Farrago (magazine)

The term "farrago", from Latin 'mixed cattle fodder',^[3] means a confused variety of miscellaneous things. It has been used by Edward Tylor in his book Primitive Culture.^[4] The name is included in the motto (drawn originally from the Satires of Juvenal) Quidquid agunt homines nostri farrago libelli est – "whatever men do forms the motley subject of our page" which was written on the first issue of the famous eighteenth-century periodical Tatler.

The publication was founded in 1925 by Randal Heymanson, who was the first editor,^[5] and Brian Fitzpatrick, who was the first chief of staff.^[6][7]

For a number of years, Farrago was published in a newspaper or broadsheet format.^[8] In the 2000s, Farrago switched to a magazine format, which it continues to use today.^[9]

In 2025, Farrago celebrated its 100th anniversary alongside the University's ALP and Liberal Clubs.^[10] On 11 September 2025, a centenary gala was held at the Victorian Trades Hall to mark Farrago's 100th anniversary,^[11] with over 160 attendees, including Farrago alumni. The publication also hosted an exhibition at the George Paton Gallery called ‘Farrago 100: Showcasing a Century of Student Media’.^[12]

Up to four editors are elected annually and hold the shared title of Media Officer at the University of Melbourne Student Union, with the union secretary being the legally defined publisher. The editorship has been highly politicised in the past, and election campaigns are vigorous.

Archives of Farrago are available at the Student Union's Rowden White Library and the University of Melbourne's Baillieu Library.

Noteworthy past editors include Cyril Pearl, Geoffrey Blainey, Amirah Gust, Claude Forell, Ian Robinson, Morag Fraser, Henry Rosenbloom, Garrie Hutchinson, Ross McPherson, Colin Golvan, Lindsay Tanner, Peter Russo, Louise Carbines, Jim Brumby, Pete Steedman, Arnold Zable, Kate Legge, Nicola Gobbo, Cathy Bale, Christos Tsiolkas, and Nam Le.^[13]

Farrago is a magazine whose content is produced and edited entirely by students, which aims to be a voice, creative outlet and source of information for those who attend the University of Melbourne – irrespective of age, course and interests. Farrago encourages contributions from students in both written and/or visual forms, because without these it would not be an accurate representation of students at the university.

Farrago contains the following sections: News, Non-Fiction, Creative. It previously contained a Science section, which was discontinued in recent years. Farrago also features regular columns from several student writers.^[14]

Every year, the Media Office holds the Fitzpatrick Awards ceremony to celebrate and acknowledge the publication's contributors and volunteers. The first annual Fitzpatrick Awards were held in 2009 at Dante's Emporium and Cafe in Fitzroy.^[40] The ceremony is named after the publication's first chief of staff, Brian Fitzpatrick.

In addition to editing Farrago, the University of Melbourne Student Union Media Officers oversee several related projects.

Despite the magazine's commitment to providing a voice to a diverse range of contributors regardless of political persuasion, the editorial partisanship of the publication has varied under different editors. Zoe Efron, one of Farrago's 2014 editors, noted that the front cover of a 1974 edition of Farrago consisted of an ad for the then-Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. She also noted that overt partisanship was still visible more recently, with a late 2013 edition of Farrago featuring a cover illustration of Tony Abbott with the caption "WE'RE FUCKED".^[49]