Online Archives Search

The Advisory Committee of the School of Civil Engineering was established for the purpose of giving formal access in decision making to members of staff, through their representatives. The committee comprised the head of school, heads of departments within the school, and senior academic staff. The committee held its first meeting on 14 July 1964. The committee met frequently but the intervals seem to vary. The Committee appears to have become known Management Committee during the 1970s and as the Heads of Departments committee from the early 1980s.

This series contains the Booklet Leaflet Collection of the Munro Centre for Civil & Environmental Engineering. The material is typed and maintained in a manilla folder, and currently comprises only one item; a brochure providing an overview of the Centre.

This series consists of the annual reports of the Department of Civil and Maritime Engineering of University College, ADFA. Each item is a typed, paper-bound volume on the happenings within the department throughout the year. The University Archives only holds reports for 1990-1991.

This series contains the newsletters of the Munro Centre for Civil & Environmental Engineering. The material is typed and maintained in a manilla folder. The Archives' holdings of this series are incomplete.

This series contains the Public Service Board Papers of Emeritus Professor Ross Blunden. The material is typed and maintained in a manilla forlder, and incluldes letters and memoranda detailing Professor Blunden's period of service with the NSW Public Service, first as a cadet with the Department of Main Roads, then as an Engineering Assistant with the Department of Works and Local Government, and finally as an Assistant Engineer with the Department of Main Roads. During 1939 Blunden also held an appointment as a part-time teacher in fluid mechanics at Sydney Technical College. He later taught Civil Engineering at the College after World War II. This series consists of the Scientific Adviser to the Military Board Administration File of Emeritus Professor Ross Blunden. The material is taken from a general administration file kept by Professor Blunden during his time as Scientific Adviser to the Military Board. The file reflects some of the major research initiatives undertaken by Blunden and his colleagues. There is also a considerable amount of correspondence between Blunden and members of the Operational Research Group, particularly Lieutenant-Colonel W F Caplehorn

