THE University of New England is inviting Armidale residents on a trip down memory lane, to a time when the music sounded sweeter and ‘to swing’ was to show real class.
This year UNE marks 75 years since the inception of the New England University College as an outpost of Sydney University and the forerunner of UNE, and is hosting a gala dinner dance to coincide with graduations for alumni and invites all of the Armidale community to share in the celebrations.
The highly acclaimed Glen Miller and Andrews Sisters Tribute Band will set the scene while Armidale local, Emma Hadfield, as one of the all-singing, all-dancing Andrews Sisters, will lead guests back in time to the first days of tertiary education in Armidale.
Complete with the livery of “Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces”, authentic badges and rank insignia of the band from late 1944, England, the 18-piece brass band is part of the world-famous Queensland Pops Orchestra – itself, one of the most highly sought performance and swing bands in Australia today.
Emma graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium with a major in Piano Performance in 2007 and a graduate diploma in pipe organ in 2009. She is a previous winner of the Hilda Woolmer Accompaniment prize at the Conservatorium. She has sung chamber choral music, and is in a vocal sextet called Neapolitan Twist, one half of which is moonlighting as the Andrew’s Sister’s. She is no stranger to Armidale, having come back in the past for performances with local musicians including Alastair Finch and Errol Russell.
Since 2009 Emma has also been heavily involved in the Brisbane swing scene, joining the demo troupe, running Balboa events and now teaching Balboa and Lindy Hop.
The 75th Anniversary Dinner Dance will be held on-campus at the Wright Centre from 6.30pm on Saturday 26 October. Guests are encouraged to dress in the style of the Swing era, while there will also be the opportunity to have your photograph taken in a car of the same vintage. Swing dancing classes will be held at Sport UNE on Wednesday 9 and 16 October at 7.30pm.
Tickets are $100 per person including beverages, with bookings available online at www.une.edu.au/celebrate75 or by phone on 02 6773 2870.
For more information, please contact UNE Media via email media@une.edu.au or by phone on 02 6773 2551.
The opening of the New England University College
THIS year UNE celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the opening of the New England University College (NEUC) – established as an outpost of the University of Sydney in Booloominbah which had been donated by Thomas Forster in 1937.
Edgar Booth was appointed as Warden of NEUC on 1 January 1938, with lectures beginning in March 1938. There were five lecturers and 24 students.
Booth, his secretary, the College’s Matron, four of the five lecturers, and 15 of the 16 full-time students (nine men and six women) all lived in Booloominbah, which also housed administration offices, lecture rooms, library, dining room and common room. There was some concern in the local community about the perceived impropriety of young adult male and female students living under the same roof – something quite unheard of in Australia before then.
On Saturday 30 April, 1938, the college was officially opened in the presence of the Governor of NSW, the chancellor and vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney. The ceremony, and elegant garden party that followed, drew a distinguished gathering of more than 1200 people from across NSW. At the vice-regal ball the previous night, all but one of the full-time female students made their formal debut into adult society.
The experiment to manage tertiary education outside of Sydney proved so successful that NEUC gained autonomy in 1954 – as what we know now as the University of New England.
