Welcome to the fifth instalment of 'UQ by design', a 12-part Contact series celebrating the beauty and abundance of UQ's cultural assets. Join us each month as we take you on a virtual guided tour across UQ's three campuses, providing a brief overview of the pieces and where you can find them. This month, we take a look at the sandstone carvings 'hiding in plain sight' around the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.


Hundreds of carvings designed to “alleviate the severe simplicity of the outer walls”, according to the original University planners, can be found around the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

With carvings on the walls and columns by University Sculptor John Muller and associates dating back to 1939, right up to Dr Rhyl Hinwood’s carvings executed between 1976 and 2011, a variety of subjects and styles feature – from low-relief historical friezes to stand-alone statues and wall-mounted grotesques.

Full details can be found in the book, Carving a history. Essentially, the objective of the carvings was to record in stone:

  • the most important events in Queensland’s history
  • Queensland’s principal flora and fauna
  • a fully representative collection of Aboriginal customs and social life
  • the coats of arms of all universities in the British Commonwealth and other principal universities in the world.

Key figures and names in the history of scholarship to portray aspects of the University’s academic traditions were also added.

The carvings incorporate a variety of styles: friezes, full-shields, half-shields, arch-carvings, roundels, statues, inscriptions, and the ever-popular grotesques.

Friezes

Decorative bands or features on a wall, mostly bas-relief (low-relief), these carvings depict Indigenous life, historical scenes, scientific pioneers and noted literary authors.

Full-shields

Located at the top of the three- or four-sided columns within the cloisters, these generally represent university coats of arms.

Half-shields

Located on the three-sided columns within the cloisters, these carvings depict Queensland flora.

Arch-carvings

Located on the outside walls of the cloisters, generally facing the Great Court lawn, these low-relief carvings depict Queensland flora and fauna.

Click on the photos below to reveal the full image

A frieze of dinosaurs at UQ St Lucia.

Dinosaurs in Queensland’s Jurassic period by Clarrie Pilling and Tom Farrell, 1940s, located above the Richards building entrance, facing the Great Court.

Dinosaurs in Queensland’s Jurassic period by Clarrie Pilling and Tom Farrell, 1940s, located above the Richards building entrance, facing the Great Court.

A roundel of blue blubber jellyfish at UQ St Lucia.

Blue blubber jellyfish roundel by Rhyl Hinwood, 1996, located on the exterior of the Goddard building, facing the Great Court.

Blue blubber jellyfish roundel by Rhyl Hinwood, 1996, located on the exterior of the Goddard building, facing the Great Court.

Half-shield sculpture of golden wattle at UQ St Lucia.

Half-shield of Golden wattle by Rhyl Hinwood, 1991, located in the Goddard cloisters.

Half-shield of Golden wattle by Rhyl Hinwood, 1991, located in the Goddard cloisters.

Full-shield carving of the Island of St Lucia coat of arms.

Full-shield of The island of St Lucia, West Indies by Rhyl Hinwood, 1989, located in the Law cloisters.

Full-shield of The island of St Lucia, West Indies by Rhyl Hinwood, 1989, located in the Law cloisters.

Frieze of an inscription.

A place of light, of liberty and of learning inscription by John Muller, pre-1953, located above the entrance to the Forgan Smith building, facing the Great Court .

A place of light, of liberty and of learning inscription by John Muller, pre-1953, located above the entrance to the Forgan Smith building, facing the Great Court .

Grotesque of Gairbau at UQ St Lucia.

Grotesque of Gairbau by Rhyl Hinwood, 1978, located above the Michie cloisters, facing the Great Court.

Grotesque of Gairbau by Rhyl Hinwood, 1978, located above the Michie cloisters, facing the Great Court.

Statues of Muses at UQ St Lucia.

Statues of Muses, representing the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine and Veterinary Science by John Muller, c. 1945, located on the outer wall of the Forgan Smith tower.

Statues of Muses, representing the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine and Veterinary Science by John Muller, c. 1945, located on the outer wall of the Forgan Smith tower.

