Centenary Alumni Dinner in Perth - Event Report

Sir Richard Sykes, Rector, visits alumni in Perth for a special Centenary dinner - Friday 27 April 2007

The Rector and Lady Sykes arrived in Perth on Anzac Day (25th April 2007).

On the afternoon of Thursday 26th April the Rector Sir Richard joined local Western Australian Alumni committee members Ian Merker (Chairman), Alan Dickson (local organizer/correspondent) and Geoff Smith with their wives Jill, Rita and Jan, to have afternoon tea with His Excellency the Governor Dr Ken Michael and Mrs Julie Michael. The party was warmly welcomed to Government House and was served afternoon tea, followed by a tour of the public rooms of Government House.

The following day Rita Dickson hosted an afternoon tea for the Rector's wife, Lady Janet Sykes, at her home. Other ladies from the alumni association were also present, they were Jill Merker, Ruth Paton, Elizabeth Odd, Margaret Welch, Jan Smith and Sarah Butler.

In the evening John F Wilson (BSc(Eng) 1948, DIC 1950 - in Civil Engineering) hosted a dinner at the prestigious Weld Club in Perth. There were 66 alumni and partners present, a record for a Western Australian Alumni Association function. Previous records were for the farewell of Professor Barry Brady (PhD from IC in the mid 70s) attended by many of his former IC students - 48 attendees; and for the Rector Sir Ronald Oxborough's visit in 1995 when 45 alumni and partners attended. Many of the attendees were new to the local Alumni association, some such as Florence Bout and Samuel Klingner because they had arrived in Western Australia within the past year, both being 2006 graduates. Ten other alumni, plus some partners, because they did not know of the Association and were notified of the event either by direct letter from Imperial or because they saw the function advertised on the IC web page.

The evening started with pre-dinner drinks of sparkling, white and red Western Australian wines and canapés. We then moved into the dining room and John Wilson, virtually the father of the local alumni (graduated in 1948), welcomed the members and partners to the evening. After an entrée of  Tasmanian Smoked Salmon washed down with some very pleasant Western Australian West Cape Howe Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, we had a main course of oven roasted Western Australian lamb rump with a choice of  Cullen's Cab Merlot or Brown Hill Shiraz. Alan Dickson the local organizer of the alumni introduced Sir Richard with a brief summary of Sir Richard's achievements; this was followed by Sir Richard's address which covered some of the history of the college plus his ideas for the future of the college as an degree issuing University. The vote of thanks was given by Ian Merker the Chairman of the local group. A desert of a trio of home made sorbet's on a tullie basket then rounded off the eating for the evening. Several members had delved into their cellars to come up with a range of ports to have with the coffee. These ranged from a 1977 Waldeck Vintage port (local winery now closed down) to a couple of Para Liqueur Ports. A great evening was had by all as was recognized by the large number of emails and phone calls thanking the organizers for such an enjoyable function.

We are planning to organize a further Alumni Centennial  Function to coincide with that being held at Imperial College between 14 - 16 September 2007.

Regards
Alan Dickson

HE Governor Dr Ken Michael - DIC 1965, PhD 1968 - an Australian with his first degree from the University of Western Australia and past Chancellor of that University.
Ian Merker BSc(Eng) 1967, DIC & MSc 1968 and PhD 1972 - in Electrical Engineering
Alan Dickson BSc(Eng) 1968 - in Mining
Geoff Smith - MSc 1969 - in Civil Engineering - an Australian with his first degree from the University of Western Australia