Some New England Memorabilia

Received today from Burnet’s Books of Uralla, a town about 20 km south of Armidale in the New England region of New South Wales, three interesting memorabilia from the New England University College and the University of New England:

-  New England University College Calendar 1947-48, 24 pages (Armidale Express print): a memento of the immediate postwar period, when the University College was beginning to grow after its very fragile start in 1938 and a very lean time during the war years.

-  University of New England Handbook, November 1954 (Armidale Express print): published the first year of the University’s existence as an autonomous institution.

-  The University of New England Calendar, 1962 (printed by Halstead Press, Sydney, published by the University on 1 November 1961, the end of my first year at the University, by which time the University had grown to about 600 full-time undergraduates). This document combined in one volume the University Calendar last published in 1956, and the annual University Handbook.

These documents are a little treasure trove of information about the staff who participated in the great experiment that was Australia’s first regional university.  In future posts I will draw on them to recall a little of the University’s history and the way things were.

For earlier posts on the University and its history see Booloominbah and New England University Rugby Team 1939.