University memories
Valerie Yule
University of Melbourne, 1946 - 1978, and briefly in the 1990s
I have a long association with the University of Melbourne, and many of its significant personalities.
I was taught handwriting at school by the bullyragging later MP, F.E. Edmunds. Dr Leonhard Adam gave me extramural lessons in Chinese (and much else) gratis in a small group of non-academic riff-raff. I shared my husband George’s friendship with the Tawneys [British historian R.H. Tawney], Arthur Burns, ‘Foo’ Alan Davies, and many others, and I was a senior tutor in Psychology under the ‘habitual anti-communist’ Frank Knopfelmacher, a delightful and communicative self-styled boss. Acquaintances through political activity and employment ranged from R.G. Menzies to Ian Turner and Peter Singer.
The golden years of Australian universities were 1946-1948, and the most Golden University was Melbourne. And the Goldenest place in Melbourne University was the History Department — and I was there! This was the amazing era of the ex-servicemen — fellow students who have mostly gone on to brilliant careers.
In his memorable subject Ancient History 1, Term 1 (I think), John O’Brien devoted three lectures to the question of whether on not Ephialtes, in fact, existed, and consequently raced through the Alexandrian and Roman empires in Term 3, lingering only for one or two lectures on the Pumpkinification of an Emperor.
Following O’Brien’s lectures on the existence of Ephialtes, I included a reference in a verse about swotting for exams, which I submitted to the new English lecturer A.D. Hope — he had a novel and short-lasting idea that he would comment on students’ poetry. Hope interpreted Ephialtes as nightmare and said the poem was romantic — crushing disapproval to a teenager. I tried no more poetry for many years.
In second year I was so busy being a University student I did hardly any work. A curious sidelight of history is when Peter Ryan tried to nominate me for secretary of the very Left Labor Club; but I was not a member.
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