50557
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Bill Louden interview
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DescriptionInterview of Bill Louden by Julia Wallis.
00:00:00 Bill recalled visiting UWA when he was 8 or 9 years old with his father. Bill’s father grew up in Kalgoorlie. In about 1943, he had won a Commonwealth scholarship that enabled him to reside at St George’s College and study for a science degree, later becoming a mathematics and science teacher. Bill recalled that most of the lecture theatres were named after people that his father spoke about. The experienced transformed his father’s life, so much so that pride in UWA was also instilled in Bill together with the expectation that he would also study at UWA. Twenty years later, in 1970, Bill himself attended UWA.
00:05:13 Bill enjoyed studying Humanities at school although he also took mathematics and science subjects. Bill’s family was full of teachers and he rebelled against the expectation that he, too, would become a teacher. Instead he studied for a Commerce degree. He was not engaged with his course of study. Instead he enjoyed pursuing his own research in the Reid Library. He left UWA after three years and got a job in a bank for 12 months and then returned to UWA, did an English degree and became a teacher! Bill really enjoyed teaching and taught in high schools for seven years. The part of university life that Bill most enjoyed was making friends and the debates and the student politics. The campus had not changed much since the 1940s. At that time, there would have been 2-3,000 students and in the 1970s there were about 6,000 students. The Dawkins era, in the mid 1980s, was when higher education exploded with an increase in educational establishments, such as Murdoch University. It was an intimate place. Part-time jobs were generally on weekends, so most students attended campus during the week. In the 1970s, Bill spent his time between the Economics and Commerce building, the Reid Library, the Arts Building, the Great Court and the old Refectory.
00:10:25 Bill did not run for the Guild Council but spent a lot of time in the Pelican office. Tony Lloyd and Brian Burke ran a business which was a form guide to the Trots. Bill was involved in pasting up the Punters Guide. They used the facilities in the Pelican office although it was nothing to do with the student magazine. In 1971 and 1971, the Vietnam marches were at their height. All the male students had to form their own view of what they would do if they were conscripted. Bill joined the CMF (Citizen Military Forces) as you couldn’t be sent to Vietnam. If you voluntarily served in the Army Reserve, you were only offering to serve in Australia. John Dawkins, whom Bill admired, had done this. Bill was considering a political career and did not want to avoid conscription illegally.
00:15:45 Bill was involved in all the Moratorium marches in the city. He campaigned against censorship. In the early 1970s, Australia had banned certain literature, such as Portnoy's Complaint. He was photographed nude for a Pelican centrefold as part of a protest. The front page depicted a photograph of a female nude in a shopping trolley to highlight the commodification of women. Bill was more involved in the Economics and Commerce Students’ Society than he was with the Guild. Everyone of his generation who later became a politician was involved in the student branch of the Labor or Liberal Party. Some of these included Kim Beazley, David Parker, Jim McGinty and Eric Ripper.
00:20:22 Student representation was a new thing. John Dawkins organised for there to be an education council on the Guild. There was no student representation on the Senate. Several folk bands came out of the university. Some of his oldest friends are people he met at UWA. University made him the person he is today. The formation of a person through a university experience is not limited to what they study, it is about the experiences they gain and what they give to university life. Bill enjoyed racing motorbikes. He and his friends raced dirt bikes at the Campbell Barracks on Wednesday afternoons. He enjoyed viewing the foreign movies on offer at the Perth Festival and was part of the UWA film club. He also attended lunchtime talks.
00:25:43 The main social issues of the day were Vietnam, Conscription and Censorship. The Second Wave of Feminism was taking place. The plight of Aboriginal people was recognised but the Land Rights Claims were later. Columbo Plan students were on campus, but Asian students were in the minority. Female students tended to gravitate to the Humanities. There were possibly four women studying Architecture in the 1970s. UWA was very important to him and had made him the person he is today. When he became a teacher, Bill took his degree at UWA and then went across the road to the Nedlands Campus to do his Diploma in Education. It was a separate world to UWA and focussed on vocational things. He was very engaged with becoming a high school teacher by then, whereas before, he did not have a sense of university being a grounding for employment.
