UNSW and the establishment of the Faculty of Military Studies at the Royal Military College, Duntroon: 1965-1968

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the establishment of the Faculty of Military Studies (FMS) at the Royal Military College (RMC) at Duntroon between 1965 and 1968. And, in so doing, detail the academic culture and structure of the FMS at its inception in 1968. Design/methodology/approach – Given the small body of literature on the subject, the chronology of events was developed primarily through archival research and interview transcripts, supplemented by correspondence and formal interviews with former academic staff of the FMS (UNSW HREAP A-12-44). Findings – This paper reveals the motivations for, issues encountered, and means by which UNSW’s administration under Sir Philip Baxter were willing and able to work with the Army to establish the FMS. In so doing, it reveals the FMS as a “compromise institution” in which the role of UNSW and the academic staff was to deliver a professional education subordinate to the imperatives of the RMC’s socialization and military training regime. Research limitations/implications – Primary materials were restricted to archived documentation comprised of correspondence and meeting minutes as well as a limited group of witnesses – both willing and able – to provide insight into UNSW and RMC in the mid-1960s. Originality/value – This paper presents an original account of the establishment of the FMS and the role of Sir Philip Baxter and the UNSW administration in pioneering the institutional forbearer of the Australian Defence Force Academy.