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CHALLIS BEQUEST
SOCIETY NEWS
ISSUE 12
SUMMER 2015
ANCIENT GREEK,
MODERN SCHOLARS
Plaster model of the Acropolis on display in the Nicholson Museum. NM2008.4
While Ancient Greek may “never be as popular as Psychology 101”,
Professor Bill Ritchie’s generous bequest will advance the study
of languages, literature, philosophy and civilisation.
Professor Bill Ritchie was always one of
the first University staff to arrive at the
Quadrangle in the morning. In his office
beneath the famous Clocktower, he
would spend most of the day immersed
in his life’s great passion: the study of
ancient Greek.
“He was an absolutely devoted servant
of the University,” recalls classicist
Professor Peter Wilson, who was
taught by Professor Ritchie as an
undergraduate in the 1980s and is now
head of the University’s Department of
Classics and Ancient History. “Bill was
like something from another era.”
Professor Ritchie’s main research
interest was Greek drama – he
published a book on Athenian tragedy
Rhesus, thought by him to be by
Euripides, as well as important work
on comic playwright Menander.
However, he is perhaps best
remembered as an inspiring teacher.
through his involvement in the Latin
and Greek reading competition for
high school students.
Professor Ritchie wasn’t known for
making grand gestures and was always
modest and softly spoken. “Sometimes
it was difficult getting more than a
few words out of him at a stretch,”
After serving as chair of the Department remembers Professor Wilson. So it
of Classics and Ancient History for
came as a surprise to many when, after
more than 25 years, Professor Ritchie
his death in 2004, it was revealed that
retired in 1991. Yet he remained closely
he had left a bequest of more than
involved with the University as an
$5 million to the University of Sydney.
emeritus professor, and sought to kindle His will specified that the gift be used
a love of classics in the next generation to advance teaching and research in
Ancient Greek, modern scholars (Continued)
Engraving on Lucanian calyx krater 325‑300 BC, (detail), Nicholson Museum NM52.61, from H Moses, Ancient Vases from the Collection of Sir Henry Englefield, Bart, pl. 10
the “languages, literature, philosophy
and civilisation of Ancient Greece/
Classics”, with the capital to be
managed externally by the Perpetual
Trustee. The gift has yielded more
than $2.6 million in income to date.
A substantial amount of this gift has
been used to create a new chair, the
William Ritchie Professor of Classics,
which is currently held by Professor
Wilson. “Greek is one of those fields
that can be sensitive to fluctuations
in taste and attitudes to its value,”
Professor Wilson explains. “It is
popular, but it’s never going to be
as popular as Psychology 101. This
professorship provides solidity for
the subject by putting it above the
normal fray of budgetary demands
for student numbers.”
Yet another beneficiary is the Centre
for Classical and Near Eastern Studies
of Australia, an important hub for
research into the ancient world,
housed in the University’s Madsen
building. The Ritchie bequest is helping
to provide administrative and library
services at the centre, which was
founded in 2009. “To be able to have
our own incredibly active research
centre partly supported by Bill’s gift
is a wonderful thing,” says Professor
Wilson, who is the inaugural director
of the centre.
There are some striking similarities
between the careers of Professor
Wilson and Professor Ritchie, after
whom his professorship is named. Like
Professor Ritchie, Professor Wilson is
a specialist in Greek drama, although
his main interest is not the philological
study of literary texts but the social,
economic and institutional history of
Greek theatre.
Another initiative established by the
bequest is the William Ritchie Memorial
Lecture, which provides funds for a
world expert in Greek studies to be
flown to Sydney every two years or so
Also like Professor Ritchie, Professor
to deliver a public talk on their research. Wilson studied classics at the
University of Sydney before going to
The bequest also supports a highly
Cambridge
to undertake a PhD, then
competitive fellowship program that
returning
to
Sydney where he took
brings distinguished classicists from
up
the
helm
of the department. “It
around the globe to Sydney to share
provides
a
nice
sense of continuity,”
their ideas with local scholars.
he says.
2
Professor William Ritchie
Professor Peter Wilson
SMARTPHONES
OUTSMART STROKES
We have come to rely on our mobile phones for various functions,
but who knew they may one day be able to save our lives.
