Claremont Teachers College was

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

’s first post-secondary teaching institution. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1981, when it became a College of Advanced Education and later a campus of

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Aust ...

. The building is on land between Goldsworthy, Princess and Bay Roads in the western

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia suburb of Claremont. It is a large two storey

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

building set in extensive grounds, with a distinctive square

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

tower, and was entered in the Register of the National Estate in 1987.

Background

In 1847 the General Board of Education was established to oversee school development in the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

. After becoming the Central Board of Education, it was superseded by the Education Department in 1893, which classified schools, graded teachers, defined teachers' positions, implemented a

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...

scale for teachers, abolished school fees, provided for co-educational schools, and made attendance compulsory for children between the ages of six and 14. At this time, the Education Department had "external study" for student teachers, where they taught in the

classroom A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education ...

while studying for examinations set by the Department. In 1902, the College was opened and students could gain qualifications through studying there. It was the only place one could do this until the 1950s when the Churchlands and Graylands colleges opened. The function of teacher education did not pass into the university sector until the 1980s. The College's last Director was Thomas Ryan (1924-2002), who completed his teacher training at the College and graduated in 1947. He was appointed Vice-Principal of the College in 1972, a position he held until his appointment as Director of the College in 1980. The campus served for 16 years as a campus of

following that institution's formation in 1989. The campus was then acquired by the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and became home to the Confucius Institute,

University of Western Australia Press UWA Publishing, formerly known as the Text Books Board and then University of Western Australia Press, is a Western Australian publisher established in 1935 by the University of Western Australia. It produces a range of non-fiction and fiction t ...

and

Taylors College Taylors College is a provider of university preparation programs in Australia and New Zealand. Established in Melbourne, Australia in 1920, Taylors College is a private school that provides secondary school education (Year 10 - Year 12) and sp ...

Notable graduates

* Arthur Raymond Tonkin Labor politician * Kim Beazley senior, Labor

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Harry Butler William Henry "Harry" Butler (25 March 1930 – 11 December 2015) was an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant, best known as the presenter of the popular ABC television series ''In the Wild'' from 1976 to 1981. He was a househo ...

naturalist *

Nugget Coombs Herbert Cole "Nugget" Coombs (24 February 1906 – 29 October 1997) was an Australian economist and public servant. He is best known for having been the first Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, in which capacity he served from 1960 to 19 ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Rica Erickson Frederica Lucy "Rica" Erickson , née Sandilands, (10 August 1908 – 8 September 2009) was an Australian naturalist, botanical artist, historian, author and teacher. Without any formal scientific training, she wrote extensively on botany and b ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and author *

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

, artist/musician *

May Lorna O'Brien May Lorna O'Brien BEM (20 May 1932 – 1 March 2020) was an Australian educator and author. Life and career Born May Lorna Miller of the Wongatha people, in Laverton, Western Australia, at the age of five she was removed to the Mount Marga ...

, Aboriginal educator and author *

Noel Robins David Noel Robins, OAM (3 September 1935 – 22 May 2003) was an Australian sailor. He began sailing as a child, and became partially quadriplegic after receiving a spinal fracture from a car crash at the age of 21. He was the sk ...

, sailor

References

{{Authority control Teachers colleges in Australia Education in Perth, Western Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the Town of Claremont Claremont, Western Australia