Ray Way’s contribution to William Angliss Institute was significant and spanned more than three decades. He played a key part in the College’s early venture into education-focused programs, as both a teacher and department head. During his time as CEO, Ray helped build the institute into the industry leader that it is today.

Ray was recruited by the Department of Education to write modules for Business Studies, and went on to become head the Business Studies Department. With Graham Dodgshun he created a very successful Diploma program that changed the way culinary business courses are run in Australia.

“We were absolutely snowed! … We had just about every hotel … and every restaurant … in the state. Even people who lived in the country wanted their children to come here. We ran the only practical course that was oriented to real management in the industry. We were operational management”.

Ray witnessed the dramatic surge in popularity that cookery underwent after the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, and into the 1960s and 1970s, when the cuisine of the city expanded and diversified. During this time, interest in food and culinary courses increased exponentially. William Angliss Institute felt the effects of this change.

When I first came here the intake of apprentice cooks would have been about 15, then… it took off, it went from 15 one year to 60 the next.

During Ray’s time at William Angliss, implemented the development of the Tourism Department in the late 1970s, and shaping the Diploma of Business Studies (Tourism) as a leading course run by the Institute. The program was extremely successful and focused on the specifics of the travel industry, including subjects that featured industry professionals as guest lecturers. Later, as the industry modernised, the program changed and adopted a focus on computerised systems and the technology involved in tourism management.

One of Ray’s major achievements was convincing the School Council to approve a change of name, and in the 1970s the Institute changed from ‘William Angliss Food Trade School’ to the more prestigious ‘William Angliss College of Catering and Food Studies’, assigning the College a greater distinction over other trade schools and reinforcing its standing as an industry pioneer.

Another memorable success that came about under his guidance was the funding and design of the Bakery and Pastry and Butchery Wing of the Institute. Ray remembers the initial step towards it getting built:

We got a call about 2 o’clock on a Friday afternoon … from the Education Department saying, ‘Have you got any project (priced) at about a million that you can give us some paper on by the end of the day?’ So Graham Dodgshun who was responsible for facilities and Ray Boardman, who was the planning officer here at the time, did all the building planning. So Ray and Graham and I sat down … in the conference room with a blank piece of paper and we designed a building for pastry cooks, butchers and bakers and the restaurant in two hours … and we sent these sketches up. And we got a phone call back saying, ‘You’re joking! A million!’ ‘Well’, we said, ‘it’ll be a start’. We got 16 million. That wing took … two hours of vision … and hard work by three blokes.

Ray looks back with fondness at his time at the Institute, and at the milestones and innovative developments achieved under his direction.