St. Mark's College (University of Adelaide)

St. Mark's College is a co-residential college in North Adelaide, South Australia, one of Adelaide's most prestigious suburbs. It is affiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia, yet accepts individuals from all faiths. It is the oldest residential college affiliated to the University of Adelaide. It houses about 240 tertiary students in both dormitory and apartment accommodation, and since the 1950s all rooms have been singles. Many students come from overseas, and each semester a small number of exchange students, mostly from the United States, are accepted. Members of the College attend several universities in South Australia, primarily the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flinders University. The present Master of the College is the Hon. Dr. John Bannon AO, former Premier of South Australia. The Old Collegians' Association of St. Marks was founded in 1925 and now has a membership of 3500.

Accommodation

All first year students ("freshers") live in single rooms, located on 7 halls or "floors"; 3 in Newland Building, 3 in Memorial and one in Hawker Annexe. Each room is provided with internet and phone connections, and there are shared laundry and bathroom facilities on each floor. More senior students may choose to live in one of the many flats on campus or in the sought-after Hawker House mansion, but many choose to remain on a floor due to the lively, friendly atmosphere that prevails.

Early days

Unlike most other universities, the University of Adelaide did not set any land aside on its small North Terrace campus for residential colleges. In the 1920s, demand for such accommodation prompted a group of prominent Adelaide citizens to seek appropriate land for the foundation of a college for young men. A group of buildings and vacant land were selected behind St Peter's Cathedral in Lower North Adelaide, including Downer House and several stables. The College was officially opened on St Mark's Day, the 25th of April, 1925.

Whilst having to purchase land independently was an initial burden to the finances of the college, in the long term it has proved fortuitous, allowing St Marks today to operate independent of any University control, and to accept students from institutions other than the University of Adelaide.

Buildings and grounds

Downer House: The stately home where a draft of Australia's Constitution was prepared in 1897 now houses college administration, the Junior and Senior Common Rooms, an academic tutor's apartment, computing and printing facilities, and a student-run deli known as "The Buttery".

Newland Building: This was the first of the college's dedicated dormitory accommodation, completed in six stages from 1926 to 1964. Designed by Walter Bagot, the architecture is derived from precedents in Oxford, and is unique in Adelaide. Most rooms in Newland building are assigned to freshers; as such it is one of the liveliest places in the college.

Memorial Building: Also completed in stages, "Memorial" (named for the students who fell in World War II) was intended to include a dining hall and eventually enclose the tennis courts completely, forming an Oxford-style quadrangle. However it was eventually decided that individual buildings would suit the college better. The "Quadrangle" plan was abandoned with the building of the new dining hall on the southern edge of the tennis courts.

Grenfell Price Dining Hall: The centrally located dining hall was built in 1961 to accommodate growing numbers of students. The College Library on the first floor is one of the finest in an Australian University College, comprising over 30,000 volumes.

Allister McLeod Sports Pavillion: This modern gym, completed in 2005, is open to students 24 hours a day. In addition to weight machines and free weights, there are a number of exercise machines, including treadmills, a rowing machine and a stairmaster.

Tennis Courts: Bounded by the above four buildings are four grass tennis courts that are regularly used for recreation and provide a green heart to the college.

Hawker House: St Mark's is privileged to have one of Adelaide's finest Victorian mansions available for student accommodation. "HH" is considered the most desirable building in the college, and as such is usually populated by senior students. A bungalow-style extension was added for fresher accommodation, known as Hawker Annexe.

New Cain / New Abel / Matherson / Lewis / Wall: Awkwardly named for the buildings that were incrementally demolished or enveloped as the new structure grew, these three-bedroom apartments are each equipped with laundry, kitchen and lounge facilities. The newest extension, opened in 2007 and incorporating the Matherson, Lewis and Wall buildings, mirrors Memorial Building to the east. The newest apartments vary in floorplan and are occupied mostly by senior students.

"The Pond": This small quadrangle is the central meeting place of the college. The cruciform pond features a sculpture of St Mark.

Chapel: The old Downer property stables were converted to a small chapel in 1977 by a student at the college.

Social scene, sports and traditions

Being the oldest university college in South Australia, St. Mark's is steeped in tradition and culture. Some events have been occurring in more-or-less their current form for over sixty years. Between the many sporting competitions, social functions and traditions, hardly a week goes by without a St Mark's event.

