Avondale College - History

History

A small Bible school was commenced in Melbourne in 1892, on the counsel of Ellen G. White. She preferred a rural location, and as a result a search for a rural location was commenced in 1893. A common account is the furrow story, in which Ellen White was reported to have had a vision concerning the land.

Finding land for a college seemed to be an impossible task, as the small church in Australia at the time did not have the finances to support such a project. Eventually the committee searching for the land found a 1,450-acre (5.9 km2) block of land near Cooranbong (121 kilometres (75 mi) north of Sydney) priced at $3 per acre ($741/km²) because of its "poor, sandy and hungry" land. They asked White to inspect the land, who gave her approval. An agricultural expert from the government who was commissioned to look over the land reported that it was of extremely poor quality. The land was purchased in the Spring of 1895, and the Avondale School for Christian Workers was opened there in 1897. In 1911 its name was changed to Australasian Missionary College. The College was a major influence on later Adventist education.

Shortly after 1951, students could study a Bachelor of Science through the external program of the University of London, and a Bachelor of Arts through Pacific Union College. The 1960s was a vital time as the College expanded. In 1964 the institution was renamed to Avondale College and the current men's residence, Watson Hall, and first-year women's residence, Andre Hall, were completed by the following year. In 1974 it received government accreditation to offer bachelor degrees of its own. Masters degrees were first offered in the 1970s, through Andrews University, and from Avondale itself in the 1990s.