# Buntine Oration

The Buntine Oration is a biennial invited presentation and speech made at the conference of the Australian College of Educators (ACE). It was established in 1960 by the four children of Dr Walter Murray Buntine who survived him – Dr R. M. Buntine, Dr M. A. Buntine, Dr R. D. Buntine, and Mrs. D. M. G. Wilson – in his memory. The inaugural oration was given by Peter Karmel (who had, himself, attended Caulfield Grammar School from 1929 to 1939) in 1962 at the third annual ACE conference and the most recent was in 2008.

## Buntine family

Dr Walter Buntine (1866–1953) had a significant role in the development of education in the Australian state of Victoria from his position as headmaster of Caulfield Grammar School (1896–1932). His son, Dr M. Arnold Buntine (1898–1975), was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda before studying education and earning a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to World War II, Arnold was headmaster of Camberwell Grammar School in Victoria and then the Hale School in Western Australia. He served at Tobruk and in Syria as a captain in the 2/28th Battalion. Ultimately rising to Lieutenant-Colonel, he led the 2/11th Battalion. He returned to the Hale School in 1944, returning to Victoria in 1945 as headmaster of Geelong College. Arnold was married to Gladys (Jim) Buntine (1901–1992), who was the Chief Commissioner of the Australian Girl Guides from 1962 until 1968 and an advocate for the importance of education. She was awarded first an OBE and later an MBE for her services to youth. Robert Buntine (1929–2014), their son, had leadership roles at The King's School and Newington College in Sydney. Professor Mark Buntine of Curtin University of Technology is the most current of the Buntine family of educators.

