Loddon Campaspe College of Technical and Further Education (previously known as Bendigo College of TAFE)

Full description

Background

In 1976 the Bendigo College of Advanced Education (VA 1186) was created by the merging of the Bendigo Institute of Technology (VA 3091) and the State College of Victoria at Bendigo (VA 3090). By 1981 the Bendigo C.A.E. operated a Technical and Further Education Division which was known as the Bendigo Technical College.

Bendigo Technical College remained part of the Bendigo C.A.E until 29 June 1983 when the Council of Bendigo College of Technical and Further Education was constituted a body corporate under Section 23 (2) of the Post-Secondary Education Act 1978. From that time onwards the college became an independent institution. The Post-Secondary Education (Amendment) Act No. 9933, which was assented to on 28 June 1983, defined institutions of technical and further education and provided for them to be incorporated under the Act.

Function

Bendigo College of TAFE carried out its academic work organised into five teaching divisions. These were:

applied science division;
arts and personal services division;
building trades division;
business and general studies division; and
engineering trades division.

The college aimed to serve the needs of central and northern Victoria by providing apprentice, post-apprentice and other basic vocational courses; access programs; link programs for secondary students; vocational and tertiary orientation programs; middle level certificate courses; adult leisure classes; and off campus studies.

In 1987 the college was renamed as the Loddon Campaspe College of Technical and Further Education.

Location

The College occupies the original Mechanics Institute buildings at 136 McCrae Street Bendigo. This provides a link in the provision of technical education in Bendigo back to the 1850's when the Mechanics Institute was first established. The buildings were acquired by the School of Mines in c. 1904 and remained the property of the school, and later the Bendigo Institute of Technology and Bendigo C.A.E, until the creation of the College of TAFE.

Location of Records

There are no records of this agency in custody.
File Note

This registration is based on information in the Bendigo College of Technical and Further Education Freedom of Information Part 2 statement, 1984, and on verbal advice given by phone from the college on 19 May 1993. Reference was also made to the summary history of Bendigo C.A.E. prepared in c.1986 which is on file 92/0086 Client - La Trobe University College of Northern Victoria. A copy of that summary history is also on the VA 1186 Bendigo C.A.E. agency file.

I was not able to clarify the degree of independence from the C.A.E. that the Bendigo Technical College was able to exercise. Both the C.A.E. (VA 1186) and the Technical College (VA 1197) were registered by PRO at approximately the same time (by evidence of the closeness of number) but without documentation. The evidence of the information obtained, however, indicates that the Technical College was a part of the C.A.E. until the TAFE College was established in 1984. I have therefore chosen to retain the agency number VA 1197 for the TAFE college.