Claremont Teachers College

Claremont Teachers College
The Claremont Teachers College in December 2021
General information
Type	Heritage-listed building
Location	Claremont, Western Australia
Coordinates	31°59′14″S 115°47′17″E
Western Australia Heritage Register
Type	State Registered Place
Designated	6 March 1992
Reference no.	482

Claremont Teachers College was Western Australia's first post-secondary teaching institution. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1981, when it became a College of Advanced Education then a campus of Edith Cowan University before being acquired by the University of Western Australia. The building is on land between Goldsworthy, Princess and Bay Roads in the western Perth, Western Australia suburb of Claremont.^[1] It is a large two storey limestone building set in extensive grounds, with a distinctive square crenellated tower, and was entered in the Register of the National Estate in 1987.^[2]

Background

In 1847 the General Board of Education was established to oversee school development in the Swan River Colony. After becoming the Central Board of Education, it was superseded by the Education Department in 1893, which classified schools, graded teachers, defined teachers' positions, implemented a salary scale for teachers, abolished school fees, provided for co-educational schools, and made attendance compulsory for children between the ages of six and 14.^[3] At this time, the Education Department had "external study" for student teachers, where they taught in the classroom while studying for examinations set by the department.^[4]

In 1902, the college was opened and students could gain qualifications through studying there. It was the only place one could do this until the 1950s when the Churchlands and Graylands colleges opened. The function of teacher education did not pass into the university sector until the 1980s.

The college's last Director was Thomas Ryan (1924–2002), who completed his teacher training at the college and graduated in 1947. He was appointed Vice-Principal of the college in 1972, a position he held until his appointment as director of the college in 1980.^[5]

The campus served for 16 years as a campus of Edith Cowan University following that institution's formation in 1989. The campus was then acquired by the University of Western Australia and became home to the Confucius Institute, University of Western Australia Press and, until 2021, Taylors College.^[6][7]

Notable graduates

• Kim Beazley senior,^[8] Labor politician
• Harry Butler, naturalist
• Nugget Coombs,^[9] economist and public servant
• Rica Erickson, historian and author
• Rolf Harris, artist/musician^[10]
• May Lorna O'Brien, Aboriginal educator and author
• Noel Robins,^[11] sailor
• Arthur Tonkin, Labor politician
• John Tonkin, Labor politician^[12]

References

1. "Our location".
2. State heritage register listing Archived 28 November 2012 at archive.today
3. "The Collection – Education and School Records". Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
4. "Information Management & Archive Services". 9 November 2017.
5. "Edith Cowan University – Development and Alumni Office". Archived from the original on 23 September 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
6. "Our location".
7. "Taylors College Perth". University of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
8. "Kim Edward Beazley – Member for Fremantle 1945-1977". 18 December 2006.
9. Nugget Coombs: A Reforming Life by Tim Rowse, 2002
10. ABC News
11. "First-time gold for Paralympics sailor". The Courier-Mail. 2 June 2003. p. 24.
12. Cowdell, John (2021). "Tonkin, John Trezise (1902–1995)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 19. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Published online 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2024