University of Queensland Debating Society
organization
The University of Queensland Debating Society (UQDS) is the debating society of the University of Queensland. It has been recognised as one of the oldest and most active student societies at the University of Queensland and one of the most active and successful university debating societies in the world. The UQ Debating Society was also a founding member of the University of Queensland Union.
History
The University of Queensland Debating Society was officially established in 1960; however debating has been present at the University of Queensland since its formation in 1909.
In 1932, the UQ Intervarsity Debating Society organised in Brisbane the first ever national intervarsity debating tournament with all six Australian universities at the time (Melbourne, Tasmania, Sydney, Adelaide, Western Australia, and Queensland).
As was described in the UQ student publication, Semper Floreat, in 1937, "the Society offers a unique opportunity to undergraduates to express themselves on all sorts of heterogeneous topics, to deliver their pet heresies and to slander their friends in a comparatively sheltered academic atmosphere... So don't forget to roll along to the first debate with all your pet theories and subjects. If you have never spoken before you are like most of us—but don't leave it too late to begin. The sooner you start the sooner you reach perfection.'"
In 1953, the UQ Intervarsity Debating Society won the Philippines Cup at the Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships.
Membership
UQDS is made up of approximately 200 members and is open to all students and staff of the University of Queensland.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “University of Queensland Debating Society” as organization. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as organization. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7896187. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1960, 1909, 1932 and 1937.
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This entry incorporates text from “University of Queensland Debating Society” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.