SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE RT. HONo R. G.
MENZiES, AT OPENING OF ADOLPH BASSER LIBRARY.
AD-MY OF CC CANBERRA 26TH I-A PRIL 1 C) 62
Mr, President, Dr, 3asser, ladies and gentlemen;
I want to tell you at once that a great weight has
fallen from my mind since I arrived here this afternoon. I was
here this morning as a sort of soi-disant Fellow of the Academy,
compassed about by the most formidable collection of scientists
that Australia has ever seen. So I felt muted and a little
depressed, But when I came in here this afternoon and saw so
many people just as unscientific as I am, this took a weight off
my shoulders. Sir, I want to say, before I make a few remarks that
may be relevant to the occasion, that I cannot tell you how I
admire the international organisation which has been directed to
this evento This afternoon I open formally whatever that meansthe
Library and I was told in advance very kindly by my old
friend Professor Cherry that this was to be directed to
scientific history, or the history of science. Today, when I
went into my office I opened up a coimmunication from Harvard of
which I am, as you might say, a species of graduate and it
contained a Newslette:. and, believe it or not, the subject of the
Newsletter was " Reflections on the History of Science as an
academic subject An ., Umerican viewro That gave me an enhanced
opinion of the skill with w1-hich these people organised their
business, Could I first of all say somethling about the man wIhose
name we are honouring this afternoon, Adolph Bassero So far as I
can make out I haven't pursued him impertinently he wasn't
born in Australia, but all I can say is that he has lived a long
time in Australia and ho has left his mark on Australia, He is
one of those men who, having decided no doubt that it was time
that he had a hobby, took up as a hobby giving money away. This
is an admirable hobby, nd give it away he does, in a magnificent
and spacious, but always well-directed fashion, I want him to
know that everybody here appreciates what he has done, and is
doing, very greatly indeed,
The other thing that I want to say to you concerns the
KLibrary itself. There are those and perhaps I have been among
them in my time who think threo is some rather deep cleavage
between what w. To call scientific study in the strict sense, and the
study of the humanities It is very fascinating to me to find how
the lines blur, and how, in the case of this Library you can
bring the great business of history into conjunction with the
groat business of science. The study of history has always
scomed to me to be one of the most important studies that a man
can direct his mind to because an ignorance of history can so
easily produce a stupid disaster; and to have it applied in the
case of science seems to me to be a splendid illustration of its
value not only to science, but in other fields,
A knowledge of history seems to me to be of great moment
for the conduct of public affairs; for the great conduct of
business affairs for that matter. I speak subject to correction
but wasn't it Henry Ford himself who, when on oath oddly enough,
in some litigation in America made that immortal remark that
" history is bunk", which satisfied my own mind that he understood
mass production better than he understood history. How can we
handle the reat affairs of notions unless we know something
about the past; unless we know what has happened; unless we
reject that single fallacy that ' happy is the country that has
no history'? I say unhappy is the country that has people
charged with Government the responsibility for it who are not
able to look back with history , nd to realise that there is not
much that is now, that thor:: are many demonstrations of error and
that the business of wis mni is to avoid errors that have been
committed and confine themselv. js to their own instead of
imitating other people's.
In or 2.
In science it soams Ito me, as a layman, to be quite
clear that he -vho talkc-. 7 thc ed es of Gs'me pice of
scientific investigation, accepots it,, Puts it in-to operation, is
not a scinitin the fu'Ll s -% nsC-at The man who Tants to
conduct investiga2tion into sc-ientific principles can never, I
believe, separate himself fj--rom -that ,. rent be fore the last discovery.
