New n Old 2019 Edition 1

FOCUS
50 YEARS OF NEW COLLEGE
Reflections
from one of the
College’s first
female residents
LIS TAYLOR
The following speech was written
and read by alumna Lis Taylor
(NC 1974-77) at the 1969-74 Alumni
Afternoon Tea as part of the
Back to New weekend:
I say firstly what a wonderful thrill
it is to be back at New College and to be
“Can
able to attend the 50th anniversary of the
College. It’s hard to believe that it is 45 years since
I first became a resident of New College. I entered
New College in 1974 as part of the first group of 26
female residents. I was a 17 year old country girl
straight out of high school having competed the HSC
at Tamworth High School. I remember being driven
to Sydney by my parents along with 2 fellow students
from Tamworth High, Sue Mountain (now Lockart)
and Jane Utting. From memory I believe we were in
Group 2A.
What was it like to be in the first group of women?
Certainly I remember feeling very outnumbered by
the number of men in the College and I wonder if
there was a feeling from the males of trepidation
that the bastion of masculinity for 5 years would be
changed forever. Melissa Lavelle wrote in the 1974
edition of the New College magazine: ‘February 2.
The fortress surrenders and we enter smiling in
our full force of 18. Attack begins upon the western,
northern and eastern fronts and in no time at all, 2A,
2B and 2C fall beneath our platform shoes. Surrender
terms are signed, and we are regarded (looked over)
warily by the male battalions. The male forces are
thrown into utter confusion. Amidst the dust of
battle a change is taking place. It is a strange but
undeniable fact that between males and females
there is an uncanny difference… and even the most
myopic engineer can appreciate the deviations.’
Of course there is a good deal of poetic license
in that assessment of women becoming part of
the New College culture. My memory is that the
integration happened quite easily, without battles
and quickly women were part of the fabric and
landscape of the College, included in all the sporting
and social activities that New is famous for. By 1976
the number of women in the College had doubled
and as I wrote in the magazine of that year ‘with
such a positive reaction our numbers have at least
doubled, and we have successfully infiltrated all
floors and fronts of the College.’ Continuing with the
tongue in cheek battle fortress metaphor.
Memories
There are so many memories. Foundation Days
lunching at tables on the median strip in Anzac
Parade and flour being hurled at passing traffic.
Is that still allowed? There was pram racing and
scavenging to earn points to beat Basser, Baxter
and Goldstein Colleges. Justin Peters was one of the
Foundation Day Directors.
Garden Nights were an annual New College
tradition of stage entertainment with lots of fun acts
which were planned and dress rehearsals held before
the big night. They quite often showcased dance and
drama performances from the international students
which was a real privilege to see.
Water fights using any garbage bin that could be
found were a major feature of New College life, and
didn’t discriminate between the male and females.
Sport involvement was very much supported
and encouraged with many proud achievements
for the College across a wide range of sports. I was
very involved in the women’s tennis team, squash,
volleyball and at times the women’s hockey team.
I loved this aspect of life at New College.
With all these activities you would wonder how
we ever managed to study. But I think most people
managed to successfully complete their degrees
despite all the other distractions.
I remember lots of very extrovert characters, Bill
Barwick, Dave Bard, Grant Lockart, Paul Robinson,
Graham Frauenfelder, Phil Piggin, Christine Olding,
Elaine Dunn and Judy Nicholson to name a few.
Many people found their future partners through
New College and many of you would well know the
Lockart/Mountain dynasty at New.
The kitchen food was an ever present source
of complaint I seem to remember, where we lined
up for rather questionable cuisine, often featuring
cabbage and other uninteresting dishes. The year I
entered the Nationwide caterers were replaced by
what we called SMIRSH, however lots of groans still
remained. This was well before the era of gourmet
style cooking that we are now accustomed to.
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New’n’Old 2019