History Of This Site

Pre –1830
The Aboriginals that inhabited the area of western Melbourne were originally, the Marin-Bulluk, a clan of the Wurungeri tribe and they used the river valleys to access needed resources. The lifestyle that was enjoyed by the Wurundjeri, in the Maribyrnong Valley area, gave them a varied and healthy diet; animals skins for their winter cloaks; bark for canoes, containers and shields; and stone for tools.

Site Location - General
Located at the intersection of a major development triangle and a transport hub, Gilson College provides easy access to local, national and international connections. The College is within 35 minutes of several major transport centres, including Melbourne International airport, Avalon airport, Essendon airport, and Melbourne port (the largest container port in Australia ).

Site Location - Specific
Using a Melways (the most popular street directory for Melbourne ) the College can be found on Map 13 B8. From Melbourne one travels up the Tullamarine Freeway, continuing up the Calder Highway until the Green Gully exit. One travels along Green Gully Road until it changes name and becomes Taylors Road . Located 7.5 km from the Highway exit, the College is located on 30 acres and includes significant development that has taken place over a number of years. (See table)

Background Information
Gilson College is a Christian Co-Educational College providing for students both a primary and a secondary education. It is operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Education Department in conjunction with a locally elected Board of Management.

The College is part of a world-wide system of Christian Education which has a tradition of excellence for over 140 years. The Seventh-day Adventist system of schools, colleges and hospitals is presently found in most countries of the world.

Our College traces its beginnings to the mid 1970s when a primary school was established in the suburb of Pascoe Vale. At the end of 1987 the Pascoe Vale school was closed and this heralded the beginning of a new educational institituion on the current Taylors Road site. Originally known as the 'Keilor School' its name was officially changed in 1992 to Gilson College.

How the College got its Name
W J Gilson was born in South Melbourne in 1896. In 1912 he went to study at Avondale College in Cooranbong, New South Wales and at the end of 1915 he married Miss Nell Painter. After his marriage he continued his study at Avondale for what was to become an eminent place in Adventist education.

WJ Gilson graduated from Avondale College in 1918 and the following year was appointed to the Auburn School, Sydney. In 1920 WJ Gilson was appointed Education Secretary for New South Wales and in 1925 he transferred to Victoria in the same position with the added load of Youth leader.

In 1931 WJ Gilson was appointed Education Secretary for Australia and served in this capacity for the next four years. IN 1935 he secured a job with Taylors Coaching College in Melbourne and joined the staff of the Collingwood Technical College in 1938. WJ Gilson recommenced work in Adventist education in 1947 as the Principal of Hawthorn Adventist High School.
Covering the states of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, this area was known as the Trans-Commonwealth Union conference and in 1950 WJ Gilson was given the responsibility of administering education in this vast area. His career culminated in the opening of the Lilydale Adventist Academy in 1964 where he served as the inaugural Principal for two years.
WJ Gilson laid down his chalk at the end of 1965 and spent his retirement years actively involved with young people.

As one of the first Adventists to graduate from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Arts, WJ Gilson went on to later receive his Master of Education. His Master's thesis focused on the work of Adventist Education in Australia and New Zealand.

Acclaimed as one of the most eminent of Australian Educators, WJ Gilson passed to his rest on May 30, 1974. On Monday, August 24 1992 the Executive Committee of the Victorian Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted, at; the request of the Board of Management to name this school "Gilson College". This was fitting tribute to a man who spent over fifty years working for young people in Australia - his was a life dedicated to bringing young people to Jesus Christ.

Agriculture
A number of families moved into the region establishing agriculture as the main activity in the area, including the Taylors and Yuilles The main agricultural activities involved wheat and sheep farming. This activity was still taking place in the late 1990s and early students of Gilson College will have fond memories of feeding both sheep and cattle while at school.

Gold Rush
The area around Gilson College in addition to its agricultural activity was a gateway through to the gold fields of Bendigo and Ballarat. In 1850 nearby Keilor was the first transition point for the famous Cobb and Co coaches and many diggers camped in the area on the way to make their fortune.

Market Gardens
Even today there is located on the banks of the Maribyrnong River significant areas of land devoted to market gardening.

Suburbanisation
Although the nearby suburb of St Albans was architecturally designed and first laid out during Melbourne's 1880s land boom with the intention of encouraging professional people to settle in the area, and despite the healthy climate and easy access to the city by train, this was unsuccessful. The economic crash of the 1890s caused development to grind to a halt. Finally the post world war residential development saw the arrival of many migrants establishing themselves in ‘the Lucky Country’ Today the major cultural groups are Vietnamese, Maltese, Italian, Croatian, Macedonian, Filipino, Greek and Polish.

Purchase of the property by the Seventh-day Adventist Church with a view to establish an educational institution providing quality Christian education to western Melbourne took place in 1987. Classes began on the current site in 1988.

(Acknowledgement: Information regarding the history of the region sourced from both the Brimbank and Melton Shire websites)