He cannot confine himsai f to the discovcery itsclf. It is not
suffi cient to say 1-vhat did he do? l Js vory important to
di scover why ho did it9 and how he, did it,. Oo tuc have the great
stream of scientific kn owledge I a stream, incroasing at such a pac
in raod-ern times-,-th: at to unciorsuand it fully we must occasionally
go back along the streamrs and seck the fountainhead instead of just
dividing up the little stroams. Ther?-.: fore the study of the
nistory of science, facili7t ieS for that study, facilities for
quiet reading and rofJlction, s. cem to , e to be of the me'Ist
tr_-emendous iraportancce0
Thor--is just oncl other thing that I uould like to say
to you, A refolrence rmad,,, by Profe-ssor Cheorry to sound
rocordings0 I thinik vc haven't caught up very : mi-uch yet uith the
idea of using tapea record-ings anO. other nmeanis of recording people's
voices and ideas. ' Niobody) for ealecould properly understand
the history, purposo, fun' tiori of' thiis Academy unloss as I
didn~ t I had h.-Ad thie fortho[,. ugh-t-to -put on my table a tapere-
cording machine ivory tirie Mark Oliphaant corie along with some
im-probable story, Cve.-r time John Eccles came along with some
improbable story not nc: ssail the: sanie story or Leslie
Martin, or eve_-n 4ir John. Cickcroft the Chance-; llor. ' 11nat a
wonderful thing it ; vjsou1. d be to have on record the voice itself,
things that ha_ d bee~ n said uich Emigh tl in fact, in some sense,
influence the. future course of events. In thae samer,(, wVay I can
iraagine thnat if 12 ' ire a ran of scion.. tific bt: nt and were a student
at a University and 2, at at the fee t, if not of the prophet, at
le ast of some equal-ly e,. Ainant person, borrowing a little of~ hi.,
okwn liustre by hi-ving been near it Would be z: great inspatlion
tGo mae to be . Abl to listan thereafter, to his v:; co describing
soi-tot tdoiacs sn th .1uht provoking a few ideas. T ho refor e
I ve--nture oh-pta in this Library there; will be some space
reserved for such things as tape re cordings.
' Ja in A talaarc disposed to be a cy-nical, sceptical
people., You are rosi D. c-tabic -vhen youi are dea d. You may have a
fair chance of being faraous or forgotten if you have boen dead long
enough. BE-ta~ a s 1for the c u rrenIVta to cf :-1f f a iris, w0e l1 wha -t o f i-t.
Iventure to say taat iriis Academy there re men anL oe hs
voices, lite-rally whose voice. s, woulId be liste ned to with profound
inteorest by pcople hero in 50 years' timea, -or in ]. 00 years' tirae.
That really is why I llav only one doubt a-bout the Bassor Library
and th~ it is uwhether it will be big~ enou_ gh. Because. as time goes on
the material that it will-accumula te vill 3. argci, and larger and
indc, 3d ore and more sig.:. nificant0
But that we srlould be able to fLind established in this
p]. a-ce a Library devoted to scientific historN is, I think, a Late
for congratulations. I am ve ry we-ll aware of what Tom. Cherry says
about duplication of libraric-s and I am atll fo+. r rationalising these
matters. I say that as one who has ha~ d quite a few.. libr.-ries
pluciked out of him thie las-t few ycars,, But at tine s-) me time I
ari bound to say to you that 1 think one -of tho -many proofs of
growing civilisatiean in our-couantry is that wl. oeras to find a
Library in a University was, not so many years ., go9, rather a rarity,
we now have quite a few lar , ge, rgrowing, comraerhensive. In this
is the very heart of th-e ' Univer1sity structure,,
Thi-erefor-; Sir, Dr. 3asser, in thanking you for what you
have drone about th., is raatter 1 I ant toD say quite frank. ly that I thii
y our contribution, standing as it does -in the samo building as this
Hall which cormmoeoratos the r. ma; ni fi * cent : and imaginative generosity
of Sir Ellerton Bockor, that this Librar wilb oehngtt
you will alw,. ays be proud to rememiber that you brought into existencc
by ro-ur thougqt anid nerosity. The-. reor, ladies and iontlemen,
I forrmally declare tl~ o Libra~ x'y open0