Smartphones have become an
indispensable tool for staying in touch
with friends and passing time on the
morning commute. But according
to a researcher at the University of
Sydney Nursing School, Lis Neubeck,
the ubiquitous device can also
be put to a more important use:
preventing strokes.
On 26 November 2014, Dr Neubeck
spoke about her research into the
medical applications of smartphone
technology to nursing alumni and
supporters at an event held in the
Charles Perkins Centre at the University.
Her focus is on diagnosing an irregular
heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation,
which causes blood clots that can travel
to the brain and cause a stroke.
“Up to two-thirds of people with atrial
fibrillation don’t know they have it,”
Dr Neubeck explains. “So we need a
way to find people who have it before
they get a stroke, as there are very
effective treatments that can prevent
the formation of blood clots in people
with atrial fibrillation.”
The simplest way of testing for atrial
fibrillation is a pulse check, but it is not a
very sensitive method. As an alternative,
Dr Neubeck and her colleagues have
been investigating an electrocardiogram
(ECG) device called AliveCor, which
attaches to a smartphone. In just 30
seconds, the heart‑rate monitor can
check a pulse and tell if the rhythm is
likely to be atrial fibrillation.
There are several portable ECG
monitors that can be used to detect
heart irregularities, Dr Neubeck
says. Upon examination, her team
found AliveCor – in which they have
no financial interest – to be fast
and accurate.
Dr Neubeck and her colleagues have
previously shown how the device can
be used by community pharmacists
and GPs to screen for atrial fibrillation.
This year they will examine how it
can be used by nurses as part of a
screening program.
More than 43,000 health-related apps
are on the market, Dr Neubeck says,
and new ones are being launched every
week. “It’s a very exciting time, but
not all of the health apps are based on
evidence,” she says. “So it’s important
for health professionals to know which
ones are of real value.”
Top: Smartphone showing heart rhythm reading
Above: AliveCor device attached to a smartphone
Since it is quick and cost effective, the
method is suitable as part of a national
screening program for atrial fibrillation
– Dr Neubeck says this is needed to
prevent stroke deaths. “International
guidelines suggest everyone over 65
should have a checkup to see if they
have atrial fibrillation – that’s when
your risk goes up,” she says.
Dr Lis Neubeck
3
IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
A bequest left to the
University for scientific
research in 1940 is
still supporting vital
scholarship by local
and international
postgraduates in
biology and physics.
Media baron, politician, diplomat and philanthropist Sir Hugh Denison (1865-1940)
Sir Hugh Denison wore many different
hats during his lifetime. He was one of
Australia’s highest profile media barons:
at one point he owned eight Sydney
newspapers and 15 radio stations.
He was also a politician who held the
seat of North Adelaide in the South
Australian State Parliament from 1901
to 1905, a pioneering film producer, an
international diplomat and a successful
thoroughbred owner.
Of all his pursuits, it is perhaps his
philanthropy that has had the most
far-reaching impact. On his death in
1940, he left a substantial portion of
his £200,000 estate to the University
of Sydney, with instructions that it
be used for scientific research. Today
this money is changing the lives of
emerging scientists from around
the world.
4
One of these scientists is Brazilian
physicist Germano Heinzelmann, who
received an International Denison
Postgraduate Award in 2011 to support
him while he completed his PhD.
Another recipient of the same
scholarship is Belgian-born Yvan
Paquot, who also recently completed a
PhD in the area of physics. His research
project, undertaken at the University’s
Heinzelmann’s research project focused Centre for Ultrahigh Bandwidth
Devices for Optical Systems, focused
on creating computer simulations of
on using integrated optics to process
complex biological phenomena, such
information at very high speeds.
as the action of peptides – a naturally
occurring chemical compound – in
“Optical fibres laid in the ocean and
the body. “Usually the pharmaceutical
in the ground carry data, but it’s
industry tries different molecules by
impossible to do information processing
trial and error but, using computer
with optics – it needs to be converted
simulation, you can speed that up and
to electronics first,” Paquot explains.
test millions of models,” he explains.
Together with his research team,
he completed work on an optics
When he opened the email telling
technology that can handle signals
him that he had won the scholarship,
32 times faster than electronics.
Heinzelmann was “thrilled”, he
recalls, since he knew it would be
a life‑changing experience. “I really
wanted to go to a good university and
when I found out I could live there and
do this research it made a big impact,”
he says. “I will always feel I have a
debt to Australia because it treated
me very well.”
Like Heinzelmann, Paquot believes
that the Denison award made a critical
difference to his studies by providing
a living allowance to sustain him
throughout his degree. “If I had not had
it I would not have been able to carry
on the PhD,” he says.
Yvan Paquot, recipient of an International Denison Postgraduate Award
As well as helping international students,
Sir Hugh’s gift also assists local
researchers such as Geoff Cousland,
who was the recipient of a Denison
Postgraduate Conversion Award.
This specialised scholarship assists
postgraduate students in the School of
Physics who have completed the first
year of a master’s degree by research
to upgrade their degree to a PhD. Like
the international award, it also provides
a living allowance.
“My PhD would have taken quite
a different course if I hadn’t had
the Denison,” says Cousland, who
completed his studies late last year.
“As a consequence of the unexpected
death of my father, I would have had
very little money, and I would have had
to work and study part-time. It would
have made it a lot harder.”
Cousland’s research focused on
a ceramic called yttria-stabilised
zirconia, which can withstand neutron
bombardment and is a candidate
material for use in fourth-generation
nuclear reactors.
Using a combination of experimental
and computational physics, Cousland
undertook a detailed analysis of the
material’s structure, including its
electronic and vibrational properties.
His project – initiated by a researcher
at the Australian Nuclear Science and
Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
– has potential applications in the
nuclear fuel industry.
Geoff Cousland, right, recipient of a
Denison Postgraduate Conversion Award
Germano Heinzelmann, recipient of an
International Denison Postgraduate Award
5
BUILT TO LAST
Sydney Harbour Bridge seen from the wharves at Walsh Bay that Graham Brooks’s firm helped to preserve
Challis Bequest Society member Graham Brooks
MEMBER PROFILE: GRAHAM BROOKS
From studying architecture at the University to preserving
important Sydney sites, Graham Brooks is creating a travelling
scholarship for heritage conservation through his will.
“Sometimes you get lucky in life and
you’re there when you can make a
difference,” says Challis Bequest Society
member Graham Brooks of the role he
has played in helping to preserve some
of Sydney’s architectural icons.
Perhaps the best-known of the
structures he has helped to save are
the wharves at Walsh Bay. Today they
are home to top-tier arts institutions
such as the Sydney Theatre Company
and Sydney Dance Company – but
in the 1980s the piers were set to be
demolished to make way for a real
estate development. Graham’s expertise
as a heritage consultant helped to
preserve them, as well as other notable
structures such as the Carriageworks
complex near Redfern Station.
Now he is planning another way to
contribute to the city’s heritage: a
bequest to the University’s Faculty
of Architecture, Design and Planning.
The funds will create a travelling
scholarship for a postgraduate student
to study cultural heritage conservation
overseas. The idea is to educate and
inspire heritage experts who can help
“bring the voice of the building to
the design table”, as Graham puts it,
during development projects.
6
“The legacy is part of a family
strategy to give something back to the
universities that have done so much
for us,” Graham says. “Ultimately,
what we’re looking to do is provide
opportunities for someone else to
do what we’ve done.”
World Heritage Centre and the UN World
Tourism Organization.
It all began when, as a boy, Graham was
inspired to study architecture by reading
house plans published in Women’s
Weekly magazine. He enrolled in the
subject at the University of Sydney and
retains fond memories of his time on
Over three decades, Graham has
campus, where he developed a passion
worked on a diverse range of heritage
conservation and management projects for exploring the history of architecture
and the context that informs why
across Sydney as well as in the UK
structures are built. “Suddenly, you
and Europe. The philosophy of his
realise you are doing something you
firm – Graham Brooks and Associates,
really like,” he remembers.
