Geelong College

The Geelong College
Location
Newtown, Victoria Australia
Coordinates	38°9′5″S 144°20′18″E / 38.15139°S 144.33833°ECoordinates: 38°9′5″S 144°20′18″E / 38.15139°S 144.33833°E
Information
Type	Independent, co-educational, day and boarding
Motto	Latin: Sic itur ad astra (Thus is the way to the stars)
Denomination	Uniting Church
Established	1861[1]
Founder	Alexander James Campbell
Principal	Peter Miller
Enrolment	1,200-1,300 (K–12)
Colour(s)	Navy blue, white and bottle green
Website	geelongcollege.vic.edu.au

The Geelong College is an independent and co-educational day and boarding school located in Newtown, an inner-western suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

Established in 1861 by the Reverend Alexander James Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, the Geelong College was formerly a school of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and is now affiliated with the Uniting Church in Australia. The school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for over 1,200 students from kindergarten through to Year 12, including 95 boarders from Years 9 to 12 and 4 in the Middle School.^[2] The boarding students are accommodated in two boarding houses at the senior school campus, one for each gender. Boys reside in Mackie House, while girls reside in Mossgiel House.

The college is affiliated with the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference,^[3] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),^[4] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),^[5] the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV),^[1] the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA),^[2] and has been a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) since 1908.

History

The Geelong College, 1906

Following the closure of the first Geelong Grammar, Campbell established a committee to found a new Presbyterian school. On 8 July 1861, Geelong College was officially established. The school year later started with an enrollment of 62. George Morrison was appointed the first principal and three years later became the owner of the school. The school moved to its present location in 1871. The architects Alexander Davidson and George Henderson designed its main building.

In 1908, the college returned to the ownership of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and became a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS). Land was acquired for a new in 1946 but the new preparatory campus did not open until 1960. It became co-educational in 1974. The college undertook an extensive redevelopment and refurbishment of the middle school, which is on the preparatory campus, in 2012.

Principals

Period	Principal
1861 – 1898	G. Morrison
1898 – 1909	N. Morrison
1910 – 1914	W. R. Bayly
1915 – 1919	W. T. Price
1920 – 1945	F. W. Rolland
1946 – 1960	M. A. Buntine
1960 – 1975	P. N. Thwaites
1976 – 1985	S. P. Gebhardt
1986 – 1995	A. P. Sheahan
1996 – 2012	P. C. Turner
2013 – 2015	A. M. Barr
2016 – current	P. D. Miller

Campuses

Main Oval at the Senior School

• Senior School - Years 9 to 12

Talbot Street, Newtown

• Middle School - Years 4 to 8

Aberdeen Street, Newtown

• Junior School - Years Kindergarten to 3

Minerva Road, Newtown

• Mokborree (Otway Campus) - All Years

(Under Development)

House system

A house system operates at both the senior and middle schools. Each house is named after a significant person in the college's history. Sporting and music competitions are held between them each year.

House	Colour	Origin of name	Year founded
Calvert	Maroon	Stanley B. Hamilton-Calvert, an Old Collegian, council member from 1908–39 and council chairman (1922–29)	1921 Barwon; Renamed 1925
Coles	Pale blue	Sir Arthur Coles, co-founder of Coles Supermarkets, a major college benefactor, Old Collegian and council chairman (1939–69)	1975
Keith	Green	Bertram Robert Keith, Old Collegian, staff member (1927–71), co-author and editor of the 1961 Geelong College Centenary History	1981
McArthur	Black	A. Norman McArthur, Old Collegian, council member (1908–47) and interim acting council chairman (1939-1941)	1952
McLean	Red	Ewen Charles McLean, staff member 1940-78, first chaplain from 1954 and honorary archivist (1979–98)	1980
Morrison	Brown	George Morrison, founding principal from 1861–98 and owner (1864–98)	1921
Shannon	Dark blue	Charles Shannon, council member (1908–21) and chairman of council (1908–21)	1921
Wettenhall	Gold	Roland R. Wettenhall, Old Collegian and council member (1927–58)	1975

At the middle school, there are four houses: Pegasus (white), Bellerophon (blue), Minerva (red) and Helicon (green), which meet for sporting events throughout each year. The house model is not used for pastoral care at this campus. The names of these houses originate from Roman mythology.

