Dear Ruth, David, Phillip and family.
Evadne and I send our sincere condolences.
We were very sad to hear about Duncan – he was a colleague and friend for many years at
Curtin. I have many memories of Duncan who joined the staff at the Centre for
Advanced Studies in the 1980s and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent
academic. I often sought his advice on matters of significance to the Centre at
the time. One of my main recollections was a discussion we had in the early
1990s at the Metro Inn in South Perth after a meeting we were attending. At the
end of the afternoon over a coffee or most probably a beer, while we were
discussing solutions to the university problems, I raised the possibility of his
promotion to a personal chair and suggested that he apply. I persuaded Duncan
that he had the necessary research, teaching and service record of achievement
to be a full professor. Subsequently he applied and was deservedly successful.
If my memory serves me well, I also recall Duncan wearing green shoes as he made his way to make coffee in the meeting room in the Centre.
Jeff and Evadne