Gladys Hope Marks, Lecturer in French

Caption: Gladys Marks / First woman appointed to the staff of the Faculty of Arts.

This item is part of the HerStory Hike with the Archives, a history walk around the Camperdown and Darlington campuses of the University.

Un Grand Merci

The Brennan MacCallum Building, currently home to the School of Languages and Cultures, seems like the appropriate place to explore the story of Gladys Hope Marks. [Ref 1].

The road to becoming the first woman to hold a full-time lectureship within the Faculty of Arts in 1921 (although she worked as an Acting Lecturer from 1916) [Ref 2] began in 1905, when Marks, as a first-year student, received £2 10s, "…given by Professor MacCallum for English Essays in the First and Second Years" [Ref 3]. She went on in 1906 to be awarded the Garton Scholarship No. 1 for French and German [Ref 4]. On 27 April 1907, "The Deans of the several Faculties present to the Chancellor those Students who have gained Scholarships, Prizes, and First Classes at Yearly Examinations", one of whom was Marks, who received a "First-class Honours and Garton Scholarship No. 2 for French and German". [Ref 5]. This culminated in Marks graduating with a Bachelor of Arts on 2 May 1908. [Ref 6].

After a temporary hiatus in her association with the University, Marks returned in 1916 as one of the Faculty of Arts "Teaching Staff", as Acting Lecturer in French and German [Ref 7]. This appointment continued in 1917 [Ref 8] and 1918 [Ref 9]. In 1919, Marks was promoted to the position of Assistant Lecturer [Ref 10], which remained the status quo until 1921, when she returned to her role as Lecturer, however, specialising in French only [Ref 11], and continued (essentially) as Lecturer in French until 1943 [Ref 12]. In 1929, Marks was selected to be Acting Professor [Ref 13] as well as Head of the Department of French, "…believed to have been the first woman to fulfil the…job in an Australian university" [Ref 14], roles which she undertook again in 1936 [Ref 15]. She returned to her role as Lecturer in between those ‘higher duties’ stints.

Her career, however, was interspersed by periods of absence, such as in 1924. On 5 November 1923, the Senate reported that, "On the recommendation of Professor Nicholson, leave of absence during 1924 was granted to Miss Gladys Marks" [Ref 16], in order to, "...enable them [Teaching Staff] to proceed abroad for further study and research" [Ref 17]. During that sabbatical, Marks wrote to, "My dearest Mother…Though barely 24 hours have passed since I said goodbye to you there seem to be innumerable things to tell you…My student…sent me a silver pencil, and all my students together sent a huge pot with a palm & tall flowers in it, not a very wisely chosen gift – it is even too big for the Saloon table – but accompanied by a card bearing the words ‘With the love and esteem of all your first year French Class". [Ref 18].

Marjorie Faith Barnard, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) on 24 May 1920 [Ref 19], recalled this universal admiration of and affection for Marks when she was interviewed for the University History Project on 30 May 1978, "She was dark, vivacious, Jewish, of course, with money, and she used to say, 'Oh, my salary just about buys my shoes'. She was very popular…she was rather a colourful person. I don’t know what she was like as a lecturer", at which point the interviewer interjects, "Her appointment was an interesting one, wasn’t it? To be the first woman to be appointed". Barnard agrees, "Yes, it was very interesting. And she had this cheerful 'take it or leave it' attitude. She wasn’t a bit of a dress. 'I’ve had the qualifications, why shouldn’t I be here?'". The interviewer concurs, "Yes, it was extremely interesting, the energy and the appointment itself…it would have been quite a thing for the women graduates to have been appointed to that position in the University". When asked, "Women didn’t play any part in University life, did they, when you came to University? In the sense of being on the academic staff", Barnard said, "No, no, they didn’t. No…except for Gladys Marks. No, although women were numerically strong in relation to the men, they didn’t play very much part". [Ref 20].

