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Professor Godfrey Tanner of Classics in Students Union, the University of Newcastle, Australia - ca. late 1970s

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DescriptionThis photo appeared in the University News, August 2002. The text was: "The following is an excerpt of the eulogy delivered by Dr Bernie Curran at the funeral of his friend and Classics colleague, Emeritus Professor Godfrey Tanner. The world and we have lost a very special person - a rare individual. He was a gentleman, a scholar, a teacher, an orator, a citizen of the world, a patron of the arts, of culture and sport, theologian and philosopher. thus the public man - the man in the brown Senate suit, the academic gown, the Colours Blazer, the Union Jacket - the right coat, the right tie for the right occasion, be it a meeting of University council or the Anglican Synod, be it dinner at the Newcastle Club, the Athenaeum, the British Schools at Roam and Athens or at St. John's College Cambridge. And there is the private man, the simple man, the man of great humility, the generous man who quietly gave much to many, who enjoyed the company of his friends in their homes and in his home. the man who enjoyed the peace and quiet of his own thoughts, music in the background and the intimacy of books. He was a very sensitive man, easily hurt and yet a very forgiving man - a man for whom the teachings of Christ were a way of life. This is the man of tattered and well worn clothes, old T-shirts and cardigans, funny baseball hats and knapsacks with broken straps, crumpled old shorts and sandals. The man who served tealess tea, arrowroot biscuits, 'gunpowder' coffee and sherry left over from a sixties sherry party. Godfrey Tanner came to Newcastle in 1959 aged 32. From the University of Melbourne and Cambridge he brought excellent academic credentials. From the King's School Parramatta he brought a love of teaching and the role of the schoolmaster at the core of which is the development of mind and body - the mens sana in corpore sano ideal. From this school also he brought his knowledge and experience of the great families of rural NSW as well as his intimate knowledge of Australian history. And he brought a suitcase, an old fashioned suitcase complete with travel stickers, filled with books like Newman's "Idea of a University", Cicero's "De Officiis", first editions of ancient texts - striped blazers, old scarves, dicky hats, a pipe, a monocle, a magnifying glass and a box of snuff (called, I believe, "Gust of Gomorrah') and of course he brought a bicycle! Thus, like a missionary in another land he set out to bring the languages and culture of the classical world to a land that had no physical reminders of a Greek and roman past; to introduce the students of the fledgling University to the traditions of student life; and to demonstrate that the University had a part to play in the life of the Newcastle and Hunter community. The people of Newcastle had pressed for a traditional University. James Auchmuty had responded and Godfrey Tanner was one of his key instruments in realizing that dream. By the time Godfrey retired in 1993 the tradition had become a "legend", a living treasure. His curriculum vitae will show the positions held on Council, on Faculty, in the Union, in sport, and in the Community. It is a story of public service - of virtus. His name was everywhere - from the Godfrey Tanner Bar to the Aquatic Centre at Raymond Terrace. In 1994 the University awarded him an Honorary Degree, a Doctor of the University - a distinction and honour of which he was very proud. Nevertheless he continued to work, using the good offices of Engineering, still researching teaching Sanskrit, supporting the alumni and most important of all preparing his thoughts for 'Godfrey's Grip' on 2NURFM. His alumni work completed the cycle of his worth to the University. 2NUR took him to the world. In 1998 the Godfrey Tanner Scholarship Fund was established with a generous endowment from him and his friend Peter Hendry. It was a scholarship to assist students who had been disadvantaged in one way or another. The scholars who have received this aware are, however, the first "official" Tanner scholars. Godfrey had supported many others through the years but this was not public knowledge. Let me draw your attention to a passage from E.M. Forster who in his book "Pharos and Pharillon" gives a description of the modern Greek poet Cavagy, who was Godfrey's favourite modern poet. You will note an uncanny similarity between Cavafy and Godfrey Tanner. "A French gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe. His arms extended positively. 'Oh Cavafy!' Yes it is Mr Cavafy, and he is going from his flat to the office or from his office to the flat. If the former, he vanishes when seen, with a slight gesture of despair. If the latter, he may be prevailed upon to begin a sentence - an immense complicated yet shapely sentence, full of parentheses that never get mixed and of reservations that really do reserve, a sentence that moves with logic to its foreseen end, yet to an end that is always the more vivid and thrilling than one foresaw. Sometimes the sentence is finished in the street, sometimes the traffic murders it, sometimes it lasts into the flat. It deals with the tricky behaviour of the Emperor Alexius Commennus in 1096 or with olives, their possibilities and price, or with the fortunes of friends, or with George Eliot or the dialects of the interior of Asia Minor. It is delivered with equal ease in Greek, English or French and despite its intellectual richness and human outlook, despite the natural clarity of its judgements, one feels that it is too stands at a slight angle to the universe." I came across this passage in a book Godfrey had lent me only two weeks ago. Ironically I was reading this passage when Godfrey had begun his departure from the world. As I read these words 'at a slight angle to the universe', , I thought, at last I have found the mose appropriate description of Ronald Godfrey Tanner. For me - his greatest strengths were: He loved teaching and he knew his subject; He saw no distinction between teaching and research and believed that they were linked and that the prospect of a research institute as a separate from the University was a complete contradiction; He was dedicated to the all-round University experience - the Kalos Kal Agathos Ideal; He believed that as a citizen and member of the community, he had an obligation to belong and to share in the responsibilities that came with the rights of the community; His learning and his scholarship underpinned his daily life, his values, his perspective, his relationships and his goals in life. He did not accept that definition of the word 'academic' which implied either 'practical' or 'irrelevant'; Above all he believed in people; he valued friendship, fellowship and community. These were vitally linked with learning. His greatest strength was that although he knew so much, and had a distinguished record in scholarship, he could make each of us believe we were on his level. He had the ability to inspire faith in ourselves and our ability to learn; He was the traditionalist, the conservative, the establishment man who seemed to be forever challenging convention, cant and hypocrisy." This image was scanned from a photograph in the University's historical photographic collection held by Special Collections. If you would like to comment on the photograph, please contact Special Collections or add a Recollection, using these instructions.InformationFlickr Commentthefacthatyousucksucks: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS5UXwAf2Qg thefacthatyousucksucks: sturdy....., that helmet. HAH mmmm. hm. SubjectGodfrey TannerStudent unionShortland UnionUniversity of Newcastle (N.S.W.)Newcastle UniversityThe UnionDate[1970s] Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Sourcehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/2484218939/

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CollectionUniversity of Newcastle HistoryPersonGodfrey Tanner

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RestrictionsThe image can be used for study and personal research purposes. If you wish to reproduce this image for any other purpose please contact Special Collections. Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

IdentifierP453

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