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The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is an Australian public university, founded by The Hon. Francis Ormond MLA in 1887, in Melbourne, Victoria.

Early history

In 1881, Francis Ormond, a prominent land owner, Freemason, philanthropist and Member of Parliament, offered £5,000 towards the establishment of a Working Men's College, on the condition that the general public contributes a similar sum. During the following five years, the money was raised by the Melbourne Trades Hall Council, which levied support amongst its member unions.

Construction of the Working Men's College began on a site adjacent the Old Melbourne Gaol on La Trobe Street in 1886, and the College opened with a gala ceremony in June 1887. On the night of its opening, the College's original building (now the Francis Ormond Building) took 320 enrolments in technical, business and arts areas, and within 12 months of opening enrolments had risen to over 1000 students.

The Working Men’s College appointed its first full-time instructors in 1899. In the same year, full-time diploma courses were offered for the first time, first in engineering and then applied science. Departments in engineering, chemistry, metallurgy and mining, fitting and turning also began to develop during the turn of the century, which were aided by the substantial fees charged by the College for its full-time courses.

In 1904, the College was incorporated under the Companies Act, whereas prior a board of trustees were personally responsible for the College’s finances. In 1905, the west end of Building 4 (now Building 28) was completed, and housed: printing, plumbing, gas fitting and carpentry trades teaching courses. In 1917, the Art School (now Building 2) was completed and, between 1917 and 1919, the College played a major role in training over 1500 returned Australian World War I servicemen in various trade vocations for post-war life.

After the closure and partial demolishment of the nearby Old Melbourne Gaol, during the 1920s, the College acquired the site for future expansion. In 1929, the remains of Australia's most notorious bushranger, Ned Kelly (who was hanged at the gaol), were believed to have been discovered during the construction of the Kernot Engineering School. These remains were later reinterred Pentridge Prison, and rediscovered in 2008. However, no conclusive evidence suggests the remains are that of Ned Kelly, and many historians believe his remains are still buried under the present day RMIT.

Directly prior to, and during World War II, the College underwent a major expansion, beginning with the completion of the Kernot Engineering School in 1931. In 1934, the College Council agreed to change the name of the Working Men’s College to “The Melbourne Technical College” (incorporating the Working Men's College) after a representation from the Students' Association. During 1937, the Metallurgy Building (now Building 5) was completed as well as the first stage of the Radio School (now Building 9).

Between 1939 and 1945, the College again played a part in training Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) servicemen, this time for World War II. 22,000 servicemen attended the College, mostly Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel training in communications. 2000 civilians were also trained in munition manufacturing, and the government commissioned the College to manufacture parts for the RAAF's Beaufort Bomber.

After World War II, and during the 1950s, the College developed courses in food technology, transport studies, accountancy, real estate and advertising, and the chemical engineering course is also upgraded with the cooperation of the University of Melbourne. Its art syllabuses are also revised and courses in surveying are developed. During this time, the College also embraced the newly devised Colombo Plan, which increased its intake of South East Asian students greatly.

Creation of RMIT

In 1954, the College became the only Australian tertiary institution to be awarded the right of the prefix "Royal", with the associated Monarchy of England regalia, and became the “Royal Melbourne Technical College”. During the 1950s, the neighbouring hall of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (later renamed Storey Hall in 1959) was acquired by the College and its Art School established its reputation as a leader. In 1960, the Council of the College enacted another name change, this time to "Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology", and thus the name "RMIT" was born.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the non-tertiary arm of RMIT is reconstituted as the “Technical College” and it is assumed the Institute and the College would eventually separate. The first computer at RMIT, an Elliott Automation model 803, was acquired at the instigation of the Department of Mathematics during the 1960s, and located on the ground floor of Storey Hall. Also during the 1970s, the Department of Aeronautics began to establish itself as an Australian leader.

The Technical College (TAFE) expanded its courses rapidly during the 1970s, especially in certificates of technology. The tertiary side of RMIT expanded its Business and general studies, and began including industrial research projects in undergraduate engineering degrees, strengthening RMIT's industrial links. In 1979, the adjacent Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy, near the 888 monument on Russell Street, amalgamated with RMIT. The female focused college predominantly covered fashion, textiles and cooking, at the time of the merger.

In 1987, RMIT celebrates its centennial year with a year-long calendar of events and festivals in the city of Melbourne. A time capsule is set in the pavement at the Bowen Street entrance to Building 1. The history of RMIT, dating back to its foundation as the Working Men's College, is written and published as "The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology".

