UQ celebrates Centenary Day

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Tags: centenary, events, summer-2010

A large crowd gathers to witness the dusk spectacle at the end of UQ's Centenary Celebration Day

Fun and festivity were on the minds of an estimated 15,000 people on April 18, as they converged on UQ’s St Lucia campus to celebrate the University’s 100th birthday.

The first major event of the Centenary calendar, the day included live music in the Great Court, a Writers’ Hub, campus tours, science and innovation talks, and information sessions on global change.

David Malouf, Nick Earls and Janet Turner Hospital were among the featured writers in attendance, while the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble performed their popular Half-Hour Hamlet production.

The day ended with a dusk spectacle – a light show set against the front entrance of the Forgan Smith Building and accompanied by a 16-piece orchestra.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield thanked everyone who attended, worked or volunteered to make the day a success.

“This was about saying ‘thank you’ to the community for supporting UQ over the past 100 years,” he said.

“It was great to see the mix of students, staff, alumni and interested members of the community taking advantage of what the day had to offer.”

Professor Greenfield said the day was the perfect start to a year-long program of events and was complemented by the successful Alumni Reunion Weekend held in July.

“I encourage and invite members of the public to come to campus more often, and explore the sporting and cultural facilities that are open to them, year-round, such as cafes, museums and the gym,” he said.

On April 16 at St Lucia, thousands of staff and students marked the precise day UQ had been founded 100 years before with a giant birthday cake.

The event also saw the launch of the official Centenary book, The People’s University: 100 Years of the University of Queensland.

The University was formally created on April 16, 1910, with the publication of the names of the first senators in the Government Gazette.

Among UQ’s 180,000-plus graduates are a Nobel laureate, an Academy Award winner, Queensland Premiers and Governors, and the current Governor-General.

The University first operated from Gardens Point in the city, and then established its Herston campus in the 1930s – the same decade construction began at St Lucia.

There are now four campuses: Gatton, Herston, Ipswich and St Lucia.

By Shannon Price

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