THE COOMBS A House of Memories THE C MBS A House of Memories Editors: Brij V. Lal, Allison Ley Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email:
[email protected] This title is also available online at http://press.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry The Coombs: a house of memories 2nd edition Bibliography Includes index ISBN 9781921934179 (pbk) ISBN 9781921934186 (online) Coombs Building (Canberra, ACT) - History - Anecdotes. Australian National University - History - Anecdotes. Australian National University - Alumni and alumnae. Universities and Colleges - Australian Capital Territory - Canberra - History. 378.947 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by Nic Welbourn and layout by ANU Press Cover image, Matcham Skipper’s wrought iron frieze, photo courtesy of Coombs Photography Printed by Grin Press Previous edition © 2006 Research School of Pacic and Asian Studies, The Australian National University This edition © 2014 ANU Press This book can be purchased from http://press.anu.edu.au for the people of Coombs past, present and future Table of Contents Acknowledgements ix Foreword: The Coombs Building xiii William C. Clarke Preface xvii Brij V Lal Part I The Coombs: A Portrait 1 The Coombs: Journeys and Transformations 1 Brij V. Lal Part II A Room at the Top 2 Salad Days 23 Oskar Spate 3 An OHB Beginner 35 Anthony Low 4 People and the Coombs Effect 43 Wang Gungwu 5 In the Room at the Top 47 R.