NCL-30th-Anniversary-History-Book-WEB

The lecturer would be required:
‘to take up some aspect of contemporary
life and society which has some relevance
to the work done in universities in
Australia, and especially that done in
the University of New South Wales. In
treating the subject, the lecturer will take
cognizance of the interdisciplinary, general,
and social character of learning which is
implicit in the collegiate experience of
university education.’ 1
A Trust was established 9th December 1985
to establish and promote the annual lectures
now to be known as the New College Lectures.
The founders were the Master of the College,
the Honorary Secretary, Dr Allan Beavis, and
Mrs Alison Reid. The Trustees consisted of the
Master, Dr Beavis and the Honorary Treasurer,
Maxwell Dickens. All were members of the New
College Board. The Trust was charged with:
‘the establishment and promotion of
lectureships under the auspices of
New College relating to some aspect of
contemporary life and society consistent
with the objects and purposes of New
College.’ 2
The early meetings of the Trustees were
taken up with finding suitable lecturers and,
especially, a first lecturer. They resolved to
look, in the first instance, overseas and then
to alternate between overseas and local
candidates. The model in their thinking was
the Reith Lectures, presented each year by the
BBC, and the ABC Boyer Lectures. The target
audience was the lay members of the Diocese
and the alumni of the college. The idea of
trying to develop a tradition of lay theology
in the Australian context was a key part of
their thinking and so there was a priority in
having lay lecturers who would speak to a lay
audience.
These early times were challenging as the
Trustees struggled not only to find suitable
lecturers, but also, in that very process, to
clarify and develop the purpose and shape
of the contribution the Lectures were to
make. At one point, an opportunity arose to
be in conversation
The idea of trying to
develop a tradition
of lay theology in the
Australian context
was a key part of their
thinking and so there
was a priority in having
lay lecturers who would
speak to a lay audience.
with Alexander
Solzhenitsyn, who
was at that time
living in exile in the
United States. It was
a conversation that
helped to sharpen
thinking about the
Lectures and the
standing of the
lecturers being sought.
Brian Griffiths, the
Dean of the City
University Business School, an active Christian
and well respected Anglican in London, agreed
to give the Lectures in 1986. However, he was
appointed Economic Advisor to Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher and so he withdrew. A list
was beginning to take shape, but it was also
becoming clear that appointments for the
lectureship needed to be made well ahead.
ESTABLISHING THE NEW COLLEGE LECTURES
1 New College Board records, NCBM8409 held in the New
College archives
2 Deed of Trust. 9th of December 1985. Held in the New College
archives. The Trust deed provided also for the appointment of
a selection panel to choose lecturers.
NEW COLLEGE LECTURES 30TH ANNIVERSARY
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