On 8 July 1947 the NSW Government appointed a Developmental Council (under the chairmanship of the Minister for Education, the Hon R.J. Heffron, MLA) to establish the New South Wales Institute of Technology. The purpose of the Institute was to train scientists and technologists to meet the needs of the expanding economy. The Council met on 18 occasions between 27 August 1947 and 26 May 1949, during which time the name of the proposed body was changed to the New South Wales University of Technology. The major role of the Developmental Council had been preparation of a bill for an Act that passed though the parliamentary process in 1949. The Council had identified two unique features of the new University courses - some humanities component would be included, and practical industrial training would be a requirement. Premises of the Department of Technical Education were utilised until a site and buildings for the university were available. The first degree courses in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Mining Engineering commenced at Sydney Technical College in March 1948. (1) The Technical Education and University of Technology Act, 1949 (Act No 11, 1949) came into effect on 1 July 1949. It formally constituted the University as a body corporate, and consisting of the Council, the professors and other such classes of persons giving instruction within the University as may be prescribed and the graduate and under-graduate members thereof. (2) The objects of the University were (a) to provide facilities for higher specialised instruction and advanced training in the various branches of technology and science and in their application to industry and commerce; and (b) to aid by research and other suitable means the advancement, development and practical application of science to industry and commerce. (3) The University was managed by a Council of up to 30 members, (4) who were appointed by the Governor for periods of up to four years. The principal officers of the University were the President, Vice-President and Director. The Council was appointed on 5 July 1949 (5) and held its inaugural meeting the following day. The first by-laws were adopted on 12 September 1949, which included provision for the formation of the Professorial Board in the following year. (6) Building on the University's site at Kensington commenced in October 1949. (7) Finance was allocated for the building program by the New South Wales University of Technology (Construction) Act, 1951 (Act No. 35, 1951). The buildings authorised under the Act included a 3-4 storey permanent brick building to accommodate the schools of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Mechanical Drawing and Design, Geology and Mineral Engineering together with administrative offices, lecture theatre and cafeteria and 13 steel clad aluminium buildings to accommodate the School of Chemical Engineering, furniture, equipment and services for these buildings, access roads and other necessary site works. (8) The first graduates of the University were awarded their degrees on 15 March 1952. Thirty-four degrees were presented to graduates at a ceremony held at Great Hall, University of Sydney. The structure of the Council was altered by the Technical Education and New South Wales University of Technology (Amendment) Act, 1955 (Act No. 8, 1955). The Council was increased to a maximum 39 members and the titles of President, Vice President and Director were replaced by those of Chancellor, Deputy Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. The University of New South Wales Act, 1958 (Act No. 24, 1958) altered the name of the University to the University of New South Wales and added a third object to that of the principal Act. ' c) to provide instruction and carry out research in the disciplines of humane studies and medicine and such other disciplines as the Council may from time to time determine.' (9) The University of New South Wales Act, 1961 (Act No 49, 1961) increased the Council to 40 members (10) and set in place an annual budget allocation from the NSW Government following the submission of a budget from the University. (11) Existing legislation was consolidated by the University of New South Wales Act, 1968 (No 37, 1968). Under the University of New South Wales (Amendment) Act, 1970 (No 75, 1970) the number of Council members was again enlarged to a total of 43. The University of New South Wales (Amendment) Act, 1978 (Act No 170, 1978) added to the Council one member elected by the non-academic staff of the university. The University's Constitution was altered to transfer responsibilities to the Minister including making nominations to the Council and authorising disposal of real property. In 1984 and 1985 two University of New South Wales (Amendment) Acts (Act No. 15, 1984 & Act No. 81, 1985) were passed. The former regulated the type of investments that Council was permitted to undertake for the University, while the latter decreased the number of Council members to 29. In 1988 the Professorial Board was replaced with a reorganised Academic Board. This was followed in 1989 by a restructure of Council under the University of New South Wales Act, 1989 (No. 125, 1989), where the number of Council members was reduced to 21 and its terms of reference revised. The 1949 Act had given the Council the power to create colleges or branches elsewhere within New South Wales. The first of these was established at Newcastle in 1951. The Broken Hill Division was formed in 1959, while Wollongong University College was founded in 1962. On 1 January 1965, Newcastle was granted its autonomy and became the University of Newcastle. On 1 January 1975 Wollongong likewise attained the status of the University of Wollongong. In 1981 the termination of operations at Broken Hill was commenced, with the final graduation ceremony occurring in 1985. On 10 July 1967 an agreement was signed between the Department of the Army and the University to form the Faculty of Military Studies. The Faculty provided the opportunity for cadets at the Royal Military College at Duntroon to attain University degrees. On 7 May 1981 a new agreement was made between the Australian Government and the University to create a University College within the Australian Defence Force Academy. The College began operations on 1 January 1986. In 1969 the Australian Government created a Committee of Inquiry into Postgraduate Education for Management, under Dr Richard Cyert. In March 1970 the Committee recommended that a 'national graduate school of management be established at the University of New South Wales'. On 23 August 1973 the Government decided to initiate this proposal and the Australian Graduate School of Management was formed. Teaching began at the School in 1977. In 1998 the Australian Graduate School of Management merged with the University of Sydney's Graduate School of Business to form a joint university Australian Graduate School of Management. On 1 January 1990, as a consequence of the Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989, two sections of the Sydney College of Advanced Education - the City Art Institute and St George Institute of Education (both previously a part of Alexander Mackie College) - were integrated with the University. On 2 December 1996 the decision was made to close St George campus, with the premises being vacated by the University in January 1999. The Faculties of the University were formed in the following order: Engineering, Science, Architecture/Built Environment, Humanities & Social Sciences, Technology/Applied Science, Commerce/Commerce & Economics, Arts/Arts & Social Sciences, Medicine, Law, Military Studies, Biological Sciences/Biological & Behavioural Sciences, Professional Studies, College of Fine Arts, Life Sciences and Science & Technology. (1) New South Wales University of Technology First annual report of proceedings for the year ended 30 June 1950 p1. in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1950-51-52 vol. 1 p. 567 (2) The Technical Education and University of Technology Act, 1949 s.16 (3) Ibid. s. 18 (4) Ibid. s. 19 (5) NSW Government Gazette 8 July, 1949 p. 1923 (6) NSW Government Gazette 9 December, 1949 p. 3673 (7) New South Wales University of Technology First annual report Loc. Cit p 8 (8) New South Wales University of Technology (Construction) Act, 1951. Schedule (9) The University of New South Wales Act, 1958 s. 2 c) (10) The University of New South Wales Act, 1961 s. 2(b) (11) Ibid. s.2.c(1) Controlling Organisation: UNSW - 01/07/1949-

The Department of Structural Mechanics was created within the School of Civil Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering by the Vice-Chancellor on 2 December 1968. The first head of the department was Professor F. S. Shaw (file 00020416). At the 12 January 1972 meeting of the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee, the department was disestablished. Controlling Organisation: UNSW - 02/12/1968-12/01/1972

Papers including minutes of meetings, correspondence, notes and reports of Advisory Committees established to advise on the syllabuses for courses in Civil, Mechanical, Mining and Electrical Engineering as well as proposed Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering degree courses for the new Institute of Technology / University of Technology. 'The committees represented a wide range of public utilities and industrial organizations and the representatives were men of considerable standing in their profession.' (Director's report to Developmental Council,August 1948) Minutes for the first meeting of the Committees are signed. Generally the papers are incomplete and in a poor state with rust and mould stains from water damage.

