The Stuart Residence Hall Council

The Stuart Residence Halls Council was formed in 1941 by the Reverend Dr Harold Turner, Assistant Minister of Knox Church, and a number of church elders and senior University staff. One of the most influential members of the Council was George Carrington, then Secretary of the Otago Education Board. The Council was formed to develop accommodation for University students and gathered the means to purchase houses and other types of accommodation outside the traditional University halls. The Council formed an incorporated society in 1945. Since that time they have secured Arana and Carrington Halls and various other accommodation around the campus area.

The Stuart Hall of Residence Council provided a gift of $1.5m to the University of Otago to endow the Stuart Chair in Science Communication as a result of the sale of some assets held by the Council. That gift was matched by the Government through the Partners for Excellence programme within the $25m Leading Thinkers Initiative in 2007.