Were they to stay the same, but under a different sky?

The University of New England was established in the wake of the events of the Second World War, and especially as a consequence of reformist concepts current between 1943 and 1945. It had begun in 1938 as a rural college of The University of Sydney and was located in Armidale, one of the few non-metropolitan centres that had a claim to higher education. Armidale hosted the already existing Teachers' College, established in 1928; there were, too, several fine schools and religious teaching orders present. The further formative developments by the Commonwealth Government were new policies to meet domestic and international commitments which soon had special relevance for the whole of Australia. National policies of great significance were set up at this time because of the universal belief in the need for full employment, a stable currency and the welfare state. International commitments were linked to the formation of the United Nations, its charter, and its various key agencies. The Food and Agricultural Organisation had special relevance for Australia and rural science. The existing Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) was re-organised and given more resources. It continued to be the major institution for research, having had that role since its inception in 1926, until, after the 1950s, universities greatly enhanced their own research capacity. The establishment of the Commonwealth Universities Commission in 1943, and the Commonwealth Educational Commission in 1944, gave the nation's universities a new role, the responsibility for which then completely transformed them.