Sandstone universities in the context of "University of Sydney"

The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an informal designation of the oldest university in each state. UQ is also a founding member of edX, Australia's leading Group of Eight and the international research-intensive Association of Pacific Rim Universities.

The main St Lucia campus occupies much of the riverside inner suburb of St Lucia, southwest of the Brisbane central business district. Other UQ campuses and facilities are located throughout Queensland, the largest of which are the Gatton campus and the Herston campus, notably including the Mayne Medical School. UQ's overseas establishments include UQ North America office in Washington D.C., and the UQ-Ochsner Clinical School in Louisiana, United States.

The University of Adelaide is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many sandstone buildings of historical and architectural significance, such as Bonython Hall. Its royal charter awarded by Queen Victoria in 1881 allowed it to become the second university in the English-speaking world to confer degrees to women. It plans to merge with the neighbouring University of South Australia to form Adelaide University on 5 January 2026with the closure of the exisiting institutions planned for 31 March 2026 when the University of Adelaide Act 1971 and University of South Australia Act 1990 are repealed.

The university was founded at the former Royal South Australian Society of Arts by the Union College and studies were initially conducted at its Institute Building. The society was also the original birthplace of the South Australian Institute of Technology as the School of Mines and Industries. The institute later became the University of South Australia during the Dawkins Revolution following a merger with an advanced college dating back to the School of Art, also founded at the society. The two universities, which then accounted for approximately three-quarters of the state's public university population, agreed to merge in mid-2023. The future combined institution will be rebranded as Adelaide University, previously a colloquial name for the university, with the merged state expected to become operational by 2026.

The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of Melbourne's central business district, with several other campuses located across the state of Victoria.

Incorporated in the 19th century by the colony of Victoria, the University of Melbourne is one of Australia's six sandstone universities and a member of the Group of Eight, Universitas 21, Washington University's McDonnell International Scholars Academy, and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Since 1872, many independent residential colleges have become affiliated with the university, providing accommodation for students and faculty, and academic, sporting and cultural programs. There are nine colleges and five university-owned halls of residence located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs.

Formal hall or formal meal is a meal held at some of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (as well as some other Commonwealth countries) at which students usually dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine. These are held commonly in the colleges of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham, at Trinity College Dublin (where they are known as commons), and in some halls and colleges at St Andrews, and the Australian sandstone universities (Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, Sydney, Tasmania, Western Australia), and at Trinity College, Toronto.

In a number of redbrick universities, such as Manchester, Bristol, Leeds and Exeter, some halls practise similar traditions in order to increase interaction between academics and students, and to enrich the students' overall learning experience. Colleges of some Australian redbrick universities, including the Australian National University, Monash University, the University of New England, the University of New South Wales and the University of Southern Queensland, also hold gowned formal dinners.