It provided a coordinated framework for the five colleges of Burnley (1891), Dookie (1886), Gilbert Chandler (1939), Glenormiston (1971) and Longerenong (1889), and the McMillan Rural Studies Centre (1977) to form a single institution.
Dookie was a virtual ghost town up until recent changes for student residency in the BAg.
In a hostile funding period, VCAH proved an essential component to the preservation of practically oriented education for the primary industries sector.
A thorn in the side of other institutions, it provided the reminder of the need for relevance and the strength of industry as a partner.
Such resilience should not have surprised the universities or the Department of Agriculture, for it was an institution conceived in conflict and born strong after a difficult birth.