Convocation Day
Convocation Day commemorates the first meeting of Convocation on 4 March 1913.
An initiative that followed the Centenary of UWA in 2013, it has been held annually since 2014. Convocation Day is celebrated by the annual planting of a tree by the Warden of Convocation and the Guild President, to enrich a campus regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world.
Convocation Trees
| Year | Tree Planted |
| 2025- | Prunus blireana | Pink Cherry Plum Blossom West boundary of Riley Oval (commencement of row) |
| 2024 | Casuarina obesa | Swamp sheoak On bilya near boundary of Park Ave building and St George's College |
| 2023 | Eucalyptus Vitrix | WA Ghost Gum Opposite Eocene Garden |
| 2018 - 2022 | Jacaranda mimosifolia alba | White Jacarandas Convocation Walk, Saw Ave (completion of row) |
| 2017 | Quercus virginiana | Southern live Oak River side of Law School Building |
| 2016 | Corymbia ficifolia | WA Red Flowering Gum Service Courtyard between Shenton House and Tavern |
| 2015 | Jacaranda mimosifolia alba | White Jacaranda Convocation Walk, Saw Ave (planted 2022) |
| 2014 | Jacaranda mimosifolia alba | White Jacaranda Convocation Walk, Saw Ave (planted 2022) |
2026 Convocation Day
Following a tradition that commemorates the first meeting of Convocation in 1913 and celebrates the close relationship between the UWA’s Guild of Undergraduates and its Alumni, we held our annual tree planting in March.
We have been getting together to plant trees at Crawley every year since 2014, an initiative that resulted from the University’s Centenary celebrations in 2013. Our trees are scattered across the Crawley campus. Some stand alone. Others are grouped. Like the beautiful row of white jacarandas along the east side of James Oval. All have dated plaques at their base with the name of the Warden and the Guild President who planted them.
Last year we moved to the west side of Riley Oval where the Warden and Guild President planted the first in a row of cherry plum blossom trees — Prunus blireana —opposite the Arts Building. This year Guild President Oliver Barrett and the Warden ‘planted’ the second one. They reach a height of 5m, and those of you who were on campus last Spring would have seen how beautiful they look when covered in pink blossoms.
We were delighted that our Chancellor Dr Diane Smith-Gander AO and Professor Tim Colmer, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, were available to welcome guests and remind us all how important alumni are to the university.
We then made our way to the beautiful Tropical Grove, pausing to marvel at the ancient jarrah, Eucalyptus marginata. Believed to be up to 600 years old, it is the oldest tree on campus and an important link to the landscape long before the university existed.
The Tropical Grove is near the middle of the original Great Court, which was designed as a broad formal grassed area stretching from Winthrop Hall to the site now occupied by the Reid Library. Palms and other trees line its edges and frame the open space. However, much of this planting was removed in the early 1960s during construction of the Arts Building and Reid Library.
At that time, the area was more functional than picturesque. It housed a gardener’s shed and a nearby well, screened by trees planted for that purpose. When the shed was removed in the late 1960s, the space was left to evolve naturally—and the trees remained, gradually shaping the leafy grove we see today.
There is a memorial plaque in the Tropical Grove to honour George Munns, who became Curator of Grounds in 1955 after 14 years working under Oliver Dowell. His contribution to what George Seddon later described as a ‘landscape for learning’ was formally recognised in 1988, when the Senate named the area the Tropical Grove.
The Tropical Grove contains just a few eucalyptus trees and we were privileged to hear an engaging discussion of the ancient history, biology and cultural significance of eucalyptus by Professor Steve Hopper. After many years of research into its 900 species, almost all of which are found only in Australia, he recently published Eucalyptus, his eighth book.
Widely recognised as a global leader in botany and conservation biology, Professor Hopper has had a distinguished career. He served as Director of Kings Park and CEO of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority before becoming Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In 2012, he returned to Western Australia and is now Foundation Professor of Plant Conservation Biology at UWA, based in Albany, where he works closely with Menang Elders to deepen understanding of Noongar traditional ecological knowledge.
2017 Convocation Day
The close working relationship between the Guild, the University and Convocation was demonstrated on Saturday, 4th March 2017 when UWA’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater assisted the Guild President Nevin Jayawardena and the Warden of Convocation Adjunct Professor Warren Kerr AM to plant an oak tree during the annual Convocation Day celebrations.
Participating in her first Convocation Day celebration since her recent appointment as the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dawn Freshwater acknowledged the importance of the University working closely together with the Guild (representing UWA students) and Convocation (representing UWA graduates) to achieve their common objective for UWA to become one of the top 50 universities in the world by 2050.
The oak tree was planted by UWA’s 104th Guild President, Mr Nevin Jayawardena, to celebrate Convocation Day, the anniversary of the first meeting of Convocation which was held on 4th March 1913.
Mr Jayawardena applauded the strong relationship between the University, the Guild and Convocation Council.
“The UWA Guild plays a vital role on campus representing, and offering a range of services to students in a similar manner to Convocation’s role representing all the graduates of UWA and assisting them to maintain their relationship with UWA” he said.
In one of his last official duties as UWA Warden of Convocation, Adjunct Professor Warren Kerr AM, said that with the garden setting being an integral part of the UWA campus, it was appropriate that Convocation Day was celebrated with the annual planting of a tree to enrich a campus regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world.
“It is fitting that Convocation Day falls at the commencement of the period scheduled for UWA graduation ceremonies as it is at these ceremonies where graduands received their degrees that they automatically become members of Convocation, the body established in the UWA Act to be the electorate for the University of Western Australia” Adjunct Professor Warren Kerr AM said.
"As members of Convocation, all UWA graduates have the right to participate in elections for some members of the UWA Senate and the Council of Convocation as well as attending General Meetings of the University to receive updates on the progress that UWA is making to achieve its goals”
Several past Councillors attended the ceremony and then joined members of Council and the Guild in casual refreshments at Convocation’s Irwin Street Building where delightful entertainment was provided by the newly formed Winthrop Singers.