AVONDALE COLLEGE

'Avondale College' is an Australian tertiary education provider affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Avondale College has three campuses, Lake Macquarie being the primary campus situated in Cooranbong, NSW, Australia. The other campuses are the Sydney campus located at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga, Sydney, housing most of the faculty of nursing and health, and the Hunter Valley campus located just north-west of Cessnock housing the school of Aviation.
Avondale College primarily focuses in the areas of teaching, theology, and nursing, but also offers bachelor's degrees in business, science and the arts as well as certificate studies in outdoor recreation, aviation and Office Administration. The nursing programme commences at the Cooranbong campus for one semester and is completed at the Sydney Adventist Hospital with hands-on experience gained in the hospital. Master's degrees are offered in theology, education, nursing, ministry, and some business related fields by distance education, including a one-month on-campus component in the winter semester. The college has recently been approved to offer PhDs. ^[1]
Avondale College is an institution under the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. The library contains a local research centre of the Ellen G. White Estate.

Contents

History and surroundings

History of the land

Heritage Architecture

Academic Structure

Culture

Avondale College Church

Promotion

See also

References

External links

History and surroundings

On the counsel of Ellen G. White a Bible school was commenced in Melbourne in the early 1890s. Ellen White preferred a rural location, and as a result a search for a rural location was commenced in 1893.

History of the land

Finding land for a college seemed to be an impossible task, as the small church in Australia at the time did not have the finances to support such a project. Eventually the committee searching for the land found a 1500 acre (6 km²) block of land near Cooranbong priced at $3 per acre ($741/km²) because of its "poor, sandy and hungry" land. An agricultural expert from the government who was commissioned to look over the land reported that it was of extremely poor quality. The land was purchased in the Spring of 1895, and the institution was initially called the Australasian Missionary College.
A common myth is the furrow story, in which Ellen White was reported to have had a vision concerning the land.
The Cooranbong shopping district and Freeman's drive now occupy some of the land that was part of the Avondale Estate, creating a disjoint estate. The Avondale Schools (a separate entity) and the Cooranbong Aerodrome (which up until recent times was used as part of the aviation certificate training) are located on one section and the college on the other. The nearby Sunnyside museum has photographs of the college through its early years.

Heritage Architecture

There are a number of historic buildings that have been preserved on the Cooranbong campus. These include Bethel Hall and College Hall (formerly the College Chapel), both of which are unique multi-story wooden buildings.
The refurbished Chan-Shun Auditorium is based on the original auditorium.

Academic Structure

The college has a number of faculties:

★ Faculty of Arts

★ School of Aviation

★ Faculty of Business and Information Technology

★ Faculty of Education

★ Faculty of Lifestyle Education, Visual Arts and Graphic Design

★ Faculty of Nursing and Health

★ Faculty of Science and Mathematics

★ Faculty of Theology. This is the primary place of training for ministers in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia and New Zealand, and also has many students from the islands of the South Pacific. It is open to students of any denomination.
Avondale College is currently in the process of applying for and receiving University status from the Australian government.

Culture

Avondale College fosters a wide variety of students from varying cultural backgrounds and beliefs. Students come from continents as far away as the Americas, Europe and Africa. The majority of students are from Australia, New Zealand, North America and Pacific Islands.
On campus, many activities form part of student life. There are three dormitories for residential students. Watson Hall for males, Andre Hall for first year females, and Ella Boyd for senior females. The auditorium, gym, library, student services building, and cafeteria all provide meeting places for students. Worships are compulsory three times a week for residential students and once a week for outdoor students. Both Indoor and Outdoor students have ready access to on campus events and services.
In common with the Seventh-day Adventist community, Avondale College ceases secular activities on a Friday afternoon. Over the Sabbath hours students are encouraged to attend a variety of religious programs. Many students from neighbouring areas choose to go home on the weekend.

Avondale College Church

"College Church" is situated on the main (Lake Macquarie) campus. Its seating capacity is in the high hundreds. Its main service is Sabbath School and church on Saturday mornings. Other major services are the Tuesday night guys and girls "combined worship" from 6:30 to 7:00pm, and the contemporary youth service "728" (formerly known as "First Church") on Friday nights, named because of the Bible verse and because it starts at 7:28pm.. The church is also used on a fortnightly basis for the student "Forum" or assembly on Wednesdays at 10am, and for other purposes. These assemblies are generally compulsory and a fine is incurred if too many are missed.

Promotion

Now-famous actor Russell Crowe featured in a video ''A Very Special Person'' promoting the theology course at Avondale when he was just 18 (hence in 1982 or 1983).^[2]

See also

★ List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities

★ Morisset

★ Cooranbong

References

1. Avondale approved to offer PhDs Brenton Stacey
2. "Russell's Priestly Past" from the Internet Movie Database Movie/TV News for 22 March 2001

External links

★ Avondale College

★ Avondale College Church official website (under construction; as of May 2007)

★ History of Avondale College