Basser College, University of New South Wales is a residential college at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Basser College and its two neighbouring Colleges, Goldstein and Phillip Baxter, are collectively known as the Kensington Colleges.

History

Basser College was founded in 1959, ten years after the opening of the University of New South Wales (UNSW), making it the oldest residential college at the university. It was built to accommodate students from rural areas, enabling them access to the same education as local, metropolitan students. The college is named after Sir Adolph Basser (1887–1965), a Polish entrepreneur and philanthropist who contributed significantly to the cost of the college's construction.

[[File:Basser Photo.jpg|thumb|Basser College viewed from the top of the Civil Engineering Building,

partly obscured by the Central Lecture Block and the Basser stairs; 1968]]

The college's foundational structure was designed around two central courtyards with a small one to the north, and a larger one to the south, with a balcony running around the inside of the alcoves. In the first few years, when the college was all male, the smaller quadrangle was known as the Senior Quad and the other, the Junior quad.

When girls were first admitted in 1965,

they occupied a section of the smaller quadrangle, hence the quads became known as the Girls' Quad and the Boys' Quad. The names echo the separate living arrangements in the college at that time; a practice which has since been discontinued.

thumb|Sketch showing the balcony and the four rooms around an alcove off it.

The majority of the rooms were divided into alcoves of four rooms, with two inner rooms and two outer rooms. Originally the large outer rooms were occupied by two freshers and the smaller

outer room would have a more senior student.

The inner rooms were normally reserved for sophomores and seniors.

Once the girls were distributed evenly throughout the whole college, these alcoves were thus affectionately dubbed 'alcove families', with two males and two females constituting each group.

The beds in Basser College were narrow (2 feet 6 inches, 762 mm wide) and had a very hard mattress.

Basser College's original building was the only college on the Kensington Campus in which every room had the convenience of a wash basin.

On it was written their name, room number and their course.

This enabled every one to get to know each other.

There were numerous things organized during orientation week, including:

a lecture about the College and the University;

a fire drill; a tour of the college amenities

("Note; you must learn where the various room numbers are!!");

day trip to Audley in the Royal National Park or Clark Island;

and a scavenger hunt around Sydney.

At the beginning of first term, the freshers were purchased by groups of

sophomores/seniors at an auction.

These freshers would then join their group for coffee/tea during the study-break

between 10am to 11am each evening.

thumb|left|Basser College freshmen ready for the run to Coogee Beach, Sydney 1968

thumb|Dunking of a student into the fountain on his birthday, 4 July 1967

Early in first term, the freshmen were forced to run from the college to Coogee Beach.

Note the big letter B in black shoe-polish on the back of the boys, and their number in polish on their chest.

Based on their results in this run,

they were given a handicap in a later cross-country run in Centennial Park.

Each year the freshers produced a concert for the entertainment of the whole college.

Originally there was a fountain in the smaller quadrangle.

If you allowed your birthday to be known,

then you could find yourself dumped into this fountain by your friends.

The fountain was also used to dump the valedictorians after their farewell dinner.

Redevelopment

The redeveloped Basser College opened in Semester 1, 2014, accommodating 160 students in a mixture of rooms with either en suite or shared bathroom facilities. The building includes common and study areas as well as a rooftop garden. The college shares landscaped garden spaces with the other two Kensington Colleges - Philip Baxter College and Goldstein College - and colleges established following the Kensington Colleges' redevelopment, Fig Tree Hall and Colombo House.

References

  • Basser College website