Frederick John Rose replied to the series of letters from his residency in Sandhurst (Bendigo) and formed a friendship with the writer Sarah Ann Lewis, whose daughter, Lucy Ann Lewis, became his first pupil.

On 12 November 1860 the 'Victorian Deaf and Dumb Institution' was opened by Rose at his residency in Peel Street.

After the 3 moves and with numbers continuing to grow, the Committee realised that it was time for a permanent home and a specially designed building.

In 1865 the Government made a grant of land on the corner of St Kilda Road and High Street, Prahran, and the iconic blue-stone building was built and opened in 1866.

It is appropriate that the founder and first headmaster was an educated Deaf man, Rose a role model to many students.