The University of Western Australia
Established 1911 - History to Date
UWA was founded thanks largely to the vision, tenacity and financial support of Sir John Winthrop Hackett, owner and editor of a major Western Australian newspaper in the early 1900s.
The University of Western Australia (UWA) was established in 1911 as the State's first university. It was also the first free university in the British Empire, actively promoting equal access to tertiary education for all social classes.
The University was established due largely to the efforts of Sir John Winthrop Hackett, who had a long-standing vision and passion to provide Western Australia with a university. Proprietor and editor of The West Australian newspaper, he chaired a Royal Commission which recommended the establishment of a university. Later he was the founding Chancellor and bequeathed more than £425,000 (the equivalent of more than $32 million today) to the University.
There was consensus among legislators of the time that the University not only be free, but also provide tertiary education of a practical nature to help develop Western Australia's pioneering economy. At the time of the University's foundation, Perth's population was just 121,000 and its economy relied mostly on agricultural, pastoral and mining industries.
As a result, the founding professorial appointments were in Agriculture, Mining and Engineering, Geology, Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, History and Economics, Biology and English. These were balanced to an extent by the appointment of lecturers in Classics and Ancient History, French and German, Mental and Moral Philosophy, and Veterinary Science. Overarching these posts were three faculties – Engineering, Science and Arts.
Humble beginnings
The University began operation in 1913 as a group of timber houses in Irwin Street, central Perth.
In 1913, the University opened its doors to 184 students. They attended buildings with timber walls and corrugated iron roofs on a temporary site in Irwin Street, in what is now the Perth central business district. The number of buildings at Irwin Street grew slowly to accommodate more students. One structure – which accommodated the birth of the Labour Party of Western Australia - was transported from Coolgardie, 580 kilometres north-east of Perth.
High hopes for the fledgling university were put under a dark cloud the following year with the outbreak of the First World War. Many students and staff volunteered for military service and the local economy was hit badly, affecting its ability to fund the University.
New campus
Construction of the Memorial Hackett Buildings was completed in 1932 on the current Crawley site, about five kilometres from central Perth.
Once the war ended, UWA developed quickly. Thanks to the generous bequest from Sir Winthrop Hackett's estate, building began in 1929 on a 51-hectare site in Crawley, about five kilometres west of Perth. The grand, Mediterranean-style Winthrop Hall with its imposing clock tower, Hackett Hall and administration buildings were completed in 1932. The gothic-style St Georges College - the University's first student residence - was also built with funds from the bequest and completed in 1931.
The move from Irwin Street to Crawley started in 1925 and was complete by 1932. The Irwin Street buildings were moved to the current site, one of which remains in operation today as The University's archives centre and cricket club pavilion. Fully restored and reopened in 1987, it now sits on the edge of James Oval, also serving as one of the many campus landmarks.
Law had become the University's fourth faculty in 1927 and, by 1930, student enrolments had reached over 600.
Dark times
Student recruits leaving St George's College Chapel for the battlefields of World War II.
Following the Second World War, UWA regained its earlier momentum as the economy recovered and demand for university education grew.
The Great Depression (beginning in 1929) and the Second World War (1939-1945) again froze development at the University.
The exception was the breakaway of Agriculture from Science to form a new faculty in 1936.
Through ties with the then newly formed Institute of Agriculture, the Faculty of Agriculture was to become home to research laboratories for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research for many years.
The faculty has developed today into the best of its kind in Australia and among the top 50 in the world.
Post-war recovery
Shortly after the Second World War, The University started to regain momentum with enrolments reaching 1000. UWA achieved unprecedented growth from the mid 1950s through to the 1960s thanks to two concurrent factors: a booming economy and a spike in demand for university education.
Governments had a major impetus to support the university as a better-educated workforce was seen as one of the keys to achieving policies on industrial development. To ensure higher education was given priority, the Federal Government took over responsibility of funding all Australian universities. UWA finally had the money it required to fulfil its long-term objectives.
The post-war baby boom had also created a larger and younger population which was enjoying a high standard of living and better secondary education. As a result, more young people were not only eligible to enter The University, they also wanted a degree to improve their opportunities.
Student numbers grew to 2000 by 1956 and had almost doubled to 3,800 by the end of 1962, including 166 enrolments for master's degrees and 99 for doctorates. With larger student numbers, came a dramatic increase in academic staff numbers, leaping from 91 in 1953 to 247 in 1966.
Another four faculties were created by 1956, bringing the total to nine. In addition to Arts, Law, Engineering, Agriculture and Science, new faculties were created when:
- Education separated from Arts in 1947
- Economics split from Arts in 1954
- the Faculty of Dentistry was created in 1946 and
- the Faculty of Medicine was founded in 1956.
New challenges
New directions in research... Doctors Ted Maslen (left), Syd Hall (middle) and Alan White helped produce cutting-edge computer software in 1975 which analysed large amounts of data on the properties of crystalline substances.
Enrolments grew to 10,195 in 1975 and started tapering off in 1976 as Commonwealth funding and student quotas were cut across Australia. Funding for UWA was also diverted to finance UWA's first major competitor, the newly-created Murdoch University.
With the entry of several other tertiary institutions into Perth during the 1960s and 1970s, UWA was no longer expected to be the sole deliverer of all higher education in Western Australia. Consequently, The University was able to be more specific in its goals and priorities than it had in the past.
At the same time, it had to meet the changing needs of the Western Australian community, which had become more affluent and industrialised. Significant growth had also occurred in mining, commercial and financial sectors as well as the public service.
Over the next two decades enrolments slowly climbed to 12,791 in 1994 and then began to increase more rapidly to 21,091 in 2009. Currently there are over 24,000 students enrolled.
2012 has been a year of significant change for the University with the introduction of a new course structure. The model of broad undergraduate studies followed by a postgraduate professional qualification is in line with leading universities across the world and has been designed to produce well-rounded graduates, as well as provide multiple entry opportunities for a wide range of students.
Celebrating our centenary
In 2013, The University will celebrate its centenary.
A series of special events is being organised and the UWA community (past and present) and the wider community are being asked to help plan and celebrate our important milestones.