Marksenfest (a St Mark's style Oktoberfest) is held annually on the college tennis courts. St Peter's Cathedral and the Adelaide Oval light towers are visible in the background.

Social and cultural events

St Mark's holds a great number of events exclusively for members of the college each year, with many occurring during the University "O'Week", and the less widely celebrated "Re-O'Week" in Semester 2. Pub Nights take place on a weekly basis, and St Mark's is also home to a myriad of annual and biannual events, including Pub Crawls, Toga Party, Quiz Nights, Scavenger Hunt, Freshers Dinner, Garden Party, Intercollege Ball, Port'n'Talks (which in 2006 alone has featured prominent speakers such as Alexander Downer, John Doyle and Amanda Vanstone), Art Exhibitions, Arts Evenings, Footy Show, Car Rally, College Ball, Wong Night, Alpine Day, College Play, Marksenfest, Variety Evening, High Table Cup Show and Final Dinner.

Marksenfest, unlike most St. Mark's events, is open to the general public and attracts hundreds of people to the College grounds every year for a distinctly German-themed day. The event features an array of premium beers, plus food and festivities including a bouncy castle, sumo wrestling, arm wrestling, jelly wrestling, keg races, oom-pah band, jazz band, and a DJ or contemporary live band. In 2005, Marksenfest featured New Zealand rock band, Evermore.

The College Club owns and maintains a 1936 Q-Series Dodge truck. It was purchased in 1966 by a group of six students and has been restored five times since, the most recent and extensive restoration being completed in 2004. Known as the "Gas Truck" or "Gassy" (a reference to the Rolling Stones hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash"), it is used to transport collegians to and from social and sporting events, and is a favourite icon of the college.

Sports

St. Mark's College competes against Aquinas College, Lincoln College, Flinders University Hall and St Ann's College for the Douglas Irving Cup (known to the students as the High Table Cup). Sports include tennis, swimming, cricket, basketball, debating, Australian rules football, netball, soccer, table tennis, hockey, volleyball and athletics. St Mark's has held the Douglas Irving Cup since 2002.

Other intercollege competitions that do not contribute to Cup points include Boat Races (competitive drinking) and Battle of the Bands. The St. Mark's band, "Fix My Chariot", is the 2005 and 2006 winner of this event. Debate surrounds the issue of whether or not Boat Races and Battle Of The Bands should contribute Cup points, possibly replacing volleyball or table tennis.

A strong rivalry exists between St. Mark's College and Aquinas College, who are located only 300 metres away at the top of Montefiore Hill. In addition to the old Anglican vs Catholic rivalry, Aquinas and St Mark's have traditionally both been very strong contenders for the High Table Cup.

The St. Mark's College Club Committee

The college social and sporting events are organised by the St. Mark's College Club Committee, which consists of one elected member for every 16 students residing at the college (a total of 16 in 2007). The College Club operates independently from the college administration. The President of the College Club for 2007 is Mr Robert Leedham.

Recent Presidents:

2006 - Nathan Everitt
2005 - Sam Keogh
2004 - Adrian Oest
2003 - James 'Grit' Martin
2002 - David Rohrsheim
2001 - Phil Killicoat
2000 - A.L. Jucha
1999 - Andrew Ettridge

Notable alumni

John Bannon (Premier of South Australia 1982-1992)
Robert Hill Former Australian Minister for Defence, Now Australian Ambassador to the United Nations at New York
Mike Smith, Australian Ambassador to the United Nations at Geneva
Julian Disney, Rhodes Scholar, Founder of the Global Governance Group
Professor John Finnis, Rhodes Scholar, One of the World's Leading Authorities on Legal Philosophy and Jurisprudence. His Treatise Natural Law and Natural Rights, is regarded as one of the definitive works of natural law philosophy.
Professor Tony McMichael, Member of the UN Panel on Climate Change, Director of the Australian Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health
Robin Ashwin, Rhodes Scholar, Former Australian Ambassador to the then USSR (Russia)
Justice BM Debelle QC, Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia
Justice RG Matheson QC, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia
Chief Justice Robin Rhodes Millhouse QC, Chief Justice of Kiribati, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia, Former Attorney General for South Australia, First Australian Democrats Parliamentarian
Professor Ivan Shearer AM, Member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, Former Dean of Adelaide and Sydney University Law Schools
Will Baines, Prominent Journalist, Former Director of BBC Journalist Training

External links