Community advocate receives Honorary Doctorate

BELOVED Geelong resident, real estate businessman and community advocate Bob Gartland has been honoured by Deakin University with an Honorary Doctorate more than 50 years on from helping lay the concrete slab for the first Deakin University library.

Dr Gartland said he was deeply honoured by the university’s gesture at its most recent Graduation Day.

“Deakin University is an integral part of who we are in Geelong; we think globally and act locally,” he said.

“I feel blessed to be part of the Deakin community and I am very grateful to my wife Phillipa who has always shared my journey, believed in, and encouraged, me.”

Dr Gartland’s relationship with the university, which has campuses in Geelong and Melbourne, began while he was working in the Commonwealth Bank as a 15 year old, making $15.50 per week.

After noticing labourers walking into the bank depositing weekly $100 paychecks, Dr Gartland then began working as a builders’ labourer, then a steel fixer, dogman, and rigger, where he helped lay the concrete slab for the multi-storey library building at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus.

Dr Gartland said his relationship with Deakin was as old as the University and, in many ways, had paralleled his own journey.

“My pathway through life has been diverse.

“I loved school, but I left early. My father thought that the bank was a great career choice for me. I have always believed in lifelong education, so to receive this great honour at this point of my life, from a place I love so much, is so valuable.”

Last year, Bob furthered his education with a post graduate degree in cultural heritage and museum studies at Deakin.

Dr Gartland today continues his proud work as patron and a founding ambassador of the Anam Cara House Geelong palliative care facility, alongside Diane Wright, Frank Costa, Father Kevin Dillon and Diana Taylor.

He also assisted in the advocation for the opening of the Geelong Sports Museum, which was opened this year in the Kardinia Park precinct.

Deakin University Vice Chancellor, Professor Iain Martin, nominated Gartland for the doctorate and said he was more than deserving of the honour.

“This award is recognition of Bob’s lifetime commitment to the social, cultural and sporting life of Geelong,” Professor Martin said.

“He has not only been a dedicated historian and community-minded contributor but has also provided learning opportunities and cultural experiences to people in Geelong through the Geelong Football Club, Anam Cara House and other initiatives.”