Heritage Consultants – is to breathe
new life into old buildings and old
Over the years, Graham has also played
settings, often through the change
an important role in safeguarding the
of use or the introduction of new
architecture of the University. He has
buildings. The firm recently contributed consulted on heritage issues for a
to the revival of Sydney’s Queen Victoria range of campus development projects
Building and the dynamic conversion of
including the Charles Perkins Centre, the
the nearby former Gowings Store and
new Australian Institute for Nanoscience,
adjacent State Theatre building into the and the Oval No 2 grandstand.
boutique QT Hotel.
Heritage conservation is vital for
Graham has also contributed to heritage ensuring that we retain our “sense
policies and practices on the world stage of place and sense of community”,
as president of the International Cultural
Graham explains. “If you take out these
Tourism Committee of the International
key parts of the cultural environment,
Council of Monuments and Sites, and in
the population loses a sense of where
roles with the Global Heritage Fund, the
it is in the world. If that isn’t there,
United Nations Educational, Scientific
who are we as a society?”
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Professor John Redmond
The travelling scholarship will enable students to visit places such as the Louvre Museum in Paris
AROUND THE WORLD AND BACK
Architecture is about more than buildings, says Professor
John Redmond. It’s about spiritual, cultural and social life. A welcome
future gift means a dedicated student can exchange ideas overseas.
A generous bequest from University of
Sydney architecture alumnus Graham
Brooks is behind a new travelling
scholarship for an outstanding Master
of Heritage Conservation student
to explore the breadth of heritage
conservation underway globally.
Professor Redmond says architects,
designers and planners need to create
places with communities in mind, if the
higher incomes on offer in the mega
cities of Asia and elsewhere are to
translate into higher living standards
and a more humane environment.
The Dean of the Faculty of
Architecture, Design and Planning,
Professor John Redmond, welcomed
Mr Brooks’s future gift and emphasised
the timeliness of this opportunity for
students in his faculty.
“Heritage conservation has moved
beyond its first phase, where there
was a focus on listing outstanding
individual sites,” Professor Redmond
says. “Professionals now recognise
the necessity of taking a holistic
approach, considering the wider
landscape and the broader identity
of cities and towns.
“We’re at a sea change,” Professor
Redmond says. “Architecture and
urbanisation cannot just tick along like
it has for the past 50 to 100 years.
Urbanisation and dense urban living are
a reality and judicious, creative heritage
conservation will be vital to achieving a
good quality of life. If we do not place
cultural values and human beings at the
centre of the urbanisation process, we
are destined to bequeath degraded and
degrading environments.”
“People tend to think of architecture
as just a building, but architecture is
more than that, it provides spiritual,
cultural and social sense of wellbeing
and has a direct impact on our lives.
When people have the opportunity
to be involved in protecting places or
planning how change happens, they
engage in their society.”
The scholarship aims to give students
the opportunity to formulate a global
perspective on their field. By doing so
they will sharpen their perception of
what is special and valuable about the
local and the culturally specific.
“Mr Brooks’s support is vital because it
allows an outstanding student to start
seeing what is going on elsewhere in
the world,” Professor Redmond says.
“The University has many labs, but for
our faculty, our biggest lab is actually
what is built out in the real world.
“The student who benefits from
this gift will be able to draw on
international best practices, develop
their capabilities here then take them
out to the world again. This is an
incredibly important opportunity for
a postgraduate and will enable them
to really develop their education,
experience and understanding.
“Philanthropic gifts are very important
to the faculty. It is a huge extension of
our capability. Philanthropy helps us go
beyond Sydney and Australia, to take
ideas out to the world and bring ideas
from the world back in.”
7
MESSAGE FROM THE
BEQUEST MANAGER
As this is our first newsletter for 2015 I would like to wish
all our Challis Bequest Society members a very happy and
fulfilling year ahead.
I hope that in some small way we can add to the enjoyment
of your year through our stories and invitatons to morning
teas, seminars and selected University events.
We will highlight lectures, exhibitions and much more from
the diverse range on the University events calendar that
may be of particular interest to Challis members, including
a commemoration of the participation of Sydney staff and
students in World War I and ANZAC Day events.
