The Fifth Warden
The Revd Dr Evan Burge

The Revd Dr Evan Burge was Trinity’s fifth Warden, holding the position from June 1974 to September 1997. He was a classical scholar, liturgist, and linguist (he studied Latin, French and ancient Greek, among other languages), and the Leeper Library (named after Trinity’s first Warden) was opened in the building that holds Burge’s name in 1996, honouring his love of books. 

Burge is noted for saying that he felt a strong calling to head up a college like Trinity.

He had earlier attended Union College at the University of Queensland (paying his own way by selling ice-creams and peanuts at theatres in Brisbane), so was familiar with the collegiate model from his undergraduate days. Further, Burge’s father had been the Director of Physical Education at the University of Queensland, and Burge says that his father provided ‘a model of the dedicated academic life’.  

After completing his undergraduate degree in Brisbane, Burge travelled to Oxford to continue his classical studies, and later completed a master’s and doctorate at Princeton in the United States. He taught languages at Brisbane Grammar School and was a lecturer at the Australian National University, before joining Trinity in 1974. 

The year that Burge became Warden coincided with the year that Trinity College opened its doors to women residents, with the co-residency model establish by his predecessor Professor Robin Sharwood. Burge valiantly supported the move and provided counsel to the new resident women as they navigated their way through what had been a traditionally male community. The Trinity College Foundation Studies program – designed to provide a prepatory pathway for international students wishing to study at the University of Melbourne – was also established during Burge’s tenure. 

The Warden who succeeded Burge, Professor Don Markwell, described Burge as ‘an encourager and an enabler, with great gifts of empathy and energy’. 

Burge grew up in a Christian household and was a devout Anglican. It’s said that he set up an altar in his family’s chook run as a child to practice reading the Eucharist. He progressed well beyond the chicken coop in adulthood and was ordained deacon in 1960 and priest in 1971, and became an active member of the Liturgical Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia.  

Burge was also a keen musician and played the piano and organ, and unsurprisingly became keenly involved in Trinity’s choir and chapel. 

Burge was diagnosed with cancer in December 2000, and passed away in March 2003 at age 70.