Jubilee celebrations 1902
An At Home was held at the Women's College, 3 October 1902
While the Undergraduates' Smoke Concert was in progress in the Great Hall, a number of guests were being entertained by Miss Louisa Macdonald, the principal, at the Women's College.
A number of Greek tableaux vivants were presented by the students of the College.
The entertainment was begun by Mr. Arthur Pratt, who sang a Hymn to Nemesis.
The curtain then rose upon "the goddesses, Hera, Pallas, and Aphrodite, with the apple of discord."
The succeeding tableaux represented:
- Helen persuaded by Aphrodite to accompany Paris
- Andromache's fate as a captive
- Clytemnestra orders Cassandra to enter the palace
- Nausicaa and her maidens
- Penelope at the Loom
- Penelope mourning
- Penelope, and the nurse telling of Odysseus's return
The pictures were presented with attention not only to beauty of grouping and colouring, but also to truth of archaeological detail. Professor MacCallum introduced each with a few explanatory remarks and read English versions of the passages from Homer, Aeschylus, or Euripides, dealing with each particular scene.
Mr. Pratt brought the programme to a close by singing a song from the first Pythian ode of Pindar.
Refreshments were then served among the guests.
Information
Details come from:
- Record of the Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Sydney: September 30th, 1902
- Senate minutes 1898-1904, University of Sydney Archives
- The Report of the Senate of the University for the year ended 31st December 1902, pages 363-4, 1903 Calendar
- The Advertiser, 30 September 1902 and 1, 2, 3 and 6 October 1902 (Historic Australian Newspapers)
- The Argus, 25 September 1902 and 1, 3, 4 and 6 October 1902 (Historic Australilan Newspapers)