La Trobe University


La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria and the twelfth university in Australia. La Trobe is one of the Australian verdant universities and also part of the Innovative Research Universities group.
La Trobe's original and principal campus is located in the Melbourne metropolitan area, within the northern Melbourne suburb of Bundoora. It is the largest metropolitan campus in the country, occupying over. It has two other major campuses located in the regional Victorian city of Bendigo and the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. There are two smaller regional campuses in Mildura and Shepparton and a city campus in Melbourne's CBD on Collins Street and in Sydney on Elizabeth Street.
La Trobe offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses across its ten schools.

History

The university was established in 1964 following the assent of the La Trobe University Act by Victorian Parliament on 9 December 1964. The passing of the Act of Victorian Parliament to establish La Trobe University followed earlier University Acts to establish the University of Melbourne and Monash University. The Minister of Education at the time and the appointed planning council were "unanimous in their enthusiasm that the new institution should be innovative in its approach", and the university adopted an academic structure based on schools of studies and a collegiate format, where a large number of students lived on campus. At this time, Flinders University and Macquarie University were also establishing a schools-based system.
Many prominent Victorians were involved in La Trobe's establishment process, and there was a strong belief that it was important to increase research and learning in Victoria. One of the major individuals involved was Davis McCaughey, who later became Governor of Victoria. The university was named after Charles Joseph La Trobe, the first Governor of Victoria, and the university motto, 'whoever seeks shall find', is adapted from Charles La Trobe's family motto. The La Trobe University Coat of Arms incorporates the scallop shells from the La Trobe family bearings, the Australian wedge-tailed eagle to represent Australia, and sprigs of heath to represent Victoria.

Origins

The origins of La Trobe can be traced back to the post-World War II era when÷ there emerged a global recognition of the need to increase facilities for higher education. In 1957 the prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies, established a special committee to report on the future of Australian universities, inviting Sir Keith Murray, chairman of the University Grants Committee of Great Britain, to chair it. The Murray Committee, in a far-reaching report submitted in September 1957, recommend a major expansion of university facilities in Australia and changes in administration and financing.
As a direct consequence of the key recommendations of the Murray report, the federal government established the Australian Universities Commission in 1959, appointing Sir Leslie Martin as its chair. Menzies appointed Martin to chair a special committee in 1961 to report to the AUC on the rapidly increasing demands for higher education in Australia. In August 1963 it released its second report, which recognised the urgency of Victoria's situation, stating that "the resources of Melbourne and Monash Universities are not likely to meet the long-term demands for university education beyond 1966. The Commission therefore is willing to support in the 1964–1966 triennium the extension of university facilities in the Melbourne metropolitan area." Following the recommendations the federal government passed the Universities Assistance Bill in October 1963, providing a grant for a "third" university for recurrent expenditure in 1965 of $106,000 and $210,000 in 1966. The first capital grant was for 1966 and amounted to $1,000,000. These grants were to be matched by equivalent state grants.

Establishment

Third University Committee

In April 1964, Sir Archibald Glenn was invited by the Victorian premier, Sir Henry Bolte, to chair a "Third University Committee". In addition to Glenn, 13 other members were announced on 21 May 1964. The committee, therefore, consisted of:
The terms of reference of the committee were to advise the government on all matters concerning the establishment of a third Victorian university. This consisted of "the selection of the site, the preparation of a detailed development program, planning and calling tenders for buildings, the formulating of an administrative structure, the appointment of an Academic Planning Board and the recruitment of key staff." It was planned that La Trobe would enrol students, if possible, in March 1967.

Selecting the site

The first meeting of the committee occurred on 2 June 1964 in the rooms of the Historical Society of Victoria on Victoria Street. From there, they acted promptly in seeking out a suitable metropolitan location, inspecting 27 sites from a list of 57 possibilities.
The main constraints facing all options were area – "adequate for a full and balanced university"; cost – preferably Crown owned land, as private land would require large compensation payments; and locality – somewhere reasonably close to the demographic centre of Melbourne and to public transport.
A subcommittee, headed by Phillip Law, quickly recognised that "somewhere on the eastern side of Melbourne stands out as the right location", however, Monash was already growing in the southeastern suburbs so an alternative area was sought. An early list of possibilities read:
Outer – Bundoora, Lilydale.
Inner – Burnley Horticultural College, Wattle Park, Caulfield Racecourse, Kew Mental Asylum
Selection of an inner site was unlikely, as they were mostly "either inadequate or unattainable, especially the racecourse", however, the Kew site was a real possibility.
The "ultimate choice" was unanimously agreed upon by the end of July, resulting in the farm attached to the Mont Park Asylum. Cunningham Dax, head of the Mental Health Authority, was "most co-operative", although he raised concerns that the loss of the farm would be serious for the hospital. An alternative site for the farm was procured a little further out on Plenty Road, resolving the issue.

Naming the university

While it was an interesting interpretation of a "local name", La Trobe, proposed by Fitzpatrick, was agreed unanimously upon by the planning committee after some alternatives, such as Deakin, were "thoughtfully put aside". Victorian State Parliamentarians, however, were far from unanimous when they came to debate the La Trobe University Bill.
Sir Archibald Glenn, chairman of the committee, provided a concise summary as to why La Trobe was chosen:
"Lieutenant-Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe has great historic significance for Victoria and his name is recognised internationally. La Trobe was not a university man... but he appears to have had almost every quality, one would desire in one. He had a lively interest in every aspect of life of the community, the will to work for the good of other men, and a sense of responsibility towards prosperity."
The Victorian Minister for Education, Sir John Bloomfield, upon presenting the enabling bill to the Victorian parliament, reflected on the influence of Charles La Trobe in the foundation of the University of Melbourne over 100 years before, concluding "my most satisfying reflection at this moment is that my father's father sought for gold in our hills, and he knew this city in the days of the man whom, at the behest of others, I am now trying to acknowledge. If Providence and this Parliament will it, my son's son may be taught in his aura and tradition."
Although La Trobe, like his father, used "La Trobe" and "Latrobe" interchangeably, the committee selected the spelling that was predominantly used by his side of the family.

Interim council

Following the passing of the La Trobe University Act, the interim council was established in December 1964. Aside from Sir Michael Chamberlin and Kathleen Fitzpatrick, who indicated they were unavailable, all members of the Third University Committee were appointed to the interim council, with Sir Archibald Glenn remaining as chairman. Additional members of the interim council were:
Sir Thomas Cherry died late in 1966, prior to the final meeting of the interim council. All other members automatically became members of council upon its establishment with the first meeting held on 19 December 1966. It was this meeting that Sir Archibald was elected as chancellor of the university.