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Shipping News A reflection on changed means of travel, and taking higher degrees in science
Diana Temple
In the mid-twentieth century, PhD
degrees were still a novelty at Australian universities, and it was said that
research facilities at the 6 or 8 universities then functioning were inadequate,
which was perhaps a bit of cultural cringe. Master’s degrees were more highly
regarded then than now and were not uncommon, but academics with the title “Dr”
had all acquired this qualification by study in Britain or the USA, or sometimes
Europe. As Australia was “more British” in those days, many Australian academics
at that time were themselves graduates of English universities, so England was
the usual destination.
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The SS Moreton Bay |
Inevitably, travel
abroad for research degrees was by sea, because international air travel in the
1940s and 50s was prohibitively expensive compared with today, whereas it was
possible to sail to Europe relatively cheaply. The cheapest ships were packed
with young people, travelling to see the world. In the twenty-first century, sea
voyages mean cruises and are for the wealthy, usually older retired people
indulging themselves in luxury, and overseas budget travel is by air, so the
whole mode of travel has been reversed.
Sea voyages were very slow, but
enjoyable and exciting the first time. I travelled in 1949 on the Moreton Bay, a
small shabby liner nearing the end of its useful life. A friend and I were with
others in a 4-berth cabin deep down in the bowels of ship, stifling during our
passage through the tropics without air-conditioning, so that sleeping on deck
with a blanket was sometimes preferable. The bathroom was along the corridor and
had bathtubs served by salt water, for which special soap was required, plus a
jug of fresh water for rinsing off the salt; no showers. The dining room had two
sittings, of which we chose the later. Food was plentiful but hardly gourmet – I
recall curries and salads for lunch, roasts and steamed puddings for dinner.
Alcoholic drinks and cigarettes were duty free, all unhealthily cheap. We knew
other young women on the ship, most of whom were aiming to “see the world” — to
find suitable work in England and travel in Europe — as we were. Among the
passengers were some of both sexes with literary, theatrical or musical
ambitions, a few of whom later became well known. Our male counterparts were
sometimes on the way to enrol at English universities, but there were more
females than males.
There is no doubt that at that time
clever young women were given less encouragement than clever young men, this
being the post WW2-era when women were expected to marry and forfeit their
careers. For example, the Australian public service immediately re-classified
women employees as “temporary” when they married. Higher education was believed
by some to be wasted on women, and few women won overseas scholarships. It is
surprising the extent to which I accepted this status quo, in view of my
lifelong feminist attitudes! It can be seen as a waste of human talent that half
the population were encouraged to believe that to be a happy housewife and
mother was their most suitable goal, and saddening to think of several
generations of bright women graduates with A-level results who, having made
suitable marriages, spent their most productive years in domesticity. Of course
this was not true of everyone.
The young men travelling to England at that time, and since, were more likely to be career-motivated, aiming to gain overseas experience, to spend time at the London headquarters of their firms,
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Diana and a friend on deck, with a lifeboat |
taking up scholarships to study
for higher degrees at the great or even lesser British universities. It is often
still true today that men in general are more career-motivated than women. Most
of the men I knew who went to the UK had scholarships to study for PhDs at
British universities or to further their careers at the “Centre of the World”;
Australia was still very much a British appendage. Many young men of my
generation or older were ex-servicemen who had held government grants from the
Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme to study for their Australian
degrees, and some of these also later studied overseas. Medical graduates went
to Britain to study for memberships of the important Colleges of Physicians and
Surgeons.
Shipboard activities included deck games, splashing in a primitive pool, sitting
on deck in groups reading or chatting, music and dancing on deck in the
evenings. We looked forward to days ashore visiting ports of call: the Moreton
Bay called, for a day each, at Colombo, Aden, Port Said, Valetta and Marseilles,
which were eye-openers to young visitors. On one of the last evenings, the
Captain spoke to the younger passengers on the dance deck and gave advice on how
to behave in England! This was before the days of Barry Crocker and the Aussie
ocker. We thought it hilarious, but it was patronising.
This voyage to the other side of the
world was something we all felt we had to do. There was a gap of knowledge of
grandparents’ or great-great-grandparents’ “home” country. Shirley Hazzard, in
her book Transit of Venus, has her Australian heroine in the 1950s say: “ London
is our achievement. Our career for the time being. Having got here is an
attainment, being here is an occupation”.
Nothing like this happens now. Young
Australians travel more readily, and get there in 24 hours with their worldly
goods in their backpacks. This is a good thing. Apart from a few, we scientists
now tend to do our PhDs in Australia. As I did.
Bio: Diana Temple is a retired Associate Professor in Pharmacology from
SydneyUniversity. She has been a Wisenet member sinceit began, and is a former
National Convenor of Wisenet and Sydney Convenor.
