opportunity to obtain a thorough training in mathematical science.
That the provision of proper facilities for research may be an exceedingly profitable investment from a commercial point of view has been amply demonstrated by events. That it will be profitable to a young nation in a better sense I firmly believe. We have taken pride in the remarkable powers of self-reliance and initiative that were shown by our Australian soldiers in the great war. We perhaps flatter ourselves that these are qualities that are bred- in the clear skies and broad expanses of our Australian continent. As a nation in the making, we have reason to be proud and hopeful of the future when we see these qualities united with dauntless courage in tens of thousands of our youth. But we cannot develop the best spirit of self-reliance in the nation if we are for ever to depend upon other peoples to show us the way to progress and be content to simply follow them. We have our own problems that require their own solutions, and it should be our ambition to lead the way and not follow in the wake. The war is over, but the competition between nations continues. It cannot be diminished by Peace Conferences nor evaded by philanthropic projects. It is the law of Nature, and if we would survive we must prove ourselves to be fit. We cannot do that if we neglect the development of the highest qualities of the human mind, the qualities upon which human progress has chiefly depended.
PRINTED AT THE HASSELL PRESS, ADELAIDE
