| After years of local lobbying for a Technical School in Box Hill, the doors of the Box Hill Technical School for Girls and Women welcomed its first 65 junior pupils on 31st March 1924. Another 161 seniors enrolled in April that year. On 4th September 1924 the Minister for Education Mr John Lemmon MLA, officially opened the school. The range of subjects available reflected the education and training priorities of the early 20th century. Core subjects included Housewifery, Cooking, Dressmaking, and Millinery. Through these courses girls gained skills to equip them for their main role in life: that of wife and mother. Some girls went on to undertake vocational courses related to paid employment including bookkeeping, secretarial work and professional dressmaking. On 2nd February 1943, almost 20 years later, the Box Hill Boys’ Technical School opened its doors to 470 junior students. Many boys seeking technical education had been turned away from Swinburne Technical School, the nearest technical school in the eastern suburbs. The subjects offered included Carpentry, Sheetmetal, Machine Shop Practice and Technical Drawing. In the mid-1960s both technical schools expanded their subject range to include post-secondary options including Certificate courses in Business, Engineering, Electronics and Clothing Studies. By the early 1970s the technical schools had been re-named as technical colleges and their Technical and Further Education (TAFE) course enrolments expanded rapidly. The original Girls’ Technical School was renamed Whitehorse Technical College in 1971 when its new building in Whitehorse Road was opened officially. Box Hill Technical College was one of the first of seven technical colleges to separate its TAFE programs from the secondary technical offerings. In October 1981 Box Hill College was officially re-named as a College of TAFE, with Whitehorse Technical College declared as a TAFE entity in December of 1981. On 25th January 1984 the Whitehorse College of TAFE and Box Hill College of TAFE amalgamated to provide the most diverse range of programs in the TAFE system. From those early days of 65 junior students, today the Box Hill Institute provides education and training programs and services to students on four campuses, numerous industry-based campuses, as well as home and work-based study programs. Our programs and services are offered locally, nationally and internationally. |
