"Bad Fairy"

In 1884 there appeared Sir Robert Stout, of the bushy beard and deceiving smile. His concept of universities was that each should specialise. He presented his intentions for Wellington in a Bill—"I do not think it necessary that much expense should be incurred in starting a college at Wellington. All that need be aimed at, first, would be part of the arts course." Then, a combination with the museum would create a chair of geology, and evening classes would provide the necessary qualifications for law clerks and civil servants.

But education, even this cheap, seemed a luxury to Colonial parliamentarians and the bill was thrown out. After seven years of inattention to the matter, Premier Seddon suddenly proposed "a Victoria University Act to promote Education by the Establishment of a College at Wellington in Commemoration of the Sixtieth year of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria."

This was in 1897. The College Council first met the next year, deciding that the university should be in Wellington and have four chairs: Classics, English language and literature, Mathematics and physics, and chemistry. The arrival of the professors in 1899 forced the decision on accommodation. Rooms were taken at the Technical School in Victoria Street and at the Girls' High School in Thorndon.