Avondale University traces its beginnings to 1892 when its predecessor institution was established in Melbourne, Victoria, to educate young people for employment in the developing work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. In 1897 the College was relocated to its present site in Cooranbong, New South Wales. It initially offered courses in teaching, business, and biblical and mission studies.

Avondale has been preparing students for degrees since the 1950s, initially through external programs (BSc, University of London) and affiliation agreements (BA, Pacific Union College, California; MA, Andrews University, Michigan), and subsequently with Australian accreditation.

From 1974, Avondale has offered an expanding range of its own degrees with NSW government accreditation. A range of masters degrees has been added since the early 1990s. Doctoral studies have been offered since 2006.

The past decade has seen a significant development in staff qualifications and research output. Four research centres and an academic press have been established. There has been increasing interaction, including collaborative research with Australian universities, industry, and the professions. Scholarly activity has been facilitated by policies providing generously for staff research and professional development.

In December 2014, Avondale was granted self-accrediting status by the Tertiary Education Quality & Standards Agency (TEQSA). Then, in August 2019, TEQSA granted Avondale Australian University College status. Most recently, in July 2021, TEQSA made the decision to change Avondale’s provider category to Australian University.

Avondale’s Name Changes

The various names by which Avondale has been known since its founding in 1897 are indicative both of its journey within the Australian higher education sector and in the broadening of its scope in teaching, research and community engagement.

Historical Names of Avondale
1897	Avondale School for Christian Workers
1911	Australasian Missionary College
1964	Avondale College
2011	Avondale College of Higher Education
2019	Avondale University College
2021	Avondale University

Vice-Chancellors

The first principal was C.B. Hughes, an American who arrived with his wife one month after the official opening of the school. He worked with the former principal of the St Kilda school, L.J. Rousseau, H.C. Lacey, A.G. Daniells, S.N. Haskell and W.C. White to direct the school through a period of rapid expansion. After an initial enrolment of just two students and five staff on the first day in 1897, by 1899 one hundred and fifty students were enrolled.

Buildings

A sawmill constructed on the banks of Dora Creek in 1895 was the first building on the Avondale Estate in Cooranbong. After some delay, Bethel Hall, a women’s residence and a second building nearby with classrooms, a men’s residence and a kitchen, were sufficiently completed for classes to begin.

“Bethel” is Hebrew meaning “house of God.” Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneers Stephen Haskell and Ellen White opened it on April 28, 1897.

Haskell Hall, a two-storey men’s residence (first called Herman Hall), was completed in the summer of 1897/98 and the Avondale Church building, at the entrance to the estate, dedicated debt free in 1897.

College Hall, later known as The Chapel, was built over three months early in 1899. It contained several classrooms, the principal’s office, two primary school classrooms, the library and a chapel.

In late 1899 the Avondale Health Retreat was built near the church to provide medical support for the community and practical experience for first-year nurses in training. The Sanitarium Health Food factory was established on the old sawmill site. After enrolment increased to 205, in 1905, Preston Hall was built, joining Bethel Hall to the second building. The business office was completed by 1910.

A manual arts building and The Laurels, a domestic science centre, were completed in 1925 and marked the end of the construction of timber buildings. The first brick building, Music Hall, cost $1000 to build that same year. Then came the Depression. Little changed on the estate save for construction of the Science Building in 1937. Later, College Hall was enlarged, the front became the back and a sound shell was added. Andre Hall, a new women’s residence, was completed in 1952 and the Auditorium, a large multi-purpose centre, was completed in time for graduation in 1953. Then came the Ellen G White Memorial Building, an administrative, classroom and library block completed in 1960. Men’s residence Watson Hall replaced Haskell Hall in 1964. Construction of the Education Building, then the new home of what is now Avondale School, finished a year later in 1965.

Ladies Chapel, adjacent to Andre Hall, opened in 1979. Avondale renamed the building Ella Hughes Chapel in 2015. Ella (Evans) Hughes (1864-1962) was a school teacher who with husband Cassius Hughes, the first principal at Avondale in 1897, pioneered wholistic education. She valued higher education, earning a bachelor’s degree before many of her male colleagues. Ella headed the primary school on campus and served as the first trainer of teachers. As preceptress, she and her husband lived in the student residences.

Avondale refurbished the Science Building in 1980 after Avondale School moved to its new Avondale Road campus. In 1985, the congregation of Avondale University Seventh-day Adventist Church, which had been meeting in College Hall and the Auditorium, met for the first time in its own building. Avondale University Seventh-day Adventist Church is now recognised as one of the most significant examples of modern architecture in the Hunter.

A new women’s residence, Ella Boyd Hall, replaced Preston Hall—now demolished—in 1990. Restored with Avondale University Foundation and New South Wales Heritage Council funding, Bethel Hall reopened on October 21, 1992. Renovations to College Hall, now classified by the National Trust, were completed in 1997. The Jeremic Wing extension of the Library opened in 1998. In 2002, the construction of a new and larger venue—the Chan Shun Auditorium—to replace the Auditorium was completed. The church was refurbished in 2006.

For more information visit Campuses. Information about student residences is available at Accommodation. The university also has a significant number of study spaces available to students.