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Curtin University — news, coverage & facts — IJR

History

Curtin University was founded in 1966 as the Western Australian Institute of Technology. The four people who drove its establishment were Lesley Phillips, who was Superintendent of Technical Education from 1943 to 1948; George Hayman, who held the same position from 1948 to 1962; T. L. Robertson, Director of Education; and Haydn Williams, Director of Technical Education.

Its nucleus comprised the tertiary programs of the Perth Technical College, which opened in 1900. The university's Bentley campus was selected in 1962 and officially opened in 1966. The first students enrolled in 1967. Haydn Williams was the first director of WAIT.

In 1969, three more institutions were merged with WAIT: the Kalgoorlie School of Mines (opened in 1902), the Muresk Agricultural College (opened in 1926), and the Schools of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy (in operation since the 1950s at Shenton Park). Between 1966 and 1976 WAIT experienced an expansion from 2,000 to 10,000 students.

In December 1986 WAIT was made a university, under provisions of the Western Australian Institute of Technology Amendment Act 1986. Curtin University took its name from former Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin. In 1987, Curtin University of Technology became Western Australia's third university and Australia's first university of technology. By the mid-1990s, it had enrolments of 20,000 students, making it one of Australia's largest universities.

In 1993, Curtin founded a graduate business school in St Georges Terrace. In 2002 it was moved to Murray Street, where it remains. The school was developed on the foundation of Curtin's existing Master of Business Administration program.

In 2005, Curtin and Murdoch University were engaged in a feasibility study into the possibility of a merger. On 7 November 2005, the institutions announced that a merger would not be undertaken.

In 2008, Curtin opened a campus in Singapore, its second offshore presence. In 2009, Curtin became the first university in the Australian Technology Network to be listed on the Academic Ranking of World Universities of research universities.

In 2010, Curtin dropped the "of Technology" suffix, from then operating as "Curtin University".

Perth and regional WA

Curtin University's main campus is in Bentley, Western Australia, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-east of the Perth central business district. The campus was developed on a former pine plantation established in the 1930s.

Curtin has multiple smaller off-site campuses in the Perth metropolitan area. The Graduate School of Business building is in the Perth central business district in the renovated former Government Printing Office, and the law school is on Murray Street in the old Public Health Department and Chief Secretary's building, a listed building on the State Register of Heritage Places. In 2016, Curtin entered into an agreement with the National Trust of Australia (WA) to use the restored Old Perth Boys' School at 139 St Georges Terrace for community and industry engagement. In 2018, Curtin renovated the original Perth Technical College building at 137 St Georges Terrace to create meeting rooms and learning spaces for professional development and postgraduate courses. Curtin opened a medical campus near St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals in November 2019.

Curtin operated a campus in the suburb of Joondalup, which opened in 1994. It was operated in conjunction with the Australian Institute for University Study. The campus was closed around 2005. After being abandoned for several years it is now used for North Metropolitan TAFE campus.

Exploration Geophysics and Petroleum Engineering are at the co-location research facilities of the Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC), which also houses offices of CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering and National Measurement Institute. The ARRC is in the Technology Park Bentley, adjacent to the main Bentley campus. Some university staff, researchers and students on practicum work in other locations, such as the Oral Health Centre of WA (OHCWA) in Nedlands and at Royal Perth Hospital, amongst other organisations.

Curtin has two bus stations, connected to the Transperth public transport network. The stations are also linked to the Mandurah railway line's Canning Bridge Station by a shuttle bus service. Curtin also has an internal bus network trialling autonomous buses on campus.

Curtin has campuses outside Perth, the largest being the Western Australian School of Mines at Kalgoorlie, and a number of micro-campuses in Esperance, Margaret River, Geraldton, and elsewhere. Nursing is the only course offered in Geraldton. The Muresk Institute at Northam left Curtin in 2012.

The Hayman Theatre was established in 1973 as Hayman Hall, for the use of theatre arts students. The Hall's name derives from George Hayman, who played a major part in establishing WAIT in 1967. The theatre study company Theatreground as well as the Western Australian Theatre Company used the space. It was refurbished in 1977, creating the Theatre Upstairs above the main stage. After the Bentley Campus was expanded, in 2017 Hayman Theatre moved to Building 302.