The University of Western Australia (UWA)

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a research-intensive university in Perth, Australia that was established by an act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and is colloquially known as a "sandstone university". It is also a member of the Group of Eight.

UWA was established under and is governed by the University of Western Australia Act 1911.The Act provides for control and management by the university's Senate, and gives it the authority, amongst other things, to make statutes, regulations and by-laws, details of which are contained in the university Calendar.

UWA is highly ranked internationally in various publications: the 2013/14 QS World University Rankings placed UWA at 84th internationally, and in August 2014 the Academic Ranking of World Universities from Shanghai Jiao Tong University placed the university at 88th in the world. To date, the university has produced 100 Rhodes Scholars; one Nobel Prize laureate and one Australian Prime Minister graduated from UWA.

UWA recently joined the Matariki Network of Universities as the youngest member, the only one established during the 20th century.

The 65-hectare Crawley campus sits on the Swan River, about five kilometres west of the Perth central business district. Many of the buildings are coastal limestone and Donnybrook sandstone, including the large and iconic Winthrop Hall with its Romanesque Revival architecture. These buildings are dotted amongst expansive lawns and thickets of trees, such as the Sunken Garden and the Tropical Grove. The beauty of the grounds and rich history of the campus make it a popular spot for weddings.

The Arts Faculty building (first occupied in 1964) encompasses the New Fortune Theatre. This open-air venue is a replica of the original Elizabethan Fortune Theatre and has hosted regular performances of Shakespeare's plays co-produced by the Graduate Dramatic Society and the University Dramatic Society.The venue is also home to a family of peafowl donated to the University by the Perth Zoo in 1975 after a gift by Sir Laurence Brodie-Hall.