00:31:23 Bill was still involved with UWA as a consumer of cultural activities but then became involved with the university again much later on. After teaching for 7 years, he joined the Education Department. He did higher degrees, part time at Murdoch University and studied for a PhD at the University of Toronto. On his return, he worked at the Education Department for two years. Then he persuaded the Dean of Education at Edith Cowan University to give him a job as a researcher. He understood how research grants worked and built up a research team during the 1990s.
00:35:49 In the late 1990s, he was recruited into an academic leadership role at Edith Cowan. He was Associate Dean, then Dean and then Pro Vice-Chancellor. In about 2005, UWA was seeking a Dean of Education. He met Alan Robson and Margaret Seares and was then interviewed by a panel and appointed to the role. UWA was a more research motivated university than Edith Cowan. Alan Robson wanted a well-connected person with experience in Australian educational practices and with a research background to conduct research that would be of value to society and not just for academic kudos. Bill was in this role for 3 years.
00:39:08 When Alan Robson’s deputy left, in 2009, Bill was appointed Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor. All the various Faculties reported to him. He believes that he has people management skills and that he understands internal governance and finances. He was in this role for 5 years. By now, UWA had 20,000 students and a billion-dollar budget. It was a mature and successful institution. The old part of the university remained, but there were many more buildings. The campus was much bigger. The Business School was a sheep run in the 1970s.
Creator (organisation)UWA Historical SocietyOther creator (person)Julia WallisPerson featuredBill LoudenFormInterviewLanguageEnglishOral historyBill Louden oral history
00:00:00 Bill recalled visiting UWA when he was 8 or 9 years old with his father. Bill’s father grew up in Kalgoorlie. In about 1943, he had won a Commonwealth scholarship that enabled him to reside at St George’s College and study for a science degree, later becoming a mathematics and science teacher. Bill recalled that most of the lecture theatres were named after people that his father spoke about. The experienced transformed his father’s life, so much so that pride in UWA was also instilled in Bill together with the expectation that he would also study at UWA. Twenty years later, in 1970, Bill himself attended UWA.
00:05:13 Bill enjoyed studying Humanities at school although he also took mathematics and science subjects. Bill’s family was full of teachers and he rebelled against the expectation that he, too, would become a teacher. Instead he studied for a Commerce degree. He was not engaged with his course of study. Instead he enjoyed pursuing his own research in the Reid Library. He left UWA after three years and got a job in a bank for 12 months and then returned to UWA, did an English degree and became a teacher! Bill really enjoyed teaching and taught in high schools for seven years. The part of university life that Bill most enjoyed was making friends and the debates and the student politics. The campus had not changed much since the 1940s. At that time, there would have been 2-3,000 students and in the 1970s there were about 6,000 students. The Dawkins era, in the mid 1980s, was when higher education exploded with an increase in educational establishments, such as Murdoch University. It was an intimate place. Part-time jobs were generally on weekends, so most students attended campus during the week. In the 1970s, Bill spent his time between the Economics and Commerce building, the Reid Library, the Arts Building, the Great Court and the old Refectory.
00:10:25 Bill did not run for the Guild Council but spent a lot of time in the Pelican office. Tony Lloyd and Brian Burke ran a business which was a form guide to the Trots. Bill was involved in pasting up the Punters Guide. They used the facilities in the Pelican office although it was nothing to do with the student magazine. In 1971 and 1971, the Vietnam marches were at their height. All the male students had to form their own view of what they would do if they were conscripted. Bill joined the CMF (Citizen Military Forces) as you couldn’t be sent to Vietnam. If you voluntarily served in the Army Reserve, you were only offering to serve in Australia. John Dawkins, whom Bill admired, had done this. Bill was considering a political career and did not want to avoid conscription illegally.
