Gordon Institute of TAFE
Encyclopedia
The Gordon Institute of TAFE is the TAFE
institute servicing Geelong since 1888. It has 26,000 students studying on-campus, off-campus and in business or industry (2007).
The Gordon has campuses in Geelong, Warrnambool, Victoria
, Colac, Victoria
, East Geelong, Victoria
, Waurn Ponds, Victoria
and Werribee, Victoria
. It was named after General Charles George Gordon
after his death at the Siege of Khartoum
The college had its beginnings in 1885, when 500 people met at the Geelong Town Hall
to decide upon a memorial to General Charles George Gordon
, who died at Khartoum
in January 1885. William Humble
(owner of the Vulcan Foundry
) and George link (Matthew Flinders
school headmaster) decided that a school of art be erected in his honour.
The foundation stone was laid in July 1887 for the first building, Davidson Hall. The land selected for the school was originally part of Johnstone Park, Geelong
. January 16, 1888 saw the first term at the Gordon Memorial Technical College commence. There were 63 students enrolled, in subjects ranging from mechanical drawing, to architecture, and languages.
In 1890 the two storey trade engineering
and chemistry
buildings opened on Fenwick Street. April 1891 saw the three storey administration building open next door. Behind this building a time capsule
was laid. Opened in 1987, the capsule contained copies of Geelong and Melbourne newspapers of the time, as well as reports from the city council. The northern Fenwick Street building was added in 1916, and the Hitchcock art studio in 1910.
In November 1921 the college changed its name to the Gordon Institute of Technology. It was also at this time that the Lascelles chemistry laboratory opened on Gordon Avenue, followed by the Bostock lecture hall next door in 1928.
1927 saw the first buildings at the Moorabool Street campus built, and in 1941 the trade workshops were the first college buildings erected on the Latrobe Terrace side of the railway line. The 1960s saw the first of the modern multi storey buildings built on the site.
In 1969 the Gordon expanded yet again, with land being purchased at Waurn Ponds
. A building for the Applied Sciences was first built, followed by a library and student lodgings in 1975.
On 1 April 1976, Deakin University
was established by merging the Gordon Institute of Technology's higher education courses and Waurn Ponds site with the State College of Victoria at Geelong (previously "Geelong Teachers' College").
The Moorabool St campus and the vocational courses now became Gordon Technical College. At this time this campus was expanded, and the East Geelong
campus opened.
Technical and Further Education
In Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
institute servicing Geelong since 1888. It has 26,000 students studying on-campus, off-campus and in business or industry (2007).
The Gordon has campuses in Geelong, Warrnambool, Victoria
Warrnambool, Victoria
-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
, Colac, Victoria
Colac, Victoria
Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
, East Geelong, Victoria
East Geelong, Victoria
East Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West.The Geelong Botanical Gardens are located in East Geelong....
, Waurn Ponds, Victoria
Waurn Ponds, Victoria
Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
and Werribee, Victoria
Werribee, Victoria
Werribee is a city in Melbourne, Australia, 32 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Werribee had a population of 36,641. Statistically, Werribee is considered part of Greater Melbourne.Werribee is...
. It was named after General Charles George Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
after his death at the Siege of Khartoum
History
The Gordon Institute of TAFE was opened in 1888 as the Gordon Memorial Technical College.The college had its beginnings in 1885, when 500 people met at the Geelong Town Hall
Geelong Town Hall
Geelong Town Hall is a civic building located on Gheringhap Street in central Geelong, Victoria. It was originally built for the City of Geelong, which became the City of Greater Geelong in 1993.-Construction:...
to decide upon a memorial to General Charles George Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
, who died at Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
in January 1885. William Humble
William Humble
William Humble was an English clergyman and cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1873 and 1877....
(owner of the Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
) and George link (Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College
Matthew Flinders Girls' Secondary College is an all-girls high school located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It provides education for students years 7-12.-History:The school opened as Flinders National Grammar School in January 1858....
school headmaster) decided that a school of art be erected in his honour.
Johnstone Park, Geelong
Johnstone Park is a landscaped garden in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is bounded by Railway Terrace, Gheringhap Street, Little Malop Street, Fenwick Street, and Mercer Street. The park is surrounded by civic buildings including the Geelong Town Hall, Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong Library,...
. January 16, 1888 saw the first term at the Gordon Memorial Technical College commence. There were 63 students enrolled, in subjects ranging from mechanical drawing, to architecture, and languages.
In 1890 the two storey trade engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
buildings opened on Fenwick Street. April 1891 saw the three storey administration building open next door. Behind this building a time capsule
Time capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
was laid. Opened in 1987, the capsule contained copies of Geelong and Melbourne newspapers of the time, as well as reports from the city council. The northern Fenwick Street building was added in 1916, and the Hitchcock art studio in 1910.
In November 1921 the college changed its name to the Gordon Institute of Technology. It was also at this time that the Lascelles chemistry laboratory opened on Gordon Avenue, followed by the Bostock lecture hall next door in 1928.
1927 saw the first buildings at the Moorabool Street campus built, and in 1941 the trade workshops were the first college buildings erected on the Latrobe Terrace side of the railway line. The 1960s saw the first of the modern multi storey buildings built on the site.
Waurn Ponds, Victoria
Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and Honeys Road....
. A building for the Applied Sciences was first built, followed by a library and student lodgings in 1975.
On 1 April 1976, Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
was established by merging the Gordon Institute of Technology's higher education courses and Waurn Ponds site with the State College of Victoria at Geelong (previously "Geelong Teachers' College").
The Moorabool St campus and the vocational courses now became Gordon Technical College. At this time this campus was expanded, and the East Geelong
East Geelong, Victoria
East Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West.The Geelong Botanical Gardens are located in East Geelong....
campus opened.