2007 Annual report (PDF 8.1 Mb) - University of Melbourne

INTRODUCTION
And OVERVIEW
Lady Southey (Sidney Myer’s daughter) and the Vice-Chancellor examining a copy of the original deed
of shares from Sidney Myer to the University, which still ranks as the University’s largest single gift.
THE MYER FAMILY
In November 2007 the University celebrated 80 years of wonderful
generosity towards the University by the Myer family. This giving
began with Sidney Myer in 1926, continued through his estate
(via the Sidney Myer Fund), and has expanded over the ensuing
decades with his descendants, both individually and through the
Myer Foundation. Collectively, the Myer family is the University’s
largest benefactor.
In 1926 Sidney Myer, who remains the most generous of all the
University’s individual benefactors, gave the University 25,000
shares in the Myer Emporium Ltd. This gift was worth £50,000
at a time when the entire government grant to the University was
£66,000 per annum. This gift has grown today to a trust fund worth
over $15 million. It was Mr Myer’s first act of public philanthropy,
and the largest single gift he ever made. In the following years it
was used to assist many purposes and continues to be a significant
source of support today.
The Myer family’s gifts to the University over the years have
addressed all of their well-known philanthropic interests – the arts
and humanities; Australia as part of the Asia-Pacific region; education;
poverty and disadvantage; and sustainability and the environment.
Martyn Myer at the celebration of his family’s support of the University of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne Annual Report 2007 13