Hanging large on the wall of Jane’s great dining hall is a portrait: Enid Campbell. Enid was the first resident of Jane Franklin Hall. In 1950, when little value was placed on tertiary education for women, Enid, who was dux of her school, received a scholarship to enrol in economics and law at the University of Tasmania. She went on to become the first female Professor of Law and the first Dean of Law Faculty in Australia.
Enid was born in Launceston and attended Methodist Ladies College (now Scotch Oakburn). She is reported to have had a keen sense of humour flavoured by a mischievous quality. Enid was threatened from time to time with expulsion for rule-breaking. In her final year, when once again she was in danger of expulsion, this time for skipping scripture classes, she responded that it would not be in the school’s best interests to expel her, as she was the only member of the matriculation class who stood any chance of obtaining a university entrance scholarship.
Enid was one of only 20 Tasmanian students awarded a coveted university Entrance Scholarship in 1949.
On 16 January 1950, the Tasmanian Council of Churches announced that applications were being received for a university women’s college, with accommodation for 30 students, of which Enid was one. There was some discussion about whether Enid should be admitted due to her lack of religion. But in the spirit of inclusivity that persists at Jane today, she was welcomed.
Enid was not alone in her high achievements. Jane’s overall student results were excellent, in fact, far higher than the university average. Jane’s commitment to academic support remains as much a part of our culture today as it did then.
At the celebration of Enid’s life at Monash University, the Chief Justice of Victoria, Marilyn Warren, described how, in the 1960s, when female students in the law faculty were outnumbered by male students by about 10 to one, Enid was an extraordinary role model for her and the other young women seeking to enter law.
She hangs now on the walls of Jane. Overlooking the space where our students come together three times a day to dine, to discuss, to bond. The dining hall is the heart of Jane, along with students who walk the halls in the footsteps of greats like Enid. We hope her presence inspires them as she inspired so many before them, so they, too, look beyond any perceived limitations and go after their dreams.
Campbell, who served the Monash law school and university with distinction for 42 years, was awarded: fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; honorary doctor of laws degrees from each of the three Australian universities at which she taught (Tasmania, Sydney and Monash); appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire; enrolled in the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women; and appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2005 for eminent achievement in her service to legal education.
Enid Campbell mural commissioned by Jane, 2025. Artist Hamish Hall.