00:15:45 Bill was involved in all the Moratorium marches in the city. He campaigned against censorship. In the early 1970s, Australia had banned certain literature, such as Portnoy's Complaint. He was photographed nude for a Pelican centrefold as part of a protest. The front page depicted a photograph of a female nude in a shopping trolley to highlight the commodification of women. Bill was more involved in the Economics and Commerce Students’ Society than he was with the Guild. Everyone of his generation who later became a politician was involved in the student branch of the Labor or Liberal Party. Some of these included Kim Beazley, David Parker, Jim McGinty and Eric Ripper.
00:20:22 Student representation was a new thing. John Dawkins organised for there to be an education council on the Guild. There was no student representation on the Senate. Several folk bands came out of the university. Some of his oldest friends are people he met at UWA. University made him the person he is today. The formation of a person through a university experience is not limited to what they study, it is about the experiences they gain and what they give to university life. Bill enjoyed racing motorbikes. He and his friends raced dirt bikes at the Campbell Barracks on Wednesday afternoons. He enjoyed viewing the foreign movies on offer at the Perth Festival and was part of the UWA film club. He also attended lunchtime talks.
00:25:43 The main social issues of the day were Vietnam, Conscription and Censorship. The Second Wave of Feminism was taking place. The plight of Aboriginal people was recognised but the Land Rights Claims were later. Columbo Plan students were on campus, but Asian students were in the minority. Female students tended to gravitate to the Humanities. There were possibly four women studying Architecture in the 1970s. UWA was very important to him and had made him the person he is today. When he became a teacher, Bill took his degree at UWA and then went across the road to the Nedlands Campus to do his Diploma in Education. It was a separate world to UWA and focussed on vocational things. He was very engaged with becoming a high school teacher by then, whereas before, he did not have a sense of university being a grounding for employment.
00:31:23 Bill was still involved with UWA as a consumer of cultural activities but then became involved with the university again much later on. After teaching for 7 years, he joined the Education Department. He did higher degrees, part time at Murdoch University and studied for a PhD at the University of Toronto. On his return, he worked at the Education Department for two years. Then he persuaded the Dean of Education at Edith Cowan University to give him a job as a researcher. He understood how research grants worked and built up a research team during the 1990s.
00:35:49 In the late 1990s, he was recruited into an academic leadership role at Edith Cowan. He was Associate Dean, then Dean and then Pro Vice-Chancellor. In about 2005, UWA was seeking a Dean of Education. He met Alan Robson and Margaret Seares and was then interviewed by a panel and appointed to the role. UWA was a more research motivated university than Edith Cowan. Alan Robson wanted a well-connected person with experience in Australian educational practices and with a research background to conduct research that would be of value to society and not just for academic kudos. Bill was in this role for 3 years.
00:39:08 When Alan Robson’s deputy left, in 2009, Bill was appointed Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor. All the various Faculties reported to him. He believes that he has people management skills and that he understands internal governance and finances. He was in this role for 5 years. By now, UWA had 20,000 students and a billion-dollar budget. It was a mature and successful institution. The old part of the university remained, but there were many more buildings. The campus was much bigger. The Business School was a sheep run in the 1970s.
Creator (organisation)UWA Historical SocietyOther creator (person)Julia WallisPerson featuredBill LoudenFormInterviewLanguageEnglishOral historyBill Louden oral history
Publication details
Place of publicationPerth, Western AustraliaPublisherUWA Historical Society
Production details
Date created13th January 2019Duration46:00Sample rate128 kbsOriginal formatDigital audio file
Connections
Subject (person)Bill LoudenSubject (organisation)The University of Western AustraliaSubject (topic)Education
Item information
ContributorUniversity Archives
Bill Louden interview. UWA Collected, accessed 25/04/2025, https://collected.uwa.edu.au/nodes/view/50557