## List of orations

The Buntine Oration has been delivered by many highly recognised people. Paul Hasluck was the Australian Minister for External Affairs at the time he delivered the 1964 oration, going on to become Governor-General of Australia in 1969. Zelman Cowen was the Governor-General at the time of the 1980 oration. Michael Somare was elected to the first national parliament of Papua New Guinea in 1972, becoming chief minister by the time of the 1974; he became the country's first Prime Minister when independence was granted in 1975. 2006 orator Peter Doherty shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and was the 1997 Australian of the Year. Two High Court justices have given the oration (Robert French and Michael Kirby), as has the Chancellor of the Australian National University ("Nugget" Coombs) and the inaugural President of the ACE, James Darling.
| Year | Orator | Topic |
| 1962 | Professor Peter H. Karmel AC, CBE | Some Economic Aspects of Education |
| 1964 | Sir Paul M. C. Hasluck KG, GCMG, GCVO | Australia and its Neighbours |
| 1966 | Professor Percy H. Partridge | Some Problems of Educational Policy in Democratic Societies |
| 1968 | Sir John G. Crawford AC, CBE | The Accountability of Universities |
| 1970 | Dr H. C. "Nugget" Coombs | Human Values – Education in the Changing Australian Society |
| 1972 | Sir James R. Darling OBE, CBE, FACE | Responsibility |
| 1974 | Sir Michael T. Somare GCL, GCMG, CH, CF, SSI, KSG, PC, MP | Education for Self-Reliance |
| 1976 | Hugh R. Hudson MHA | The Political Economy of Educational Advancement |
| 1978 | Professor Barbara Falk | Personal Identity Making in Australia |
| 1980 | Sir Zelman Cowan AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC | Politics in Education |
| 1982 | Professor Kwong Lee Dow AM | Education Policy Making in Australia |
| 1984 | Justice Michael D. Kirby AC, CMG | Education – On Hanging In There |
| 1986 | Professor Hedley Beare AM | Shared Meanings About Education: The Economic Paradigm Considered |
| 1988 | Professor Di Yerbury AO | The Tradition of Scholarly Excellence |
| 1990 | Dr Stephen A. FitzGerald AO | Asia, Education, and the Australian Mind |
| 1992 | Chief Justice K. J. Austin Asche AC, QC | The Literacy Imperative |
| 1994 | Professor Paige H. Porter | Women and Leadership in Education: The Construction of Gender in the Workplace |
| 1996 | Chief Justice Robert S. French AC | Educating for Democracy in the Twenty First Century |
| 1997 | Professor Frances H. Christie | Literacy Research and Teaching: Paradigms for the Late Twentieth Century |
| 1998 | Professor Millicent E. Poole | Re-Framing Higher Education: Mind the Market |
| 1999 | Alan Ruby | Difference is the Essence of Humanity |
| 2000 | Professor Barry McGaw AO, FACE | International Comparisons of Expenditure in Education |
| 2001 | Professor Swee-Hin Toh | Uprooting Violence, Growing Peace: Education for Compassionate Citizenship |
| 2003 | Professor Stephanie Young | Passive Consumers or Co-creators – Listening to Learners? |
| 2004 | Stephen Downes | Learning Networks |
| 2006 | Professor Peter C. Doherty AC, FRS, FMedSci | The Education Challenge for a Knowledge Economy |
| 2008 | Professor Joseph Lo Bianco | Imagination, Inspiration, Innovation |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 French, E. L. (1979). "Buntine, Walter Murray (1866-1953)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 7. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522844597. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* 1 2 Kirby, M. (1984). "The Buntine Oration 1984: Education – On Hanging In There". In Randell, S. (ed.). The Human Face of Technological Change (PDF). Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education. pp. 21–31. ISBN 0909587329.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 "The Buntine Oration: A Short History". Australian College of Educators. 2004. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* 1 2 "Professional Learning and Enhancing the Status of the Profession". Australian College of Educators Annual Report – 2008. Australian College of Educators. 2008. pp. 14–16. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
* ↑ Holmesby, R.; Main, J. (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Seaford VIC: BAS Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 9781921496325.
* 1 2 "Dr. Buntine For Geelong". The Daily News. Vol. LXIII, no. 21, 806. 24 February 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 17 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ "Personalities in the World of Sport". The Daily News. Vol. LIV, no. 18, 519. 25 July 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 17 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
* ↑ Payten, M. (2016). "Buntine, Gladys Selby (Jim) (1901–1992)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* ↑ Roberts, D.; Wickham, J.; Smee, M. (3 June 2014). "Bob Buntine: Beloved teacher coached rowers to historic victories". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* ↑ Buntine, Mark A. (1992). Application of Ion Imaging and Laser-Induced Gratings to Chemical Dynamics (Ph.D.). Stanford University.
* ↑ Gordon, M.; Grattan, M. (9 December 2011). "He 'restored Australia's faith': Sir Zelman Cowen dies at 92". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
* ↑ "Hon. Michael Somare, MP". National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
* ↑ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1996: Peter C. Doherty, Rolf M. Zinkernagel". nobelprize.org. 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
* ↑ Furphy, S. (2010). Australian of the Year Awards – A Fiftieth Anniversary History (PDF). australianoftheyear.org.au. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
* ↑ Karmel, P. H. (1962). Some economic aspects of education. Canberra ACT: Australian College of Education.
* ↑ Hasluck, P. (1964). Australia and its Neighbours. Canberra ACT: Australian College of Education.
* ↑ Harman, G. (2012). "Partridge, Percy Herbert (1910–1988)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 18. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522844597. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* ↑ Cheshire, F. W., ed. (1966). Teachers in Australia: An Appraisal Including the 1966 Buntine Oration. Australian College of Education.
* ↑ Miller, J. D. B. (2007). "Crawford, Sir John Grenfell (Jack) (1910–1984)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 17. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522844597. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* ↑ Coombs, H. C. "MS 802: Papers of H. C. Coombs". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 June 2016. Box 21, Item 169: Buntine Oration, 13 May 1970; Box 28, Item 228: The Buntine Oration – 'Human values in education'
* ↑ Priorities in Australian Education. Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education. 1972. ISBN 0909587027.
* ↑ Educational Perspectives in Papua New Guinea. Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education. 1974.
* ↑ Bassett, G. W., ed. (1976). New Directions in Australian Education. Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education.
* ↑ Falk, B. (1978). Personal Identity in a Multi-Cultural Australia. Camberwell, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research. ISBN 9780855631864.
* ↑ Cowan, Z. (1981). "The Buntine Oration 1980". Unicorn: Bulletin of the Australian College of Education. 7: 4–15. ISSN 0311-4775.
* ↑ Broadbent, R. F., ed. (1982). Education Policy Making in Australia. Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education. ISBN 0909587213.
* ↑ Anderson, J., ed. (1987). Shaping Education. Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education. ISBN 090958740X.
* ↑ FitzGerald, S. A. (1990). Asia, education, and the Australian mind. Curtin ACT: Australian College of Education. ISBN 0909587590.
* ↑ Asche, K. J. A. (1992). 1992 Buntine Oration: The Literacy Imperative. Deakin ACT: Australian College of Education. ISBN 0909587671.
* ↑ Porter, P. H. (1995). Women and Leadership in Education: The Construction of Gender in the Workplace. Deakin ACT: Australian College of Education. ISBN 0909587760.
* ↑ French, R. S. (1996). Educating for Democracy: 1996 Buntine Oration. Deakin ACT: Australian College of Education. ISBN 0909587817.
* ↑ Christie, F. H. (2008). "Curriculum Vitae – Frances Helen Christie" (PDF). Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* ↑ Poole, M. (1999). "Re-Framing Higher Education: Mind the Market" (PDF). Dialogue. 18 (1). Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia: 27–43. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
* ↑ Ruby, A. (1999). "Difference is the Essence of Humanity". Unicorn: Bulletin of the Australian College of Education. 25 (2): 71–83. ISSN 0311-4775.
* ↑ McGaw, B. (2000). "International Comparisons of Expenditure in Education". Unicorn: Bulletin of the Australian College of Education. 26 (2): 18–23. ISSN 0311-4775.
* ↑ Toh, S.-H. (2001). "Uprooting Violence, Growing Peace: Education for Compassionate Citizenship (Edited extract of the 2001 Buntine Oration presented to the National Education Assembly 2001)". Unicorn: Bulletin of the Australian College of Education. 27 (2): 29–30. ISSN 0311-4775.
* ↑ Toh, S.-H. (2002). "Citizenship Education for a Culture of Peace: Themes, Challenges and Possibilities". In Pascoe, S. (ed.). Values in Education. Deakin ACT: Australian College of Educators. pp. 38–58. ISBN 0909587868.
* ↑ Young, S. (2003). "Passive Consumers or Co-creators?: Listening to Learners". The Future is Upon Us: Challenges from Keynote Presenters to the 2003 ACE National Conference. Deakin ACT: Australian College of Educators. pp. 45–64. ISBN 1920819037.
* ↑ Downes, S. (2004). "Buntine Oration: Learning Objects" (PDF). International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning. 1 (11): 3–14. ISSN 1550-6908.
* ↑ Downes, S. (2004). "The Buntine Oration: Learning Networks". Retrieved 17 June 2016.
* ↑ Mathews, C. (2006). "South Australia". Australian College of Educators Annual Report – 2006. Australian College of Educators. pp. 40–41. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
* ↑ "ACE National Conference – 25 to 27 May 2006" (PDF). Australian College of Educators. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.