The first Technical Education Art Syllabus was designed for the practical application of art. It included ‘the drawing to scale of plans, elevations, and sections of the work to be executed’, as well as ‘detailed drawing of the different parts’. An Art Craftsman’s course could be completed at Perth Technical School in three years, while a full Associate-ship in Art extended over at least five years.
Art classes were mainly to meet the demand for beautiful furnishings and
fixtures for the home. While painting was viewed as a luxury, Freehand and Model
Drawing, said to "quicken the intelligence and enlarge the mind", were
considered of great importance. (Gray. Anne, Line, Light
and Shadow: James W.R. Linton: Painter, Craftsman, Teacher. Fremantle
Arts Centre Press.1986.) (Technical Education Report 1920)
Evening classes in Light and Shade, Freehand and Model Drawing were
introduced at Midland Junction Technical School in 1909.
As it was not acceptable for young ladies to do life drawing, plaster casts of
Roman carvings were used as models. Drawings were done with charcoal and
powdered graphite.
Flora LeCornu, who later became Flora Landells was only 21 when she started at Midland Junction Technical School as the first art teacher. She had been an outstanding student at Perth Technical School.
By the end of the first year her students proudly displayed their achievements:
"An exhibition of students’ work attracted a large number of visitors who were agreeably surprised at the high quality of the exhibits. The thanks of the school is due to the Midland Junction Municipal Council for its liberal donation of £2 and to the Midland Railway Company." (Annual Report 1909).
Needlework (referred to as Art Needlework) with Loui Benham was also
included as part of the Art program. Though most of the assessment was
practical, students were examined on the application of different types of fancy
stitches and lace work. The handiwork of Pearl
Nichols reflects many of these skills.
Pearl Nichols was one of the first Art
students to win a scholarship, allowing them free tuition the following year.
Others included Miss M. Woods, Miss I.R. Landells, Miss M. Speight, Miss R. B.
Landells, Miss E.A. Jourdane, Miss N. Davis and Miss M. Southern (Murial).
Muriel Southern continued developing her art after she left Midland Junction Technical School. She shared a studio with friends with whom she worked on posters, book-plates, china, leather, and kitchen tiles. Her watercolour and pencil of the Perth Town Hall is part of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society’s collection.
In the initial years of Art at Midland Junction Technical School, the overall
Art Master and Chief Examiner, James W.R. Linton was
based at Perth Technical School. He was an accomplished painter and
the son of
one of the most prominent painters in Britain. His background assisted him in
his role in helping to establish the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Despite
his passion for fine art, he constantly supported the application of art for
practical purposes during his thirty years
of involvement in Technical School
Art.
Just before classes were set up at Midland Junction, James W.R. Linton returned to England to train in various crafts that could be taught to students. These included china painting and silversmithing, which were passed on through a continuous line of students who became teachers: in the case of silversmithing, by two generations of Linton’s own family. Photo courtesy Battye Library 225662P
At Midland Junction most students studied Art as part of another course. Art
students included those from the Continuation Course, which provided a bridge
from school to further Technical Studies. Examples of light and shade drawings
by Hilma Campbell are typical of student’s
work of that era. Various craft activities, including velvet stenciling, were
also taught as part of the Continuation classes.
By 1919 classes in Design and Painting were being offered at Midland Junction Technical School, taught by Flora Landells who was accomplished in both watercolour and oil painting. Her main interest however was in china painting and ceramics, and several of her pieces are held by the Western Australian Art Gallery and in private collections. After she had to resign from art teaching at Midland Junction Technical School during the Depression, she continued to teach china painting and produce ceramics with the assistance of her husband Reg Landells at their pottery studio in Maylands.
Flora Landell’s position at Midland Junction Technical School was filled by
James W.R. Linton, however he was more interested in having keen students come
to him rather than impose art lessons on students who he believed had other
priorities. A year later he was replaced by the English metal-smith and art
teacher F.B. Fulford. Then art classes were closed altogether in 1937 due to
falling numbers while Walter F. Ramage, a former goldfields artist was the art
instructor. Erickson, Dorothy. Art and Design in Western
Australia, 2000.
