The seventh decade 1960-1969
The postwar boom of the 1950s continued throughout the 1960s. Extensive
immigration programs and the discovery of natural resources had stimulated the
economy and there was a rapid growth in infrastructure in the State. The
greatest investment of capital was to support the export of iron ore from the
North West. New railways were needed to transport the ore to ports, which had to
be specially created for the bulk ore ships bound for Japan. Commercial
quantities of oil were discovered at Barrow Island, attracting further foreign
investment to the State and in turn creating new infrastructures.
In the South
West, the Muja Power House was built alongside the Collie coalfields. An
extensive capital investment in road works, both in the city and throughout
country regions also occurred at that time. These massive projects called for a
highly skilled workforce, attracting many of the tradesmen and engineers who had
received their initial training through the Railway Workshops.
New recruitment to the Workshops continued during the 1960s to support the
construction of the Standard Gauge Railway – designed to link major industrial
centres in Western Australia with the Commonwealth Railway network. The
Government took control of the privately owned Midland Railway Company during
this decade and removed its narrow gauge lines from the centre of the town.
Railway apprentices still made up the greater proportion of students at what was then called Midland Technical School. Therefore the installation of the standard gauge line and the manufacture of more than a thousand new standard gauge wagons at the Workshops provided a boost to the School, as well as the local economy generally. (McIntyre M. A Brief History of Midland Railway Workshops and events leading to their closure. Unpublished.)
At the same time Western Australia’s budget for education rose considerably during the 1950s and 60s, due to changes in the allocation of Commonwealth grants, as well as a commitment by both Labor and Liberal Governments to spend a higher proportion of State revenue on Education. School retention rates increased significantly which lead to a higher educational standard of entry for new railway apprentices. This in turn allowed a restructure of the syllabus for the Engineering Trades so that work normally covered in five years could be condensed to four years. Students were streamed part way through the course to either continue with trade orientated subjects or prepare for Diploma subjects. An examination centre for the Public Examination Board was conducted at the school for the first time in 1960. (Wyder J. Midland Technical College 75th Anniversary, 1979)
With the State sponsoring industrial development, Technical Education embarked upon a phase of expansion. Several specialised institutions, including Carlisle Technical School, were established to reduce the pressure on existing technical schools, and in preparation for the anticipated influx of students. (Mossenson D. State Education in Western Australia: 1829-1960 University of Western Australia Press,1972.)
The 1964 Bowen Inquiry into the Apprenticeship system called for a doubling of the number of apprentices to meet industry needs. It recommended that ‘some attractive financial assistance should be made to employers taking apprentices’, and advised that new skills should be added to existing trades in anticipation of the State’s needs, with the Apprenticeship Council being responsible for advising on new training requirements. In that same year the Western Australian Industrial Commission was established. (Report of Fact Finding Committee into the Apprenticeship System in Western Australia , April 1964.)
Many other major social, political and economic changes occurred during the 1960s that were to directly or indirectly affect technical training. This was the decade of decimal currency, television, and a growing resistance to conscription for the war in Vietnam. A stronger call for racial equality occurred in the 1960s and women’s options were changed with the granting of equal pay for equal work, the introduction of the contraceptive pill, and the establishment of child care centres.
Traditional subjects for women at Midland Technical School such as Dressmaking and Cooking were brought under the umbrella of a full time preparatory "Home Science" Course. Raising the status of these subjects to a science was aimed at raising the employment options for female students, and providing a foundation for more specific sciences such as Dietetics. (Royal Commission on Youth Employment and the Apprenticeship System, A. Wolf, Rischbieth pp 173-176.)
Physics and Chemistry were offered for the first time at the School with the construction of a new Science Laboratory in 1960.
Technological advancements such as the coaxial cable and satellite links improved
Australia’s communication networks and set the scene for future training. Australia’s sense of isolation had already been greatly reduced with the advent of regular passenger flights between Britain and Australia in the 1950s, and in 1968 Midland Technical School’s Aviation Studies were extended from Aircraft Maintenance to include Commercial Pilot Training. This new responsibility for the School was overseen by Principal Frank Chapman who was replaced by Richard Cotton the following year.
