2003 - Exeter College - University of Oxford

EXETER COLLEGE
CORRESPONDENCE
Murray Tobias (1961, BCL) writes to the Rector
On 28 April last I was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court of
New South Wales and a Judge of Appeal of that Court.
Having sworn to anyone that asked that I would never accept judicial
office and having intended in October 2004 to retire (having then
achieved 40 years as a barrister), to everyone’s dismay (including my
own) I recently relented when offered a vacancy on the Court of Appeal.
This was totally out of character as I have been offered various
judicial appointments over the last 20 years and have always declined.
The workload of this Court is fairly heavy and constant so that working
full-time (except when I have leave) will be a new experience as,
over the last few years, I have tried (with intermittent success) not to
work too hard.
Exeter College Barge
PS: I received a delightful letter of congratulations from Dyson Heydon
who, in the late 60s was the Law Fellow of Keble College (he is an
Australian Rhodes Scholar) and is now a Justice of the High Court of
Australia. He was formerly a member of the New South Wales Court
of Appeal and it is the vacancy caused by his elevation to the High
Court that I have filled. Whilst at Oxford, Dyson knew Derek Hall
(Formerly Fellow in Law at Exeter) well and, in his letter to me, made the
following generous comment: “One thing is certain – Derek Hall is
looking down, smiling.” My response to him was that in all likelihood
dear Derek was looking down grimacing.
JCR ART FUND
Many thanks for the Autumn 2002
Exeter College Magazine.
[Regarding the] JCR Art Fund,
the present Arts Officer says that
its inception was ‘over 35 years
ago’. Well, yes, a good bit over; I
matriculated in 1956, and it was
very much a going concern then,
including works by Chagall,
Augustus John and the Minton
Fishermen, which Mr Davis says
was commissioned in the 1960s.
My memory is not what it was, but
since Minton died in 1957 I would,
in this case, put money on it.
The chairman of the Art Fun
for most of my time was the much
missed John Morley (see Exon 2001
pp 14-16 Ed.) , but some of his
predecessors (and successors)
must have been pretty shrewd, too.
John’s most notorious acquisition
was a Burne-Jones, acquired at
auction for £100 to general disapprobation;
I believe it was subsequently
sold for several hundred
thousand pounds. Small wonder
the fund is now ‘ in a comfortable
position’.
Yours sincerely,
David Culver
(1956, Modern History)
From Mr A. Bart Holaday
(1965, PPE)
I joined the Board of Trustees
at Jamestown College recently.
My father taught there when I
was a boy. The College is
highlighting distinguished
graduates in a calender for
2004. I thought you would
find January (Illustrated left)
interesting.
EXON - Autumn 2003 - www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/alumni