Sport

Secondary students of the college participate in the summer, winter and spring seasons of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) sport competition. Choices offered for summer sports include Badminton, cricket (boys only), softball (girls only), tennis and rowing. Winter sports include AFL football (boys only), netball (girls only), soccer and basketball. Students may also participate in a number of local competitions and the college is known for its winning results in the various rowing competitions in both genders.

Geelong College Challenge

The Geelong College Challenge is a competition run by the college at the preparatory school campus in which government schools in the region can enter. The challenge started in 1993.^[6] Participating schools send in an entry based on the set theme and the teams with the 16 best entries are accepted. These schools then form a team of four Year 6 students (two boys and two girls). On the weekend of the challenge, the teams participate in various challenges, which include art, music, drama, technology, information technology, physical education and mathematics challenges.

Notable alumni

Alumni of the school are known as Old Geelong Collegians and may elect to join the alumni association, the Old Geelong Collegians' Association (OGCA).^[7] Some notable Old Geelong Collegians include:

Academic

• Sir Robert Honeycombe – scientist and metallurgist, Emeritus Professor of Metallurgy at Cambridge University, UK.^[8]
• John Marden – first headmaster of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (1888–1919) and Pymble Ladies' College (1916–1919); pioneer of women's education; Presbyterian elder^[9]

Business

• James Scouler Coles – brother and business partner of G. J. Coles; killed in World War I^[10]
• Bill Dix – former Managing Director of Ford Australia and Chairman of Qantas.
• Don Kendell – founder of Kendell Airlines^[11]

Entertainment, media and the arts

• Roger Beilby – Jazz archivist/collector/broadcaster
• Russell Boyd – cinematographer: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, Crocodile Dundee.
• John Duigan – film director and writer
• Gideon Haigh – journalist and author
• Barry Hirst – jazz legend
• Peter Hirst – Internationally acclaimed Savoyard performer/producer
• Robert Ingpen – artist, writer and illustrator
• Joss Russell – musician
• George Ernest Morrison – Australian adventurer; correspondent for The Times Peking (Beijing)^[12]
• Guy Pearce – actor.^[13]
• Rebecca Maddern - journalist
• Sean Sowerby - journalist
• Nathan Templeton - journalist

Medicine and science

• Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet – biologist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine

Politics, public service and the law

• Justice Barry Beach – Supreme Court Judge
• The Hon John Button – federal politician in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments
• Sir Arthur Coles – retail founder, MP, former Lord Mayor of Melbourne; first Chairman of Australian National Airlines (TAA)
• The Hon Robert Doyle – Lord Mayor of Melbourne, politician; Member for Malvern in the Legislative Assembly (1992–2006); Leader of the Victorian Opposition (2002–2006)^[14]
• David Epstein – former chief of staff for Kevin Rudd (Australian prime minister, 2007–10, 2013)^[15]
• Major General Peter "Gus" Gilmore, Deputy Chief of Army appointed September 2013
• Major General Sir James Harrison – former Governor of South Australia
• Sarah Henderson MP – Federal Member for Corangamite (Liberal Party) since 2013
• Fergus Stewart McArthur MP – Federal Member for Corangamite (Liberal Party)
• Sir Gordon Stewart McArthur – Liberal Party politician, President of the Victorian Legislative Council (1958–1965), grazier and barrister^[16]
• Sir William Gilbert Stewart McArthur – Supreme Court Judge^[17]
• Justice Alan McDonald – Supreme Court Judge
• Lloyd Davies - former Greens councillor for the Borough of Queenscliffe, former Greens candidate for Corangamite

Religion

• Thomas Henry Armstrong – first Bishop of Wangaratta^[18]

