The Portrait of James Mayne

Abstract

Two of the most significant donors to the University of Queensland were Mary Emelia Mayne and James Mayne, the last surviving children of Irish immigrants Patrick and Mary Mayne. They provided the funds to purchase the university's St Lucia site, donated rural land at Moggill, and left their estates to fund Chairs of Medicine and Surgery at the university. Whether the university has sufficiently acknowledged their philanthropy has been the subject of comment in recent years. Unfortunately, the work of Malcolm Thomis — which traces how and when the university acknowledged the Maynes and why it was not until 1973 that Mayne Hall was opened — is not generally known, so public misunderstanding continues. Entwined with this is a perception that the 1936 portrait of James Mayne has not been displayed in a place of honour. Although the university endeavoured to ensure that the portrait of James Mayne was displayed in the most appropriate place possible, in the earlier years the embryonic development at the St Lucia campus resulted in its being sent to the Queensland National Art Gallery (now the Queensland Art Gallery). Since 1945, it has been on display in key university buildings, and today is prominently displayed in the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre.