A former graduate of Bathurst Teachers’ College (BTC) will contribute his latest book to a time capsule at Charles Sturt University (CSU) that contains historical information about the history of teacher education in Bathurst.

 

Mr Royce Levi, one of the first BTC graduates, will be welcomed by staff at the CSU Faculty of Education on Wednesday 11 May so he can personally contribute his latest book, Tales of Classrooms Past, to a time capsule that has been opened as part of the 60^th anniversary celebrations of teacher education in Bathurst.

 

Associate Professor Jane Mitchell, a lecturer at the CSU School of Teacher Education, said Mr Levi’s book, his second on this subject, captures more stories of the first graduates, many of whom have gone on to hold distinguished positions in education.

 

“The stories from the first graduates of Bathurst Teachers’ College are an inspiration for our current students,” Professor Mitchell said.

 

In Tales of Classrooms Past Mr Levi notes that the push for a tertiary institution in Bathurst has a long history.

 

The first ‘extension lectures’ from Sydney were held in Bathurst in 1897. There were various moves for a university college in the district during the first half of the 20th century, in 1912, 1928, and finally very determined lobbying in 1947. Bathurst Teachers’ College, the predecessor institution of Mitchell College of Advanced Education, and later, Charles Sturt University, came into being in 1951.

 

The college was built in front of a government-operated experimental farm, and when the students arrived it was still not completed. Dormitories and lecture rooms were still being built, paths were not constructed, and during rain the grounds turned to mud.  Many a slippery fall happened while students were on their way to meals.

 

A tiny college hospital provided a bed for ill students, and it was still in the process of being painted. Lectures were held in the open air, and unfortunately, the first medical casualty suffered sun stroke.

 

Tales of Classrooms Past also contains BTC graduates’ stories of their early teaching posts.

 

The teacher education time capsule contains memorabilia such as the first graduation ball photograph, and the dance program for the first graduation ball held in the Walshaw Hall, Bathurst, in 1952. The night started with the Quickstep, and moved through 25 dances including the Gypsy Tap, the Jazz Waltz, the Destiny Waltz, the Slow Foxtrot-Monte Carlo, La Bomba, and the Pride of Erin, before ending the night with an old time waltz.