Foundation

1958 - Planning for an Institute of Teachers

The following account of the foundation of the College comes from The Founders’ Convention, published by F.W. Cheshire Melbourne in 1960.

“There have been many discussions among educators in Australia about the possibility and advisability of forming a professional organisation which would include teachers at all levels and from every type of education. It is impossible to determine what were the first steps which led to the formation of The Australian College of Education. However, it is clear that the College really began when fourteen Headmasters of the Victorian Independent Schools, fourteen High School Headmasters and three University Professors were entertained to dinner at Wesley College on 6 June 1958, and afterwards discussed the possibility of creating some kind of Institute of Teachers.

“Everyone present at that meeting was so enthusiastic and so determined to make the attempt to form such a body that a small representative committee was elected. This committee was asked to prepare a statement of aims and organisation and to report back to a larger and more representative gathering as soon as possible.

“The committee presented its report on 1 August 1958 to a meeting of forty people who represented the different fields and aspects of education in Victoria. Once again the idea of the formation of a professional body of educators was most enthusiastically received. The proposals of the committee were discussed in detail and, after some amendment, were adopted by the meeting. A Provisional Council was elected. This Council was instructed to use the amended statement of aims and organisation as the basis for a Constitution and to take all necessary steps to found the College.

“The Provisional Council held six meetings and did considerable detailed planning in preparation for the foundation of the College. Due to the considerable interest from other States, Mr C. E. S. Gordon, Headmaster of St. Peter's College, Adelaide, and Mr B. H. Travers, then Headmaster of Launceston Grammar School, attended a number of the Council meetings, and Mr G. E. Hewan, Headmaster of Cranbrook School, Sydney, N.S.W., attended one meeting. In December 1958 a meeting representing the various fields of education was held at Sydney University under the chairmanship of Professor McRae, and the Secretary discussed the whole project with this committee.

“As a result of this meeting a special committee was formed in Sydney to work in liaison with the Provisional Council. Finally, a draft Constitution was ready and 118 people from all over Australia were invited to be present at the Founders' Convention at Geelong Grammar School.”

1959 - The Founders’ Convention

The College was formally established at the Founders’ Convention, held in May 1959 at Geelong Grammar School. For some years before the Convention, the idea of a professional association of teachers had been discussed by a group of independent school headmasters in Victoria. Prominent among these were Dr James Darling, Headmaster of Geelong Grammar School, the Reverend Tom Timpson, Headmaster of Camberwell Grammar Schools, and Brian Hone, a South Australian and State cricketer who had become the Headmaster of Melbourne Grammar School.

Darling wanted a prestigious body of leaders in education, similar to the Royal College of Surgeons or the Australian Academy of Science that had recently been established. He wanted an elite group to raise the status of the teaching profession; all would be Fellows of the College. On the other hand, Brian Hone looked more at involving leaders from both the private school sector and the state schools, and envisaged a broader membership than Darling. He wanted a meeting place for both sectors to work together in a more collaborative way.

Darling selected 118 educators from around Australia – those who attended, and those who lodged an apology became the Founders of the College. The Convention was pure Darling! A welcome by the Archbishop of Melbourne (as President of the Geelong Grammar School Council) with the Victorian Minister of Education present; prefects at the ready to help guests, even to cleaning their shoes overnight, and a Sunday Chapel Service.

During the Convention, Alice Hoy from Melbourne Teachers College and Bessie Mitchell from Cheltenham Girls High School in NSW were elected to the first National Council. They were both mighty women. No sharper mind than that of Alice Hoy has graced the College Council since its inception. And Bessie Mitchell was best known at the time as the President of the NSW Teachers’ Federation. She was a major force in bridging the gap between the industrial side of teachers’ activities and their more professional concerns, and in so doing in the early years of the College, served it well.

Since the Foundation, the College has bridged many gaps in education. Vice Chancellors and professor meet with, and discuss and learn from, classroom teachers in kindergarten and pre-schools. The Founders were concerned that the College should exist for leaders in the teaching profession, from all kinds of educational institutions to meet, share and discuss developments in education. They saw that this unified body might become a leader in educational thought and innovation.

From the 118 Founder Members, the College has grown to a body of several thousand educators, unmatched in kind anywhere in the world.