Curtin University of Technology
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Quick facts

Food

  • George's Kebabs sells an average of 350 kebabs and 350 famous chip rolls every day during semester!
  • There are 11 food outlets at Bentley campus.

Campuses

  • Curtin has 9 campuses including Sydney and Malaysia, and 7 education centres in regional Western Australia.
  • The Bentley campus has 6,214 parking bays. 3,420 of them are for students.
  • The Bentley campus is sprawled across a whopping 116 hectares.
  • The Bentley campus has 40 hectares of sporting fields.
  • The Bentley campus is home to over 1,000 different species of plants.

People

  • In 2007, a total of 41,348 students studied at Curtin. More than 30,000 were based at the Bentley campus.
  • Curtin employed 1,238 academic staff in 2007.
  • About 52% of Curtin's students are mature age - that is, they were older than 20 years of age when they enrolled.
  • More than 60 clubs are registered with the Guild, supporting around 3,000 students. Types of clubs are: academic, international, issue-based, social, special interest, sports and religious.

Transport

  • More than 500 buses stop at Curtin each weekday during semester!
  • Organise a parking permit if you plan to drive to Curtin regularly - around 9,000 parking infringements are issued every year!
  • The Curtin bus terminal has the second-highest usage of any terminal in Perth.
  • Curtin provides a 24-hour airport reception service for international students arriving in Perth.

Academic

  • The Bentley campus has 28 lecture theatres and 120 tutorial rooms.
  • Curtin's library collection holds around 420,000 books, 31,500 videos and 35,000 journal titles.
  • More than 1,000 titles are borrowed from the Robertson Library every day.
  • The Abacus computer labs hold a total of 350 computers for students. In addition, each faculty has its own computer facilities for students.

History

  • Curtin was established in 1966 as the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT). It changed to Curtin University of Technology in 1987.
  • In 1957, a bushfire cleared a large area of the Bentley pine plantation. This would eventually become the site for Curtin's main campus.
  • In the 1960s, James Street, close to the city centre, was almost chosen as the location for Curtin's main campus. Eventually Bentley was settled on for its space.
  • Curtin (or WAIT, as it was then) was built on the shoulders of smaller institutions that had been established decades prior. The Western Australian School of Mines, for instance, was established in 1902. Muresk Agricultural College opened in 1926.
  • In 1971, Curtin's Muresk Institute became the first agricultural college in Australia to admit female students!
  • In 1977, Curtin's Muresk Institute introduced the first undergraduate degree in agribusiness in Australia - a three and a half-year Bachelor of Business (Agriculture).
  • Curtin Business School is directly connected to one of Europe's largest supercomputers.
  • The Hayman Theatre was built on the highest point of the Bentley campus.
  • The original buildings that still feature heavily at Bentley were designed by architect Vin Davies to reflect the 'tough, technological character of the Institute'.
  • The Curtin logo draws inspiration from the old Western Australian Institute of Technology logo designed in 1968, which was based on a tetrahedron. The shield was adopted in keeping with a common convention among universities.

Trivia

  • Curtin's Margaret River campus is located in Western Australia's premium wine growing region. The region produces only 3% of Australia's total grape production, but 20% of the nation's premium wines.
  • Kalgoorlie, home to the Western Australian School of Mines, boasts the largest open pit mine in the country - the Superpit.
  • There are about 25,000 students attending the Bentley campus. That's a similar population to Geraldton, Western Australia's fifth-largest city.
  • The John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library at the Bentley campus preserves records and unique material related to Australian history and politics. It's a world-class research archive.
  • Oktoberfest 2007 sold out in one day.
  • The student magazine 'Grok' is released 6 times per year. Find a new issue on campus at the beginning of each full academic month.
  • 10,000 new students attended the Guild's O-Day in 2007.
  • All Abacus computer labs are open 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. They only close from 5:30 am to 6:30 am each day for cleaning.
  • Some venues at Curtin (lecture theatres, tutorial rooms and outdoor areas) are available to hire for events like seminars, meetings and even weddings.
  • Before becoming Prime Minister in 1941, John Curtin lived in Cottesloe.
  • The hockey pitches at Bentley campus were the first artificial hockey pitches to be installed in the southern hemisphere.
  • Perth has more hours of sunshine per day than any other Australian capital city.
  • The Centre for Aboriginal Studies logo is the goanna, or 'gunada'. The goanna embodies strength, wisdom and endurance. It lies in a circle to symbolise the cycles and continuity of life.
  • The most unusual request for the Guild's Student Assist was "how do I stop my dog from barking?"
  • The Guild's Student Assist service helped 900 students in 2007 for a range of reasons, such as academic problems, personal issues and welfare.
  • Number of student resumés the Guild's Student Assist @ the Guild worked their magic on last year: 102
  • Highest number of jobs simultaneously offered to a student following the Guild's Student Assist resume assistance: 5
  • Grok, the Guild's student magazine, has previously been called Aspect, Paperwait, L'Grok and Aliwa.
  • For more than 20 years, 12pm - 2pm each Wednesday has been common free time for every Curtin student. It was originally recommended by the Guild.
  • The Guild Tavern's main bar was named after the former Vice Chancellor Lance Twomey and the plaque unveiled by former Premier Geoff Gallop.
  • John Curtin, from whom the University takes its name, is widely considered to be one of the country's greatest leaders. He was Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945, when he died in office.
  • John Curtin is the only Australian Prime Minister to have served time in jail. He served a few days for his anti-conscriptionist views in 1916 before the conviction was quashed. He was 31 at the time.
  • John Curtin was a great follower of Australian Rules Football. He supported South Fremantle in the Western Australian Football League and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League.
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On the side

Curtin (or WAIT, as it was then) was built on the shoulders of smaller institutions that had been established decades prior. The Western Australian School of Mines, for instance, was established in 1902. Muresk Agricultural College opened in 1926.