The New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council was appointed by the New South Wales Cabinet on 8th July, 1947. With the New South Wales Minister for Education, Hon. Robert J. Heffron, as Chairman, the inaugural meeting of the Developmental Council occurred on 27th August, 1947. This meeting was attended by fourteen out of the total seventeen members of the Developmental Council. Six Committees were also created at the meeting - Building & Grounds, Industrial Co-operation, Academic Studies, Administration, Finance and Public Relations. As well, the Development Council established that its Terms of Reference were to: i) exercise immediate control over the Institute; ii) recommend the principles that should be established for the co-operation between the Institute and industry in the carrying out of industrial research and co-operation between the Institute and other educational and scientific bodies; iii) advise on the nature of buildings and equipment most appropriate for the purposes of the Institute; iv) make recommendations covering the appropriate structure for the future control of the Institute and its authorities, powers and functions; v) survey present technical college courses in the light of the needs of industry and where necessary recommend the establishment of appropriate courses at graduate and postgraduate levels and recommend the nature of academic awards at the completion of these courses; vi) in the light of the foregoing enquiries, draft legislation for the incorporation of the Institute as one which a) provides technological courses at university degree and postgraduate levels; b) grants awards to those who complete its courses; c) carries out investigations aimed at adapting scientific discoveries to industrial purposes; and d) is soundly and democratically controlled; vii) recommend the co-ordination which should exist between the University of Sydney and the Institute The name changes of the Developmental Council reflect the variations in the proposed names for the University. From the 16th September, 1948 until the 18th November, 1948 meetings the Council was known as the New South Wales Technical University Developmental Council. Then beginning with the 24th February, 1949 meeting, the name became the New South Wales University of Technology Developmental Council. Apart from formulating the necessary legislation for the establishment of the University, the Developmental Council also made several important advances in the introduction of courses. On 22nd January, 1948 it approved the beginning of the first degree courses in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Mining Engineering, which were undertaken at Sydney Technical College from March, 1948. On 21st October, 1948 the Developmental Council endorsed degree courses in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, as well as a post-graduate course in Electrical Engineering, which started in March, 1949. The final meeting of the Developmental Council occurred on 26th May, 1949. With the proclamation of the Technical Education & New South Wales University of Technology Act, 1949 on 1st July, 1949, the functions of the Developmental Council were complete. Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council Administration Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949 Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology (1947 - 1948) / New South Wales Technical University (1948) Developmental Council Academic Studies Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949 Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council Building & Grounds Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949 Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council Co-ordinating Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949 Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council Finance Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949 Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council Industrial Co-operation Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949 Subordinate agency: New South Wales Institute of Technology Developmental Council Public Relations Committee - 27/08/1947 - 30/06/1949

