Garnet Vere Portus

Garnet Vere (Jerry) Portus  was born on 7 June 1883 at Morpeth, New South Wales, youngest of eight children of Henry Dumaresq Portus, steamship company manager, and his wife Hannah, née Butler. He attended East Maitland High School in 1898-1900 and worked in the Department of Mines for three years before going to St Paul's College at the University of Sydney (B.A., 1906; Rhodes scholar, 1907). At New College, Oxford (B.A., 1909; B.Litt., 1911; M.A., 1917), he studied history and economics under H. A. L. Fisher. A foundation scholar at the theological college at Hereford, he was made deacon in December 1910.

After returning to Sydney next year, Portus was a country parson as curate at Merriwa and rector at Cessnock. On 28 May 1912 he married Ethel Mary Ireland at St Bede's, Drummoyne; they had one son.

In 1914 Portus acted for George Cockburn Henderson as professor of modern history, English language and literature at the University of Adelaide.

Portus succeeded Atkinson in 1918 as director of tutorial classes and for sixteen years, with his assistant-director F.A. Bland and David Stewart, was among the leaders of the Australian adult education movement. As a true liberal, he often suffered conservative hostility.

In 1934 he returned to the University of Adelaide as professor of history and political science, and remained until retiring in 1950 (professor emeritus from 1951).

In Sydney Portus had also been a part-time, university lecturer in economic history. 

As an exponent of world history, 'Jerry' Portus has had no Australian successor.

His teaching method derived from his experiences with adults. Students, to him, were responsible people who would mature only if they thought for themselves. He promoted discussion, even in his large lectures which were 'good fun', creating a friendly informal atmosphere that encouraged participation. His educational ideas were set out in his Joseph Payne memorial lectures at the University of London, published as Free, Compulsory and Secular (Oxford, 1937). Here again he was an innovator in a field that has since been vigorously cultivated.

Survived by his wife and son, he died suddenly at North Adelaide on 15 June 1954, and was cremated.