By Coco Chen (BA/LLB II) and Jingyi Li (BCom/LLB I)
For every law student, we pride ourselves for being a part of Sydney Law School, from the high ATAR cut-off that creates so much tension on USyd Rants, to the sleek, modern, glass architecture of New Law and New Law Annex making landmarks on Eastern Avenue, to the vibrant SULS and the supportive teaching staff, no matter how much we complain about law school, we really love being a part of it.
As Dean and Head Simon Bronitt reminded us in his weekly newsletter, 2020 marks the 130-year anniversary for Sydney Law School. And what better time than now, a strange point in time that will most definitely be recorded in history, for us to look back into the past of Sydney Law School.
From Faculty of Law to Sydney Law School
The degree in law was established by the 1850 Act to Incorporate and Endow the University of Sydney, in Clause 11:
whereas it is expedient to extend the benefits of colleges and educational establishments...for the promotion of literature science and art…, Be it enacted That all persons shall be admitted as candidates for the respective degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Laws or Doctor of Laws…
Standing alongside Arts and Medicine, the Law degree holds the longest history in Australia’s oldest university. For a lengthy period of that time, an Arts degree was a prerequisite for a Law or Medicine degree, which acted more like qualifications for exam results rather than certificates of completed courses.
Even though the Faculty of Law came into existence in 1855, it did not function as a teaching facility until the appointment of the first Chair of Law and first Dean Pitt Cobbett in 1890, the year marked by Dean Simon Bronitt as the inaugural year of operation.
From St. James Campus to New Law Building
Current undergraduate law students may not have memories of the main building prior to the construction of New Law Building, since the magnificent structure has been located on Camperdown Campus for over a decade. Before 2009, law school students attended St. James Campus bounded by Phillip, King and Elizabeth Streets. The 16-level building with a 4-storey library was situated right by the Supreme Court and Barrister’s Chambers. To quote Professor Gillian Triggs, Dean of Law School from 2007 to 2012, ‘it is not-uncommon a sight to see High Court and Federal Court judges duck through the traffic to the law school after court sessions have concluded for the day, to give lectures and attend seminars’.
The highlight of the old law school is undoubtedly its close proximity to the heart of the legal practice, but it also created a problem in its distance from the main campus. Prior to the Law School’s move to St James Campus in 1969, students and staff had been bouncing all around CBD, including some floors in the Wentworth Court, a spot on Phillip Street, the now Selbourne Chamber, a floor in Martin Place, Wigram Chambers back on Philip Street and Barristers Court. Yet at the same time, the Law school had seen an increase of full-time enrolments and a need to find a permanent location back on Camperdown Campus. In 1957, as Sir Keith Murray led an inquiry on Australian Universities, the then-Vice Chancellor took the opportunity to propose constructing a new law building. Looking 52 years into the future, the proposal will eventually be fulfilled by Francis-Jones Moreton Thorp’s design which manifests itself as the current New Law Building and Annex.
When the construction was complete in 2009, the excitement towards moving into such a modern architecture was recorded in the architect’s publication, ‘In the Realm of Learning: The University of Sydney's New Law School’. Amongst the most mentioned locations were the moot court and the library with special mention to the installation of technologies to record lectures. Reading the words of those who were witnessing the equally amazing exterior and interior of the new law school for the first time, reminded me of the opportunities I have had the opportunity to get up on level three of New Law Building, either handing in assessments or getting lost in the law building in the early weeks of first year when I was supposed to be in the annex. Whenever I go up there, I always take the chance to gaze at Victoria Park and the skyline in the distance and think to myself, this would be the view it takes to overcome any challenge.
During its 130 years of operation, Sydney Law School witnessed history running its course and never stopped shaping brilliant minds who have their hearts set on bettering other people’s lives and advancing the society we are all a part of. Indeed, Dean Simon Bronnitt reminds us that “global wars, depressions, pandemics… have never daunted the spirit of this place, its people and programs”. Many of us can say for sure that this is the strangest semester we have ever had, but the support from our cohorts has been tremendously supportive and heart-warming. I suppose, when we graduate from Sydney Law School, we will look back at the past five years and think to ourselves: it was the best of times.
Bibliography
Act to Incorporate and endow the University of Sydney: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/sua1850n31286.pdf
The Law School Shift