THE GRADUATE UNIONÂ
NEWSLETTER MARCH 2019
Contents / GU Newsletter
CONTENTS GU COLLEGIATE
MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS
4
March Monthly Luncheon Mr Edward Tudor
20
A Siberian Lady by Mr Louis A Coutts, Life Member
5
March College Table Professor Gregory Harper
21
6
GU Annual Influenza Vaccination Day
Table for One by Jacinta Cubis
7
Insights into Meditation
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS 22
January 2019 Listings
FEATURES
OTHER
8
19
Innovation Drones in Australia
19
Extracurricular Melbourne's transformed Arts Precinct
22
Feedback
23
Diamond Jubilee Campaign Contribution Form
David Williams, Founder and Chairman of Kidder Williams
REVIEWS 10
February Monthly Luncheon Mr Mark Fittock
GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS 11
Former GU President Visits Graduate House
12
IMD Alumni at Graduate House
13
Grumpy Pedant — Mathematics and English Responses to our feature story
14
Calling All Litigators to Singapore
15
Our Members named Paul Harris Fellows
16
Chairperson of Council The Hon G T Pagone QC in New York
by Mr Greg Robinson
Graduation at 94 years of age Dr David Bottomley AM 17
Melbourne to host the 2023 Rotary International Convention
18
Prosperity Toss Salad at Graduate House — Celebrating the Year of the Pig
22
Happy Birthday Muriel!
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GU Collegiate / GU Newsletter
GU COLLEGIATE Residents Meet and Greet
Italian Conversation Dinner
Monthly Luncheon
Welcome Resident Members, meet our CEO/Head of College and learn of the many opportunities that only Graduate House provides.
Dine while learning to speak Italian with an experienced teacher.
Mr Edward Tudor will talk about the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School.
Free for Resident Members
Members $17 non-members $25
Resident Members $10 non-resident Members $30 general public $40, concession $35
from 6:30pm onwards Tue, 5th March
6:00pm Tue, 5th, 19th March
12:00pm for 12:30pm start Wed, 6th March
Bridge Nights
Special Morning Breakfast
College Table
Join in a game or learn to play the card game Bridge. Enjoy biscuits, tea and coffee.
Non-resident Members are welcome to join Resident Members for a hearty breakfast at Graduate House.
Associate Professor Gregory Harper will lead the discussion on agricultural research.
Free for Resident Members non-resident Members $20
Members $12 non-Members $20 loyalty card holders $15
6:50pm for 7:00pm start Wed, 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th March
7:30am to 8:30am Tue, 12th March
12:00pm for 12:30pm start Fri, 15th March
Women's Forum
Welcome BBQ
The topic is 'gardening and the place it has in our lives.'
Join us for a mixed grill BBQ as we welcome new and returning Residents to a new academic year.
BOOK NOW
Members $2 non-members $6
Forum is free. All are welcome. Lunch is at Member and non-member prices.
10:00am for 10:30am start Wed, 20th March
Free for Resident Members non-resident Members $22 guest and non-members $32 from 6:00pm onwards Fri, 29th March
via our website, www.graduatehouse.com.au by phone (03) 9347 3428, by email to admingh@graduatehouse.com.au or at Reception.
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GU Collegiate / GU Newsletter
Monthly Luncheon ‘Creating a place of belonging for remote Indigenous students in Melbourne’
With guest speaker
Mr Edward Tudor
Edward Tudor is Executive Director of the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, a role he came to in October 2014 with strong experience in corporate governance, project management and commercial law. Edward was a solicitor with the law firm King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) from February 2011 until October 2014. He graduated from The University of Melbourne in 2010 with a combined Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and was one of KWM Australia’s first secondees to its Beijing office. Edward is a member of the Anglicare Victoria Board Strategy Committee and served as a board member of the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association for five years.
Wednesday, 6 March 2019 th
12:00NOON arrival for a 12:30PM start
Graduate House 220 Leicester Street, Carlton
Bookings Tel: (03) 9347 3428 Email: admingh@graduatehouse.com.au Website: graduatehouse.com.au RSVP by Monday, 4th March 2019
Cost
In 2016 Edward was awarded the Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellowship to study organisations supporting the transition of young Indigenous people into mainstream educational opportunities across New Zealand, Canada, the USA and Lapland. In 2017 Edward was nominated for the New Corporation Pride of Australia Awards. Come to find out how Edward is making a difference at the Melbourne Indigenous Transitition School (MITS) in creating pathways to greater opportunity for Indigenous students.
10 Resident Members 30 non-resident Members $ 35 concession $ 40 general public $ $
ABN: 55 610 664 963 | IARN: A0023234B
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GU Collegiate / GU Newsletter
College Table Associate Professor Gregory Harper will lead the discussion on Agriculture. Dr Gregory Harper’s role within The University of Melbourne is to enhance and support community impact from work within the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences. This is primarily related to research outputs, but also encompasses the teaching, commercial service and extension activities of Faculty members. In his most recent role as Executive Director Agriculture Research and Development within Agriculture Victoria, Dr Harper led a branch whose major functions were research and technological development for the four major agricultural industries of Victoria: dairy, grains, red meat and horticulture. In his previous role in CSIRO, he contributed to improving the overall eating quality of Australian red meat for domestic consumption and export. He also contributed to the development of the Animal, Food and Health Division, and the Food Futures Flagship. His earlier medical research work focussed on diagnosing and treating human inborn errors of metabolism, and particularly the lysosomal storage disorders. He was part of the team that created enzyme-replacement therapies for children suffering from mucopolysaccharidosis. Dr Harper also developed expertise in the planning, funding, governance and translation into impact, of life science programs. His experience includes scientific leadership roles in the CSIRO, cooperative research centres, a rural research and development corporation (Meat and Livestock Australia) and in an NH&MRC Program grant. Dr Harper has been recognised as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Listen to what Dr Harper considers to be the future of agriculture at our first College Table for 2019.