For more information and to see the full calendar, please
visit: sydney.edu.au/alumni/events
For music lovers there are various concerts and celebratory
events at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music to mark its
centenary year. The signature event is Leonard Bernstein’s
MASS which will be performed at the Sydney Opera House
on 6 May. Tickets are available through the Opera House –
do let them know if you are a Sydney graduate as you will
be eligible for a discount. For more information about the
Conservatorium’s centenary, please visit:
con100years.music.sydney.edu.au
If you cannot make it to events you may wish to
download some of the many podcasts available, such
as the Sydney Ideas lectures, please see:
sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/past.php
Of course all this online content is not much use if you do
not have access to the internet, so please contact us if you
wish to know more about opportunities to hear about your
area of interest.
EVENTS OF INTEREST
MARCH
Saturday 7 March, 2–3pm
Heaven in Helsinki^
Free public talk by Robert
Veel (Academy Travel).
Wednesday 18 March, 6pm
Archaeology in Palestine*
Public lecture by Middle East
specialist Dr Ross Burns.
APRIL
Saturday 4 April, 2–3pm
Three englishmen in Cyprus:
Richard Pococke (1738),
Samuel Baker (1879) and
Colin Thubron (1974)^
Free public talk by
Dr Craig Barker of Sydney
University Museums.
Thursday 23 April, 6-7.30pm
Sydney Ideas ANZAC Panel
Discussion
Great Hall, free with
registration requested.
For more information:
sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas
With best wishes for 2015,
Wendy Marceau
Saturday 2 May, 2–3pm
Walking Hadrian’s Wall^
Free public talk by travel
writer and tutor Almis Simans.
CHALLIS BEQUEST SOCIETY LUNCH
JUNE
Saturday 6 June, 2–3pm
The Storm from the East:
Retracing the Persian Wars^
Free public talk by Ben
Churcher of the Near Eastern
Archaeology Foundation.
JULY
Saturday 4 July, 2–3pm
Artist J W Power
in 1930S Paris^
Talk by Ann Stephen, Senior
Curator, University Art Gallery.
Wednesday 15 July, 6pm
Inventing Egypt: Modern
fantasies of the ancient world
of the pharoahs*
AUGUST
Public lecture by Crispin
Paine FSA, University
College London.
MAY
Public lecture by Associate
Professor Julia Kindt of the
University of Sydney.
Talk by Robin Derricourt
FSA, University of NSW.
Wednesday 29 April, 6pm
Religion in museums –
too difficult, or worth
the effort?*
We look forward to catching up with you through any of
these avenues throughout the year.
Tuesday 12 May, 6pm
Gazing at the Egyptian
Hippopotamus: History
and zoology in Herodotus’s
Histories*
Saturday 1 August, 2–3pm
Napoleon^
Talk by Estelle Lazer,
Academy Travel.
Monday 24 August, 6pm
Life and Death in Pompeii:
On the anniversary of
the eruption*
Talk by Dr Craig Barker,
Manager, Education and
Public Programs, Sydney
University Museums.
Friday 9 October, 12–2.30pm
Venue: The Great Hall, The Quadrangle
* PUBLIC EVENTS – AT THE NICHOLSON MUSEUM
Complimentary tickets for this series are available to Legacy members only (Legacy members
are those who have provided the Bequest Office with a copy of their will or the relevant
clause in the will). The ticketed talks in this series start at 6pm (for 6.30pm) to 7.30pm.
^ NICHOLSON MUSEUM SERIES
Travellers’ Tales: European adventures in art, history and culture. These free talks are held
on the first Saturday of the month and start at 2pm. We ask you kindly to book.
CHALLIS BEQUEST SOCIETY
CONTACTS
Wendy Marceau
Bequest Manager
T +61 2 8627 8492
E wendy.marceau@sydney.edu.au
Angela Topping
Development Officer
T +61 2 8627 8824
E angela.topping@sydney.edu.au
Division of Alumni and Development
Level 7, Jane Foss Russell Building
The University of Sydney NSW 2006
sydney.edu.au/inspired
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