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Chair of Celtic Studies Appeal
The Chair of Celtic Studies Appeal was
established in March 1985 under the chairmanship of the
late and highly revered Peter Alexander. The committee
was composed
of members of the Cornish, Irish, Manx, Scots and Welsh communities. The
object of the Appeal is to raise enough money to establish
a Chair (that is a professor
and support staff) in Celtic Studies at the University of Sydney.
The role of the Chair will be to promote, organize and assist the study of Celtic
culture of all the Celtic communities. This will include studies in the Celtic
languages, literature and history. Inevitably because it is still a living, spoken
(and sung! ) language Welsh will be a significant part of the course.
We need 1.5 million dollars. We have
raised approximately 1.3 million dollars thanks to magnificent
contributions from Lady Mary Fairfax (1 million dollars)
and the late Dr. Gwen Walker, a Welsh speaking brilliant University of Wales
graduate of an Anglesey family, (300,000 dollars) and a few other contributions.
We urgently need another 200,000 dollars. Please contribute, all contributions
large and small are welcome.
Recently the Walker family increased
their donation as news came to them of the slow response
of the Celtic community to the appeal.
Dr .Gwen Walker was the Welsh speaking
daughter of a renowned Anglesey farming family. After a brilliant career at the
University College North Wales, Bangor - !st. class Honours and the university
Medal in chemistry she then did her Ph. D. at London University. While a research
scientist at the world famous Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen she met and
subsequently married the distinguished nutrition research worker Dr. D. M. Walker.
In 1959 Don and Gwen Walker came to Sydney University. Don was appointed reader
(=Associate Professor) in the Department of Animal Science and Gwen a senior
research fellow in the Faculty of Dentistry. In her will she bequeathed $100,000
to Celtic Studies at the University of Sydney. When I wrote to Don to tell him
of the death of a close mutual friend I mentioned the gap between the 1.2 million
we had in the appeal and the 1.5 million dollars needed he wrote back stating “I
had hoped that Celtic supporters would have by now filled this gap, if not I
am willing to pledge an amount of 200,000 dollars in addition to Gwen’s
gift of 100,000 dollars.”
I think this outstanding gesture and generosity should be rewarded with a very
high level of Celtic honour.
Haydn Lloyd Davies
Cheques should be made out to ‘The University
of Sydney’ and sent to :- Chair of Celtic Studies Foundation, Celtic
Studies H69, University of Sydney, Camperdown 2
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