James Murray Gosper was born in Sydney on 23 September 1903. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School, from where he matriculated in November 1923. He enrolled in engineering at Sydney University in 1924 and was awarded his Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1932.

Gosper was active in the sporting field, representing his college, St. Andrew's, and the University in both rifle shooting, for which he was awarded a 'blue', and athletics. He was also heavily involved in student affairs, and very popular with the undergraduate body. Gosper was on the Committee of the Undergraduates Association, forerunner to the SRC, from 1925 to 1929. He was also on the Union Board of Directors from 1929 to 1932, and active in the Engineering Students Association. In addition, he was, for some time, the Sydney Morning Herald's University correspondent.

When 'Honi Soit' began publication in 1929 Gosper was sports editor and chief of staff under the editor, Arthur Crouch. These two men, along with P. T. Millard, were actively involved in campaigning for the establishment of a properly representative undergraduate body, following an incident during Commemoration Week that year. The proposed constitution of the new body made membership compulsory and it was approved by a meeting of under-graduates on 8 November 1929. The constitution and the proposal for compulsory membership were both approved by the Senate on 9 December 1929, and the Students' Representative Council came into being, with 'Honi Soit' as its official newspaper. Gosper was elected as first President of the SRC, with A.B. Edwards and Evanne Wood as vice-presidents.

Gosper was also active in the re-structuring of the Appointments Board in 1934, and in the formation of the Graduates Association during the period 1935-38. When a standing committee of Convocation was established in 1939 as a result of the moves to establish a Graduates Association, Gosper was elected its first Honorary Secretary. He is the only student to have a University road named after him: Gosper Lane, which runs between the old Geology and Macleay buildings.

Series and Item Listing of the Papers of James Murray GOSPER

Series 1: Songbooks and Commemoration Programmes, 1920-1932

Printed copies of song-books and programmes for Commemoration Day and students Festivals. Also included is an Engineering Year Book, and a copy of the University's War Memorial Hymn.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	Printed copy of 'The Song of the Bells', the Sydney		1925
		University War Memorial Hymn, written by Professor 
		F.A.Todd. 
	2	Student's Song Book.						1925
	3	Commemoration Programme and Songbook produced by the		1925
		Undergraduates Association. 
	4	Engineering Year Book.						1931
	5	"Quack Quack": 'song book and miscellany' for the 1931		1931 
		Students Festival. 	
	6	"Shick Shock": 'song book and miscellany' for the 1932		1932 
		Students Festival. 
	7	Programme and Songbook for students Commemoration		1921
		Carnival.
	8	Programme of songs for the students' festival.			1920
	9	The Songbook of the Undergraduates Association. 		1924
	10	Programme and Songbook for the student Commemoration		1928
		Festival.
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Series 2: Papers relating to the formation of the Graduates' Association, 1935-1944

A group of male graduates of the University decided, in 1935, to work towards the establishment of a Graduates Association which, they believed, could play an important role in university government. Accordingly, a committee, headed by Percy Spender, was set up to draft a constitution for the new Association. A general meeting of graduates was called at which the draft constitution was to be presented. The meeting, of about 100 graduates, held on 24 July 1935, agreed to form an Association with a number of objectives, but which was intended to only represent male graduates.

As a result of the discriminatory nature of the objectives there was widespread dissent to this constitution. Eventually a meeting of Convocation was summoned for 12 September 1935. This meeting, which was attended by 1,100 graduates, passed a motion to form a more representative association and also established a provisional committee to draft a constitution for the new association. The committee members were: R.C. Teece, H.G. Carter, P.C. Spender, Kevin Ellis, Dr R.A.M. Allen, Dr A.M. Davidson, Dr I. Clunies Ross, Jessie Street, and Monica Flower.

On 10 June 1936 a further meeting of Convocation as held which adopted the recommendations of the provisional committee and established the Graduates Association as consisting of all members of Convocation. The meeting passed resolutions providing for the election of a standing committee of Convocation, with at least a quarter of its members being female, and requesting Senate to make the necessary by-laws and regulations to bring into effect the decisions of Convocation.

After lengthy delays, caused in part by opposition to the Graduates Association from staff and the Senate, Convocation was again summoned to meet on 7 October 1938. This meeting, attended by 105 graduates plus some Fellows of Senate, adopted the draft constitution drawn up by the provisional committee and passed a resolution requesting the Senate make the necessary changes to accept the Constitution by adopting the draft by-laws of the provisional committee. At its meeting of 7 November 1938 Senate reaffirmed its earlier decision that acceptance of the Constitution of the Graduates Association would be by resolution of Senate, and not by changes to the by-laws. However in December 1938 Senate found it necessary to rescind this decision and adopted new by-laws for establishing Convocation.

