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Charles Darwin University evolved through the merger of several NT-based higher education institutions.
Darwin Community College
Darwin Community College, situated on what would become the site of Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus, was founded in 1974. In 1985, it evolved into the Darwin Institute of Technology, offering a mix of College of Advanced Education and TAFE studies.
In 1989, the institute became the Northern Territory University, offering degrees in Arts, Education, Business and Applied Science.
Menzies School of Health Research
The Menzies School of Health Research was established in 1985 as a body corporate of the Northern Territory Government under the Menzies School of Health Research Act 1985. This act was amended in 2004 to formalise the relationship with Charles Darwin University. Menzies is now a major partner with CDU and constitutes a school within the university on CDU's Casuarina campus, offering post-graduate degrees and higher degrees by research.
University College of the Northern Territory
The Government of the Northern Territory made numerous requests to the Commonwealth Government to finance a university. However, the population was deemed too small. In 1985, the Territory’s government took the unusual step of entirely financing a new entity named the University College of the Northern Territory over a five-year period from 1987 to 1991. The college was governed by a council chaired by former Family Court chief justice Austin Asche and led by a warden, Professor Jim Thomson, from the University of Queensland. The University of Queensland allowed the college to award degrees from that institution. Staff were recruited in 1986 and housed in the old Darwin Primary School buildings. Before the first student intake in February 1987, the college moved to a converted building at the former Darwin Hospital at Myilly Point in Darwin. A former nurses' hostel became a student residence named International House. The college had two faculties, Arts and Science. Its University of Queensland connection allowed it to award the first Doctor of Philosophy degrees in the Northern Territory.
Centralian College
Centralian College was founded in 1993 from the merger of Sadadeen Senior Secondary College and the Alice Springs College of TAFE. During its life, the college delivered senior secondary, TAFE and higher education through its main campus in Alice Springs, and to a lesser extent the whole Northern Territory.
A merger with NTU in 2003 resulted in a newly divested Centralian College becoming a senior secondary school catering to students from Year 10 to Year 12. It now shares its campus with the Charles Darwin University, using the university's facilities. Centralian College students can participate in CDU’s vocational courses from as early as Year 10.
Northern Territory University
The Northern Territory University was founded in January 1989 by a merger between the Darwin Institute of Technology and the University College of the Northern Territory under the Dawkins Revolution, a series of higher education reforms rolled out by then federal Education Minister John Dawkins. The new university opened its doors on 1 January 1989, awarding degrees from the University of Queensland.
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NTU's first vice-chancellor was Murdoch University Professor Malcolm (Mal) Nairn. During Nairn's term of office, study centres that were previously run by the NT Government were integrated with the university. The Palmerston campus, which had previously been a TAFE College, was also added. The Palmerston campus is situated on University Avenue, as this was the proposed site for a new university in a submission to the federal government in 1981.
In 1996, Nairn was replaced by Professor Roger Holmes from Griffith University. After serving for a single semester, he left to take up the post of vice-chancellor at the University of Newcastle. Deputy Vice-Chancellor professor Ron McKay replaced Holmes as the university's third vice-chancellor. Financial constraints on the university increased as it struggled with providing a broad tertiary education offering to a small and widespread population. In January 2001, the Katherine Rural College, including Mataranka Station, became part of the university. After McKay's resignation due to ill health in 2002, an interim vice-chancellor, former vice-chancellor of the University of Wollongong Professor Ken McKinnon, was appointed.
Charles Darwin University
On 21 August 2003, the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly passed the Charles Darwin University Act 2003 (NT), merging Alice Springs' Centralian College and the Menzies School of Health Research with the Northern Territory University to form Charles Darwin University from 1 January 2004. The inaugural university council meeting was held on 26 November 2003.
From Wikipedia’s article on Charles Darwin University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4