Our history

Typing class, 1913

The history of South West TAFE reaches back to the Mechanic's Institute movement of the 1850's. It is at once the history of technical and further education in south-west Victoria, but it is also a joining together of the separate histories of those four campuses which in combination form the major provider of vocational education and training in the region.

South West TAFE came into existence as a multi-campus institution in 1987, when the TAFE operations of the Hamilton and Portland Technical Schools were combined with the Warrnambool College of TAFE. Known then as the South West College of TAFE, the college was renamed in 1995 to become the South West Institute of TAFE. From 2006, South West TAFE now manages the Glenormiston campus and assumes further regional responsibilities for training in agriculture, and farm and horse management.

To understand how South West TAFE has become the institution it is today one needs to appreciate the variety of different influences, politics and circumstances that have shaped the provision of vocational education and training across Australia, the State of Victoria and the communities of the south-west region.

Glenormiston campus history
Hamilton campus history
Portland campus history
Warrnambool campus history

Engineering class, 1923