125 stories for 125 years

College dress

The college badge was adopted in 1899 in an effort by lecturers to foster friendships among past and present students. J.F. Blackburn had the idea and obtained the design from the front inner page of Redwood’s Pharmacopoeia.

He included a mortar and pestle in the centre but Sidney Plowman suggested the substitution of the symbol and to include 1881, the date of foundation. The shield had a blue background with gold lettering and silver serpents. At the base was the college motto, ‘Dum vivimus, vivamus — While we live, let us enjoy life’.
This was inspired by lines from a poem by Adam Lindsay Gordon:

Though our future lot is a sable blot,
Though the wise men of earth may blame us,
Though our saddles will rot and our rides be forgot,
Dum vivimus, vivamus.

The loss, absence and uncertainties of war made friendships more highly valued. An Old Collegians’ Association was formed in 1915, with Ted Turner accepting the duties of president and David Cossar elected vice-president. The latter was president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria at the time and became the senior Victorian pharmacist serving in the army, where his efforts led to chemists obtaining commissioned rank in the services. The association organised walking tours as well as social and sporting activities intended to develop friendships and forge a greater identification with the college and the profession. One project was to design a college blazer. It was tailor made for men and women and was of blue flannel with cord edging. The college badge was worked on the top pocket in old gold with the serpent in white. It cost 35 shillings in 1917. A green and gold striped blazer was adopted in the 1920s.