The first standing committee of Convocation was elected in November 1939, with J.P. Tivey as President, Dr R.A.M. Allen as deputy President, J.M. Gosper as Honorary Secretary, and 5 other members. Perhaps because of the war little was achieved by the Standing Committee, and little use was made of it by either the Senate or graduates. The Graduates Association never came into existence.

This series consists of a large number of papers concerning the formation of the Graduates Association, including notices of meetings, minutes of both the provisional committees, clippings from 'Honi Soit', a report of Senate, and correspondence.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	Notice of meeting of Convocation to be held on 7 October 1938.	1938
	2	Report of the sub-committee of the Sydney University 		1938
		Engineering Club appointed to consider the draft constitution 
		of the Sydney University Undergraduates Association. 
	3	'Honi Soit' vol. X no. 21, 15 September 1938.			1938
	4	'Honi Soit' vol. X no. 20, 11 August 1938.			1938
	5	History of the formation of the Sydney University Graduates 	1935-8
		Association, compiled by Gosper, consisting of handwritten 
		notes and clippings from 'Honi Soit' pasted onto loose pages 
		(30 pages). 
	6	First Report of the Standing Committee of Convocation on	1944
		proceedings of Convocation from 1939-1944 (printed, two copies). 
	7	'Honi Soit', vol. VII no. 16, 24 July 1935.			1935
	8	Newsletter of SU Graduates Association concerning a meeting of 	1935
		Convocation to be held on 12 September 1935. 
	9	Petition calling for meeting of Convocation and notice of	n.d.
		meeting of Convocation. 
	10	Carbon copy of letter to an engineering graduate ('Keith') as	1935 
		a senior officer of the Main Roads Board and a prominent member
		of the profession concerning the Graduates Association, dated
		4 July 1935. [7 pages] 
	11	'Honi Soit', vol. VII no. 20, 18 September 1935.		1935
	12	'Honi Soit', vol. X no. 20, 11 August 1938.			1938
	13	Minutes of meetings of the Provisional Committee of the		1935-8
		Graduates Association, from 20 September 1935 to 12 August
		1938 (typescript). 
	14	Minutes of a meeting of the drafting Committee of the Graduates	1936
		Association, for 2 April 1936 (typescript). 
	15	Printed notice to Convocation members concerning a meeting of	1936
		Convocation to be held on 22 May 1936. 
	16	Printed sheet of resolutions for the Convocation meeting to be 	1936
		held on 10 June 1936. 
	17	Report of Senate on matters arising from resolution passed by 	1936
		Convocation on 22 May 1936. 
	18	Minutes of a meeting of the Sydney University Graduates		1936
		Association held on 3 December 1936. 
	19	Typescript copy of draft by-laws of Convocation, with		?1936
		handwritten annotations and corrections. 
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	20	Letter from the Secretary of the Provisional Committee of the	1937
		Graduates Association to Gosper as Secretary of the Engineering
		Club re report of Club on the draft constitution of the
		Association. Original letter from club and report are included. 
	21	Letter from W.A. Prestcott to R.C. Teece concerning the		1937
		constitution of Convocation, dated 3 November 1937. 
	22	Letter from Registrar, W.A. Selle, dated 9 December 1937, to	1937
		Carter, Secretary of Provisional Committee of the Graduates
		Association, forwarding minutes of a joint Committee meeting. 
	23	Letter from Donoghue and Carter to Teece, dated 11 February	1938
		1938, re Graduates Association.
	24	Letter from Percy Spender to Teece, dated 1 July 1938, re 	1938
		Graduates Association.
	25	Letter from Provisional Secretary of Graduates Association to	1938
		the Registrar, dated 9 September 1938, concerning an amendment
		to the draft constitution of Convocation. 
	26	Letter from Carter to the Registrar, dated 9 September 1938,	1938
		concerning amendments to the draft constitution of Convocation. 
	27	Letter from the Registrar to Carter, dated 13 September 1938,	1938
		concerning amendments to the draft constitution of Convocation. 
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	28	'Honi Soit', vol. X no. 21, 15 September 1938.			1938-
										1938
	29	Letter from Secretary of the Committee of Convocation to the	1938
		Registrar, dated 7 October 1938, forwarding the report of the
		Committee on the resolutions of the meeting of Convocation held 
		on 10 June 1936. 
	30	Clipping from 'Honi Soit' of 13 October 1938, of article on	1938
		Convocation meeting. 
	31	Letter from Registrar to Carter, dated 20 December 1938,	1938
		containing a printed copy of the proposed new by-laws of
		Convocation, and a report of the Committee of legal members
		of Senate on the resolutions. 
	32	Letter from Registrar to Carter, dated 7 December 1938,		1938
		containing three copies of the draft by-laws of Convocation. 
	33	Printed copy of the draft amended By-Laws of Convocation. 	1938
	34	Cutting from Sydney Morning Herald of 14 October 1939, of	1939
		Public Notices column giving information about elections for
		the University Senate and the Standing Committee of Convocation. 
	35	Circular notice listing the standing orders of Convocation.	n.d.
	36	First Annual Report of the Standing Committee of Convocation.	1940
	37	Loose leaf 'scrapbook' kept by Gosper about the formation of	1935-9
		the Graduates Association. The 'scrapbook' contains press
		cuttings, correspondence, printed circulars, memoranda, etc. 
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Series 3: Papers relating to the restructuring of the Sydney University Appointments Board, 1934-35.

