Gallery
Students' Commemoration Days
Commemoration Day festivities by students began in 1888, when students gave an impromptu concert to the audience at the annual commemoration of benefactors and conferring of degrees in the Great Hall. The concert tradition continued until 1897 when, following tension between authorities and undergraduates – a characteristic of the Day’s history - 300 students led a procession down George Street. The annual Commem Day processions were noted for their witty and political floats, and festivities were often exuberant. The last official Commem Day was held in 1975.
Read details about Student Commem Days.
- Above: Commemoration Day celebrations in 1908, photo G3_224_1480, courtesy University of Sydney Archives
- Above: Commemoration Day celebrations by Medical Students in in Hunter Street in 1921, photo, courtesy University of Sydney Archives
- Above: A Commem Day procession down Bridge Street in the 1920s, photo G3/224/650, courtesy University of Sydney Archives.
- Above: A Commem Day procession down Bridge Street in the 1920s, photo G3/224/0724, courtesy University of Sydney Archives.
- Above: Commemoration Day celebrations in the 1920s, photo GS_224_1587, courtesy University of Sydney Archives
- Above: Commemoration Day celebrations in the 1920s, photo GS_224_1586, courtesy University of Sydney Archives
- Above: Commemoration Day celebrations in 1952, photo G3_224_1477_(1), courtesy University of Sydney Archives
- Above: Commemoration Day celebrations in 1952, photo G3_224_1477_(2), courtesy University of Sydney Archives