Alan Treloar attended Carey from 1929 until 1936, achieving the distinction of Dux of the School in his final two years. He studied Classics at the University of Melbourne and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1940—the first of four such awards made to former Carey students.

The outbreak of World War II delayed the resumption of his academic career until 1945, when he entered New College, Oxford. Alan began his military involvement with the Melbourne University Regiment and subsequently served with the 2/14 Battalion from 1940–44. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel and received the Territorial Decoration in 1957, confirmed by two clasps in 1963 and 1969.

He suffered severe injuries in action in the Syrian campaign and, while recuperating, taught himself German—an ironic avocation given the circumstances. His studies afforded him insight into the great German writers, and this understanding removed any lingering resentment he may have harboured towards his tormentors: a true vindication of the study of the humanities, and particularly of what Matthew Arnold described as “the best that has been thought and written.”

After returning to Australia, Alan lectured in Classics at the University of Melbourne before accepting positions as Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Nottingham, and later as Senior Lecturer in Humanity at the University of Glasgow. In 1959, he returned permanently to Australia as Warden of Hytten Hall and Reader in Classics at the University of Tasmania.

In 1960, he accepted an appointment at the University of New England, Armidale, where he was initially Master of Wright College and then Reader in Comparative Philology, until his nominal retirement in 1984. He continued to supervise students, conduct research, and advise on academic matters for the next 20 years.

The breadth of his scholarship may be gauged from his major publications: The Importance of Music (1967), Horace the Minstrel (1969), An Anzac Diary (1993), and Lyra (1994). He was undoubtedly one of Australia’s greatest philologists and classical scholars.

Alan had a profound knowledge of the structure of language and devised entire etymologies for obscure dialects. His understanding of Classical Greek and Latin was peerless, and he corresponded with colleagues worldwide using elegant lyric quatrains. He was also considered an international authority in Sanskrit and Syriac, as well as modern languages as diverse as Russian and Chinese. Though diffident about his vast knowledge, he would admit, somewhat grudgingly, to “a nodding acquaintance with about 80 languages.” The phrase encapsulates his essential humility and self-deprecating demeanour.

He was unfailingly courteous in his dealings with students, colleagues, friends, and family—a thorough gentleman at all times. His exceptional contribution to the academic and military life of our country was acknowledged with the award of the Carey Medal in 2002.

Alan is survived by his daughters, Anna and Jeannie, and grandchildren Sarah, Katy, and Alex. His wife, Bronnie (herself a distinguished academic), and daughter, Meg, predeceased him.

In his great work Agamemnon, Aeschylus reminds us that “a god from afar looks graciously upon a gentle master.” Surely, all the denizens of Olympus have now risen in obeisance to the “arch-especial spirit that heaved” in Alan Treloar.

Written by David Morgan, with thanks to Gavan Burn