When World War II broke out Art became an almost forgotten subject for Technical Education. During the 1950s the main focus at Perth Technical School was Commercial Art and training for art teachers.
It was not until 1959 that art classes were revived at Midland Junction
Technical School. Betsey Linton had studied under James W.R. Linton
at Perth Technical School. After he died in 1947 she and her brother Kitch
Currie made belts, sandals and other leather-work which they sold from the
Parkerville home she 
had shared with Linton, and through her sister’s shop in
King Street. Betsey was then employed to provide correspondence classes through
Perth Technical College Extension Services. This job eventually lead her to
teaching women prisoners who had been relocated from Fremantle to the Swan
Valley, as well as students at Midland Junction Technical School.
She taught Painting, Drawing as well as Ceramics for which she was self-taught. Betsy remembers having to drive down to the School at midnight on several occasions to turn the kiln off. At the end of each teaching term she and her brother Kitch, who taught Metal Jewellery at Midland Junction would set off on an outback adventure. It was from Western Australian landscapes that Betsy Linton drew inspiration for many of her highly successful exhibitions in later years.
As Betsy neared retirement age a replacement had to be found. She recommended
one of her students, Jenny Miller Nixon
who taught Ceramics at Midland until 1980 when she left to set up the Guildford
Pottery, a cooperative to assist graduates to produce and market their own
work. At that time the Ceramics Department was the converted toilet block with
sloping floors. Tables had to be custom made with uneven legs and lecturers had
to peer around odd columns of brickwork. Never-the-less this was a great
improvement on the previous situation where the Ceramics class had to share a
room and its single sink with Cake Decorating.
Print Making was taught by Bill Johnson who often made the Principal nervous because of his habit of smoking cigarettes next to where the drums of solvent were stored. Bill Johnson also taught Painting and Drawing.
China Painting was very popular under Esme Best, who had learnt her skills
from Flora Landells at her Maylands studio. At Midland classes were conducted in
an old wooden hut where the floorboards bounced up and down to such an extent
that students had to be warned to stop painting whenever someone passed through.
China Painting had traditionally been considered a lady-like pursuit, along with watercolour painting and embroidery. During the 1950s Australian wildflowers were a popular subject and china painters were commissioned to produce tourist souvenirs featuring kangaroo paws, donkey orchids and the blue Leschenaultia flower.
When the Art Studies Diploma was introduced
"Onglaze Painting" was
included as one of several electives that ran for six months. It was at the
height of its popularity and innovative artists such as Brenda Henderson
were attracted to the medium, breaking away from copied designs of flowers onto
white china pieces. Students explored techniques such as glass slumping and hand
painting their own ceramics. After Esme Best left, Brenda Henderson continued
the classes. However the reputation of Onglaze Painting remained as a
marginalised hobby class within the broader art community. In 1987 the
Commonwealth Government established the Department of Employment Education and
Training, and for the first time, technical schools had to compete for funding.
Onglaze Painting wasn’t considered sufficiently industry focused and was
discontinued in 1991.
June Laird (Left) and Brenda Henderson marking china painting exams in 1986 at the "old" TAFE.
Metal Jewellery under Mike Nunn was also discontinued when it was decided
that no two colleges could offer the same course. This ended a long tradition at Midland. Prior to Mike
Nunn the lecturer through most of the seventies was John Linton, grandson
of James W.R. Linton. After he finished teaching he 
returned
to silversmith work full time, firstly with George Lucas at Leederville and then
through his own business at Maylands. His
commissions have included a piece for the Queen’s 1978 visit and the Mayoral
chain for Geraldton. He has also continued to produce silver table-ware from
several designs by his father, Jamie Linton. Jamie Linton, who also taught at
Midland produced many significant ecclesiastical pieces for Australian Churches,
including the cross and candlesticks in St Andrew’s Cathedral in Adelaide
During the 1980s, the Senior Lecturer of the art program was Richard Frew.
