I was a mature-age student when I attended Deakin University in the early 1980s. I was 23 at the time and attended a Deakin antecedent, Victoria College in Toorak. As first in family to go to university, I was completely in the dark about my options and quite fearful of higher degree study. Deakin gave a working-class boy like myself a start in the academic world. It also gave me a bit of confidence in my nascent writing skills. It effectively turned around the damaging effects of my high school education. (Mark Twain apparently said: ‘Never let your schooling stand in the way of your education’! ) I wanted to study something interesting after completing a trade certificate in toolmaking so I did a BA degree.
I recall that I published a turgid philosophical article on Kant’s aesthetics in the very first issue of the Deakin literary journal Verandah, a journal principally full of creative writing pieces. Not sure what readers made of it! I was also on the editorial committee and I recall some vibrant discussions and drinking sessions with other committee members. I am amazed to see the journal is still going. The article had a few flaws that cropped up between the penultimate version and the published version but it was my first publication and I learnt a lot from doing it. Other than attending classes I spent a good deal of time philosophising at the local pub on Glenferrie Road.