In 1991, RMIT withdrew from an agreement to merge with western suburbs technical institutes, to form what is now known as Victoria University, when the agreement was deemed unacceptable to all parties involved. RMIT later merged with the northern suburbs’ Phillip Institute of Technology in 1992, acquiring the Institutes campuses in Coburg and Bundoora (now Bundoora campus-West).

RMIT was granted formal university status by the Parliament of Victoria in 1992, under the "Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Act (1992)", with Director David Beanland becoming Vice-Chancellor and Mr Ivan Deveson, AO appointed as the foundation Chancellor. In the same year, the new University Board adopted the marketing name, "RMIT University"

Recent history

During the 1990s, RMIT underwent its biggest expansion since World War II. 1992 and 1993 saw the Melbourne College of Decoration and Design's "Department of Visual Merchandising" and "Department of Interior Decoration and Design" amalgamate with RMIT's Faculty of Art and Design to create the TAFE School of Design. In 1994, the University purchased the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works' northern headquarters on Plenty Road in Bundoora (now Bundoora campus-East), and also became the first Australian university to adopt an explicit international strategy.

In 1995, the University opened its Bundoora campus-East and also acquired the state heritage-listed former Melbourne Magistrates' Court and City Watch House on Russell Street, Melbourne (now part of its City campus). Also in 1995, North Melbourne's Melbourne College of Printing and Graphic Arts merged with RMIT, with its courses transferred to the City campus, and the University became a member of the Australian Technology Network, a coalition of five universities with a heritage of working with industry.

In a World first, a PhD at RMIT is researched, supervised, submitted, examined and stored entirely online. First posted online in 1995, the thesis "The Flight of the Ducks" was identified as being of national significance by the National Library of Australia and archived electronically in 1996.

In 1996, the University vacated and sold its inherited campus in Coburg to the City of Moreland, and focused on the development of its East and West Bundoora campuses. During the late 1990s, new buildings were constructed on both campus sites, which went on to win numerous prizes for architecture.

Between 1998 and 1999, the university received the first Australian Export Award for Education in 1998, the Governor of Victoria Award for Education in 1998 and 1999, and the 1999 Business Asia magazine Award for Best Australian Service Activity in Asia. In 1999, the Melbourne Institute of Textiles joined RMIT (now its Brunswick campus), and the university also purchased the derilect state heritate-listed former Capitol Theatre and refurbishing it to architect Walter Burley Griffin's original design.

In 2000, RMIT established an international university in Vietnam known as RMIT International University, Vietnam or "RMIT Vietnam" for short. Its first campus opened near the centre of Ho Chi Minh City in 2001, becoming Vietnam's first foreign-owned university, and a second campus was opened in Hanoi in 2004. All degrees at the international university are accredited by RMIT in Australia and approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education, and its Bachelor of Business was the first non-Chinese degree in the World to also be granted official Chinese Government approval. In its years of operation to date, the Vietnamese Government has awarded RMIT Vietnam five Golden Dragon Awards for Education.

During the early 2000s, RMIT experienced some financial problems, partly due to problems associated with the University's student administration system upgrade, called "Academic Management System" (AU$47 million was spent in this effort). The financial problems eventually claimed the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ruth Dunkin. In 2005, RMIT appointed a new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner, AO. Between 2006 and 2007, the University's finanical problems passed, and it posted operating profits of AU$50.1 million and AU$109.5 million for each year respectively.

As of 2007, the University is undertaking a major upgrade of its City campus in accordance with its "2007-2010 Infrastructure Plan".

References

1. ^ Murray-Smith, S and Dare, A.J (1987): The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Hyland House Publishing, Melbourne, ISBN 0-947062-06-8 Cite error: The named reference "The Tech" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. ^ A Timeline of RMIT history (RMIT Homepage)
3. Archaeologists sift grave for Kelly remains - ABC News, 9 March 2008
4. Doubt on bone find - The Border Mail, 12 March 2008
5. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Act (1992)
6. Bundoora Campus (RMIT Homepage)
7. Brunswick Campus (RMIT Homepage)
8. Capitol Theatre Upgrade (RMIT Property Services)
9. About RMIT Vietman (RMIT Vietnam Homepage)
10. RMIT Vietnam wins fifth consecutive Golden Dragon Award - RMIT VN News, 26 January 2008
11. RMIT back in the black - The Australian, 2 May 2007
12. RMIT records another year of expansion - Openline (RMIT News), 18 April 2008
13. RMIT University Infrastructure Plan - Property Component 2007 - 2010

See also

• RMIT University
• RMIT International University, Vietnam
• Francis Ormond

• RMIT University
• History of Melbourne