Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education
Peter Farago, GIAE’s first politics lecturer who came to teach courses in Soviet,
American and Australian politics, described the move from Newborough into the
new buildings at Churchill in 1972 as ‘a handful of people placed in the middle
of a paddock’. The new site at Churchill encapsulated much of Gippsland’s identity.
The expansive views of hills and farms combined with industrial views of Hazelwood
Power Station’s elegant chimneys and the Yallourn W cooling towers.
Of those early days, Peter remembers the enthusiasm, commitment and high morale
shared by the staff as they embarked on the enormous task of developing a new
tertiary institution.
By the end of 1975 GIAE had schools of engineering, applied science, visual
arts, education and business and social sciences. Under the founding director,
Max Hopper, the institute also began introducing external studies to students
living throughout the region. GIAE was able to develop a more comprehensive
approach to tertiary study by distance education than had existed in Victoria.
‘D.E.’, as it was called, had modest beginnings with the newly appointed staff
pioneering their versions of the ‘study guide’. This soon evolved into an impressive,
sophisticated operation that produced high quality study materials for students
in a variety of locations.
The new campus began to take shape. A succession of architectural firms designed
buildings to accommodate the many new programs and initiatives being developed
at GIAE. Landscaping transformed the former paddocks. It was a memorable time
when the lake, originally a swamp, filled with water. According to rumours,
this was assisted by the Fire Brigade.
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