Dookie College celebrates 140 years

Campus director Associate Professor Ros Gall said the milestone was significant.

“It’s really exciting to be part of an institution that’s had a continuous history of agricultural education for 140 years,” she said.

She said there were around 100 students studying on the campus, made up of second and third-year Bachelor Of Agriculture students, postgraduate research students and those studying a Diploma in General Studies.

Assoc. Prof Gall said innovation was key to the campus’s future.

“I think the future of the campus is . . . researching and testing new innovations and providing that knowledge to our students and the broader agricultural community,” she said.

Agronomist and crop physiologist Professor James Hunt said the campus provided unique opportunities to engage in research trials.

“There’s a lot of research dollars invested at the Dookie Campus,” he said.

“We can do things on Dookie farm that you can’t do on a commercial farm because you’re compromising the production.”

Much of the knowledge they gain is passed on to local farmers.

Students told The News that the smaller size of the campus and the ability to immerse themselves in the agriculture industry was highly appealing.

Matilda Conner, originally from Boundary Bend, near Swan Hill, said these factors influenced her decision to study at Dookie College.

“I find it more interesting, more engaging,” she said.

Andrew White, from Coleambally in NSW, chose to study there after someone from his area chose Dookie.

“You’re out of Melbourne, it’s a bit more homely,” he said.

Both are studying a Bachelor Of Agriculture but with different career goals in mind.

Miss Connor wants to be a broad acre agronomist.

Meanwhile, Mr White wants to return to his hometown and work in the irrigation industry.