Oedipus Rex production – Sunken Garden 1948
(6050P courtesy of UWA Archives)

You are invited to celebrate our university history

• Were you a student at UWA?
• Did you teach or work on campus?
• Do you love wandering through the grounds or watching Festival films under the stars?

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.

Early campus history

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.

Become a member

The benefits of membership are

• associating with those who have an interest in the history of the University
• sharing information and memories of staff and student life on campus
• engaging in research and archival projects in association with the Centre for WA History and UWA archives
• participating in academic and social events of an historical nature

Our objectives

• encourage appreciation of University history amongst staff, students, graduates and the community
• create a fellowship of persons interested in the history of the campus
• promote University projects of an historical nature
• contribute to the development of the University's historical record
• collect and catalogue historical University artefacts
• encourage historical displays of University material
• improve access to University historical resources

Committee members

• Emeritus Professor Reg Appleyard AM - President
• Winthrop Professor David Plowman - Vice President
• Simon Dawkins - ex officio - Warden of Convocation
• Ian Passmore OAM - Convocation Centenary Coordinator
• Dr Jean Chetkovich - Director, Centre for UWA History
• Ron Bodycoat AM - UWA consulting heritage architect
• Dr Joan Pope OAM
• Shobha Cameron - Executive Officer - UWA heritage officer
• Maria Carvalho - UWA archivist