Key 35: Fink Royal Commission into University Affairs 1902-4/The University Act 1904

 

One consequence of the Dickson Fraud was the appointment of a Royal Commission into University affairs chaired by the Hon. Theodore Fink. The wide-ranging report recommended that the Government make good the losses and substantially increase the annual grant. It also recommended the introduction of a range of new courses including Education, Agriculture, Surveying, Mining and Metallurgy, Architecture and Commerce. Some of these recommendations were incorporated into a new University of Act in 1904, but the report itself served as a sound textbook for the development of the University and education policy more generally. The decade following brought a significant broadening of the University curriculum.