The University of Melbourne

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The University of Melbourne was established in 1853. Robert Menzies was a student at the University from 1913, receiving his Bachelor of Laws in 1916 and Master of Laws in 1918. Although he had a slightly shaky scholarly start (he failed Latin in his first year), he went on to win several prizes including the Dwight Prize in Constitutional History (1914), the Bowen Essay Prize (1916) and the Supreme Court Prize (1917). Menzies was also president of the Students’ Representative Council and editor of the Melbourne University of Magazine (to which he was a regular contributor).

Menzies’ involvement with the University continued beyond his student days. In 1942, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Melbourne; apparently the University’s first honorary degree (White, 1979, 473). From 1967 to 1972, he was Chancellor of the University. Menzies also opened a number of buildings at the University of Melbourne. These include International House (1958), the Baillieu Library (1959), St Hilda’s College (1964) and McCaughey Court at Ormond College (1968).

Sources

White, Frederick. 1979. ‘Robert Gordon Menzies. 20 December 1894-15 May 1978.’ Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 25 (November): 445-76.

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