University of Melbourne

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History

The University was established by Hugh Childers in 1853 by an Act of the Victorian Parliament, and classes commenced in 1855 with four professors and sixteen students. The first Chancellor, Redmond Barry, held the position until his death in 1880. The inauguration of the University was made possible by the wealth resulting from Victoria's gold rush, and the University was designed to be a "civilising influence" at a time of rapid settlement and commercial growth (Selleck, 2003). The University was secular, and forbidden from offering degrees in divinity - the churches could only establish Colleges along the northern perimeter. The local population largely rejected the supposed elitism of its professoriate, favouring teaching of 'useful' subjects like law, over those they deemed 'useless' in the city's context, like classics. The townspeople won this debate, and law was introduced in 1857, and medicine and engineering in the 1860s. The admission of women in 1881 was a further victory for Victorians over the more conservative ruling council (Selleck 2003, p164?165). Subsequent years saw many tensions over the direction of the emerging University. For example, in 1902 it was effectively bankrupt, following the discovery of massive fraud by the Bursar, Frederick Dickson. This resulted in a Royal Commission recommending new funding structures, and an extension of disciplinary areas into agriculture and education.

Related Topics:
Hugh Childers - 1853 - 1855 - Redmond Barry - Gold rush

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By the time of World War I, governance was again a pressing concern. The Council, consisting of more businesspeople than professors, obtained real powers in 1923 at the expense of the Senate. Undergraduates could elect two members of the Council. In this period, the University tended to attract students drawn from affluent backgrounds, with a few opportunities for gifted scholarship students. The first Vice-Chancellor to be paid a salary was Raymond Priestley (1936) followed by John Medley in 1939.

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After World War II, demand for Commonwealth-funded student places grew in Australia, and the University followed demand by becoming much larger and more inclusive.

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The University celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2003.

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