History

In 1949 the State Department of Agriculture purchased a parcel of land at Noorat for the purposes of agricultural research and extension studies relating to the dairy industry. This 281hectare property was a remnant of the former Glenormiston Estate, and included the original mansion built by Niel Black. Black, the son of a Scots farmer, arrived in Australia in 1837, and purchased the original Strathdownie run in 1840 for a partnership of interests, (one member of which came from Glenormiston House in Peeblesshire, S

cotland). The property was added to over the years until 1867, when the partnership was dissolved and the property divided by lot among the four partners to form the Mount Noorat, Glenormiston, The Sisters and Dalvui properties.

In the initial years the Department of Agriculture conducted research on pastures, plant breeding, beef and vegetable production. In 1967 the Premier, Sir Henry Bolte, announced the decision to establish an agricultural college at Glenormiston, adding to the Department's Dookie and Longeronong operations.

Glenormiston Agriculture College was founded in 1970, to provide farm management training to men and women, and had its first intake of fifty-six students in 1971. Short courses commenced in 1972, and over the ensuing years Glenormiston College introduced a range of innovative courses and delivery methods, including 'the 40-week course', which allowed practising farmers to attend the campus one day a week for 40 weeks. Courses in horse management were introduced in 1978, following the restoration and renovation of the old bluestone farm buildings to provide teaching and demonstration facilities. The first full off-campus course - the Associate Diploma in Farm Management - commenced in 1981.

 Glenormiston Agricultural College became a campus of the newly formed Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture (VCAH) in 1983, when responsibility for agricultural education was transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Education Department. The campus became the Victorian Centre for Farriery Apprenticeships in 1985, and took on the conduct of Farm Trades Apprenticeships at Cobden in 1986.

In 1990, the national restructuring of higher education introduced by Federal Education Minister John Dawkins led to wholesale amalgamation of the college and university systems. The VCAH was subsumed into Melbourne University in 1993, eventually becoming part of its Institute of Land and Food Resources.

In 2005 the University of Melbourne announced its decision to divest itself of its agricultural campuses, and the State Government called for expressions of interest in running the abandoned operations. Most course offerings were awarded to private commercial providers, however Glenormiston courses were assigned to South West TAFE to manage and operate, with Goulburn Ovens TAFE delivering Glenormiston's Dairying courses. These new arrangement came into effect in 2006, starting a new chapter in the Glenormiston story.