Swinburne University of Technology

The Swinburne University of Technology (or simply Swinburne) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established in 1908, renamed Swinburne Technical College in 1913 after its co-founders George and Ethel Swinburne. It has three campuses in metropolitan Melbourne: Hawthorn, where its main campus is located; Wantirna; and Croydon, as well the Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It also offers courses online and through its partnered institutions in Australia and overseas.

The university offers study programs in commerce, healthcare, teacher education, law, engineering, aviation, architecture, the performing arts and various other fields including in the arts and sciences. It also offers Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) research programs and courses in vocational education.

The university began in 1908 as the community-owned Eastern Suburbs Technical College on John Street, Hawthorn, to provide further education to residents of Melbourne's eastern suburbs. George Swinburne MLA, with the backing of Premier Thomas Bent, was the driving force behind its establishment, and its most generous benefactor, hence the name of the university. By 1913, £10,111 had been spent on its establishment, of which £3,718 came from private donations (including £1,000 each from George and Ethel Swinburne), and the remainder from the government. The first director was the sculptor J. R. Tranthim-Fryer, who remained in the position until 1938.

In 1913 the institution was taken over by the State Government, and its name changed to Swinburne Technical College. It later became known as the Swinburne Institute of Technical and Further Education (TAFE), eventually shortened to Swinburne Institute of Technology.

In the late 1980s, the Outer Eastern University Planning Council advocated for a new university to be established in outer eastern Melbourne. The area had the second lowest university participation rate in Melbourne, after the Mornington Peninsula. Partially in response to this advocacy, in 1990 Swinburne established its "Eastern Campus" in Mooroolbark (sometimes described as Lilydale), on the site of the recently closed MDA Grammar School. However, students could not attend until 1992 due to council planning negotiation, and the campus was officially opened on 6 April 1992. By 1993, it was known as the "Mooroolbark Campus".

The Dawkins reforms to Australian higher education in the early 1990s led to many tertiary colleges being merged or split-up, and many given university status.

On 1 January 1992, the university was given the Prahran Campus of Victoria College and the co-located Prahran College of TAFE, both of which had evolved from the Prahran Mechanics' Institute (established in 1854).^{[citation needed]} Swinburne attained university status on 1 July 1992 with the passage of the Swinburne University of Technology Act 1992.

In 1997, Swinburne opened a campus at Lilydale, replacing its nearby one at Mooroolbark. In 1998, it merged with the Outer East Institute of TAFE and began operating from campuses at Croydon and Wantirna.