It was established on 10 March 1891, and formally opened by Minister for Mines and Agriculture
Sydney Smith on 16 March. The college initially operated out of two historic residences in Richmond, "
Toxana" and "Andrew Towns House", with construction of the campus buildings beginning from 1895. Two central campus precincts, the Quadrangle (the initial teaching area) and Stable Square (the initial base for student practical work), both date from this initial 1890s phase of construction. Stable Square, now the main student recreation and support facility, was designed by
Walter Liberty Vernon; it was completed in 1895, burned down in April 1896, and was then rebuilt. The college was operated by the state Department of Agriculture. Initially offering a two-year full-time residential course in general agriculture, it expanded to three years in 1910, after which time the course became known as the Hawkesbury Diploma in Agriculture. A dairying diploma was also introduced in 1910. The first female students admitted to this college was in 1971 when the college began relaxing requirements that students reside on campus. It continued to be operated by the Department of Agriculture until 1976, after which time it became autonomous with its own governing council. It operated a separate residential campus at
Scheyville, using the former
Officer Training Unit, Scheyville buildings, from 1977 to 1983. It was solely residential, with all teaching remaining at the Richmond campus, and the college opted to consolidate all operations there at the conclusion of its five-year lease. Notable faculty included
George Lowe Sutton and
E. A. Southee (principal 1921–1954), while notable students included the broadcaster Lorna Byrne and
Walter Lawry Waterhouse. In 1985, Premier
Neville Wran initiated a Higher Education Board inquiry into higher education in
Western Sydney, headed by Ron Parry. The report recommended the amalgamation of the Hawkesbury Agricultural College and the
Nepean College of Advanced Education to form a new university. The state government gave effect to the report's recommendations in the
University of Western Sydney Act 1988, and the college formally amalgamated into the new
University of Western Sydney from 1 January 1989. It thereafter became the university's Hawkesbury campus. ==Notable graduates==