AS Charles Sturt University (CSU) Orange prepares to farewell one of its final cohorts of undergraduate agricultural students, one of its original lecturers Ed Henry looked back on the campus’ colourful history.
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The site began as Orange Agricultural College in 1973, quickly becoming respected for its Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management (formerly a diploma), unique for its focus on management rather than science, and is still a well-known course.
Mr Henry, who was one of the college’s first lecturers, said the first group of 22 students 42 years ago were like “guinea pigs”, as lecturers were still trying to work out course content and accommodation buildings were not finished when the students started.
“The culture was unique. Most of the staff weren’t much older than the students themselves. We were more of a family than the regular hierarchy,”he said.
“It was a really social place; I remember the excuses why students couldn’t turn up for the academic side of it. One students had five grandmother funerals in a year. He had more grandmothers that anyone else and they all died in one year!”
In 1990, the college was linked to the University of New England, then the University of Sydney in 1994, and then in 2000 it was officially dissolved, with CSU opening its Orange campus on the same site in September 2006.
CSU took on the college’s most famous course, however, due to low enrolments, decided to cease offering it to new students from 2015, moving it to CSU’s Wagga Wagga campus instead.
While agricultural post-graduate courses and staff still remain at the Orange campus, the undergraduate course’s final face-to-face Orange students will graduate in 2016, with its second last cohort closing their books in for the final time in a few weeks.
Mr Henry said he was sad the course would no longer be offered on campus, but moving it to Wagga Wagga would not affect the number of people in the Central West taking up tertiary agriculture education.
“That’s part of being in regional Australia. You find people quickly accept that you need to travel to access services,” he said.
The Orange Agricultural Club will host a Black Tie Dinner for all current and former students and staff on October 3.
Those wishing to attend can find out more by emailing orangeagclub@gmail.com.