Lot's Wife Edition 1 2017
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A Medley Of Evil<br />
edition one<br />
In 1970, a large number of recreational books and records were bequeathed to the University<br />
of Melbourne in the name of John Medley. As the University of Melbourne had already established<br />
a recreational library, the resources were hence donated to Monash and the John Medley Library was<br />
established as the first library of our student union. Managed by the Monash Student Association, the<br />
library is run off the work of a few staff members who are either students or past students, and a team of<br />
dedicated student volunteers. Grace Trist, the library coordinator, mentioned that the original purpose<br />
of the library in 1970 is still very relevant today. She acknowledged that a lot of the feedback she gets<br />
from students now is similar to back when the library was first established. It is a “refuge for students,<br />
away from the chaos of academic life.”<br />
Over the past few years, there has been debate over the names of particular buildings at the University<br />
of Melbourne. The Richard Berry Building has recently had its name changed to the Peter Hall Building<br />
late last year. This was due to the fact that Berry, a strong proponent of eugenics, had collected some 400<br />
Aboriginal corpses. The remains were re-discovered on the campus in 2003, arguably making the name<br />
change several years overdue. There has been a similar push for other buildings at Melbourne University<br />
carrying the names of detestable individuals to also be changed. One relevant example to Monash as well<br />
as Melbourne University is John Medley. Both staff and students at Monash and Melbourne University<br />
have expressed their concern over the name of buildings carrying his name.<br />
John Medley has a particularly shameful history involving the unethical use of eugenics, specifically<br />
aimed at Aboriginal people amongst many others. Furthermore, Medley was a member of the Eugenics<br />
Society of Victoria. The society was known for advocating for the use of sterilisation, segregation, and<br />
lethal chambers against Aboriginal people, homosexuals, people with disabilities and other groups of<br />
people that were deemed ‘inferior’ by members of the society. The practice of eugenics informed much<br />
of the belief system of Nazism. Following in a similar mould to the research developed in the United<br />
States, particularly California, eugenics gained prominence in Germany prior to the Nazis gaining power.<br />
However, once Hitler consolidated power there was a much larger emphasis placed on the expansion of<br />
its research. This expansion ultimately led to the removal of people who were generally considered weak<br />
in the chain of heredity: including people with cognitive and physical disabilities, mental illness and<br />
homosexuals. The idea was that the removal of ‘rotten heredity’ would result in a genetically superior<br />
master race. The Holocaust was a consequence of this belief system.<br />
For a university campus to still have buildings named in commemoration of people whose actions<br />
aided the oppression of marginalised groups, suggests that the honoree should still be celebrated.<br />
Eugenics and the racist practices of the members of the Eugenics Society of Victoria are nothing to be<br />
celebrated. Instead, we should be celebrating Indigenous achievement. The struggle that Indigenous<br />
Australians have faced in trying to gain access to education and equal opportunities is still ongoing.<br />
With this in mind, the <strong>2017</strong> MSA Indigenous Department is in the process of renaming the building after<br />
a prominent Indigenous Monash graduate. By doing so, we would not only have a library named after a<br />
person relevant to our university, but it could play an additional role in reversing the image impacted by<br />
John Medley. This will enforce the notion that we should honour Indigenous Australians, rather than a<br />
person who denigrated them. If the plan to rename is successful, the student union library would better<br />
reflect the values here at Monash University.<br />
The Dark History of our<br />
Student Union Library<br />
lot’s wife<br />
article by jayden crozier and bryda nichols