VC’ S CORNER
campusreview. com. au
Photo: Sally Tsoutas( 2013) UWS. Background image, National Archives of Australia
A legacy of learning’ s worth
Former PM Gough Whitlam was a champion of higher education and so much more; but he took a particular interest in the fate of the people of western Sydney.
By Barney Glover
The death of Edward Gough Whitlam touched a deep chord across the length and breadth of our land. Reading the obituaries, media reports, broadcast interviews and array of at-times very moving condolence speeches in our Federal Parliament, I was struck that everyone seemed to have their own, personal Gough story. I have mine. I took up my post as vice-chancellor here at the University of Western Sydney in January this year. Not long after, I received an invitation to visit Whitlam in his offices in William Street in Sydney. Not many realise that he was in his office several days a week right up to the last few weeks before his death. The circle of those he received had been considerably restricted in the last year or two though, so I was both surprised and honoured. This convivial visit was something of an anointing and a confirmation of just how high a priority he placed on his relationship with the university for which he was such a determined advocate. More than this, it was an unequivocal affirmation of his commitment to the Whitlam Institute and his expectations of UWS as its custodian.
I had no hesitation in assuring him of the university’ s wholehearted acceptance of its responsibilities and my personal commitment to meeting his expectations. There are good reasons for this.
Personally, I benefited from Whitlam’ s reforms. In 1977, I began at the University of Melbourne via the tuition-free higher education Whitlam introduced, as well as the financial support of a studentship from the Victorian Government. Coming from a working-class suburb in Geelong, I would not have been able to attend university without this assistance.
There are thousands of stories such as mine, of people who have benefited from access to a free education. Unlike for previous generations, dedication and
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