Friday, 15th March 2019 12:00NOON arrival for 12:30PM start
Bookings Telephone (03) 9347 3428 Email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au Venue: Graduate House 220 Leicester Street, Carlton ABN: 55 610 664 963 | IARN: A0023234B
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GU Collegiate / GU Newsletter
Graduate Union
Annual Influenza Vaccination Day
In collaboration with Immunisation Coalition, The Graduate Union presents its eighth annual Influenza Vaccination Day. This is a free community service — all Members (Resident and non-resident) are welcome to come and receive a free flu shot at Graduate House.
Graduate House, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton
Tuesday, 30th April 2019
Graduate House again extends a warm welcome to the organisations that provide this service and the vaccination free of charge.
For more information, phone 03 9347 3428 or email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au
A registration link will be available at the beginning of April. To secure a booking before this, please contact Graduate House. ABN 55 610 664 963 | IAR No. A0023234B
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Thai Information and Welfare Association Inc.
Turning Inwards to the Nature of Mind Insights into Meditation by Venerable Dr Vimokkha Medhino Doctorate (PhD) in Buddhist Studies, Mahachulalongkorn University.
A pragmatic approach to the nature of the mind will be demonstrated by Venerable Dr Vimokkha Meddhino. With a journey inwards into the practice of meditation, the aim is to experience calmness, clarity, awareness and the learning of the art of letting go - a path to inner peace.
Friday, 5th April 2019, 7:30pm – 9:30pm Graduate House 220 Leicester Street Carlton, Victoria, 3053 For more information or to conďŹ rm your attendance, phone 03 9347 3428 or email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B
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Feature / GU Newsletter
David Williams Founder and Chairman of Kidder Williams We were delighted to have lunch recently at Graduate House with Mr David Williams, the Founder and Chairman of Kidder Williams. David was born in Melbourne after his father, originally from Glasgow, Scotland, moved to Australia following the war and settled in Ferntree Gully. David, therefore, went to Ferntree Gully Primary. “Then when I was finishing Grade 5,” David said, “they built a new primary school right next to where we lived called Fairhills Primary… and so I was in the first class.” David then went to Boronia High (1966–1970) and Wattle Park High (1971–1972) for his secondary school education. He undertook his Master of Economics (1972–1978) at La Trobe University and his PhD research in finance at The University of Sydney (1982–1984) on the topic of co-operatives and their capital structure. That research led him to agricultural cooperatives, which in turn led him to the food industry.
Finance, the program conducted a survey at the end of each year, asking students about “the number one thing” that they got out of their MBA course. Most students ranked the alumni — the relationships and the networks they built — as the most important part of their course. For MBA programs, David recognises the lack of emphasis in this area: “We all know this but universities and their employees probably don’t do as much to foster it as they should.” Students turn up for their courses, and “we turn up for our job to lecture. That’s it. We give them case studies where they work together, and that’s how you breed a little bit of
Today, David is the Chairman of Kidder Williams, Australia’s leading corporate advisor to the food, agriculture and beverage industries, with 34 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and corporate advisory services. Revisiting Ferntree Gully Primary and Boronia High years later, David remembered how surprised he was to see open fields where the schools used to be. “So… I have no alumni,” he concluded. Having no alumni, he, nevertheless, stresses the importance and necessity of building an alumni. During his period at The University of Sydney where he taught
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familiarity. But we don’t do anything more than that as far as I can see in most of the MBA programs, or for that matter in most jobs.” David agreed with The Graduate Union CEO/Head of College, Dr Kerry Bennett, about the importance of places like Graduate House, where students have a live-in experience, allowing them to build networks they can call on throughout their postdegree careers and professional lives while living with other graduates and professionals from all disciplines. “We’ve got to optimise it,” David noted, “and I think the older and the more postgrad people are, the more you need to do it; and the reason is because it is at that level you start to think about how what I’m learning can be applied across disciplines.” Professionally, David made headlines over the years for his role as corporate advisor to many Australian and international businesses, particularly for his role in the Bega Cheese acquisition of the culturallysignificant brand Vegemite from Mondelez International. The success, David noted, came from hard work, something that, he thinks, is sometimes missing among graduates and young professionals. “We’ve got kids that need instant gratification… there is no instant gratification, you’ve got to actually work for things.” Remembering the early years of his career, David said, “I was the longestworking, the hardest-working person in my group. I had a co-worker who had a rigid regime: ‘I leave exactly at 6 o’clock at night in order to catch the 6:15 train’… [so one day] I turned up at 6 and said… I need you to read this… and he said ‘Oh
Feature / GU Newsletter
David, ten minutes to 6 — I can’t do it until tomorrow’.” To David, this sounded like something he might say himself after he had become highly successful. “Well, now, I’m still one of the first in and still one of the last out.” David expands: “What comes through is that it’s not about intelligence — it’s about how much work you put in. It’s about being passionate about something and building your interest from the ground up.” In terms of future endeavours, David is keen to expand his horizons to corporate purchases. In a mergers and acquisitions business, “you see a lot of deals and sometimes my clients have no interest. If so, I can buy them myself and I do. So I have a business that is an advisor company but I also have a business that owns companies… So those things are as much part of my life as ever.” One of the big deals for which David made headlines was buying the Tasmanian Salmon Farmer Tassal Group out of receivership in his own name after which the company’s production soared. Referring to this success, David said, “it went into receivership 12 years ago and I bought it personally out of receivership for 42 million dollars.” The company “was doing six thousand tons of salmon when I bought it, now it’s doing circa 30 thousand tons. Salmon is bigger than every other aquaculture species you can think of: prawns, abalone, barramundi, put them all together, they’ll be doing 10 thousand tons.” David has recently started expanding his expertise in the pharmaceutical
