Deciding to go back to tertiary study, this time at the Australian Catholic University, in 2003 semester one, also meant going back to distance education. That had changed beyond recognition since external studies in the pre-internet age. Everything was text, but online and communication was by email and discussion board. I don’t remember going to the ACU campus more than a couple of times, and for research that needed more than the internet, that meant a trip to the UQ libraries. My impression of the ACU library at the time was that it was limited. The Brisbane campus of ACU was situated across the road from my primary school, Nudgee State School, which no longer exists. When I was a child it just the Banyo Seminary, a closed and mysterious place. It is now an open and attractive campus with coastal views.

This course looks like it is still being offered, but my lecturer Dr Gerard Hall left ACU in 2017. I don’t think I knew he was a Marist priest. He had once been a school teacher and had a degree in literature and he must have been working on his PhD the year he supervised this course. I suspect I was rather spoiled by having him as the first lecturer from ACU, as not all the subsequent lecturers were of the same standard.

His blog has a wealth of information on his story and has access to his publications. There are also archived ACU sites about him that date from the time I did his subject and do not appear to have been updated, here and here.

My notes say there were two assignments worth 80% between them, but he must have allowed us to combine them into one. There was also 20% for participation in the discussion board. I don’t appear to have kept a record of these ephemera but did find one draft of something I must have contributed.

The support material was phenomenal. The modules of the course guide led to further readings from Hall’s Christology material – still available online here. There were bibliographies, but the modules also linked to provided readings. Being set in my ways, I printed it all out! I had trouble reading for understanding from screens and still do.

I was impressed by his openness to a plurality of ideas and also his use of poetry and other works of art to advance the discussions. He also edited the Australian E-Journal of Theology for many years, which seems to have ceased to be since he departed.

I was worried that when I got closer to the present and blogged courses that still exist, the risk of plagiarism would increase and I debated whether to post my old assignments. Happily, no-one other than myself reads this blog. I also suspect my old fashioned way of writing would be obvious to any astute lecturer of the future.

It is hard to remember what I was doing for those years, so since I am writing this for myself, I will see what I can recall. My wife was working as a part time GP. The four children were growing. I was working in General Practice and also as a medical adviser to DVA. I was increasingly active in the local church. At one stage I was on the parish council, but I was mainly involved in the music since I could play guitar and they were short of musicians. I was asked to assist a youth group but they grew up and moved on and then I just played with my family or other groups. I also started making primitive backings for hymns on an ancient version of Band in a Box.

Looking at old documents reminded me that I was published in Australian Family Physician. My wife and I had been published previously but this one was on my own. I’m not sure if this is a draft or the final version but it does not suggest I am happy in General Practice.

This nasty piece of writing imagining the life of a drug rep would seem to confirm that.

I also found notes for a short talk, apparently to other doctors, about treating mental health issues. I don’t know what SC means.

On a brighter note I was leading evening sessions at St Edwards. Father Frank Andersen had come to talk to us for a couple of evenings and we decided to go more in depth over several weeks, largely based on his book, “Eucharist: Participating in the Mystery.”

I do not recall how but at some stage in 2002, I was made aware of the MA (Theol) course at ACU, for which I possessed the prerequisites and that was wholly online so it wouldn’t interfere with working two jobs (!). Which is how is spent from 2003 to 2006 doing the eight units that would make up a coursework MA.