THE first weekend in December has always been cause for celebration at the University of Queensland (UQ) Gatton campus, when the annual Back to College event is staged by the Past Students Association.
It has been 107 years since the first reunion for past students, and this year saw the return of about 250 people to the campus.
One of the main acknowledgements of the night went to the 1952 group who mustered 18 'young men' for the occasion, marking 60 years since they completed studies at Gatton College and signed off with the planting of a special tree in their honour.
Another strong contingent came from the 1957 year group, while the 1967 Diploma in Animal Husbandry or Agriculture brought together about 33 from that year.
Ladies man, Pat Devlin, gets into the swing of the night with Tessa Piagno, Sandy Lincoln and Jan Fletcher. Click on this image to see more photos in our online gallery.
About 15 per cent of these past students went on to UQ at St Lucia to later graduate as veterinarians - this is believed to be the largest group to ever do so after attending Gatton College.
During the reunion evening Distinguished Past Student awards were conferred on three past students, including Lex Carroll for his contribution to veterinary science; Jim Galletly who spent most of his working life at Gatton, and Peter McLean for his long association with rugby union from an under 18 player at Gatton through to his international career as a Wallaby.
Following the transfer of the veterinary science faculty to Gatton from St Lucia several years ago, there are now 2056 students enrolled at the UQ Gatton Campus, including 321 international students from 30 different countries.
Of that, 1514 those students are female, who make up 74 percent of the campus student population studying either veterinary science or a bachelor of applied science.
Since 2005, the membership of the Association has grown from 960 to the present numbers of 1115, and the Past Students Association encourages all alumni to become members and furthermore stay in touch with those they attended the Gatton College or Gatton Campus with.