area. He is currently the Chairman of Medical Developments International. Its key product is the Green Whistle which is manufactured with some CSIRO technology and is a medical device which releases the analgesic drug Penthrox when the user inhales. Early last year, the company received positive feedback from the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to sell its product in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Ireland and the rest of the European Union. David would like to take the Green Whistle, with the help of the Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO), to people in the Third World where operations are sometimes performed without pain relief. Another medical company David is Chairman of is PolyNovo, a tissue regeneration company which uses NovoSorb Technology for the treatment of burns and surgical wounds. The only competitors for the product in the market are organic products. But “the problem is,” David said, “when you put a biologic on a wound, it sometimes gets complications… We are available at a significantly lower price and
with significantly better efficacy.” No wonder hospitals and surgeons have been very keen to try the product. The company, David excitedly reported, has already supplied its product to “dozens of hospitals in the US and by end of January, it probably should be 60.” The company is also expanding its market around the world and is now supplying South Africa, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia. Information technology has not escaped David and he is the largest shareholder of RateMyAgent.com.au. This is a real estate agent ranking site now released in the United States, New Zealand and Australia. It was an honour to spend time with David and to learn from this innovative, inspirational and yes, very hard-working business leader who has clearly earned his success. We are very much looking forward to learning more! vvv Both photographs are published in the Qantas Magazine. The Vegemite photograph (with variations) is published in the Australian Company Director Magazine and Asia Finance.
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Review / GU Newsletter
February Monthly Luncheon Review Wednesday, 6th February 2018
Mark Fittock talks about working on the Mars Space team Mark Fittock is one of the few people on earth who can say they have left their mark on another planet — read about how he came to work in space exploration. The phrase ‘To infinity and beyond’ might sound trite, but it is the everyday reality of Monash alumnus Mark Fittock, who was part of a team of engineers to work on the Mars Space Probe that successfully landed on Mars on 20th November 2018. Yet his work in the field has come as no accident, having had the dream to work in space, or in space technology, since childhood. Growing up in Australia, Mark noticed that there was always a huge interest in space here. “Australia’s passion for space, and interest in space and space technologies is fantastic. It’s something that you don’t see in every country.” A Melburnian by birth, Mr Fittock attended Camberwell Grammar, and then Monash University where he studied for a double degree in Astrophysics and Mechanical Engineering. Considered a rather unusual selection of majors at the time, the choice led to his completing a Bachelor of Science/Engineering (Mechanical) with Honours. This selection of studies would prove a good combination of the theoretical and the practical, and thus well-suited to the field of research in space. Mr Fittock then enrolled in the SpaceMaster programme in Sweden, where he undertook three years of a Double Masters of Science, in Space Science and Technology, at
NASA's InSight lander touched down on the surface of Mars, and will use a seismometer to measure “Marsquakes”. A self-hammering heat probe will burrow five metres below the surface to study the internal heat of the planet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Luleå University of Technology. His research there led to research studies with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), after which he was asked to apply for a position there. It is in his role at DLR — Germany’s equivalent to NASA — that he would be centre stage in developing the space probe, HP3. This probe, also referred to as the ‘mole’, is designed to burrow up to five metres under the ground on Mars in order to gather information about the ‘red’ planet. Regarding his own involvement in working on the Mars Space Probe project, Mr Fittock says the mission itself came from NASA, which they call ‘InSight’ and is aimed at looking inside Mars to gain information about the inner dynamics of the planet. The probe does this mainly through a seismometer, which measures the outside conditions on the planet — quakes and seismic activities — and other sensors (e.g., for temperature). This information, Mark noted, can help to explain how Mars was formed and give us a better understanding of how the solar system works. The ‘mole’ itself is “about the size of a rolled-up serviette” and has a self-hammering penetrator, pushing itself down and around harder materials, such as rocks. Mr Fittock's involvement in the practical/technical projects, experiments and testing of the ‘mole’ was in parallel with the development and testing of the carbonfibre ‘molehouse’. Proud of his niche space knowledge, Mr Fittock undertook the whole process of assembly, integration, test and verification for the parts. At the time of this Monthly Luncheon presentation, he expected the Mars probe would soon be starting to drill down into Mars but cautioned that delays are inevitable with projects like this. In his current role as a Space Flight Hardware Specialist, at OHB Systems in Bremen, he is working to see how technologies we use on earth and those used in space can be applied in space missions. Looking at the application of technology for future missions in science, exploration and technology development, Mr Fittock is part of a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency examining earth's approach to asteroids. He outlined various options for those heading for earth, such as nudging a spacecraft against the asteroid to deflect its trajectory!
