Ida and Ted Scheps

In 2022 as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Scheps Wing, we should also remember Ted and Ida Scheps.

Theodor Alexander (Ted) Scheps (?–1969) studied at the South Australian School of Mines and Industries, later part of the University of Adelaide (“School of Mines”, 1906; University of Adelaide, 2022). In 1907, he began working for the Knowles Motor Car Company in Melbourne (“Who’s Who”, 1938), and in 1911 he and his brother Frederick Henry Scheps opened their own car dealership, Scheps Brothers, in St Kilda (“Heading in the Right Direction”, 1997). By the early 1930s, Ted Scheps was a director of companies including Southern Motors Pty Ltd and the Queensland Tobacco Trust Pty Ltd (“New Companies” 1930; “Company News”, 1932).

In 1920 he married Isabella (Ida) Robinson (1891–1962) (“Family Notices”, 1945). We know very little about Ida Scheps. She seems to have been a keen golfer, and her golfing achievements were regularly reported in the Melbourne press (see, for example, “Hole in One”, 1935; “Woman Player’s Feat”, 1935). In 1936, The Bulletin reported on her ‘remarkable feat’ of twice achieving a hole in one (“Melbourne Chatter”, 1936).

Ida Scheps died in Melbourne in 1962 (“Births, Deaths, Marriages”, 1962). Shortly after her death, Ted Scheps made a donation of £20,000 to International House as a ‘memorial to his late wife’ (Dimmick, 1970). This was the ‘largest single donation’ ever made to IH (Warden’s Report No. 3, 1962). As a gesture of thanks, the International House Council decided to rename the Junior Common Room ‘Ida Scheps Hall’ (Warden’s Report No. 3, 1962).

Mr Scheps, a modest and retiring person, never wished for public recognition of his generosity.

Dimmick, 1970

In 1964, with the assistance of another major donation from Ted Scheps, International House purchased the house at 197–205 Royal Parade. This wing was named the Ida Scheps Wing, later known as Ida Scheps House (Larkins, 2018, p. 51). The name ‘Scheps Wing’ was later transferred to the sixteen-sided accommodation building we know today as ‘Scheps’ (International House Council, 1971).

After Ted Scheps died in 1969, the International House Council paid tribute to his many contributions noting: ‘It is a tragedy that he did not live to see the completion of the new residential wing, his memorial to his late wife’ (Dimmick, 1970).

References and further reading

Births, marriages, deaths (1962, February 20). The Age, p. 14.

Company news (1932, April 13). The Herald (Melbourne), p. 14. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242800900

Desai, L. (2022). Fifty years of Scheps. https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/international-house-melbourne/2022/04/08/fifty-years-of-scheps/

Dimmick, S. G. McL. (1970). Minute of appreciation: Theodor Alexander Scheps. Minutes of the International House Council. International House Archives.

Family notices: Silver wedding (1945, September 24). The Argus, p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article975623

Heading in the right direction at Southern (1997, May 9). Australian Jewish News, p. 18. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article261955900

Hole in one at Victoria (1935, July 6). The Argus, p. 28. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11745527

International House Council (1971, December 7). Meeting No. 4 [minutes]. International House Archives.

Larkins, F. (2018). International House Melbourne: Sixty years of fraternitas. Melbourne University Publishing.

Melbourne chatter (1936, January 15). The Bulletin 57(2918), p. 36. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-68375465

New companies (1930, January 13). The Herald (Melbourne), p. 18. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244566875

School of mines. (1906, December 21). The Register, p. 6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article56691716

University of Adelaide (2022). University Archives: SA School of Mines and Industries. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/records/university-archives/related-institutions/sa-school-of-mines-and-industries

Warden’s Report No. 3 (1962, July). International House Archives.

Woman player’s feat. (1935, December 31). The Age, p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203894347

Who’s who in the Victorian motor world (1938, May 18). The Argus, p. 19 (Motor Show Supplement). http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11179367