[2] In his will, Hackett made the Anglican Diocese of Perth a residuary legatee,[2] for the purpose of establishing a church college at UWA, with a chapel if possible.

[3] However, the senate was found not to have the necessary powers to allocate the land, a situation which required the University Colleges Act 1926 (WA) to be passed.

[11] The Chief Justice of Western Australia, Sir Robert McMillan, died at the opening of the College having just delivered his speech.

Newby Wing opened in 2010 alongside new maintenance and kitchen facilities,[24][25] and that same year the College sustained significant damage in the 2010 Western Australian storms.

[26] The College drew some attention in 2019 over plans to host a summer school in collaboration with the controversial Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, which did not eventuate.

[29][30] A similar arrangement is commonly found in the chancel of Gothic churches to provide for a smaller collegial group of worshippers.

[32] The pipe organ in its southern loft was newly built as part of the original Chapel construction by Josiah Eustace Dodd and features jarrah casings.

[29][33] The south façade features the five blazons of the Anglican diocese in which Crawley has been located: (from left to right) Canterbury, Calcutta, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth.

[9][34] The south windows feature (from left to right) Bishop William Broughton, Aidan of Lindisfarne, Augustine of Canterbury, Saint Boniface, and Riley.