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Mr Fittock says that in his new role there were three main factors that assisted him. “Firstly — coordination; secondly, my technical and practical skills — and that is the ability to test and take on new tasks — and thirdly, having a good basis in Science and Engineering practices.” Talking about how he became interested in this field, he says he doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t passionate about space. “Growing up as a kid, I read space books, I watched Halley’s Comet, and those books are all still there. My parents still bring them out when I visit. And it wasn’t just space — I had a passion for engineering. But I didn’t really understand it as engineering — I just pulled all my toys apart to understand how they worked. But these things helped … and those practical skills I still use in my job today.” Mark's choices of astrophysics and mechanical engineering, therefore, while uncommon, were in retrospect a fortunate mistake. “As a mechanical engineer, you have skills other astro-engineers don’t have,” Mr Fittock noted. After completing his Monash degrees, he applied for the SpaceMaster programme, which was a “critical” turning point for him, and a challenge going to a new country. Relocating to Europe, while not easy, did prove extremely successful for him. This, he attributes to the idea of the “Aussie advantage”. Mr Fittock explained the “Aussie advantage” as the reputation Australians have for being “hardworking, committed, honest and reliable.” He further noted, “Australians come with the advantage of being friendly and generally ‘not being jerks to people’. This is a real advantage.” Since there are a lot of “us” (Australians) in
the space community, this reputation makes it easier for us to find work in Europe. Mr Fittock says he is always asked: what was it like to work on a space mission going to Mars? “Tough. And the long answer is — very tough.” Explaining how he and the team still meet up to discuss the project, he says he looks back at the time with rose-tinted glasses but then also Mark Fittock remembers working seven days for 12 hours a day, because they needed to get things done for NASA. “Building things for space is very tough but there is some fun along the way,” he says. Still passionate about his future missions at OHB, he says his current work is better suited for a person with a young family but there are many paths where the work can take you. Maybe even to Mars… Thank you, Mark, for an enlightening presentation on your work on the Mars space probe team! vvv
Former GU President Visits Graduate House Mr Frank A Lees AM MBE, President of The Graduate Union from 1999 to 2005, recently visited Graduate House and gifted two of his Shalford Press publications to the Graduate House Library: a book of poems, predominantly about nature, Haiku Earth Water Air and a personal history of his time in occupied Japan, Tales of Post War Japan. Of his visit, Frank said: “What a memorable day with you and ‘yesteryear’. Thank you for taking me back to such happy years. There is much that I recall as my rewarding days as President. Well done — staff and facilities in the tradition of my period.”
Mr Frank A Lees AM MBE
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Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
IMD Alumni at Graduate House
by Mr Greg Robinson, Co-convenor IMD Alumni Roundtables The Melbourne IMD Alumni Club have enjoyed conducting quarterly executive roundtable luncheons at Graduate House for almost two decades. At these events we have had several prominent presenters such as Patricia Cross, Graeme Liebelt, Robert Gottliebsen, Ian Dicker and leading IMD Alumni executives: Leigh Clifford, Phil Chronican, Andrew Abercrombie, Catherine Livingstone, David Murray and John Gillam. Our alumni network has more than 100,000 members in over 40 clubs worldwide and the presidents of each club meet in Lausanne, Switzerland annually. IMD is an independent global business school, with their campus in Lausanne and an Executive Learning Centre in Singapore. IMD’s main objective is to develop leaders and transform organisations to create ongoing impact. Consistently at the top of rankings, IMD is proud to be intellectually and culturally diverse with no single dominant nationality and no one world view. More than 9,000 executives from 98 countries come to IMD each year. IMD is pleased to be associated with sound global values as reflected by the IMD President, Jean-François Manzoni
in the foreword to the IMD Annual Report stating: “… we are very aware that in an age of growing distrust of business, political and even religious leaders, IMD must continue to encourage and help leaders and organisations to be a force for good in the world. One of our activities on this front is the research we conduct on organisations that are able to ‘do well by doing good’. We are also conducting research in related areas such as social innovation, philanthropy and sustainability, thanks in part to new Chairs created with the support of partners and donors. IMD challenges what is and inspires what could be to develop leaders and transform organisations in a way that is intended to have a positive impact on society. We will continue to promote business as a force for good in the world through our teaching and research.”
The IMD Alumni identifies closely with postgraduate international students at The Graduate Union and the GU Members in which many graduated from other Australian and overseas universities. Similarly, the IMD alumni benefit from members in many countries and continue to value class reunions and the diverse international network. In delivering their global executive programmes, at times IMD collaborate with other institutions such as the nearby Swiss global leading technology university EPFL (Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne). The goal is to inspire new business solutions using globally applicable innovative technologies which offer significant IMD alumnus Natalia Filchakova in a lecture room potential for new business opportunities. with delegates from all over the world.
