IT IS WELL WITHIN living memory, and keenly remembered, that after a long motoring trip across the New England Tablelands of New South Wales, travellers would drive up to the imposing façade of the Armidale Teachers College, on the crest of its hill overlooking that picturesque city which might once have become capital of the Australian state of New England. Indeed, this building could have been its state parliament. Once inside, the cool foyer was a welcome refuge from the heat of the summer sun on the Tablelands; or, if it was in winter, a cosy, warm and welcoming place,…