Premier Mark McGowan and Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery today announced Bob Hawke College as the name of the new high school at the former Kitchener Park site in Subiaco.
Bob Hawke moved to Perth in 1939 with his parents, growing up in West Leederville and attended West Leederville Primary School, before winning entry to Perth Modern School in 1942.
Mr Hawke was academically gifted and studied law at The University of Western Australia, where he became Guild President in 1951, and then won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in England.
After studying in England he returned to Perth in 1956, where he discussed the opportunity to potentially enter Parliament in the future with his uncle, WA’s 18th Premier, Bert Hawke.
As Australia’s 23rd Prime Minister, serving for more than eight years in the role, Mr Hawke reformed our country in many positive ways with one of the most ambitious policy agendas in our history.
The new $71 million Bob Hawke College will use the iconic Subiaco Oval as its playing fields.
The new facilities will be completed for the college’s opening in 2020 when it will welcome 250 Year 7 students. The college is expected to cater to Years 7 to 12 by 2025, with a capacity of up to 2,000 students.
The college will include classrooms, science and technology laboratories, a library, an auditorium, administration and student services, a cafeteria, landscaped courtyards, multipurpose playing courts and a performing arts centre.
The State Government made the decision to name the college after Mr Hawke following his passing on May 16, 2019. The State Government consulted with local residents, current and former Members of State and Federal Parliament from across the political spectrum, and eminent Western Australians.
Bob Hawke College is the seventh school in Western Australia to be named after a former politician. There are also several other schools named after other notable WA figures, such as Governor Stirling Senior High School and Cyril Jackson Senior Campus.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“Bob Hawke was one of the greatest Australians in history, and naming Perth’s newest and most impressive high school after Mr Hawke is a fitting way to honour his legacy.
“Mr Hawke was respected by Australians across the political divide and his passing last week served as a reminder that he is one of the country’s most loved figures.
“He was also a proud Western Australian, arguably the most famous public figure to emerge from our State since John Curtin, and honouring him in this way is a fitting tribute to a man who had a huge impact on many people, from all walks of life.
“The area surrounding the new school is steeped in the history of Mr Hawke’s early years, with the former Prime Minister regularly walking from his West Leederville home on Tate Street to Perth Modern School.”
As stated by Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery:
“Bob Hawke spent his formative years in this area and served our nation at the highest level, and I am proud to name our new school in his honour.
“This school will be world-class and we may see a future Prime Minister come through its doors.
“Construction of Bob Hawke College is well underway and its principal John Burke and his team are in preparation to welcome Year 7s next year.”
