The University of Queensland was established by an act of the Queensland parliament on 10 December 1909. The University's first home was Queensland's original Government House at Gardens Point. Teaching commenced in 1911 with four professors, ten other teaching staff and an enrolment of 83 students, 23 of them women. The St Lucia site for the University of Queensland was purchased in 1927 with funds provided by Dr James O'Neill Mayne and his sister, Miss Mary Emelia Mayne. The title to the land was presented to the Chancellor in 1930, and in 1935 the Queensland Premier, the Hon W. Forgan Smith, announced that the State Government had decided to build a new university on the land at St Lucia. A joint committee of government and university representatives was appointed to investigate the site, draw up plans and report to the government Its members were Dr Melbourne (University representative and chairman), Dr Bradfield (government representative and deputy chairman), J.D. Story (Public Service Commissioner), A.B. Leven (Chief Architect, Department of Public Works) and T.L.Jones (Chairman of the Brisbane and South Coast Hospitals Board). Six plans were presented, by Professor Hawken, Mr Leven, Dr Bradfield and Professor Robinson. All the plans used a topography of the site in a similar manner to A.B. Wilson's original plans of 1926 In 1936 the government appointed the architectural firm of Hennessy Hennessy & Co. Construction of the new campus began in 1937 but war intervened and the site was turned over to the military. The move to St Lucia began in earnest in 1946 and was fully completed by 1972.

Herbert Bruce Green was born on 9 June 1915 in Brisbane. He began working at the University of Queensland in March 1929 as a messenger. He went on to work as Officer-in-charge of records, assistant to the Chief Clerk, Officer-in-charge of Examinations and Student Records, and Assistant Registrar. He worked at the University of Queensland for over 50 years. His only time of absence occurred during the Second World War when he served with the RAAF and spent a number of years with the Small Ships Section of the Allied Transport Service. He married Nina Tatzenko on 3 October 1959. Green played a major part in organising the University's Jubilee Celebrations in 1960. Outside of work he was involved in community organisations. In 1970 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts 'Honoris Causa'. After almost 52 years of service to the University of Queensland, Bruce Green retired in late 1980. He died in 1995.