Robert Menzies' third year at Wesley was more successful:
"Though as a
man Menzies was to enjoy following football and cricket, observing
each as an art rather than a mere game, he was at Wesley not
very interested in and certainly incompetent at sport. Probably
because of this, Adamson [headmaster] never made him a prefect.
Preparing himself for examinations was Menzies' overriding consideration.
In his first two years at Wesley he did not particularly shine,
but his third year of work was more successful: at the end of
it Menzies won one of the twenty-five exhibitions, each worth £40,
awarded by the State for university study, as well as the highest
honours in English and History." A W Martin, Robert Menzies: A Life. Vol 1 1894-1943, 1993
p 19.
Menzies
excells in the humanities and is awarded the C L Andrews Prize for
Poetry.
Throughout
his life, Menzies remains loyal to his old school and acknowledging,
in particular, his master, Harold Stewart for (in his words) “teaching
him to think with discipline”.
Portrait of Robert Menzies published in the Wesley College Chronicle in
1913 to celebrate his outstanding academic achievements 24
Maternity allowance is introduced for Europeans. Aboriginal women are
not considered citizens.
The Commonwealth
Savings Bank opens.
American Walter
Burley Griffin wins an international competition for the design of the
national capital, Canberra.
Mina Wylie
and Fanny Durack become the first women swimmers to represent Australia
at an Olympic Games. Durack wins gold at the Stockholm Games and Wylie
silver.
Titanic sinks crossing the Atlantic on her maiden voyage
with the loss of 1513 lives.
Republic is
declared in China after 1911 revolution against the Manchu Dynasty led
by Sun Yat-sen.
Captain Scott
and his team die in their attempt to be first at the South Pole - beaten
by Amundsen 1911.