Former students of the Orange Agricultural College will return to their alma mater during November for a reunion marking 50 years since the graduation of the first two cohorts.

It was 1973 that the Orange Agricultural College, or just the “Ag College” as it is more commonly referred to, welcomed the first 22 students to the newly built campus on farmland north of Orange.

Under founding principal Sandy McKenzie, the Ag College (now the local campus of Charles Sturt University) quickly built a reputation for producing capable, well-rounded graduates, highly sought after by commercial farm businesses and adjacent service industries.

Of the 22 that started that first class, 19 graduated in 1975, followed by 33 in 1976.

“I was the second intake, but we've always put our reunions together,” explained Rob McCarron, who is organising next week’s reunion.

“I started at the Ag College in ‘74. We started with 52 or 53 and ended up with 33 graduates in ‘76… so this year's 50 years since my year, that second intake graduated, so that's why this reunion's significant, I suppose, being 50 years.”

When Rob arrived as a young student from a family farm at Narrabri, he quickly found the other students had very similar backgrounds to himself. Their time there together at the college formed lifelong bonds of friendship, he said.

“I can honestly say that some of my closest mates are ex-Ag College mates and I keep in regular contact with them,” Rob said.

“Students and staff at the same time, because in those days - and I can't talk to later on - but the staff and the students were very close because [the Ag College] was small, and it was new and everyone worked together as a team, so we were a pretty tight team.

“It would be fair to say that a lot of students have attended each other’s weddings since Ag College days,” he said.

As well as the social side, the course, too, was great preparation for a career in agriculture, combining farm finance and rural science with practical on-farm experience, Rob said, who has spent more than 40 years working for a large seed company.

While Rob and his fellow graduates have held regular reunions in different places over the years, they decided to return to Orange for this significant milestone.

The reunion will begin with a meet-and-greet at the Oriana on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 10, and then lunch at Duntryleague on Wednesday, November 11.

“And part of the get-together for the week will be to go out to the college on the Thursday for morning tea and a bit of a look around for old times' sake,” he said

“Just a quick look around and then finishing up with lunch out at Pete Mortimer's Winery. It should be good!