Mawson's Era

University teaching staff. Mawson (centre)

Douglas Mawson was closely associated with the University for over fifty years.  He began his career as Lecturer in Mineralogy and Petrology in 1905 and was appointed Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in 1921, a post which he held until his retirement in 1958.[1]   In 1909 he was conferred a doctorate (D. Sc.) for his geological investigations in the Broken Hill area and in 1914 he was knighted for his leadership of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition [2].  He was elected to the University Council in 1931 and served until his death in 1958.[3]

A comparison of the University Mawson joined early last century with the institution at the time of his death indicates the extent of the changes he lived through.  His last decade, in particular, saw a significant period of expansion and modernisation with the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme (CRTS), the Colombo Plan and substantial reforms to university funding models at the Federal Government level.

The following statistics, derived from Calendar of The University of Adelaide, 1906 and 1956, are indicative of the breadth of change and growth over the half-century Mawson spent at the University.  The financial figures presented at the end of each list are intended to provide reference points to demonstrate an approximation of the growth of the income/expenditure of the institution during this period.  Estimates of equivalent contemporary Australian dollar values are based on an income relative per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculation.[4]

1905[5] 

• Student enrolments, including Elder Conservatorium and non-graduating students: 935
• Teaching staff: 31 (or approximately 75 including Adelaide and Children’s Hospital clinical teachers and Elder Conservatorium staff)
• Committees, faculties and boards: 15
• Number of degrees offered: 12
• Societies associated with the University: 7
• Scholarships, exhibitions and prizes: 18
• Number of people conferred degrees (cumulative): approximately 550
• Income: £22,000 (approximately AU $25 million in contemporary terms)
   

Aerial view of North Terrace and Frome Road and University grounds, c1933

1955[6]

• Student enrolments, including Elder Conservatorium and non-graduating students: over 4,000 
• Staff: over 450, including the Waite Institute and Elder Conservatorium
• Committees, faculties and boards: 33
• Number of degrees offered: 25
• Societies associated with the University: 25
• Scholarships, exhibitions and prizes: over 130
• Number of people conferred degrees (cumulative): over 6,000
• Expenditure/income: £750,000 (approximately AU $93 million in contemporary terms)
   

Aerial view of University grounds, 1961

Footnotes:

1. Mawson, D. (1905) Staff card. University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 587, University retired staff records.
2. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1910 and 1915, W. K. Thomas & Co., Adelaide, pp. 46 and 358. 
3. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1958, The Griffin Press, Adelaide, p. 41.
4. MeasuringWorth.com 'Five ways to compute the relative value of Australian amounts, 1828 to the present', viewed 1 November 2021,
<https://measuringworth.com/calculators/australiacompare/>.
5. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1906, W. K. Thomas & Co., Adelaide.
6. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1956, The Griffin Press, Adelaide.

Images:

1. University teaching staff, 1906. University Building (later Mitchell Building) porch. Mawson centre. University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 1151-0123, University photographs and glass slides. 
2. Aerial view of corner of North Terrace and Frome Road, including University grounds, c1933. North-westerly aspect. Taken midway through Mawson's tenure. University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 1151-0302, University photographs and glass slides.
3. Aerial view of University grounds, 1961. Eastern aspect. University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 1151-0489, University photographs and glass slides.