Sport

• John "Jack" Bailey Hawkes – Australian tennis champion
• Jaxson Barham –current AFL footballer for the Collingwood Magpies
• Robert Buntine – former coach of numerous Head of the River (New South Wales) winning rowing crews
• Tim Callan – former AFL footballer for the Western Bulldogs
• Tim Clarke – former AFL footballer for the Hawthorn Hawks
• Bowen Lockwood– former AFL footballer for the Port Power
• Ayce Cordy – current AFL footballer for the Western Bulldogs
• Ed Curnow – current AFL footballer for Carlton FC
• Charlie Curnow – current AFL footballer for Carlton FC
• Josh Dunkley-Smith – 2012 Olympic rowing silver medallist
• Edward 'Carji' Greeves – winner of the inaugural Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest player in the Victorian Football League (1924)s
• Lindsay Hassett – captain of the Australian Test cricket team from 1949 to 1953
• Peter Hirst – Phenomenal schoolboy football and cricket player and mentor to Ian Redpath.
• Lachlan Henderson – current AFL footballer for Geelong Football Club
• Jack Iverson – Australian Test cricketer
• John Neil McArthur – horse racing identity^[19]
• Edward Russell Mockridge – Olympic cyclist^[20]
• Ian Redpath – Australian Test cricketer
• Josh Saunders – current AFL footballer for St Kilda
• Will Schofield – current AFL footballer for the West Coast Eagles
• Paul Sheahan – Australian Test Cricketer; Former Headmaster of The Geelong College, and Melbourne Grammar School
• Alec Boswell Timms – VFA footballer for Geelong and Scottish rugby international from 1896 to 1905
• Steve Horvat – former Australian International football player
• Zaine (Lank) Cordy - current AFL footballer for Western Bulldogs

See also

• List of schools in Victoria
• List of boarding schools

References

1. "The Geelong College". Find a School. Association of Independent Schools of Victoria. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
2. "The Geelong College". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools Association. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
3. "International Members". HMC Schools. The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
4. "Victoria". School Directory. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
5. "JSHAA Victorian Directory of Members". Victoria Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
6. The Geelong College - About - News, Events & Publications
7. "Old Geelong Collegians' Association (OGCA)". Community. The Geelong College. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
8. "Tributes paid to Professor Sir Robert Honeycombe (1921–2007)". 19 September 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
9. Dougan, Alan (1986). "Marden, John (1855 - 1924)". Australian Dictionary of Biography 10 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 407–408. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
10. "COLES, James Scoular". Geelong College. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
11. "History of Kendell Airlines". Kendell. Ansett Australia Limited. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
12. "George Ernest Morrison". Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
13. Quinn, Karl (24 September 2005). "The Guy outside". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 2009.
14. "Doyle, Robert Keith Bennett". re-member. Parliament of Victoria. 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
15. http://www.pm.gov.au/media/Release/2008/media_release_0535.cfm
16. Wright, R. (2000). "McArthur, Sir Gordon Stewart (1896 - 1965)". Australian Dictionary of Biography 15 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 152–153. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
17. Young, J. McI. (1986). "McArthur, Sir William Gilbert Stewart (1861 - 1935)". Australian Dictionary of Biography 10 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 195–196. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
18. McVilly, David (1979). "Armstrong, Thomas Henry (1857 - 1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography 7 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 95–96. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
19. Young, J. McI. (1986). "McArthur, John Neil (1857 - 1917)". Australian Dictionary of Biography 10 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 195–196. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
20. Hazlehurst, Cameron (2000). "Mockridge, Edward Russell (1928 - 1958)". Australian Dictionary of Biography 15 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 385. Retrieved 2008-02-06.

Further reading

• Notman, G.C. & Keith, B.R. 1961. The Geelong College 1861-1961. The Geelong College Council, Geelong.
• Deakin University. 1979. Portrait of The Geelong College: Continuity and Change in an Independent School. Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Vic. ISBN 0-86828-009-7.
• Penrose, Helen. 2011. The Way to the Stars: 150 Years of The Geelong College. Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne. ISBN 978-1-921875-10-6.

External links

• Geelong College website