here.

Applications due by: Thursday 26 March 2020, 4pm

St Mark’s College students whose financial circumstances have been significantly adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. through losing casual employment, or through parents losing their jobs) are invited to apply for financial support from the College.

The College has reallocated a substantial sum of money which will be used for student support on the basis of demonstrated financial need arising through the current pandemic.

It is envisaged that these student support payments will be made as equal monthly instalments, through to October 2020, towards meeting the student’s College fee liability, though wherever necessary and possible, individual arrangements will be made.

A student receiving support in this way is expected to commit to a reasonable amount of community service in areas such a phone-a-thon to ask alumni to update their details, work in the grounds, or Hall or elsewhere, or other community service.

Applications on the form provided should be received by the Registrar, Ms Kathy Radoslovich, in the College office by 4pm on Thursday 26 March 2020. Applications may be in hard copy or emailed to Ms Kathy Radoslovich.

Allocations of student support funds will be made as soon as practical after 26 March. It is essential to provide the fullest possible details to enable swift allocations. All applications will be treated as strictly confidential.

It is expected that there will be one or more further round/s of applications for support, depending on emerging circumstances.

The College will be seeking support from alumni and friends of the College to enable further support for students in need, and will be immensely grateful for their support.

The St Mark’s College community marked the beginning of the 2020 academic year with a Commencement Service held at St Peter’s Cathedral on Friday 28 February 2020. The Service provided an opportunity for students to prepare themselves for living and learning together in the year ahead and to reflect on the mission they have set themselves in embracing a college education.

This year’s Commencement Service was a particularly significant one, as our community gave witness to the Commissioning of Professor Don Markwell as Head of St Mark’s College by the Archbishop of Adelaide, the Most Rev’d Geoffrey Smith.

The Very Rev’d Frank Nelson, Dean of St Peter’s Cathedral, warmly welcomed students, staff, family and friends of the College to the Cathedral before the Acknowledgement of Country and opening prayers by the College’s Chaplain, the Rev’d Grant Moore.

In his sermon on “smart thinking”, the Chaplain called for reflection on the value of wisdom and critical thinking. With a series of contemporary and historic anecdotes and reference to the earlier Bible readings (Proverbs 3: 13-18 and Mark 12: 13-17), he discussed the importance of education in developing our minds, and called on us to think of smart thinking as a “lifetime project” in which we must continually seek to develop our critical thinking skill set.

“Truly smart thinking (or analytical .. or critical .. or logical thinking – call it what you will), involves more than the ability to see through semantic sleights-of-hand. It’s actually an extremely comprehensive and arduously acquired skill-set, an essential one for uni students. As well as helping you develop your own rigorous sense of logic, it can enable you to recognise things you’d previously glossed over … fallacious assumptions, hidden bias, ingrained prejudice, subtle nuance … Such a life enhancer! But not only can smart thinking enhance your life – you never know when it might even save it.”

You can read the full sermon here.

For the Commissioning of the Head of College, Professor Markwell was presented to the Archbishop by the St Mark’s College Board Chair, Ms Linda Matthews, the Dean of the College, Professor Peter Tregear, and the President of the College Club Committee, Mr Nicholas Marzohl. Professor Markwell responded with the same declaration made by John Bannon and Rose Alwyn at their Commissioning Services as Master of the College in 2000 and 2008 respectively:

“I, Donald John Markwell, duly appointed as Head of St Mark’s College, promise to uphold the purposes for which the College was founded, as a place of learning and faith, in which the finest qualities are nurtured in a community of scholars; to hold in trust the rich inheritance received from those who have gone before, and to hand it on yet more excellently to those who come after, and to exercise my authority … justly, so that all who live and work and study here may flourish and excel.”

The Archbishop called on the members of the College community to support the new Head of College, with the congregation acclaiming “we will gladly do so”.

In his opening address, Professor Markwell reflected on the founding vision and values of the College, and the role of leaders in guiding the way forward.

“The role of leaders in this community is, in my view, precisely to do what my predecessors and I have promised to do – to uphold those founding purposes. It is to give the best effect we can in our time to the great ideals and values for which the College was founded. Circumstances change, but our purposes and our values endure.

“Above all, our purpose is to give all our students the greatest all-round educational experience we can in a college environment that offers academic support, broader intellectual stimulus, pastoral care, and rich opportunities for engagement in sport, cultural activities, community service, spiritual reflection, and a social life together. It is to be a residential academic community where all who live and work and study here may indeed flourish and excel.”

Drawing on the example of the College’s first Master, Sir Archibald Grenfell Price, and founding College Council member Charles Allan Seymour Hawker MP, Professor Markwell encouraged students to reflect on how many of their predecessors at the College “have married their trained academic minds to ideals of service, using their abilities and their expertise to make a difference for good in the world in the circumstances of their day.” He cited Old Collegians such as former South Australian Premiers Don Dunstan and John Bannon, and Australian of the Year Dr James Muecke AM as further examples of the embodiment of this ideal. Professor Markwell concluded:

“Let us commit ourselves afresh to the great ideals for which the College was founded and for which it exists, and let us all consider how we too may – now and over the decades ahead – devote our trained academic minds to ideals of service, making a difference for good in the circumstances of our day.”

You can read Professor Markwell’s full address here.

The Service concluded with a blessing commonly used at St Mark’s services, with the Archbishop calling on us all to “seek knowledge, strive for wisdom, [and] be of service to others.”

The full order of service for the 2020 Commencement Service can be found here.

The congregation then returned to the Downer House lawns for refreshments followed by a BBQ dinner for students that was hosted by Professor Markwell at the Grenfell Price Lodge.