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Other examples include the Strategic Innovation Program where IMD have partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for 16 years. Our five members on the Melbourne IMD alumni committee reflect the diversity of programmes completed to enhance their careers. Newly appointed President, Dr Julie Wehbe, a global health professional and academic, has in recent years completed an Executive MBA at IMD Lausanne. As Julie operates internationally, she promotes IMD globally as an active Alumni member of the Zurich IMD Alumni club, with close to 1,500 members. Our immediate past president Karen Stoffels completed the longest executive programme outside of an MBA, i.e., the IMD Executive Professional Development Programme attending sessions at Lausanne over two years. This assisted with her senior executive roles in the international mining industry. Karen also is the Alumni representative of the combined international business schools’ alumni based in Melbourne. These include Harvard, London, INSEAD, Columbia, Kellogg, Oxford and Stanford. Two long-term committee members Matt English and Glenister Lamont completed MBAs at IMD and have held senior executive roles in major global companies. Glenister sits on company boards and has chaired a number. Matt is now a Professor of Practice at Monash Business School. Both have frequently attended and chaired our executive IMD Alumni Roundtables. Greg Robinson, also a committee member and an IMD Ambassador, found his first IMD programme
Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
ideally assisted in his international consulting and being on advisory boards in the APAC region. In recent times he completed the stimulating IMD programme Orchestrating Winning Performance in Singapore where 33 nationalities were represented. The popular IMD Professor Bill Fischer led the innovation section on the Orchestrating Winning Performance. His paper provides some insight into his thinking and reading on this topic, titled: Standing at the Dumb End of Our Smarter Future: Why are we so afraid of talent displacement as we move into the future. He writes: “… the knowledge requirements of our exploding techno-economy are fast outstripping organisational abilities to keep up… as explained in Thomas Friedman’s book Thanks for Being Late by observing that environmental complexity is increasing at exponential rates, while organisational capabilities increase at much more modest rates, typically tied to individual, and only partially
shared learning, and frustrated by inevitable bureaucratic constraints”. “What if our organisations were designed on the metaphor of a brain, rather than a model of the Roman Legions devised 2,000 years ago? “With either brains or incubators as a guide, innovation and agility would be the design default, rather than the exception. Indeed, anthropologist Chuck Farrah has pointed out that: ‘If Silicon Valley were a brain, it wouldn’t be the frontal lobe or brain cell; it would be a synapse, a connector’. What an interesting design metaphor that would lead to!” About leadership in the future, Bill Fischer added that: “Not surprisingly when it comes to leadership, it was Steve Jobs who realised that: ‘To be an artist, chaos is natural’, [and he] was essentially an artist in a Chief Executive’s disguise.” Bill concludes: “What we need, therefore, are more artist-CEOs who flourish in chaos, who are faster, or at least more comfortable with the
unknown, and who are willing to adjust to it; who are explorers rather than exploiters.” We always enjoy leading thinkers presenting at our roundtables and annually we are fortunate to have visiting IMD professors present at Graduate House too. The IMD Alumni have enjoyed the long association with The Graduate Union and have welcomed GU Members attending the IMD executive Roundtable lunches as guests, such as CEO/Head of College, Dr Kerry Bennett and GU Council member Keith Ryall. IMD’s next roundtable luncheon is on Friday, 15th March 2019 at Graduate House with Dr Gabriele Suder speaking on ‘Today’s international business take on Brexit and its impact on Australia’. Contact Graduate Union Member, Mr Greg Robinson by email at greg.robinson@ internationalconsultantscentre.com for further details. vvv
Grumpy Pedant — Mathematics and English Responses to our feature story
In the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of the Newsletter, we published a feature story, Grumpy Pedant — Mathematics and English, by Life member Rod Watson.
As another grumpy pedant I was interested in Rod Watson’s article in the last newsletter. I would like to add a few of my hates:
The following gives a sample of reader responses to this well-received article.
1. The use of the term paedophile for sexual abusers of children. They are not lovers of children as the Greek word philos would imply, and paederast would be much more appropriate.
As one grumpy pedant to another, I was very glad to read your (Rod Watson's) article [in the Jan/Feb Newsletter]. Thank you. I have another matter you could add to your (regrettably but necessarily) long list. I am all for the removal of the word “basis” from the language in order to help save the adverb and suppress clumsy expression. I am all for “regularly”, not “on a regular basis”, annually, not “on an annual basis”, “daily”, not “on a daily basis” and so on — the list of examples could be very long. The lastmentioned example is interesting in that the adjective is the same as the adverb. Is there a Society for the Preservation of the Adverb? — Dr Oliver Raymond OAM Life Member
2. Kilometer, with accent on second syllable, if such a word exists, would be an instrument for measuring kilometres, cf. Micrometer and micrometre. 3. Omission of letters, e.g., Essedon etc. is annoying. 4. One that particularly upsets me is the increasing tendency to refer to the great Russian composer as Chikoski. — Dr David McCredie Honorary Life Member
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Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
Calling All Litigators to Singapore! Life Member, Ms Jennifer Batrouney QC is the President of the Australian Bar Association (ABA) for 2018–19. The ABA will host their biennial international conference in Singapore: Convergence – the worldclass conference for litigators from 11th to 12th July 2019. To take advantage of the promotional flights to Singapore and beyond, email mice@spencertravel.com.au.
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Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
Congratulations to our Members for being named Paul Harris Fellows Congratulations to our Life Members, Ms Jennifer Batrouney QC and Dr Peter Rogers, who were recently named as two of four Paul Harris Fellows by The Rotary Club of Melbourne. Ms Jennifer Batrouney QC was recently elected President of the Australian Bar Association for 2018 to 2019. Jennifer is a highly respected and sought-after advocate and advisor. She has had extensive experience in appearing before the High Court, the Federal Court and the superior State courts, mainly in revenue matters. Jennifer is Immediate Past President of the Victorian Bar and of the Tax Bar Association. Dr Peter Rogers, recently appointed to the Council of The Graduate Union, is Emeritus Chairman of the Monash Engineering and Information Technology Foundation; Chairman of Australian Rotary Health D9800 Committee; a member of the Monash Mining and Resources Engineering Advisory Board; and Past President of The Rotary Club of Melbourne. In his announcement, citing their work for the Rotary Club of Melbourne for legal proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and the Supreme Court of Victoria, President, Mr Robert Fisher, said: “We are today thanking and acknowledging the following people who gave generously of their time and personal resources in running these legal cases on behalf of Rotary Melbourne: “Peter Rogers, who carried out extensive research and was professionally guided ahead of
a gruelling two days-long crossexamination in the witness box by the State Revenue Office’s Senior Counsel. “Jennifer Batrouney QC, who represented the Club as Senior Counsel, and who passionately acted on a pro bono basis throughout both appeals with the assistance of her team of two junior barristers producing deeply researched written submissions for both VCAT and the Court.” Rotary started with the vision of one man — Paul Harris. The Chicago attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago on 23rd February 1905, so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities.
