From the Warden: Sir Ian Clunies Ross and International House

Brian Jones

Brian Jones was the first Warden (Head) of International House.

This article was published in Satadal in 1959.

The publishing of the first International House Magazine is a notable event in the history of the House. We are much in the debt of those by whose enterprise and exertions this has been achieved.

This historic issue will be read by people in many walks of life in many lands, by members of the House past, present and future, by the members of the International House Council, the University Council, the Women’s Auxiliaries, by members of societies with international interests such as Rotary and Apex, and by many other people who in a world full of darkness and hostility hope that brotherhood may yet prevail, and are encouraged because, here at International House, they can see this ideal being put into practice.

But the circulation of the magazine will extend far beyond Australia. In particular one thinks of its being read in the countries which have had representatives in the House, Burma, Cyprus, Fiji, France, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaya, Malta G. C., New Guinea, New Zealand, North Borneo, the Phillipines, Sarawak, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

It is sad to think, however, that it will not be read by the man who did more than anyone else to inspire those who have planned and worked to establish International House. For those of us who worked with Sir Ian Clunies Ross it is hard to believe that we shall never see his like again. He seemed to have all the talents and virtues the gods bestow on mortal men. Yet this did not set him apart from the rest of us. On the contrary, he had that remarkable quality of the natural aristocrat of being able to get on easily with everyone. He was high-minded and a great idealist, yet his feet were firmly on the ground. Intensely serious of purpose, he could be wonderfully lighthearted; committee meetings at which he was chairman were great fun as well as highly business-like. There was a sharp realistic edge to his wit, but it was never cynical. He was passionate about principles, but was vitally interested in individual people.

Naturally it is as the great scientist and administrator that many people think of Sir Ian Clunies Ross. But some of us will think of him as we knew him best, as the enthusiast for practical internationalism. In my mind’s eye I shall always have a picture of him standing in the Common-Room, looking extremely elegant with bow-tie and long cigarette-holder, surrounded by an ever- increasing circle of students—ever-increasing because they sensed that he was interested in each one of them, and because they were aware how much International House meant to him, and, most of all, perhaps just because he was so intensely interesting, so full of life and such good company.

I think what appealed to him especially about the House was that this experiment in international living was being conducted by University Students, and that it would be tackled therefore in a spirit of critical intelligence and freedom from prejudice; and that in pursuing the purposes and principles for which a University stands — truth, tolerance, freedom — these students, assembled from all over the world, would find companionship and understanding as well.

In pioneering work, it is often difficult to maintain standards and to assess how well things are going. But in the memory of the work and ideals of Sir Ian Clunies-Ross — or, to put it differently, in simply asking ourselves what would have been his view of things — we have been given a touchstone whereby we can have some idea of how far we are achieving the aims of the House. What greater gift could he have bequeathed us?