Celebrating 150 years

Since the establishment of the School of Mines Ballarat (SMB) in 1870, Federation University Australia has emerged in multiple forms, and under multiple names, to educate generations of engineers, nurses, and teachers – and in more recent years, games designers, sports and exercise scientists, craft beer brewers, and other professional occupations inconceivable to the University’s founders in the late 19th century.

Today, our footprint stretches around the world, thanks to key partnerships established domestically, and with institutions in China, Malaysia, and India. But the story starts with a meeting of the Ballarat Mining Board, in 1869, and a pressing need for innovation.