Ms Jennifer Batrouney QC
Many other notable figures have been named Paul Harris Fellows, including US President Jimmy Carter, US astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk. The number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the one million mark in 2006. Congratulations again to Jennifer and Peter on joining an illustrious list of recipients.
Dr Peter Rogers
vvv
Rotary — Paul Harris Fellows
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Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
Chairperson of Council, The Hon Tony Pagone in New York Our Chairperson of Council, The Hon Tony Pagone was in New York from 9th to 11th February in his role as President of the International Association of Judges (IAJ) for an international conference on the subject ‘Contemporary Challenges on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers from a Global Perspective’. The event was organised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the Konrad-AdenauerStiftung and the New York City Bar Association. The IAJ was represented by President Tony Pagone, First VicePresident José Manuel Igreja Matos, Vice-President Allyson Duncan and Secretary-General Giacomo Oberto. Tony spoke on the topic ‘Possible role of the International Association of Judges (IAJ-UIM)' as part of a panel discussion, 'Translating ideas into practice: Rethinking the UN Basic Principles of the Independence of the Judiciary (Part II)’. vvv
Congratulations, Dr David Bottomley AM Congratulations to Life Member, Dr David Bottomley AM, who, at the grand age of 94, officially received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) on 5th February from Curtin University. We were thrilled that David visited Graduate House on 24th January to have his official graduation photos taken as he was, unfortunately, unable to attend his graduation ceremony.
David is, arguably, Australia’s oldest person to graduate with a PhD — do you know anyone who was older when they received their PhD? We know of some who have gained degrees at this age but none who have gained a research doctorate. Dr David Bottomley's graduation photo, right, was taken in the Johnston library. vvv
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Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
Melbourne to host the 2023 Rotary International Convention
Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Inc. and all supporting Rotary Clubs for their successful bid in bringing the 2023 Rotary International Convention to Melbourne! There will be more than 20,000 delegates to the Convention, and it will be the largest conference secured this century for Victoria. When it is hosted, it will be 30 years exactly since Melbourne hosted the same international event in 1993. Melbourne is renowned as a Big Events City, and the global spotlight will be on Melbourne during the Convention. The fourday event will take place from 27th to 31st May 2023 at Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and is set to deliver over $88 million to the Victorian economy, the most valuable conference ever won for the state. Over 7,000 hotel rooms at 50 properties across Melbourne will be occupied. The transport plan will use our famous trams, ferries and buses to quickly and easily move delegates between venues, hotels, event and restaurants. And of course, Melbourne is a very walkable city with many interesting routes and laneways to tantalise visitors.
The effort to secure this exceptional event was no small feat. The Rotary Club of Melbourne’s approach was tenacious, going that extra mile to demonstrate Melbourne’s ability to meet the stringent bid regulations and strategically demonstrate their capacity to accommodate the specific needs of Rotarian delegates and Convention format. This was all made possible by a unified approach between the Melbourne Convention Bureau, Rotary Club of Melbourne, Rotarians from five local Districts, Melbourne City Council, State Government and Team Melbourne partners. They have come up with a package that is bound to thrill delegates.
the world at large. Life Member, Cr Keith Ryall, past District Governor of the Rotary Club of Carlton is on our Council. Resident Member, Ms Parisa Shiran is an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Carlton for her volunteer work with Rotary. We, again, congratulate the Rotary Club of Melbourne for this monumental achievement, and wish them all the best for this event in 2023! vvv
The Graduate Union has had a long and rewarding association with Rotary, particularly with the Rotary Club of Carlton, which has held their weekly Tuesday meetings over lunch at Graduate House for more than ten years. We are proud of our Graduate House Resident Members who frequently volunteer to assist with Rotary fundraising activities — such as Bunnings BBQs and The Rotary Club of Carlton Book Fairs — to make a difference to our community and to
Resident Members, Parisa Shiran (left) and Beatriz González Hernández, who volunteered at the Rotary Club of Carlton's BBQ at Bunnings Collingwood in January.
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Graduate House News / GU Newsletter
Prosperity Toss Salad at Graduate House — Celebrating the Year of the Pig Graduate House recently made a ‘pig sty’ celebrating the Lunar New Year! Staff of Graduate House ushered in the Year of the Pig by hosting its own YuSheng, ‘prosperity toss salad’ on 7th February. The tradition brings people and customs together to make a ‘pig sty’ mess and enjoy a salad with a difference. The salad tossing proved extremely popular, both in the tossing but also the eating of such a healthy and colourful salad. It has become a tradition at Graduate House, having been held for the last four years. YuSheng translates to ‘raw fish’ and is a symbol of abundance and prosperity. While the salad is believed to have developed in South China, the ‘prosperity toss salad’ is most popular throughout Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is served in many Chinese restaurants during the 15 days of Lunar New Year. As with most things Chinese, it comes with good omens and implications. Our Graduate House version is 100% vegetarian and is plattered in the image of the New Year’s animal — the pig for this year (see picture, top right). The pig occupies the last position of the Chinese Zodiac and people born in
that year are considered to be mildmannered and carefree in character. The salad is made up of a variety of finely-shredded vegetables, such as lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, capsicums, coriander and pickled vegetables. The dressing of the salad included condiments added by the staff, including crispy crackers, crushed peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, fivespice powder, pepper and drizzles of plum sauce and sesame oil. It was tossing time, and the group, ready with their chopsticks, tossed the salad high into the air while proclaiming ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’ — translated literally as ‘wishing you enlarged wealth’! It is said that the higher the salad is tossed, the luckier the person will be — so we expect some very good luck for people at Graduate House this year!