After the resignation of the Director of the Appointments Board, Brigadier-General Iven Mackay, in late 1932, the Senate decided to restructure the Board. A meeting of a number of graduates and undergraduates formed a committee to obtain information about appointments boards at other universities around the world. A number of universities were surveyed and some documents collected, and the committee submitted a report to the Senate in April 1935. As a result of this report the Senate agreed to restructure the Appointments Board and amended its by-laws to bring this about. The Appointments Board was to consist of six members appointed annually by Senate and four members representing business, the professions, and recent graduates, in addition to a number of ex-officio members. In 1936 a full-time Secretary was appointed.

This series contains copies of the survey questionnaire, a summary of the information gathered by the committee, some documents from overseas universities, the committee's report to Senate, and some correspondence.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	Confidential information booklet on candidates from the Bureau	n.d.
		of Appointments of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  
	2	Candidates application form from the Bureau of Appointments of	n.d.
		the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 
	3	Rating sheet [i.e. referees' statements] for candidates from	n.d.
		the Bureau of Appointments of the University of Tennessee,
		Knoxville. 
	4	Information circular from the Bureau of Appointments of the	n.d.
		University of Tennessee, Knoxville. [4 pages] 
	5	Letter from Vice-Chancellor, R. S. Wallace, dated 4 December	1934
		1934, enclosing a letter from the University of Cambridge re
		student appointments. 
	6	Typed and handwritten summary of information concerning the	n.d.
		operation of appointments boards at a number of universities
		around the world. 
	7	Copy of address to Senate by Kevin Ellis, a member of the	1935
		Senate' Committee, concerning the Sydney University
		Appointments Board, dated 18 April 1935. 
	8	Typescript letter and questionnaire sent to overseas		1934
		universities concerning activities of appointments boards. 
	9	Press clipping (perhaps from 'Honi Soit') of an article		n.d.
		concerning the	new secretary of the Sydney University
		Appointments Board. 

Series 4: Papers relating to the accounts of the Union's 1931 Commemoration week activities, "Festival Follies", 1931.

The 1931 commemoration week activities run by the Students' Representative 1931-1931 Council, were called "Festival Follies". J.M. Gosper was chairman of the Revue sub-committee. In the accounts of the sub-committee published in 'Honi Soit' on 5 August 1931 Gosper made some criticisms of the Union's charges. Gosper considered that a rebuttal article published in 'The Union Recorder' on 13 August 1931, entitled "Defamation of the Union", defamed him and he sued the Union Board. The Union retracted its allegations in an apology printed in 'The Union Recorder' on 10 September 1931, and the matter was settled. This series contains clippings from 'Honi Soit' and 'The Union Recorder', and correspondence.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	Press clipping from 'Honi Soit' of 5 August 1931 containing	1931
		an article by Gosper entitled "Festival Follies" which gives
		the details of the accounts of the Union's Commemoration week
		activities of the same name. 
	2	Letter from Gosper to the Secretary of the Union, dated 13	1931
		August 1931,concerning the accounts of "Festival Follies". 
	3	Letter to Gosper from the Secretary of the Union, dated 12	1931
		August 1931, concerning the accounts of "Festival Follies". 
	4	Page 214 from 'Union Recorder' of 13 August 1931, containing	1931
		article entitled "Defamation of the Union" (4 copies). 
	5	Letter to Gosper from the Registrar, dated 14 August 1931,	1931
		concerning Gosper's request for a Proctorial Board meeting. 
	6	Page 228 of 'Union Recorder' of 10 September 1931, containing	1931
		article entitled "Festival Follies Account" apologising to
		Gosper for any imputations of "malice, untruthfulness,
		inefficiency, or want of good faith" in their article of 13
		August 1931. 
	7	Pages 3 and 4 of 'Honi Soit' of 5 August 1931, containing	1931
		Gosper's article on the Festival Follies accounts (2 copies). 