Arch carving of a zebra finch.

Arch-carving of a Zebra finch by Rhyl Hinwood, 1999, located on the Goddard/Michie cloister arch.

Arch-carving of a Zebra finch by Rhyl Hinwood, 1999, located on the Goddard/Michie cloister arch.

Heraldry at the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

Heraldry in the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

Heraldry in the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

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A frieze of dinosaurs at UQ St Lucia.

Dinosaurs in Queensland’s Jurassic period by Clarrie Pilling and Tom Farrell, 1940s, located above the Richards building entrance, facing the Great Court.

Dinosaurs in Queensland’s Jurassic period by Clarrie Pilling and Tom Farrell, 1940s, located above the Richards building entrance, facing the Great Court.

A roundel of blue blubber jellyfish at UQ St Lucia.

Blue blubber jellyfish roundel by Rhyl Hinwood, 1996, located on the exterior of the Goddard building, facing the Great Court.

Blue blubber jellyfish roundel by Rhyl Hinwood, 1996, located on the exterior of the Goddard building, facing the Great Court.

Half-shield sculpture of golden wattle at UQ St Lucia.

Half-shield of Golden wattle by Rhyl Hinwood, 1991, located in the Goddard cloisters.

Half-shield of Golden wattle by Rhyl Hinwood, 1991, located in the Goddard cloisters.

Full-shield carving of the Island of St Lucia coat of arms.

Full-shield of The island of St Lucia, West Indies by Rhyl Hinwood, 1989, located in the Law cloisters.

Full-shield of The island of St Lucia, West Indies by Rhyl Hinwood, 1989, located in the Law cloisters.

Frieze of an inscription.

A place of light, of liberty and of learning inscription by John Muller, pre-1953, located above the entrance to the Forgan Smith building, facing the Great Court .

A place of light, of liberty and of learning inscription by John Muller, pre-1953, located above the entrance to the Forgan Smith building, facing the Great Court .

Grotesque of Gairbau at UQ St Lucia.

Grotesque of Gairbau by Rhyl Hinwood, 1978, located above the Michie cloisters, facing the Great Court.

Grotesque of Gairbau by Rhyl Hinwood, 1978, located above the Michie cloisters, facing the Great Court.

Statues of Muses at UQ St Lucia.

Statues of Muses, representing the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine and Veterinary Science by John Muller, c. 1945, located on the outer wall of the Forgan Smith tower.

Statues of Muses, representing the Faculties of Dentistry, Medicine and Veterinary Science by John Muller, c. 1945, located on the outer wall of the Forgan Smith tower.

Arch carving of a zebra finch.

Arch-carving of a Zebra finch by Rhyl Hinwood, 1999, located on the Goddard/Michie cloister arch.

Arch-carving of a Zebra finch by Rhyl Hinwood, 1999, located on the Goddard/Michie cloister arch.

Heraldry at the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

Heraldry in the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

Heraldry in the Great Court at UQ St Lucia.

Roundels

Decorative panels, round in form, these are mostly flora and fauna, but also include some individual heads of people.

Statues

High-relief three-dimensional carvings, either free-standing or attached to walls, these depict famous muses, scholars, writers and scientists, as well as books.

Inscriptions

These are words carved into sandstone that depict academic quotations or the names of significant learned figures in history.

Grotesques

Possibly the most popular of all the carvings, these projecting sculptures on the cloister walls were created to introduce an element of humour to the Great Court and include UQ academics, fictional literary characters and other mythical creatures (note: despite some having open mouths, the grotesques are not gargoyles, which are water spouts for carrying away rainwater).

Be sure to check back in next month, as Contact looks at UQ's marvellous murals.


Words and concept: Suzanne Parker
Artwork and design: James North
Photography: Jennifer McLeod, Dr Rhyl Hinwood AM CF
Contributors: Barbara Robinson and Jeremy Crowley

All artworks and artefacts mentioned in this series are located on UQ's St Lucia, Gatton and Herston campuses, and we acknowledge the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which the University stands. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.