Key Facts
Made possible through a $12.8 million Federal and State funding grant.
Custom-designed accommodation featuring shared living and learning spaces, supporting interaction between year groups.
Construction will commence at the end of 2017 and open at the start of the 2019 academic year.
A pioneering and inventive project
St Catherine’s College is delighted to announce $12.8 million in collaborative funding support from both the Federal and State Government, which will bring forward the first phase of our 2020 Masterplan and enhance the Dandjoo Darbalung Indigenous Access Program.
This pioneering and inventive project includes a custom-designed facility that will not only benefit all residents, but will be contributing to closing the gap on Indigenous education.
Dandjoo Darbalung is the Indigenous Access Program at St Catherine’s College, designed to integrate aspirational educational achievement with tangible skills and increased employment opportunities. This new funding support will build on the existing success of a 90% retention rate and 78% pass rate of our Indigenous residents. The additional rooms made available through this custom-designed accommodation building will double the capacity of our Dandjoo Darbalung Indigenous Access Program, making it a leading residential tertiary program of this type in Australia.
“This purpose-built accommodation will provide a space that is balanced for Indigenous ways of life and learning. From this we will see many prosperous professionals come and stand in all walks of life and proudly represent our people.”
– Barry McGuire, Balladong Nyungar man and Ambassador of Dandjoo Darbalung
The new building also centres on additional resources and facilities to be enjoyed by the whole College community, featuring integrated living and learning environments informed by cultural understanding and sensitivity.
It will also allow us to retire some of the older rooms and reinvigorate spaces so we can keep our facilities spacious and contemporary. This forms the first phase of our 2020 Masterplan, which includes:
- An all-new Bridie’s (dedicated space for socialising)
- An exterior facelift of the existing Prescott building
- A new collaborative learning space on the ground floor of Prescott connecting it to the new accommodation wing
- An integrated art space for events, performances and exhibitions
- Undercroft car parking
Essentially, this project has the capacity to change lives and positively impact educational outcomes for young Indigenous people with the support of the wider residential community. It embraces aspiration and innovation and shines the spotlight on a successful program which at its heart, celebrates the fostering of cultural identity to Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents alike.
