Front cover of the 1961 International House orientation handbook Selamat Datang

The first Selamat Datang

1961 saw the first issue of the IH orientation booklet Selamat Datang. The orientation program that year included cricket matches, tennis tournaments, talks, a formal dinner, processions and two sherry parties.

Page from the orientation handbook Selamat Datang detailing the International House orientation program for 1961 — IH Orientation Program for 1961, Selamat Datang, 1961. International House Archives

Writing in his foreword, the Warden (Head of College) Sam Dimmick urged students to find a balance between these social activities and their academic work:

[Y]ou must learn new methods of study and be able to organise your work efficiently, but this alone is not enough. You should be an active participant in the extra-curricular activities of students, such as sport, clubs and societies, House functions, general meetings, processions, drama, dances and social life generally. Having said this, one must add that extracurricular activities must not be allowed to interfere with your studies.
(Dimmick, 1961, p. 5)

As well as the Warden’s words of advice, there were lots of practical tips: how to do laundry, where to go shopping, what to wear to dinner. There was an essay on ‘the ideals of the House’ and another on its history. The booklet also outlined plans for a year of social, sporting and cultural activities: a hockey team, dances, a film festival and an art exhibition. There was also important information about meals, which were described as ‘a compromise between formality and informality’.

Extract from the Internatinal House orientation handbook for 1961 describing arrangements for meals — Extract from Selamat Datang, 1961. International House Archives.

Black and white photograph of a large group of male students wearing academic gowns in the dining hall at Internaitonal House, The University of Melbourne, circa 1961 — A meal at International House, c. 1961. International House Archives.

Writing in Satadal at the end of 1961, the Student Club President wrote of his hopes that the publication of Selamat Datang would continue ‘in future years’ (Seddon, 1961, p. 56). Sixty years later, we’re happy to say that it has!

References and further reading

Dimmick, S. G. McL. (1961). Foreword by the Warden. Selamat Datang: Introduction to International House, 4-5.

McLeod, C. (1961). Some ideals of the House. Selamat Datang: Introduction to International House, 8-11.

Mijares, K. (2019). Selamat Datang. Fraternitas, 8. https://ihouse.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3230357/RFQ02241-IH-Fratenitas2019_A4_v6_web.pdf

Seddon, R. J. (1961). President’s report. Satadal: The magazine of International House, University of Melbourne, 55-57.