On 12 April 1965 the Vice-Chancellor Professor J. P. Baxter wrote to the Minister for Lands, the Hon K. C. Compton, to enquire whether the Fowler's Gap Reserve in the neighbourhood of Broken Hill, which has been used recently by the Conservation Commission...[could] be made available to the University of New South Wales. It was also noted that the reserve has about 90,000 acres and is approximately 60 miles from Broken Hill and that the university has for some time been considering the desirability of establishing an experimental area in arid zone country...aris[ing] from the work of several different university departments. On 17 August 1965 the Minister for Lands the Hon T. L. Lewis approved a lease to the university for an initial term of ten years, commencing from 1 January 1966. Mr T. K. Hogan, Director of the Broken Hill Division of the university, was initially appointed Executive Director of the Station (file 00370994). On 8 November 1965 Council adopted the resolutions ii) that Council accepts the property known as Fowler's Gap upon the terms and conditions set out in a letter from the Minister for Lands to the university and iii) that Fowler's Gap be administered as part of the Broken Hill Division (resolution 65/163). On 6 July 1966 the Associate Bursar provided a file note indicating that all university research stations should be called 'field stations', prefaced in each case by the locality name. Thus the station at Fowler's Gap officially became known as Fowler's Gap Field Station (file 00014498). On 29 September 1966 the Vice-Chancellor wrote to the Minister for Lands advising that a Fowler's Gap Consultative Committee was to be established to furnish advice to the Council of the university on matters relating to the activities and development of the Fowler's Gap arid zone research station. The inaugural Chairman of the Committee was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor J. F. Clark and the first meeting was held on 13 April 1967 (file 00020449). On 26 October 1971 the Vice-Chancellor Professor R. H. Myers wrote to the Minister for Lands, Mr T. L. Lewis to ask for an extension of the Fowler's Gap lease to a lease in perpetuity as the development of the research station and of research programmes would be assisted if the university knew that its future occupation was assured. On 24 January 1972 Council resolved that it approves the conditions proposed by the Minister for Lands for acceptance of the lease in perpetuity of Fowler's Gap Field Station to the university (resolution 72/9i). On 24 March 1972 Mr G. R. Woods, the Western Lands Commissioner, wrote to the Vice-Chancellor to inform him that the university's application for a lease in perpetuity had been successful (file 00370994). In 1980 the management structure of the Station was reviewed. A report was released by Pro-Vice-Chancellor R. M. Golding on 4 December 1980 and approved by the Vice-Chancellor on 19 December 1980. As a result from this date the management of the Station was via a Management Committee, although an officer-in-charge remained on site at the Station. Responsible to the Vice-Chancellor and chaired by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the main aim of the committee was to determine the utilisation of resources to maintain an adequate level of income and to meet the needs of the university in carrying out its teaching and research programmes at the field station. From December 1981 this structure was altered slightly, as although the Pro-Vice-Chancellor continued to serve on the Committee and be responsible for reporting to the Vice-Chancellor, the Chairman position was taken by A/Professor J. P. Kennedy (file 911521). During 1991 the Station organisation was restructured and the Officer-in-Charge position replaced by a Station Supervisor (file 971929). From 1 July 1992 senior management responsibility for the Station was changed to the Bursar (S329). In January 2003, following a staff restructure, Dr David Croft took up the position of on-site Director at the Station, while also holding a fractional position in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. The Director reports to the Management Committee, which continues to administer the Station (file 2002/2855). The status of Fowlers Gap Station in 2012 was located 112 km north of Broken Hill, New South Wales (latitude 31.09° S, longitude 142.70°E) in the Parish of Hume, County Mootwingee (Mutawintji). The Station occupies Western Lands Lease No. 10194, an area of 38,888 hectares., and is held by the University of New South Wales as a 'lease in perpetuity' for the purpose of research, grazing and tourism. The mission of the Station is to further understanding of the functioning of the arid zone of NSW through research, teaching, interpretation and knowledge diffusion in a pastoral context. It is the only research station in the arid zone of New South Wales and the winter rainfall area of arid Australia. Areas have been monitored and data collected continuously, in some cases for over 30 years. The Station and its records form a unique facility for research and education. The University of New South Wales, in taking over the lease, undertook to carry out research and provide facilities for relevant research programs that might be proposed by other universities and government organisations. Research or other academic endeavour has been conducted Schools/units of the University of New South Wales including: Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Built Environment, the Centre for Photovoltaic Engineering and the Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS. Other tertiary institutions have also conducted research, chiefly, Macquarie University, University of Sydney, University of Newcastle, University of New England, the University of Adelaide, the Australian National University, Monash University, Melbourne University and La Trobe University. Two Cooperative Research Centres, Sustainable Tourism and Landscape Evolution & Mineral Exploration, have conducted research. Government organisations that have utilised the facilities include: the former Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales (now part of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources), NSW Agriculture (now part of the Department of Primary Industries), Queensland DPI, SA Department of Agriculture, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation and several Divisions of CSIRO. Funding to support research has been provided by the University of New South Wales, Australian Research Council, Wool Research Trust Fund, Australian Wool Innovation, Meat and Livestock Australia, Rural Credits Development Fund, Water Research Foundation of Australia, Australian Housing Research Council, Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism and a number of overseas governments and universities. In addition to its research function, Fowlers Gap is used extensively for teaching, largely by way of student field excursions. Regular users from UNSW include staff and students from the College of Fine Arts and the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. Field training is conducted for students from several other educational institutions such as ANU and Adelaide University (CRC Landscape Evolution & Mineral Exploration training program), and Monash University (School of Geography and Environmental Science). The Station also attracts visitors from overseas and within Australia and has been the subject/site of numerous television documentaries, newspaper articles and local and national radio reports. The Field Station is administered by the Management Committee, consisting of representatives from those Schools of the University of New South Wales that use the Field Station. The Committee is assisted by two advisory groups - the Graziers' Committee, a small group of pastoralists who supply support and advice at an informal level, and the Consultative Committee, an advisory group representing organisations associated with the pastoral industry, land and wildlife conservation and other stakeholders in the West Darling region. Controlling Organisation: UNSW - 01/01/1966-