One act, a century of impact 

One hundred years after a landmark gift, the Sidney Myer University Trust continues to shape opportunity, leadership and culture across the University and beyond.

Through the creation of the Sidney Myer University Trust, he established a gift designed to serve future generations. Endowed with 25,000 shares in Myer Emporium Ltd, the Trust created an enduring source of support for the University. Rather than making a conventional cash donation, Myer gave the University a stake in the business he had built. The gift was unusual for its time and reflected a belief that capital could continue working in service of education and the public good. What made it remarkable was not only what it funded, but the flexibility it created for future generations.

As Sidney Myer himself explained, his giving was rooted in purpose rather than recognition: "I do not seek publicity, nor have I any ulterior motive whatsoever, except my love for Australia and the Australian people."

A century later, that spirit of generosity endures.

One of the Trust's earliest and most enduring contributions was the establishment of the Sidney Myer Chair of Commerce in 1927. Held by the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, the Chair is one of the clearest examples of Sidney Myer's legacy continuing to shape the Faculty today.

The Trust's influence also extended into Melbourne's cultural life. Early support for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music helped establish a tradition of free orchestral concerts, later formalised through the Sidney Myer Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Trust. Open to the public, these performances reflected a belief that culture should be accessible to the wider community and embodied a view of the University as both a centre of learning and a contributor to public life.

Multigenerational commitment

Following Sidney Myer's death in 1934, his philanthropic vision continued through the Sidney Myer Fund and, later, The Myer Foundation. What began as a single gift became a multigenerational commitment, carried forward by successive generations of the Myer family and The Myer Foundation, established in 1959 by Sidney Myer’s sons, the late Kenneth Myer AC DSC and the late Baillieu Myer AC.

As Sidney's grandson Martyn Myer reflects, "We call philanthropy the glue that holds our family together."

Across the decades, Myer family philantropy helped the University respond to changing community needs. It supported research that informed understanding of poverty and housing conditions, contributed to medical discoveries that helped underpin the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and strengthened Australia's engagement with Asia through initiatives ranging from Oriental Studies to Asialink.

More recently, Myer family philanthropy has helped transform the University's arts precinct at Southbank. Martyn Myer was a driving force behind the redevelopment, combining philantropy, advocacy and leadership to help realise a vision for arts education at the heart of Melbourne's cultural precinct. Since opening, the Kenneth Myer Auditorium and Martyn Myer Arena have welcomed more than 39,000 attendees across more than 447 performances.

Creating opportunity

A century after Sidney Myer's original gift, the Trust continues to open doors through the Sidney Myer Centennial Scholarships in the Faculty of Business and Economics. Supporting 34 students with full fee remission and a living allowance, the scholarships help reduce barriers for students experiencing disadvantage and those from underrepresented backgrounds. For students whose talent and ambition may otherwise be limited by circumstance, the scholarships create the freedom to imagine a different future, and the means to pursue it.

For Sidney Myer Centennial Scholar Esdras, the scholarship has been life changing.

"I don't think the lack of means or the lack of opportunity should be a barrier in pursuing something you're passionate about," he says. "Because of this scholarship, it's actually provided me the chance to pursue commerce, which isn't readily available in regional and rural areas."

Professor Paul Kofman, former Dean and Sidney Myer Chair of Commerce, describes the program as "one of the most generous scholarships ever given by the University...transformational for those who receive it. Research from our faculty has time and again proved the immense social and economic benefits of diversity, inclusion and equity, especially in commerce. This scholarship program is about walking that talk and supporting underrepresented students."

As the University marks the centenary of Sidney Myer's gift, the lasting significance of that generosity lies in what it still makes possible. Through the Trust, support continues to flow to people and ideas that strengthen communities well beyond the University.

^{The Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Sidney Myer's support for music through the University of Melbourne helped establish a tradition of free orchestral concerts. © [Sidney Myer Music Bowl], n.d., [UMA-SRE-20180115] Photographs of projects by Yuncken Freeman Architects and predecessors, Unit 0004, UMA-ITE-2018011502309, University of Melbourne Archives.}

Today, that work includes the digitisation of cultural collections, investment in student wellbeing, support for early career researchers and PhD students, partnerships that create opportunities for emerging musicians through the Australian National Academy of Music, and international dialogue across the Asia-Pacific.

Together, these initiatives reflect the enduring strength of a gift designed not only for its time, but for generations to come.