Unfortunately, the other periods of leave Marks took were due to ill health, which seriously affected her from 1938 until her retirement on 14 December 1943. The Senate attempted to make allowances for her, as on 3 February 1942, the Registrar wrote, "The Senate has now confirmed a recommendation submitted by Professor Nicholson, that you be employed part-time from 1st March, 1942 to 14th December, 1943…It is understood that you are willing to give instruction in Phonetics and Pronunciation to first year students...Members of the Senate expressed the hope that your release from most of your duties as Lecturer in French will enable you to become invigorated and refreshed". [Ref 21].

Marks was remembered when she died on 6 January 1970 [Ref 22] and it’s clear that her legacy was established within the University for posterity, as even over five decades later, in 1996, The University of Sydney News reminisced about the "French mistress", stating that, "When it came to teaching French in the roaring twenties, Sydney University’s first Professor of French G.G. Nicholson, and his first full-time lecturer, Gladys Marks, really knew how to bring something of Paris into the exam room. Former students tell the story that Nicholson would be seated behind his desk, while Miss Marks was stretched out on a chaise longue. Both would fire questions at the student for half an hour. Nicholson’s desk was equipped with a buzzer for summoning the next student and…in one of the drawers was a bottle of smelling salts – "for emergencies"…Miss Marks' success was all the more poignant because her family…discouraged her from pursuing a career, despite an early and obvious talent for languages. She persisted in the face of setbacks and sometimes fragile health, eventually retiring…and even then remained active…including the donation of funds…for a travelling scholarship in her name". [Ref 23].

A further accolade came the same year when The Gazette reported that a graduate, Frances Humphreys, "…returned recently from a three-week language tour to France… She is happy to report that her University French was acceptable in the senior level classes and writes: "Un grand merci posthume à Gladys Marks". [Ref 24].

Ref 1: Brennan MacCallum Building (A18), [BLD-00000009]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 2: The Gazette and Letter to Graduates Vol 3 No 11 (Sep 1980), p. 17, [REF-00092759]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 3: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1906 (1906), p. 242, [REF-00020900]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 4: see Ref 3, p. 263.

Ref 5: Conferring of Degrees/Graduation Ceremony 27 April 1907 (27/04/1907), p. 8, [REF-00077540]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 6: Conferring of Degrees/Graduation Ceremony 2 May 1908 (02/05/1908), p. 5, [REF-00077421]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 7: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1916 (1916), p. 450, [REF-00020925]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 8: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1917 (1917), p. 585, [REF-00020927]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 9: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1918 (1918), p. 473, [REF-00020930]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 10: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1919 (1919), p. 495, [REF-00020932]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 11: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1921 (1921), p. 180, [REF-00020937]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 12: 'The Teaching of French Literature at the University of Sydney, 1887 to 1955' by Margaret Kerr (1972), Volume 2, pp. 214-215, [REF-00079801]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 13: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1929 (1929), p. 212, [REF-00020958]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 14: The University of Sydney News Vol 28 No 20 (08/08/1996), p. 7, [REF-00041312]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 15: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1936 (1936), p. 636, [REF-00020976]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 16: Senate Minutes 1923 to 1925 (05/11/1923 to 07/09/1925), p. 5, [REF-00002760]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 17: Calendar of the University of Sydney 1924 (1924), p. 825, [REF-00020945]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 18: Marks, Gladys Hope Finding Aid (No Date), Series 2_Item 8, [REF-00093462]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 19: Conferring of Degrees/Graduation Ceremony 24 April 1920 (24/04/1920), p. 1, [REF-00077498]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 20: Barnard, Marjorie Faith Interview - Tape 1 Side B (30/05/1978), [REF-00001226]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 21: Marks, Gladys Hope (1938 to 1944), [REF-00047229]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 22: The Gazette Vol 2 No 19 (Apr 1970), p. 302, [REF-00092741]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 23: see Ref 14.

Ref 24: The Gazette Vol 24 No 1 (Apr 1996), p. 31, [REF-00092809]. University of Sydney Archives.