Wellington College of Education


Wellington College of Education was established in 1888 with the purpose of educating teachers in New Zealand. It became the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, formed from the School of Education of the University, and the Wellington College of Education on 1 January 2005.
From 1968 to 2016, it occupied an architecturally award winning campus in the Wellington suburb of Karori, designed by local architect William Toomath. The campus was awarded an NZIA Silver Medal, and an NZIA Local Award .

About

Wellington Teachers’ Training College was established in 1888.
A decision to expand the teacher training facilities in Wellington was made in the 1930s, however it was not until 1966 that the building of the Karori campus began. There were teacher training reforms in the mid-twentieth centenary that were triggered by increased populations after World War Two. As well as being architecturally significant, the Wellington College of Education also has had many notable teachers and students over its long history, significantly in New Zealand’s education system, arts sector and Māori rights movement.
Author David McGill, who attended in the early 1960s, says of his experience: "At teachers' college there were five girls for every boy. A whole world opened up. There were all these women, and it was so exciting. As students, we all wore desert boots, fishermen's knit jerseys. We'd go to cafes and pubs. Barrett's was the nearest pub, or the George. Girls weren't allowed into pubs, so we'd go into coffee bars with them. Those were the days, at that wonderful teachers' college in Karori, with liberal teachers like Jack Shallcrass."
Wellington Teachers Training College was renamed the Wellington College of Education in 1988 in line with government policy.
2005 was the Faculty's 125th anniversary, the College having been originally established in 1880.
Victoria University for marketing purposes often referred to the faculty as the University's College of Education, rather than as a faculty of the university. The University, in internal bulletins, refers to both a faculty and college fluidly: VicNews of 13 January 2005 apparently describes a "new Faculty of Education to oversee the degrees and diplomas awarded by it, and a new College of Education, consisting of four Schools," and later in that issue refers to a Victoria University College of Education.

Notable staff