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Name: John Molony
Age: 78
Job: Chairman, ANU Emeritus Faculty (ANUEF)
Where were you born? Melbourne
How long have you worked at ANU?
I started at ANU in 1964 and later became the Manning Clark Professor of Australian History and Head of the History Department. I was made an Emeritus Professor of ANU in 1990. From 1990 to 1993 I was Keith Cameron Professor of Australian History at University College Dublin and then Foundation Research Professor at the Australian Catholic University. I returned to ANU in 1997 as a Visiting fellow in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. I am an Adjunct Professor of the Australian Catholic University.
What is the ANUEF?
The Emeritus Faculty is made up of retired members of staff, academic and general. Membership is not confined to emeritus professors. ANUEF exists to foster an ongoing sense of collegiality among its members, to provide them with a means of continuing to serve ANU in its educational and cultural purposes and to assist them to share their knowledge and experience with the wider community. The current membership is about 120. The University has kindly provided us with office space in Fellows Lane Cottage behind the Law School. I hereby extend a warm invitation to retired members of staff to contact me with a view to membership at john.molony@anu.edu.au or visit the ANUEF website.
How do academics improve as they age?
I am not aware that this proposition has ever been argued. Nonetheless it seems reasonable to expect that scholars who have given their lives to the acquisition and propagation of knowledge will have matured by virtue of their experience. The virtues of tolerance, patience and respect would, hopefully, be part of that maturity.
How has campus changed since you first came here?
Our splendid motto said it all: 'Before all else to get at the nature of things'. What it did not say, did not need to say, was that the acquisition and sharing of knowledge were ends in themselves by which the purpose of the University was defined. Now we are incessantly told, and threatened with sanctions if we do not obey, that the University exists to meet the needs of government, the business community and the people. ANU will do all of that while it sticks to its motto. Otherwise it becomes a market place and a factory.
What would you change about campus if you could?
ANU was graced with a splendid site and it would be a pity were it all built out. A more formal entry point, perhaps based on the road running up to the School of Art, then winding around and leading to the Chancelry, would perhaps work. The Chancelry could be given an worthy entrance fronting the Coombs.
What's your favourite place at ANU and why?
My office because in it I can be myself.
Favourite restaurant at which to eat in Canberra?
For authentic Italian food, Santa Lucia in Kingston.
Currently reading? What's it about?
I always have several books at hand. The Bible is daily fare and I have just finished the Old Testament for the nth time. Although De Tocqueville's Democracy in America was first published in 1835 I am re-reading it for the profound examination it then made of the weakness and strength of democracy. Some readers will know Andrea Camilleri as the creator of Montalbano. He has just had published his lovely little tale, Il medaglione. Camilleri is at the very forefront of modern Italian writing. Finally, I am well into Louis de Bernières, Birds Without Wings. Mustafa Kemal was a great man who made a great mistake when he agreed to the expulsion of all Greek Christians from Turkey.
What music are you listening to at the moment?
I read a review of recordings done in 1902 and 1904 of Alessandro Moreschi. I'd heard of his Incipit Lamentatio and of his rendition of the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria which had been compared favourably with Melba's. The fact that the CD also had the first recording of a papal voice, that of Leo X111 about whose Rerum Novarum I had written extensively, also prompted me to buy the CD. I was not disappointed, but remained appalled at the practice of castration. Moreschi (1858-1922) was called 'The Last Castrato.' His voice was the only one ever recorded.
What couldn't you live without and why?
My faith, my wife, my family, and my friends - they give me life.
What do you do to unwind?
Carlton in the AFL has not allowed me to unwind much in the past several seaons. Test cricket is my other aberration.
Who would you like to play you in the film of your life and why?
Richard Burton because of his wonderful voice. That he can't use it any longer is a tragedy, but it ensures that the film will never be made.
Who would you most like to go sailing on Lake Burley Griffin with and why?
Were it rowing, I would go with Barry Ninham. If sailing is obligatory, my esteemed colleagues in the Emeritus Faculty, Frank Fenner and Gordon Ada, would ensure my safe return.
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