Evening Students Association (ESA)

In October 1883 the Hon. the Minister for Public Instruction wrote a letter to Senate requesting a communication from the Senate upon the subject of a letter written by Professor Badham to the Sydney Morning Herald, wherein he suggested the expediency of establishing a system of University Evening Lectures, enabling those who were engaged teaching or otherwise during the day to obtain a degree. At the same time a petition, signed by upwards of a thousand residents of Sydney and the suburbs, praying for the establishment of such a system, was laid before the Senate. On the 13th of November Senate referred the matter to the Board of Studies for their report. The Board’s report made recommendations for a system of evening lectures qualifying for a Degree in Arts. The report was discussed and adopted by the Senate on the 5th of December. (1883 Report of Senate) Evening courses were offered from 1884. That year saw 24 students enrolled in evening classes.

The Sydney University Evening Students' Association was founded in April, 1900, with the object of promoting social relations among Evening Students, past and present. (1901 Report of Senate)

OFFICE BEARERS, 1900-1901: PRESIDENT—N J Gough, BA        VICE-PRESIDENTS—J H Nolan, BA; E M Dickenson, BA; J T Grieve      SECRETARY—C N Neale     ASSISTANT SECRETARY—W J Binns, BA     TREASURER—E M de Lepervanche, BA  ASSISTANT TREASURER—W R Campbell; COMMITTEE—A N Graham, W L Artlett, J A Browne. (1900 University Calendar)

Membership of the Association was voluntary and obtained for a few shillings. The Association was active and cooperated with other students associations. It was always  to the fore in the support of University activities and appeals.

The number of evening students was quite high in the earlier years, The 1950 Report of Senate gives the numbers for Day and Evening Students as follows Faculty of Arts: Men Day 629 and Evening 636, Women Day 630 and Evening 266; Faculty of Economics: Men Day 111 and Evening 400, Women Day 8 and Evening 15. The number of evening courses declined over the years and it seems they were no longer offered from 1989 onward seeing that of the prizes established by gifts given by the Evening Students' Association those explicitly for evening class students were no longer offered.

By 1977 the Evening Students' Association was composed of all part time and evening students; membership was free and automatic. The Association was financed by a grant from the SRC plus 20c per head on all part time students enrolled in the University.

Then the aim of the Association was to increase the number of subjects available in all faculties in the evening. It was also attempting to extend the facilities available during the day, to the night.

The Association held several social functions during the year, the most notable were dinner dances in Lent and Michaelmas terms. But by then the Association experienced great difficulties in contacting evening students and, through entries in the University Calendars from 1977 to 1980, invited students and former students to contact the Secretary to provide their names, addresses and indication of evening or part time status to allow the Association to contact them for meetings and social functions. The Association met on the second Tuesday of every month.

More about the history and development of the Association can be found in its magazine Vesperis 1950, p.7 ff. Senate Report for 1950 in 1952 Calendar; University Calendars 1977 to 1989.