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Australia's ninth, and the University of Queensland's first residential college, Emmanuel, was founded by the Presbyterian Church of Queensland in 1911 with the first students taking up residence in Wickham Terrace in 1912. As the Presbyterian Church moved towards partnership with other religious denominations during the 1970s, Emmanuel College also came under the auspices of the Uniting Church . Upon its inauguration Emmanuel College was an all male residence but this changed in 1975 when women were admitted as Collegians. Now, the College numbers around 340 students with half our population being female.
Further change was experienced by the College when it moved in 1955 from its original site in Wickham Terrace to its present location on the main University campus in St Lucia .
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The College residences have been named in honour of former College principals and councillors.
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This wing is located above the office and JCR. It is named after Reverend Professor RA Rollie Busch who was Principal from 1962-1978. It was during his term that the College became co-residential. Principal Busch was an outstanding scholar and churchman. He also served the Armed Forces with great distinction rising to the rank of full general as a Chaplain-General. Principal Busch was a church leader of note. Prior to the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia, of which he is regarded as a founding father, he was Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Queensland, and, following the establishment of the Uniting Church, the first Moderator of the Queensland Synod of that church. He later served as the national President of the Uniting Church.
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Principal Lance Douglas (1955-1962) was the last Principal of the old College and the first Principal of the new College. As such he was responsible for overseeing the building and early development of grounds on the 7.2 acre St Lucia site. He also played a major role in the fund raising appeal for the College. He persuaded his friend, Mr Alfred Grant, to donate funds for the building of what is now known as the Riverview Room. A fine Old Testament scholar, he was also heavily involved with the work of the Theological Hall.
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Dr John Drewe is a former President of the Students' Club and former Chairman of the College Council, a position he held from 1974-1995.
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Mr Angus Edmonds was Head of College from 1984-2004. A graduate of both Edinburgh and Griffith Universities, he was President of the Australian Association of Heads of Colleges and Halls Inc, and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Society of St Andrew of Scotland (Qld) Inc.
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The Reverend Doctor James Gibson was a foundation councillor of Emmanuel College and along with Dr Merrington, is regarded as one of the founding fathers of Emmanuel. When offered the Principalship he recommended instead a former student friend from the University of Edinburgh, the Reverend Dr Richard Glaister. Reverend Gibson taught in the Theological Hall for a number of years and served the Presbyterian Church in many capacities, including that of Moderator. The Theological Hall's Gibson-Radcliffe Library is named partly in his honour.
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Principal Richard Glaister (1914-1923), the second Principal of College, saw the College through some of its most difficult years during the First World War when enrolment was consistently no more than three! The College almost merged with King's College, but Glaister saw it through into the 1920s with a steadily growing population. When he returned to his native Scotland, the Governor of the State remarked that Queensland was losing one of its brightest stars.
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The longest serving Principal, Mervyn Henderson (1923-1954) introduced something of the Cambridge College ideal to Emmanuel, bringing with him three rowing oars he had won at Cambridge which are now displayed in the College dining hall. Principal Henderson is associated chiefly with the old College on Wickham Terrace as he was Principal for 31 of the 44 years of its existence on that site.
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Mr JG McGregor was the first College solicitor who drew up the College constitution and arranged and gifted the coat of arms from Lord Lyon King of Arms. He was also one of the first donors of funds.
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This wing was named after Brigadier Eric Martin, a collegian during the 1920s and Council Chairman from 1959-1968. Having served with distinction during the Second World War he was managing director of SEQEB. An Honorary Fellow of the College he served on the Emmanuel College Council for many years.
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Principal John Meiklejohn (1911-1914) was Emmanuel's Foundation Principal. A retired Professor of Theology from Melbourne and first Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia he served, at his own insistence, without remuneration for the College's first three years.
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The Reverend Dr Ernest Northcroft Merrington was a scholar and churchman of distinction. Returning after gaining his PhD from Harvard he became minister of St Andrew's, Brisbane. He played a significant part in fostering the idea of a university for Queensland, and when the Governor and first Chancellor of The University of Queensland, Sir William MacGregor, gave the inaugural lecture in 1909, Dr Merrington was asked to give the vote of thanks.