Year of the Pig, ‘prosperity toss salad’
Filled with traditions and customs, Lunar New Year is celebrated widely in Melbourne and the Year of the Pig is no exception. The Lunar New Year in 2019 started on 5th February and will go until 24th January 2020, as based on the traditional lunar calendar. Our gratitude is extended to Shirley Ho for her extraordinarily artistic, generous and delicious ‘prosperity toss salad’. vvv
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The aftermath!
Innovation / Extracurricular / GU Newsletter
Innovation: Drones in Australia — what you need to know People often receive drones as gifts during the festive season, but these new gadgets, while increasingly sophisticated, have numerous limitations in how they can be used in Australia. What is a drone? A drone is specifically an unpiloted aircraft or spacecraft. Developed and often used by the military, they are referred to as ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ (UAV) and often have builtin technology, like GPS mapping for gathering aerial information. In Australia, drones are flown for recreational, commercial and military purposes, and have strict flying restrictions, as outlined by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Where can I fly a drone? There are many regulations on flying drones in public for recreational purposes. In particular, and perhaps obvious to most, “you must not fly your drone in a way that creates a hazard to another aircraft, person or property”. CASA has information and several tools for the public to guide the flying of drones recreationally. These are available for their website — Droneflyer.gov.au. There is also a smartphone App ‘Can I fly there?’ Events like the Gatwick airport drone disruption and the flying of drones near bushfire areas last year, have led to new ‘drone-hunting’ technology being introduced in Australian airports from last December.
New technology in drones Drone technology has advanced significantly in recent years, particularly in the surveillance area. With this technology evolving rapidly and drone usage increasing in many industries, their development is expected to grow alongside regulation, in order to address growing privacy and safety concerns. Find out more at: https://www.casa. gov.au/aircraft/landing-page/flyingdrones-australia vvv
Extracurricular: Melbourne to see a transformed Arts Precinct Melbourne will become the host of Australia’s largest contemporary art gallery, with a transformation of the current Arts Precinct to provide new public spaces and better theatres, and creating thousands of local jobs. Announced by Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley last year, this will be a major redevelopment in the central business district. “The revitalised Arts Precinct will better connect our existing facilities, create new jobs, opportunities and spaces for our creative community, and offer free, accessible cultural experiences for all Victorians,” said Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley. The centrepiece of the redevelopment is NGV Contemporary (NGVC) which is envisioned as a world-
leading, standalone gallery, focusing specifically on contemporary art and design. NGVC will be Australia’s largest contemporary art gallery. It will be built on Artist impression of NGV Contemporary the site of the Carlton and United Breweries Building, an expanded Australian Music located on Southbank Boulevard. Vault, administrative, education The project will incorporate 18,000 and research facilities and a centre square metres of new and renewed for small to medium independent public space and enable visitors arts organisations. to move from Southbank to the The project, for completion by 2025, Yarra, along the city’s iconic St Kilda is expected to create 10,000 jobs Road area. during construction and 260 ongoing Theatres and public spaces at the jobs. An extra three million visitors Arts Centre Melbourne will be per year are anticipated. upgraded and 1 City Road will be Find out more about this exciting transformed into a new creative area project at: https://bit.ly/2CBQWe6 in the city. This area will house the vvv Australian Performing Arts Gallery, www.graduatehouse.com.au / ABN 55610 664 963 / IARN A0023234B / 19
Members Contribution / GU Newsletter
A Siberian Lady by Mr Louis A Coutts, Life Member I was visited recently by a friend who sacrificed precious moments with his young grandchild to spare a couple of hours chatting with me, and I reflected on the beauty of the gesture. I have continued to reflect on the experience and the ease with which the facets of our conversation unfolded and seamlessly interwove to construct a fabric of memory which is now a precious possession. Our minds turned from the most serious issues, such as the failure of our football team, to the most irrelevant such as the state of the world, and I really can’t remember much of what we said, but I will forever remember the shared moments because they brought some beauty to my life. And it was in that conversation that I said something along the lines that from now on, I only wanted to write about beauty. And I was reminded of a story that I partly told some years ago when travelling across Siberia. I remember trying to adjust to a cold metal bench seat anchored to an exposed worn steel floor on a tram in a Siberian city. Siberian trams are relics that defy the laws of physics and yet still deliver an approximate equivalent of serviceability. The tram lines had long since abandoned hope of maintenance and only occasionally secured the wheels of the tram for a metre or two of even travel. But generally, we were constantly propelled backwards and forwards and sideways as the tram miraculously retained its hair-raising attachment to the rails. A huge woman in a nondescript gabardine blue dress that I suspect substituted for a uniform, with her
conductor’s bag over her shoulder, issued me with tickets in exchange for some Russian money. There was then trouble in the back of the tram, and from my inadequate grasp of Russian I suspected that an old guy had said something disrespectful to a young girl. The woman conductor took control and in a tone that brooked no nonsense, abused the man unmercifully until he departed at the next stop. That woman put the fear of God into everyone on the tram. She was some tough Russian lady. We travelled to the terminus and wanted to stay on the tram to go back to the city, but this conductor, in no uncertain terms, told us that it was not permitted and told us where we had to go to catch a tram back to the city. We waited while every tram other than the one we wanted headed off in different directions, and I suggested to my friend that we try and get a taxi. I then put my hand in my hip pocket and found that my wallet was missing. Now there is nothing unusual about that,
