1912

Sir Robert Menzies

Posted in 1912

  • Portrait of Robert Menzies published in the Wesley College Chronicle in 1913 to celebrate his outstanding academic achievementsRobert Menzies' third year at Wesley was more successful:

"Though as a man Menzies was to enjoy following football and cricket, observing each as an art rather than a mere game, he was at Wesley not very interested in and certainly incompetent at sport. Probably because of this, Adamson [headmaster] never made him a prefect. Preparing himself for examinations was Menzies' overriding consideration.
In his first two years at Wesley he did not particularly shine, but his third year of work was more successful: at the end of it Menzies won one of the twenty-five exhibitions, each worth £40, awarded by the State for university study, as well as the highest honours in English and History."
A W Martin, Robert Menzies: A Life. Vol 1 1894-1943, 1993 p 19.

  • Menzies excells in the humanities and is awarded the C L Andrews Prize for Poetry.
  • Throughout his life, Menzies remains loyal to his old school and acknowledging, in particular, his master, Harold Stewart for (in his words) "teaching him to think with discipline".

Australian Events

Posted in 1912

  • Maternity allowance is introduced for Europeans. Aboriginal women are not considered citizens.
  • The Commonwealth Savings Bank opens.
  • American Walter Burley Griffin wins an international competition for the design of the national capital, Canberra.
  • Mina Wylie and Fanny Durack become the first women swimmers to represent Australia at an Olympic Games. Durack wins gold at the Stockholm Games and Wylie silver.

World Events

Posted in 1912

  • Explorer Captain Robert ScottTitanic sinks crossing the Atlantic on her maiden voyage with the loss of 1513 lives.
  • Republic is declared in China after 1911 revolution against the Manchu Dynasty led by Sun Yat-sen.
  • Captain Scott and his team die in their attempt to be first at the South Pole - beaten by Amundsen 1911.

 Captain Scott and his Antarctic expedition team