The University of WA will be celebrating its Centenary between 2011 and 2013 and Convocation is sponsoring the establishment of the UWA Historical Society as a Centenary Project.
Oedipus Rex production – Sunken Garden 1948
(6050P courtesy of UWA Archives)
You are invited to celebrate our university history
If you can answer yes to any of the above you are invited to join in the activities of the new UWA Historical Society. You are welcome to attend society events, add to discussion or simply exchange memories. If you would like to share in the history of this beautiful campus, contact Shobha Cameron, telephone (+61 8) 6488 3556 for further information.
The University was established by act of Parliament in 1911 and lectures began in the Irwin Street buildings in Perth in 1913 with 184 students enrolled in Arts, Science and Engineering. The city campus was fondly referred to as Tin Pot Alley. A number of sites were considered for the permanent University including central Perth, West Perth and Shenton Park. The Crawley site was at first considered too marshy, prone to flooding and might give the students rheumatism! Nevertheless in 1914 the lectures for Mining and Engineering were transferred from the city to Crawley homestead (later known as Shenton House) on Matilda Bay and upon completion of the Hackett memorial buildings in 1932, the entire University relocated to Crawley. UWA was the first free university in the British Commonwealth of Nations. One hundred years have elapsed in the history of the campus and there are now 20,000 students and 4,000 staff located at numerous sites in the metropolitan and regional areas of WA.
The benefits of membership are