With a background in industrial design, he had originally come to Australia from
Canada to produce his sports car design. 
The car never went into production –
his moulds were tragically destroyed in a bush fire- but Richard Frew remained
in Australia and taught Painting, Drawing and Ceramics at Midland. He headed the
Art Department when Norma Macdonald,
the first of many Aboriginal students enrolled. It was Richard Frew’s
expertise as a teacher that attracted
students such as Ian Hill, who like Norma Macdonald later joined the
teaching staff. Ian Hill now regularly exhibits his paintings through the
Gomboc
Gallery, which has played a significant role in supporting Midland’s art
students and graduates, for example Bjorn Dover. Ron
Gomboc, the gallery’s co-founder who has won many Australian and
international awards for his sculptures was a Midland Technical College student
himself during the 1970s.
The 1970's represented a period of optimism and opportunities for education generally, which particularly flowed into the arts. By the end of the 1980s Art and Design had become the largest department of Perth Technical School. At Midland, a new art department was designed with considerable input by staff, particularly Richard Frew. It was to be the best art facility of its time in the State.
From the mid eighties to the mid nineties, students studied Art History under Judith McGrath. She had originally been a student of the Diploma in Art Studies at Midland and later, in 2002, became the Chair of the Governing Council.
The Diploma of Art Studies was a four-year course designed to be conducted part time. The fact that it was part time was considered by some to be designed for amateurs. This gave it less status than the Diploma offered at other technical schools.
In 1988 Technical Education became Technical and Further Education (TAFE).
The National Training Agenda called for articulation of courses and for
modularity and flexibility. What was now known as Midland College of TAFE began
full time courses. However a lack of funds limited what was on offer to
part time students. This created an unsettled period for the Art Department and the
dedication to the new building was marked by protests from art students.
The same year a new cooperative was born as a result of Midland’s Ceramics classes. Anne Cruse commenced teaching Ceramics and Print Making at Midland in 1987 having transferred from Claremont School of Art. Her students who formed the Whiteman Park Pottery Group included Catherine Cann and Margaret South. Anne Rowe a more recent member exhibits in several galleries around the State and sometimes performs with her singing group at the same time.
At the end of 1990s TAFE Colleges were required to focus on outcomes and
provide a viable and attractive educational stream. The Advanced Diploma of
Environmental Art and Design was the first art course in Technical Education in
Western Australia written to meet competency based training guidelines. A number
of initiatives by Government formed the rationale for this new art course. The 'Per
cent for Art' Scheme had been introduced where one percent of the budget of
State Government buildings was to be used for the commissioning of integrated
art works. At the same time local governments were seeking to involve artists in
the development of public places. 
Peter Dailey
was appointed in a full time capacity to
deliver the course, while a number of other artists working in the field were
appointed as sessional lecturers. As well as material studies of wood, metal,
fibre, clay and paint, relatively new art subjects such as computer graphics and
communication underpin the Advanced Diploma of Environmental Art. However
despite the expansion of the art program to encourage students to look beyond
the traditional confines of gallery walls, Drawing and Printmaking with Russell Bell still
constituted an important part of the Art Program.
In 2000, the involvement in the development of public art projects was extended to include graduates of the Diploma of Aboriginal Visual Arts for an Advanced Diploma. This course which was set up to assist Aboriginal people in the growth and development necessary for a career as an artist had been running parallel to the Environmental Art Course. Julie Clampet and Shane Pickett had played key roles in getting it started. When ex student Norma Macdonald became coordinator a new phase for the Art Department began. Her own public art-work had convinced her of the possibilities for Aboriginal artists in this field. Lecturers acted as mentors to assist Aboriginal students to tender for and complete major public art commissions. A number of Aboriginal students including Yvonne Websdale have subsequently been involved in other major public art projects.
