The University of Sydney was established via the passage of the University of Sydney Act [1] in 1850. In 1852, the University was inaugurated in the Big Schoolroom of what is now Sydney Grammar School, and in 1858 received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria, giving degrees conferred by the University equal rank and recognition as those given by universities in the United Kingdom [2]. By 1859, the University had moved to its current site in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown.