North Sydney Technical High School
North Sydney Technical High School on Miller Street, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia first opened as St Leonard's Superior Public School (opening 1844). The school has subsequently been named: Greenwoods, North Sydney Primary School, North Sydney Household Arts (Home Science) School, North Sydney Intermediate High School, North Sydney–Chatswood Junior High, and, finally, as North Sydney Technical High School until its closure in 1969.[1]
History
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The original 1844 school was managed by the Church of Scotland, and first operated from a timber shed, then a larger stone building, which is still standing on the eastern side of Miller Street, North Sydney.
- 1912: North Sydney Superior Public School was upgraded and split into North Sydney Primary School and North Sydney Intermediate High School.
- 1914: "Intermediate" graduate girls seeking further study transferred to the new North Sydney Girls "High" School on Lane Cove Road (now Pacific Highway).
- 1915: "Intermediate" graduate boys seeking Leaving Certificate qualifications enrolled at the newly opened North Sydney Boys "High" School at Falcon Street.
- 1932: Due to the demolition of school buildings to make way for the Harbour Bridge access road cutting (Pacific Highway see left), staff and "Household Arts" girls were transferred to be the initial student population of the new Willoughby Home Science School at Mowbray Road. Additionally, "Infant and Primary" students were transferred en bloc to the new North Sydney Demonstration School on the Lady Hay Estate, at the corner of Pacific Highway and Bay Road.
The old stone buildings on the school site of the North Sydney Intermediate High School have been restored and incorporated into the Greenwood Hotel. The Old Lions still have a connection to the site with their Old Lions Den which is a museum of the former school and is a focal point for the members of the Old Lions.
Upon closure in 1969, the majority of pupils transferred to North Sydney Boys High School. Among their number was future Australian Cricket Captain Allan Border. In a sense, events had come full circle as the first classes of North Sydney Boys High School were temporarily formed at the Miller Street site from 1912 to 1914 under the supervision of the legendary Nimrod Greenwood. Today, the connection is remembered in the annual Old Lions Award at North Sydney Boys High School.
Alumni
The Old Lions
The Old Lions is made up of the former students and teachers of that school which as well as providing a contact point for those connected with the school via its newsletters, website www.oldlions.org.au, and dinners, also maintains a museum of the school and of early education on the north shore. The Lions Den is within the Greenwood Hotel complex on the old school site.
The Old Lions mounted a very strong defence of the old school after the site was sold and the old stone buildings threatened with demolition. The area has now been named Greenwood Plaza in memory of Nimrod Greenwood, the influential and popular headmaster of the school from 1884 to 1914.
The Old Lions holds a members' dinner and a teachers' lunch each year. Membership is very strong considering that the school closed more than 40 years ago.
Notable alumni
The school has had a number of notable Australians amongst its alumni:
- Peter Finch – international stage and screen actor
- Nancy Wake – World War II heroine
- Roger Woodward – world-renowned pianist
- Barry Cohen – Ian Macphee and Bill Morrison, Ministers in various Australian Governments
- Alan Cadman – a long serving member of Parliament
- Gerald Bruce Muston and Peter Brain, Anglican Bishops
- Dick Smith – businessman, entrepreneur, aviator, publisher, bureaucrat, philanthropist;
- Neville McWilliam – Australia's first blind barrister
- James Staunton – chief judge of the NSW District Court
- Colin Parker – artist
- Richard Coxon – Olympic yachting
- David Humphreys – Olympic cycling
- Allan Livingstone – Olympic kayaks
- Bill (William) Ronald – Olympic fencing
- Allan Border – cricket international and Australian captain
- David Colley – cricket international
- Ken Eastwood – cricket international
- Trevor Allan – rugby international and Australian captain
- Rod Batterham – rugby international
- Peter Rothwell – rugby international
- Bevan Wilson – rugby international
- Ken Gulliver – baseball international
- Gavin John (Bon) Andrews – rugby Norths Rugby's greatest treasure, North Sydney Oval No 2 named after him