NORTH BORNEO NEWS & SABAH TIMES (June 11, 1963) - BRISBANE, June 11 – The foundation stone of Queenland’s International House – to which North Borneo will substantially contribute-will be unveiled on June 15.
Senior North Borneo students will be among the guests of honour at the ceremony, to be performed by the Chief Justice of Queensland, Sir Also Mansfield.
International House, an affiliated residential college of the University of Queensland, will house 150 student – half of them Australians, and the other half, students from overseas countries.
Site of the miniature “United Nations” – regarded here as a major contribution to Australian-Asian goodwill – is near the main section of the university which is in a magnificent setting on the banks of the Brishane River.
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North Borneo, as one of the main donor countries, will be perpetuated with special “North Rococo” rooms and traditional North Borneo decor.
International House president, Mr. Bert Martin, made the announcement on the foundation stone laying ceremony this week after his return from a 10,000-mile tour of South East Asia and Japan.
The tour included The Philippines, North Borneo, Brunei, Sarawak, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Its main aim was to explain, by personal contact, the purpose and proposed operational details of International House.
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Mr. Martin left Australia hoping for contributions totalling only £10,000 and arrived borne with promise of a total £50,000 enough to build 60 or 70 of the 150 rooms in International House.
The State Government has also donated the land.
International House, in its design, will combine early-Queensland and traditional-Oriental architecture. The plan provides for six five-storey and two four-storey buildings, an administrative block and caretakers cottage, all joined by covered walk-ways.
Each unit will contain an average of 16 bedrooms, a common room, kitchenette, dining roan, laundry and games area.