Gamble, Allan Allman

The University conferred the honorary degree of Master of Arts on Allan Allman Gamble at a graduation ceremony held on Wednesday 10 April 1991 in the Great Hall. The award was made in recognition of the service he has rendered to the University, through the exercise of the rare skill and vigour of his art. Through Allan Gamble's gifts as an artist, a great many people have come to see and to appreciate Sydney University and the beauty of its buildings and gardens.

His connection with the University began in 1945 when he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Architecture, with responsibility for courses in Planning and Design. His appointment as Information and Public Relations Officer, responsible to the Vice-Chancellor, was confirmed at the end of 1951. This was the first such appointment in an Australian university, and he began with a major undertaking, the Centenary Appeal. He was associated with many initiatives, including the alumni publication 'The Gazette', which he founded shortly after he was appointed and which he edited for the next twenty years. 

The first of his art books was a description of the University for the 1952 Centenary Celebrations. A sumptuous version of this work was presented to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954 when he visited the University. Subsequently, he wrote and illustrated books on the University and its Colleges, as well as other pans of Sydney. A folio of twelve drawings of University buildings was completed in 1991. [The University of Sydney News, 16 April 1991, p. 58]

Gamble's death notice was published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 4 Aug 2001.