Series 5: Papers concerning Commemoration Day, 1929

During the 1929 Commemoration activities, and following some rowdy behaviour at the Tivoli Theatre, two University Students were arrested and charged with desecrating the Cenotaph. A subsequent University investigation exonerated the two students of any wrong-doing, although at least one of them appeared in Court and was fined. Nevertheless the Sydney newspapers had a field day, whipping up an almost hysterical reaction against the University and its students. Commemoration Day was banned by the Vice-Chancellor every year for the following 8 years.

This series consists of correspondence received by Gosper, who was President of the Students' Representative Council at the time, and press clippings from the Sydney newspapers describing the incident.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	Letter from ? (illegible), dated 23 May 1929, concerning 	1929
		the Commemoration Day incident. 
	2	Letter from ? (illegible), dated 23 May 1929, concerning	1929
		the Commemoration Day incident. 
	3	Letter from R.M. Allen, dated 23 May 1929,  concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	4	Letter from K. McClymont, dated 23 May 1929, concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	5	Letter from H. R. Murray, dated 24 May 1929, concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	6	Letter from A. Cohen, dated 23 May 1929, concerning the		1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	7	Letter from H.M. Wragge, dated 24 May 1929, concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	8	Letter from E. Le Gay Brereton, dated 23 May 1929, concerning	1929
		the Commemoration Day incident. 
	9	Letter from ? (illegible), dated 24 May 1929, concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	10	Letter from E.G. Boyd, dated 25 May 1929, concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	11	Letter from A. Charlton, dated 30 May 1929, concerning the	1929
		Commemoration Day incident. 
	12	Letter from Gosper to a newspaper concerning its article on1	?1929
		the Commemoration Day celebrations, typescript, undated. 
	13	Collection of press cuttings concerning the incidents at the	1929
		Tivoli Theatre and the Cenotaph on Commemoration Day 1929. 

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Series 6: Miscellaneous documents, 1930-32

Miscellaneous papers of Gosper, consisting of two copies of 'Honi Soit', and 1930-1932 material relating to the Engineering Students Association.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	 'Honi Soit', vol. II no. 6, 30 April 1930.			1930
	2	Typescript copy of speech given by Gosper to an Engineering	1932
		students' function in the P. N. Russell building (now Woolley). 
	3	Evening Students Association balance of accounts as at 1 May	1932
		1932. The reverse of the sheet contains handwritten notes on
		the accounts. 
	4	Two pages of handwritten notes giving page numbers for		n.d.
		information in University Calendars 1924-34. 

Series 7: Photographs, 1926-c.1958

This series mainly contains official photographs of student bodies and sporting teams of which Gosper was a member. The first few items are more informal photographs of the University.

	Item				Description				Dates
	No.
	1	Five photographs of the cast of "No, No, Nanette" during a	1926
		visit they made to the University in May(?) 1926. 
	2	Unidentified group photograph which includes Gosper, K.A.	n.d.
		Flavelle, C.R. Wallace, R. Le Gay Brereton, A.G. Smith, and
		W. Hugh Smith. The photograph is undated but probably dates
		from the late 1920s or early 1930s. 
	3	View of front facade of the Great Hall and the Quadrangle from	n.d.
		the north-east. Possibly late 1920s. 
	4	Gosper investing Dr F.W. Bayldon with stole of office as	n.d.
		President of the Students Representative Council. 
	5	View of front facade of Great Hall and Quadrangle from		n.d.
		approximately east-north-east. The photograph possibly
		dates from the late 1920s. 
	6	Commemoration day student prank: visit of Arab Party.		c.1958
	7	Union Board of Directors, 1931-32.				1931
	8	Students Representative Council, 1929.				1929
	9	Committee of the Undergraduates Association, 1926		1926
	10	University Athletic Team, 1926.					1926
	11	University Rifle Team, 1929.					1929
	12	University Rifle Team, 1928.					1928
	13	Committee of the Undergraduates Association, 1929.		1929
	14	Committee of the Undergraduates Association, 1925.		1925
	15	University Team for the 1929 Intervarsity Shooting Competition.	1929
	16	Union Board of Directors, 1926-27.				1926
	17	Committee of the Undergraduates Association, 1927. 		1927
	18	Committee of the Undergraduates Association, 1928. 		1928
	19	St. Andrew's College Rifle Team, 1928.				1928
	20	Union Board of Directors, 1927-28.				1927
	21	Union Board of Directors, 1928-29.				1928
	22	Committee of the Undergraduates Association, 1930-31. 		1930
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