A Brief History of Whitley College
Whitley College belongs to the Baptist Union of Victoria and is described by the Union Constitution as one of its agencies.
The College first opened in 1891. Dr W T Whitley was invited to Melbourne from England and commenced classes in rooms belonging to the Collins Street Baptist Church. Whitley’s Principalship ended in December 1901. He was followed by Rev W H Holdsworth, Rev A J Grigg, Rev D M Himbury, Rev Dr K R Manley, Rev Dr G R Pound and Rev Dr F D Rees, our current Principal.
In 1959 the Assembly of the Union decided to build a new College to mark the Union’s centenary and, at the same time decided to affiliate the College with The University of Melbourne. Whitley College was opened in 1965.
In 1975 Whitley entered into a partnership with the Churches of Christ Theological College (then the College of the Bible in Glen Iris). This partnership, known as the Evangelical Theological Association (ETA), was accredited by the Melbourne College of Divinity to teach the BTheol degree and to supervise graduate and postgraduate degrees of the MCD.
Following changes to the MCD in 2005, this partnership has changed and the constituent colleges are now each Recognised Teaching Institutions of the MCD.
In 1989 the College opened the Mervyn Himbury Theological Studies Centre at 50 The Avenue (adjacent to the main College building), and in 2001 the Geoffrey Blackburn Library and the Athol Gill Centre (Faculty offices) were completed and opened.
Whitley College now has three functions:
- The College is the training college for candidates for the Baptist Ministry.
- It also offers theological education to all who seek it and show they can benefit by such education.
- It is a university college, housing and offering tutorials and pastoral care to tertiary students who are studying at the University or another tertiary institution.
These three functions are not held to be separate but are inter-related.