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as I frequently miss my wallet, and sometimes permanently. But in Siberia, I only carried a few roubles in my wallet, and the rest of my money and credit cards were securely held in a purse around my neck and under my shirt. So, the loss of my wallet was no big deal. Finally, our tram came and, lo and behold, who was the conductor but this same, tough looking lady. She came up to me to collect our fares and I half thought about asking her if, by any chance, she had seen my wallet. Before I could finish the sentence, she went down to the driver’s compartment and came back and presented me with my wallet. I thanked her profusely, but she then went about her business. When we arrived back in the city and it was time for me to alight, I had contemplated giving the conductor the money that was left in my wallet. As I got up from my seat I looked back and saw the lady sitting in a relaxed and pensive mood with a vacant look on her face. And then she saw me. I was still thinking of
Members Contribution / GU Newsletter
giving her some money, and for some reason I smiled at her. Gradually, the vacant expression on her face transformed subtly; our eyes met and engaged and then she also smiled, but in an incredibly innocent way. In those few fleeting seconds of delicate
human interaction, I realised that she was no longer a conductor, but a beautiful woman. Her face was so at peace and somehow, she shared that moment of peacefulness with me. Some tacit agreement had passed between us and we understood that
we had experienced an act of love which would have been grotesquely insulted by my offer of money. I now have the memory of that beautiful, peaceful face as another of my precious possessions. vvv
Table for One We need more interaction and less isolation. by Jacinta Cubis The Japanese ramen chain Ichiran is all about ‘zero interaction’ providing ‘flavour concentration booths’, solo spaces where diners can ‘… be one with their ramen.’ They’re meeting a demand. Bookings by solo diners increased by 62% in the US in 2017. No doubt mindful eating is healthy, but for anyone interested in connections and community, this is a little discouraging. Breaking bread with others, strangers or family, is at the heart of social interaction, which as (social researcher) Hugh MacKay says, builds social cohesion and ultimately a strong society. He’s optimistic about the future of community, despite the fact that we seem to spend more time looking at our phones than talking to each other. There’s the Good Karma Network, for example, which goes from strength to strength. It’s a grass-roots, problem-solving network where people ask for help and respond with help. The first one was set up in 2016 in Kensington, a suburb in Melbourne’s inner-west. It now has 6,700 members. There are now 40 networks in Australia and New Zealand with a combined 27,000. And apparently Ichiran’s Brooklyn outlet has had to adapt. Waiters said that customers tried to have
conversations with them (!) and said: they’ve added moveable walls to meet “If you really want to make a friend, go the demand for dining as couples to someone’s house and eat with him… or in groups. They’ve even set up a the people who give you their food give group dining area. you their heart.” As the latest wave of school leavers Jacinta Cubis connects people with shoulder their backpacks and each other and ideas. She brings embark on their adventures, I hope them together to collaborate, partner they enjoy breaking bread with and engage — as a facilitator, speaker, strangers like I did before the era trainer, mentor and coach. Connect of smart phones and social media. with Jacinta on her: Dining solo is a welcome relief from crowded hostels and public transport. Website: https://www.jacintacubis.com/ But eating out solo when you’re travelling is also an invitation for LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/ great conversations — with the café in/jacintacubis/ owners, other solo travellers, families, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ couples and groups. jacintamcubis/ Here’s to more connections, Instagram: http://www.instagram. more community and more com/jacinta_cubis/ vvv social cohesion. As Cesar Chavez
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Conference Bookings / Feedback / GU Newsletter
The patronage of organisation Members in charitable, not-for-profit, government, universities and professional development sectors is acknowledged here, as is that of our many Members who hold their functions at Graduate House.
Department of Chemical Engineering Targeting Tissue Workshop
Australian School of Applied Management Women & Leadership Australia
The Graduate Union Collegiate Events and Governance Meeting
31st January 35 attendees
31st January 22 attendees
5th February 10 attendees
Happy Birthday Muriel! A group of lovely ladies gathered at Graduate House on Tuesday, 12th February to celebrate the 95th birthday of Mrs Muriel Johnston-Need. The ladies have been friends for more than seven decades, since graduating from Melbourne Business School in 1940 and they meet here regularly to catch up and celebrate each others' birthdays. We look forward to Muriel's 96th birthday next year!
Feedback
We value your comments and suggestions! Just a note to thank you and all of the Graduate House team for the fabulous evening at my private function on Friday, 25th January.
Tell us how we did. Your feedback is important.
To everyone involved, from reception to catering to the accommodation team and Rosie and Bill in particular, who went out of their way to ensure the evening was an outstanding success, a huge THANK YOU!
The lucky feedback winner for January is Life Member Mrs Anne Mulholland who won a bottle of De Bortoli Sacred Hill Brut Cuvée
For the majority of our guests, this was their first experience of Graduate House — many commented on the friendliness and efficiency of the staff, the quality of the catering and the ambience of the environment. Kerry and the whole team — you did me proud — sincere thanks! —President, Dr Ken V Loughnan AO How to improve in excellence? Best value in Melbourne. Much better value than I encountered anywhere. —Life Member, Mrs Anne Mulholland
All Dining Room Feedback Forms will be in the Monthly Draw and in the running for the Year‑End Prize of a $500 Coles Myer Gift Voucher, drawn at the Members Christmas Party on Friday, 13th December 2019.
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Diamond Jubilee Campaign Contribution Form Graduate House, as the only dedicated postgraduate residential college of The University of Melbourne, commemorated our 60th anniversary in 2017 by opening the next chapter in the life of our historic building. Our Diamond Jubilee Campaign will see us construct a new, 11-storey residential building to continue to provide quality accommodation and a vibrant collegiate environment for our Resident Members. Please help us realise this exciting plan by lending support now.
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Donation Form / GU Newsletter
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