Electronic Databases - University People and Places
The University has a range of information about its past students and staff. This page provides a list of the available databases which have been compiled by individuals in the course of their research, or by University departments. Some will expand as more information is added.
Matriculation Database
Work on this database was initiated by Professor R. Selleck and carried out by Dr Carole Hooper. The data is drawn from the Matriculation Entry Forms filled in by candidates from 1855 until May 1901. Thereafter the set is broken. It finishes in May 1903
This database is held at the University of Melbourne Archives. Staff will answer queries about particular individuals.
Columns in the Entrants Table show:
- ID (last two digits of the year with a sequential number)
- Surname; first name (the second may appear on the form)
- Sex (M/F)
- Date Entered (year and term of the examination to be attempted)
- Parent's surname; first name
- Parent's occupation (until Examination May 1881, after which it was omitted from the form. Dr Hooper has entered a few occupations from later forms where they are evident from the parent's title, e.g. Clergyman; Doctor)
- Parent's address: Street; Suburb; Town; Colony/Country
- Date of birth of entrant; Age; Place of Birth (State; country if not Australia)
- Denomination (up to Examination May 1881, but omitted thereafter)
- Degree and date (if later obtained)
Columns in the Exams Table show:
- ID; Entrant's surname; Entrant's first name
- Subjects; results (W. for passed well, or later H), P., passed, N., failed, and overall result for the examination
Columns in the Place of Education Table show:
- ID; surname; first name; place of education; type of institution (private, private study, denominational, government, university, e.g. A.E.S.)
- Colony/country
Historical Profile of University Staff
This is a FileMaker Pro database of academic staff employed at the University, captured at ten yearly intervals from 1938-1978. It was developed in the course of preparing A Place Apart, The University of Melbourne: Decades of Challenge, Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1996, by Professor John Poynter and Dr Carolyn Rasmussen. A copy of the database is held by both Dr Rasmussen and the History of the University Unit Office.
Dr Rasmussen suggests that further expansion and analysis of this database is possible given the flexibility and ease of use of the software. She also sets out its limitations and ways of overcoming them.
Melbourne University Student Theatre database
Compiled by and under the direction of Professor Angela O'Brien over a number of years, much information concerning University Theatre is already publicly available at Web addess www.must.unimelb.edu.au and more will be added as funds become available. It takes as its starting point the Queen's College performances in 1897. A rich and colourful resource, it aims to bring together scattered archival sources and oral histories of ‘some of the 1000's of students who "trod the boards" at Melbourne’, together with information on theatre venues (especially the Union, Guild and Open Stage). From the web-page the reader can reach a history of the theatre in the University, information about theatre companies, people involved in performances, plays, extracts and complete versions of interviews, and sources of information.
Property and Campus Services Photographs
Photographs of buildings and grounds, scanned, with accompanying brief descriptions. These can be searched by keyword, building number, and a number of subject terms. For assistance contact Richard Phillips at Property and Campus Services, who administers the database.
UMAIC: University of Melbourne Archives Photographs
Catalogue of photographs of University people, places and events, at http://buffy.lib.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/mua-search.
University of Melbourne Archives Catalogue of Collections
http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/archives/archgen.html. This database includes official records of the University, together with papers of numerous alumni and past members of staff. Apply to the Archives/Special Collections Reading Room, Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne, 8344 6868, for further information and conditions of access to such records and papers.
Bright Sparcs
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/. Compiled by the Australian Science Archives Project directed by Gavan McCarthy, this database is a ‘register of people involved in the development of science, technology, engineering and medicine in Australia’. It includes biographical information, references to online and archival materials and other items relating to a large number of individuals, of whom a considerable proportion have been associated with the University as alumni and members of staff.
Science at Melbourne
http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/umfs/umfshome.htm. The homepage describes this as ‘A historical register fo the many people, departments, scholarships, prizes and bequests, research centres and affiliated organisations making up the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne, with reference to their archival materials and a bibliography of their published materials’. It was compiled by Dr Carolyn Rasmussen and Ms Rachel Tropea.
Apart from the above are databases maintained by the University for administrative purposes relating to Student Records, Staff and Alumni. These include recent records and are therefore confidential. For research on earlier students, staff and others connected with the University consult the University Archives, and look at their Keys to the Past.
Much information will be found in publications by or about the University held by the Library: the University of Melbourne Calendar (annual for most of the period from 1858/9, and last printed in 1988), and periodicals including Alma Mater; Melbourne Graduate; Melbourne University Press; University of Melbourne Gazette; Staff News; and the students' Melbourne University Magazine and Speculum.
General Histories of the University are:
The Bibliography on this website lists many other publications, including departmental histories and biographies of University personnel.
Dr Cecily Close, 2008.