Merrington is rightly regarded as one of two founding fathers of Emmanuel. He personally travelled throughout Queensland raising much of the money for the College's establishment. He served the College twice as Chairman from 1911-1915 and 1922-1923, later becoming Master of Knox College, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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This public room is named after the late Professor William Marquis Kyle, a Professor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland and an Emmanuel councillor for many years.
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Mr Alfred Grant was a developer and entrepreneur who was persuaded by his friend, Principal Lance Douglas, to provide monies for the building of this room for the College. Thanks to his generosity, Emmanuel can boast one of the finest meeting rooms on campus. This room provides an excellent venue for tutorials, private study, seminars, conferences and receptions.
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Situated in Busch wing beside the Hall Porter's office, the Junior Common Room (JCR) serves as a social meeting place for members of College.
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In the squash court building and overlooking the riverbank the Presidents' Room was originally designed for the Students' Club Committee to hold meetings. With its shaded sundeck, the room provides a location for meetings.
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A dining and meeting room which adjoins the Kyle Common Room and the Stevens Bonnin Room has been named in recognition of the contribution made to the College by Mr JL (Laurie) Davies, first as Councillor and Honorary Treasurer, and then as Executive Councillor (1978-1982) and Principal (1978-1983). Mr Davies passed away on 9 July 1998 after a long illness.
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Two seminar rooms are situated on Wickham Terrace. Air conditioned and carpeted, they are a venue for tutorials, private study, seminars and workshops.
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The Stevens Bonnin Room located next to the dining hall is named in honour of Mr James MD Stevens, a College Council member (1957-1983), and Chairman of Council (1968-1974), and Mrs Nancy Bonnin, the former Fryer Librarian of the University, and the first woman to serve on the College Council (1979-1995).
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Air-conditioned and soundproofed music rooms were opened by Professor Malcolm Gilles, the then Head of Music at The University of Queensland, in July 1992. They are situated behind Douglas wing, next to the carports alongside the boundary fence with King's College.
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The brick patio outside the seminar rooms and overlooking the Brisbane River is named after the original location of the College (1911-1955) on Wickham Terrace in Spring Hill. The original College building now forms part of St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital.
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Opened on 16 May 1959 by the then Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, The Hon Allan Fletcher MLA and dedicated as a World War II Memorial Chapel by the Moderator, The Right Rev TC Watson BA, the Chapel was used by the Queensland University Regiment (QUR) until the mid 1990s as the Chapel where officers stood vigil the evening before their commissioning. When the QUR's colours (Regimental Colour and Queen's Colour) were damaged in the 1974 flood, they were laid up in the Chapel in protective cases.
The stained glass windows were installed in the 1990s. Designed by Joan Mladenovic and built by her husband Andrew and the staff of Creative Stained Glass of Toowoomba, the windows are made of imported glass.
The east window is the 'Fiat Lux' window, an interpretation of the College motto 'Let There Be Light' from Genesis 1:3. Opposite this is the 'Emmanuel' window depicting various biblical images connected with the meaning of the name, 'God with us' and images associated with the founding of the College and the College hymn.
The seven windows along the north side of the nave are 'University' windows, depicting symbols and figures representing studies conducted by all University academic departments in 1999, the year of its installation. The central motif is the Tree of Jesse, seen in medieval times as the Tree of Learning with its vine-like 'branches' spreading out from the Arts Faculty through the other six faculties.
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The College dining hall is a First World War Memorial. A formal room with wooden cathedral ceiling, the dining hall hosts portraits of all previous Principals. The portrait of our founding head of college, Principal Meiklejohn, is a 'miniature' of a full portrait (now in the Scots Church, Melbourne) commissioned by the Presbyterian Church of Australia when Dr Meiklejohn was elected its first Moderator-General in 1901.
The wall above the high table displays a wood carving of the College Coat-of-Arms, the work of former Council member and Honorary Fellow, the late Professor Mansergh Shaw, foundation Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His carving of the Coat-of-Arms may also be seen on the Principal's chair in the dining hall and in the chapel.
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