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History
Swinburne began with a rather simple premise. To offer technical education to people in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
We’re now an internationally-recognised provider of quality education, an institution with a rich legacy of industry collaborations, and have a reputation for high-impact focused research.
The early years
George Swinburne arrived in Australia as a migrant in 1886 and quickly established himself as a businessman and civic leader.
He was also a practical visionary. In 1907 he put forward a proposal to establish a technical college in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. He had a clear mission in mind: to provide technical education to a sector of society that was otherwise denied further education.
At the time he said: “I see no other method of giving equal opportunity than by increasing the facility of education”. It was a commitment to universal education which continues to underpin everything we do today.
George Swinburne’s vision and passion saw the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established on the 8 July 1908. Eighty young men and boys enrolled in classes for the 1909 school year. Subjects represented the interests of the time. They included carpentry, plumbing and gas fitting.
In 1913 the college changed its name to Swinburne Technical College to commemorate the man who had worked tirelessly towards its inception.
From technical college to university
Reforms post-WWII saw Swinburne develop towards the institution we know today. The curriculum expanded to include mechanical and electrical engineering, chemistry, television and film, and computer programming.
A Student Representative Council was formed in the 1950s, and in 1960 the first international transition course was established in response to the increasing numbers of overseas students. This course set a benchmark for other institutions that introduced similar models.
‘Sandwich’ courses were also introduced, initially in the Civil Engineering degree. They combined academic study with industrial experience and were the precursor to Swinburne’s highly emulated Industry-Based Learning program.
But it was an education revolution in the late 1980s which quickly propelled Swinburne towards university status.
In response to a number of Federal Government reforms of the education system, it was decided that Swinburne should position itself as an inter-sectoral university of technology with a high research profile.
It would have particular responsibility for delivering higher education programs to Melbourne’s Outer East.
Swinburne University of Technology was proclaimed a university on 1 July 1992. Its first Chancellor was self-made businessman and philanthropist, Richard Pratt.
In 1998 Swinburne expanded its reach into Melbourne’s eastern suburbs by amalgamating with the Outer Eastern College of TAFE. We now had classes running at the five campuses that make up Swinburne today: Croydon, Hawthorn, Lilydale, Prahran and Wantirna. In 2000 Swinburne expanded internationally, opening an additional campus at Sarawak, Malaysia.
What began as a local technical college in Hawthorn has now grown to serve communities from the inner to outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and internationally through our presence in Southeast Asia.
Swinburne in the 21st Century
Swinburne is well positioned as we enter the 21st Century.
We have always been a forward thinking institution and that hasn’t changed.
The values on which we were established remain relevant today. It’s a vision that helps us meet the changing needs of society and the challenges of the future.
