125 stories for 125 years

The Higuchi Sculpture

The Higuchi Sculpture was designed and fashioned by Norma Redpath, a renowned Australian artist.

The disc was initially meant to represent 'undergraduateship' but should now be considered to represent the preclinical aspects of pharmacy education.

Three ridges on the disc represent the main streams of knowledge in the pharmaceutical sciences. Biological sciences, the most established discipline, is represented by the heaviest, straighter ridge in the centre. It is flanked by physical sciences on the left and pharmaceutics on the right.

The sculpture is made up of a disc and a rectangle. The gap between the two pieces indicates the time students spend in community and hospital pharmacy during and following the pharmacy course, to gain vital practical experience.

The ridges fuse together in the rectangle to denote the competent pharmacist. This is when academic, practical and professional experiences become integrated into the whole and complete pharmacist. A fourth ridge appears on the left hand side of the rectangle to represent administrative pharmacy and pharmacy management.

The total design suggests an inverse mortar and pestle, and the symbolism is that of the heraldic academic medallion.

The sculpture was commissioned by Nigel Manning who was then dean. Eli Lilly & Co., a multinational pharmaceutical company, donated considerable funds towards the commissioning of the sculpture, with the balance being provided by the college.

The image of the sculpture was used on the college letter head until the merge with Monash University.

The Higuchi Sculpture is located on the eastern wall of the Manning building at the college. Dr Takeru Higuchi, unveiled the sculpture on 23 February 1972 to coincide with the First Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association Conference held in Melbourne.