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1944 – University and the War
UQ, like most institutions throughout Australia, took part in the Second World War effort.
Quotas were fixed for the university to meet in regards to research and other special work that arose out of the need to prepare Australia for war.
Courses in malaria control, refrigeration technology and combating chemical warfare were made available to members of the Armed Forces throughout the war.
1965 – The Issue of Vietnam
The Semper Floreat reported on issues of Vietnam and foreign policy.
Students around Australia were generally against the war effort, especially when conscription was introduced in 1964.
Editors of the Semper wrote about Australian foreign policy and our acceptance of the United States’ world order, in which Australia did not deviate from their call.
Seemingly, not much has changed in 50 years. Australia has continued to follow the United States into blind global conflict.
1975 – The Queensland Gerrymander
Turning to state politics. Semper Floreat reported on the Queensland gerrymander.
It was no secret that the conservative National Party benefited greatly from the way in which Queensland’s electoral system was drawn.
Electorates in the regions (where their voter base was) were small in proportion to their population. In contrast, metropolitan area which were likely to vote for Labor or the Liberals were large.
In effect, this meant that by virtue of living in regional Queensland, your vote would have mattered more than if you were to live in Brisbane.
This meant that despite never winning a majority of the cast ballots in Queensland, the Nationals were able to hold state government in Queensland for the majority of the second half of the 20th century.
1984 – City Council Bike Paths
Today bike paths sprawl from UQ St Lucia to the CBD and beyond.
Semper Floreat in 1984 wrote about the newly constructed bicycle paths that exist today.
The cyclists of the day complained of their conflict with pedestrians and joggers. This is something that has now been resolved with dedicated pedestrian and cyclist lanes along the river.
In 1984, 11 cyclists had died on Queensland’s roads. For context, between 2018 and 2023, there were only 3 deaths recorded for cyclists.
In comparison, 11 deaths in one year is pretty shocking given Queensland’s smaller population size.
There is no doubt that the construction and improvement of the Brisbane bikeway has played a part in reducing the unnecessary deaths of Queensland cyclists.
1984 – Superannuation
Before the Superannuation Guarantee, which made superannuation compulsory in 1991 by Labor’s Keating government, superannuation had to be bargained for from each employer.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 1984 was pushing for a universal superannuation cover scheme.
However, the conservative Queensland Nationals government, ever the enemy of the working class, passed legislation to stir up the union movement by attempting to limit the ACTU’s calls for universal superannuation.
Written by Samuel Wong
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