Walter Spunde

Department of Mathematics & Computing

U.S.Q.

WS has been resident in Australia since 1949 and attended school at a forestry camp outside Chinchilla, in Toowoomba and in Brisbane A graduate of the University of Queensland - B.Sc.with first class honours in mathematics; M.Sc. with research thesis on free convective fluid flow and B.Ed.St by external study; he was a teaching assistant at Queens's University (Kingston, Ontario) from 1967 to 1972 and has taught at USQ and its predecessor, the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, since 1973. At left is a recent view of Riga (Latvia) with its medieval wooden churches on the banks of the river Daugava.

From 1978-1982, Walter Spunde was Head of the Darling Downs Institute Press (DDIP).  He established its regional publishing program in local history, literature and nature studies.  Books published under the program include Mark Brelsford's Land of the Leslies, (the first commercial venture of the DDIP), Gillian Scott's, The Funnelweb and the Pictorial History of the Darling Downs by Maurice French and Duncan Waterson. Science Mag, subsequently published as Australasian Science was established by DDIP in 1980 with WS as editor for the first issue and distributed by Gordon and Gotch. DDIP also took up the publication of the journal Distance Education and acted as Australian agent for the Univsersiti Pertanian Malaysia.

Since 1983, WS has been Principal of Aline Publishing Consultants, publishing Mark Belsford's second collection Sandstone & Cedar and assisting with a number of other publications, including The Ridge (Middle Ridge State School, 1984), They Meant Business (DDIP, 1984), Feet First (Tony Dye, 1985), Out There (Elsie Brimblecombe,1986), School Ties (DDIP, 1986), Teach Yourself DOS (DDIP, 1988) and Exploits of an Uncommon Man (Lorraine Nott, 1989).   From 1979 to 1984, WS was an Executive Member of the Darling Downs Literary Society.