About
St Hilda’s
St Hilda’s transforms young adults so they may
transform the world.
Built on the foundation of Communitas, St Hilda’s is a transformative college. It’s a place of connection and community where we celebrate each individual’s unique attributes, support one another to be our best and contribute to making the world a better place.
We provide students with the opportunity to thrive; not limiting excellence to education but personal growth, relationships, experiences and beyond.
We
Stand
For
Communitas
Communitas
We provide opportunities to support others both within the college community and the broader local, national and global community.
Respect
Respect
We promote respect for self and others.
Belonging
Belonging
We cultivate an inclusive and supportive community where diversity and individuality are celebrated.
Growth
Growth
We support students to find their passions, achieve their ambitions and pursue excellence through a growth and development mindset.
Challenge
Challenge
We provide a climate of openness that encourages genuine engagement, the expression of differing views and positive discourse.
We
Stand
For
Communitas
Communitas
We provide opportunities to support others both within the college community and the broader local, national and global community.
Respect
Respect
We promote respect for self and others.
Belonging
Belonging
We cultivate an inclusive and supportive community where diversity and individuality are celebrated.
Growth
Growth
We support students to find their passions, achieve their ambitions and pursue excellence through a growth and development mindset.
Challenge
Challenge
We provide a climate of openness that encourages genuine engagement, the expression of differing views and positive discourse.
Founders
Built around a central vision of inclusivity and belonging, St Hilda’s College was formed with a strong sense of purpose. Comprised mostly of remarkable women, our founders believed the college should offer a welcoming place for anyone to call their home; where formalities were for special occasions and the playing field was always fair. With this purpose in mind, the college now proudly has almost 60 years of alumni who grew up in rural communities as well as alumni from other parts of Australia and around the world.
St Hilda
Hild of Whitby was born in 614 of noble birth, the daughter of a nephew of Edwin, King of Northumbria. She converted to Christianity at age eleven and later became a nun. She’s best known as the founding Abbess of Whitby – a co-educational monastery.
Origins
At the 1888 opening of our neighbour, Queens College, its Master, Dr E.H. Sugden, stated his hope to soon have a ‘hostel for women on these grounds’.
There were many attempts to set up a residential college for young Methodist and Presbyterian women heading to Melbourne for tertiary study; it was not until the 1950s that the idea came to fruition. Queen’s College donated the land on which St Hilda’s now stands. The college was officially opened in April 1964 by then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, with the academic and former diplomat, Mrs Marjorie Smart appointed as our first Principal.
In 1973 St Hilda’s was one of the first colleges at the University of Melbourne to welcome both men and women. The College motto Communitas means ‘community in feeling’ or ‘oneness in spirit’. It was the hope of the founders of St Hilda’s that our College would become a place where the humanities, sciences and the fine arts would complement one another, where men and women of different gifts and backgrounds would learn to live in a community of scholarship and then, after graduation, serve the wider community. These desires and actions are a fitting tribute to our namesake, St Hilda, who established a co-educational learning community in the seventh century.