Three posters from the University of Ballarat (now Federation University Australia) Equity and Equal Opportunity Office.equity, equal opportunity, barbara webb, anti-harassment, fox, donkey, bird

Four posters from the University of Ballarat (now Federation University Australia) Equity and Equal Opportunity Officeposter, equity, equal, fox, donkey, bird, barbara webb, equity and equal opportunity, anti harassment

Three posters from the University of Ballarat (now Federation University Australia) Equity and Equal Opportunity Officeposter, anti discrimination, kerry cox, equity and equal opportunity, anti harassment

Federation University Australia was established on 1 January 2014. Formerly known as the University of Ballarat, its enabling legislation was the University of Ballarat Amendment (Federation University Australia) Act 2013. Although formally created as a University in 1994, the University of Ballarat has a lineage back to 1870 with the establishment of the School of Mines Ballarat, making it the third institution of higher learning to be established in Australia and the first to be established in regional Australia. On 1 January 1994, Ballarat University College became the University of Ballarat and in 1998 the University merged with three TAFE Institutes to become a dual sector institution with multiple campuses. On 1 January 2014, the University of Ballarat amalgamated with the Monash University Gippsland Campus to form Federation University Australia. The Gippsland Campus also had a long lineage dating back to 1928 with the establishment of the Yallourn Technical School which became a predecessor institution to the Gippsland College of Advanced Education formed in 1968. In 1990, it was renamed the Monash University College and in 1993 became the Gippsland Campus of Monash University. In 2016, Federation University Australia announced plans to take possession, over a two-year period, of Monash’s Berwick Campus in the south-east corridor of Melbourne. Federation University Australia, or FedUni, is headquartered in Ballarat and offers programs in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training to regional Victoria and beyond. The University’s commitment to educational and social equity, teaching excellence, research distinction, environmental sustainability and regional capacity building has enabled it to develop in a way that draws on its proud heritage to inform its future. Its regional character sets a framework for the University’s priorities but does not constrain it from serving wider community interests, nationally and internationally. The name Federation University Australia was chosen to convey the scope and capacity of an expanded regional university with a federated network of campuses.Poster from the Federation University Equity and Equal Opportunity Officefederation university, poster, equity, equal opportunity, difference, rainbow, barbara webb

After marrying Ron Kirner, Joan Hood was known as Joan Kirner. She became the first female Premier of Victoria. “When I went out teaching, I went to Ballarat Girls Tech, where I met [husband] Ron who was at Ballarat Boys Tech. They were seen as tough schools, and I saw the disadvantage faced by these girls who were at the lowest of the low of the education rung – and yet there were some fantastic girls there who needed equal opportunity. So I think it was teaching that cemented in my mind that people don’t get an even go – and in particular girls. It didn’t take me too long to realise blokes were largely empowered. And it was teaching that cemented how equity and empowerment for women could be achieved through education.” Sarah Capper: You graduated from Melbourne University in 1958, and as mentioned, began work as a teacher in Ballarat. You married Ron in 1960 and received one of those government letters asking you to resign - JK: Yes, I think it burnt a hole in my pocket when I brought it home! We were both teachers, and I said to Ron, “Well, you got married – where’s your letter?!” That really clarified that the world wasn’t quite even, even in this profession that I’d always wanted and loved. I didn’t get superannuation – I think I got something like 100 pounds as pay in lieu of permanent service. And that wasn’t just me – that was a whole generation. Fancy that – that’s what it said – “pay in lieu of permanent service”. So that made me livid. If I hadn’t been a feminist before then, I certainly was by then. I realised the distribution of power was different for women and men. http://sheilas.org.au/2014/02/a-bonza-joan-kirner/, accessed 06/06/2015 Teacher Joan Hood (later Joan Kirner) is surrounded by a number of students from the Ballarat Girl's Technical School, all members of the Magazine Committee.joan hood, joan kirner, ballarat girls' technical school, university women, equal opportunity

1959 was the first issue of 'Threshold'. In 1951 thirty girls started a junior technical course for the first time in Ballarat, under the Principal of the Ballarat School of Mines. By 1959 it had increased enormously with an enrolment of 284 students, and its own headmistress. The early school took place in the Dana Street Primary School and a large portion of the Ballarat Technical Art School. It was not thought necessary for girls to produce a magazine, but Joan Hood (Kirner) was determined that the girls would have the same opportunity as the boys. “When I went out teaching, I went to Ballarat Girls Tech, where I met [husband] Ron who was at Ballarat Boys Tech. They were seen as tough schools, and I saw the disadvantage faced by these girls who were at the lowest of the low of the education rung – and yet there were some fantastic girls there who needed equal opportunity. So I think it was teaching that cemented in my mind that people don’t get an even go – and in particular girls. It didn’t take me too long to realise blokes were largely empowered. And it was teaching that cemented how equity and empowerment for women could be achieved through education.” Sarah Capper: You graduated from Melbourne University in 1958, and as mentioned, began work as a teacher in Ballarat. You married Ron in 1960 and received one of those government letters asking you to resign - JK: Yes, I think it burnt a hole in my pocket when I brought it home! We were both teachers, and I said to Ron, “Well, you got married – where’s your letter?!” That really clarified that the world wasn’t quite even, even in this profession that I’d always wanted and loved. I didn’t get superannuation – I think I got something like 100 pounds as pay in lieu of permanent service. And that wasn’t just me – that was a whole generation. Fancy that – that’s what it said – “pay in lieu of permanent service”. So that made me livid. If I hadn’t been a feminist before then, I certainly was by then. I realised the distribution of power was different for women and men. http://sheilas.org.au/2014/02/a-bonza-joan-kirner/, accessed 06/06/2015 The four houses of the Ballarat Girls' Technical School were Bass House, Sturt House, Flinders House and Mitchell House. Orange and green soft covered magazine of 24 pages. Includes a message from the headmistress, Fay Moore, and a photograph of the Magazine Committee featuring teacher Joan Hook (later Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria). Information and a photograph is given for the following personalities: Sandra McHenry, Sylvia Rowe, Heather Young, Beverley Davis, Lorna Robertson, Janice Hunter, Margaret Ayars, Margaret Veal, Heather O'Brien, Hilary Batt, Leone Davies, Marlene Drever, Janet Smith.ballarat girls' technical school, joan hood, joan kirner, fay moore, i.e. harris, faye hilton, marilyn miller, lesley cutts, margaret jones, moira blair, rosemary davies, lorraine button, vivienne guy, lorraine krankovich, loralie crabbe, beverley davis, shirley dean, lorrice campbell, hilary batt, valerie stewat, sandra mchenry, joy henderson