Finding land for a college seemed to be an impossible task, as the small church in Australia at the time did not have the finances to support such a project. Eventually the committee searching for the land found a block of land near Cooranbong ( north of Sydney) priced at $3 per acre ($741/km²) because of its "poor, sandy and hungry" land. They asked White to inspect the land, who gave her approval. An agricultural expert from the government who was commissioned to look over the land reported that it was of extremely poor quality. The land was purchased in the Spring of 1895, and the Avondale School for Christian Workers was opened there in 1897. In 1911 its name was changed to Australasian Missionary College. The College was a major influence on later Adventist education.