History

Introduction

This page contains [links to] books and documents concerning mathematics in Australia and its international connections, pre 1788 to 2010 or so. Some of this material will soon be available from the Australian Mathematical Society website

Historical Documents

From the Introduction:
"Mathematics as an academic pursuit began in Australia with the first lecture given in the University of Sydney in October 1852. Chapter 2 starts out with those details but before that there were many instances of the use of mathematics, and of quantitative thinking by Aboriginals and Islanders, and these are the content of Chapter 1. In particular, there is a survey of mathematics in the schools prior to the 1850s, given partly as background to the establishment of the first universities."
From the Introduction:
"This study will be looking for identifiable patterns and changes that may have occurred to the teaching and curriculum of senior mathematics by analyzing the high stakes examinations in New South Wales at the end of secondary schooling from 1788 to 2010."
From the Abstract:
"This work explores the early influences, institutions, and individuals that shaped mathematics in Australasia prior to the twentieth century."
The UNSW Cadets scheme was an initiative intended to increase student and public awareness, particularly in mathematics and physics, of the then new university faced with competition from the well-established University of Sydney.

Leaving Certificate

Until 1965, students attended 5 years of high school (if they were in the minority who completed the last 2 years), with the typical completion age being 17, and 16 not uncommon. Students then did the Leaving Certificate Examinations.

After 1965 the system changed to 6 years of high school, at the end of which students did the Higher School Certificate Examinations. (Only a small group graduated in 1966, normally as a result of a second attempt at the Leaving Certificate Examinations.)

The syllabus options broadened under the new system, but arguably the main mathematics and science subjects were not treated in more depth. Indeed, for students doing mathematics at the top level, there were now two 3-hour exams, as opposed to four 3-hour exams, with a corresponding decrease in the amount of class time available for mathematics. See the previous analysis by Stephen Curtis. There was a decrease in the amount of geometry taught, but more material on linear algebra, including matrices.

Here are the two upper level Mathematics I and Mathematics II papers from 1962 and the corresponding top level Mathematics I Honours and Mathematics II Honours papers. The latter was comparable in scope and difficulty to the Cambridge and Oxford entrance examinations. Here are solutions and comments.

Competitions

The Russian satellite “Sputnik” launched in 1958 instigated a surge of public and political interest in promoting physics and mathematics. For students interested in these areas this provided opportunities previously unavailable. One example is the cadetship scheme discussed in Michael Barber’s article linked above.

As a consequence of this milieu, and the competition between the Universities of Sydney and of New South Wales, various schemes and competitions were initiated, in which students in my year were first able to participate.

UNSW School Mathematics Competition

This Competition has been held annually since 1962 (see the “General Information” on that page). It is organised by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of New South Wales. The “Problems and Solutions” go back only to 2005.

Summer Science School for High School Students

The School was first held for students (but previously for teachers) in January 1962, and was for high school students beginning their last year of school. The proceedings: A Journey Through Space and the Atom (Internet Archive) are available online.

Lecture series were given by Hermann Bondi, Werner von Braun, Ron Bracewell, Stuart Butler and Harry Messell. Heady material for High School students! I recall von Braun predicting in 1962 that the U.S. would have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. That seemed absurd and wishful thinking at the time.

Messel was of the opinion that Australians were too interested in football and cricket, and not enough in science and mathematics. He arranged for lectures at the 1962 and a few subsequent Summer Schools to be televised nationwide by Channel 9 during the early 1960’s, but the program did not compete well against other morning programs and this initiative was discontinued.

SUMS

The Sydney University Mathematical Society (SUMS) Competition was an annual mathematics contest for undergraduate students, run by the University of Sydney, and first held in 1964. Students were given a month or so to work on the problems, with no restrictions on materials used other than another human being. The program ran until 2015, after which it was replaced by the Simon Marais competition.

The SUMS site has problems and solutions for the years 1998-2015. Here are the problems and solutions for the first two years 1964 and 1965