Scotch College

Monash Lecture honours one of our greatest sons

There could not have been a more appropriate tribute paid to one of Scotch's, and Australia's greatest sons, Sir John Monash, than the lecture given in his name by the distinguished medical scientist, Professor Emeritus Sir Gustav Nossal, AC, OBE, FAA, FRS, in the Robert Blackwood Concert Hall at Monash University on Tuesday 11 September.

A near capacity audience of friends and supporters of both Scotch College and Monash (the first University in Australia to bear an individual's name) turned out to hear Sir Gus, as he is most often known, deliver a brilliant address on the Impact of the Genetic Revolution on Australian Biotechnology.

The lecture celebrated both Scotch's sesquicentenary and the 40th anniversary of Monash University, with guests being welcomed by Monash's Chancellor,

Mr Jerry Ellis, with addresses following from Principal, Dr Gordon Donaldson AM, and the Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President of Monash, Professor David Robinson.

Then in a delightful change of proceedings, we were entertained by a stunning organ rendition of J S Bach's 'Toccata' and two other pieces by the Chief Scientist for the Commonwealth of Australia, Dr Robin Batterham. His other day job is as Chief Technologist, Rio Tinto Limited.

But the link with Monash was clearly there too, for this multi-talented man, dux of Scotch in 1881, not only studied arts, engineering and law, and he was an accomplished musician.

Sir Gustav's opening remarks paid tribute to Scotch's 150th anniversary, and its many other distinguished sons, and also noted this year is the Centenary of Federation (of which celebrations he is the Victorian Chairman). He then described the history of Monash University as a remarkable success story, with 45,000 students from more than one hundred countries, and made special mention of its outstanding record in his own field of medical research.

Monash the man took an unusual pathway to glory. Although dux of Scotch at only sixteen years of age, he was anything but a stellar student at University, taking thirteen years to complete his qualifications in arts, engineering and law. The reason for this long, off-and-on period of study was largely financial, as he had to work to keep body and soul together.

Monash achieved great fame from three phases of his life. Pre World War I he was a prominent civil engineer, designer and builder. As Colonel Monash he landed on Gallipoli in command of the 4th Infantry Brigade, and later, as Major-General Monash, led the Third Australian Division at Armentieres. By war's end, Lieutenant-General Sir John Monash was in charge of all five divisions of the Australian Army Corps as well as five other divisions, and was in charge of 208,000 men.

The third phase, from the end of the war until his death in 1931, saw his engineering and planning skills come together. He harnessed the vast brown coal reserves in Gippsland's Latrobe Valley to provide cheap electricity for Victoria as Chairman of the SEC.

During this period, he was also Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, and as Sir Gustav reported with great delight, a member of the Board of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (of which Sir Gustav was director for more than thirty years).

Sir Gustav concluded his opening remarks with a reference to the autobiography of Sir Archibald Glenn (Chairman of Council 1963-1981). Archie had recalled:

'At the annual Speech Night in my last year (1929), Sir John Monash presented the prizes. I received one for mathematics and, as he was shaking my hand, he said, 'What career have you decided on?'

To which I replied, 'I haven't made up my mind.

To this he said, 'What are you waiting for? Mathematics is the language of the engineer.' In those few seconds he had decided my life's work for me'.

Sir Gustav's erudite address was a masterful summation of how world scientists continue to make staggering progress in the battle against cancers and infectious diseases.

And how Australia's own scientists have continued to fight well above their weight in their contribution, often leading the way in genetic research, which is playing a critical role in disease and cancer prevention.

'Our four Nobel prizes in Medicine are but the tip of an iceberg,' he said, 'there is wide international acknowledgement of Australia's prominence in a number of major fields including immunology, cancer research, endocrinology and reproduction, neurobiology and medical devices'.

Referring to genome science, Sir Gustav said this was by no means the only part of biotechnology which was booming. Another area showing rapid progress was structural biology, which could provide researchers with three-dimensional images of protein molecules magnified 10 million-fold.

The $150 million synchroton facility to be built adjacent to Monash will immeasurably speed up this field.

Another field advancing in breathtaking directions was cell biology, which provided the capacity to grow and manipulate cells in the test tube. This had led to the by now familiar breakthroughs such as in vitro fertilisation, monoclonal antibodies and the cloning of Sheep Dolly.

Importantly, these advances were all travelling together, interdisciplinarity being one of the key features of modern biology.

Undoubtedly, Australia was now a very serious player in biotechnology, Sir Gustav said, and was well positioned to take advantage of the further discoveries coming out of our research institutes and universities.

'How John Monash would have appreciated facing the challenges that lie before us today! With his rare intellect, his burning desire for knowledge, his boundless energy, his engineer's quick recognition of innovation and potential, can anyone doubt his choice?'

'It is a rare privilege to pay tribute to Sir John Monash in the year of Australia's centenary; to acknowledge the excellence of the school which helped to shape him, Scotch College, in its sesquicentenary year and to admire the meteor which bears his name - Monash University, just forty years young. The service of all three to the nation deserves our thanks and praise,' Sir Gustav concluded.

It was indeed fitting that the vote of thanks to him should be proposed by one of many in the long line of Scotch's distinguished military Old Boys, Lieutenant-General Peter Gration AC, OBE (1948), Chief of Australia's Defence Force in Canberra from 1987 to 1993.

Frank Shew