The earliest schools in NSW were based on European models of formal education, aiming to foster morality as much as to impart knowledge. The first three schools in present-day North Sydney all had religious affiliation. By 1852, Anglican and Presbyterian schools were in operation. The first Catholic school was founded in 1856, initially housed in a church tent on Miller Street, the future site of St Mary’s Church. A timber school was later built on Mount Street, near the current Mary MacKillop Convent, in 1862. These three schools welcomed children from all faiths and those with none.
The first non-denominational school, St Leonards Public, opened in 1874 and was renamed North Sydney Public in 1910. It was commonly known as Greenwood’s, after its first headmaster, Nimrod Greenwood, who retired in 1914 after 30 years of service.
The 1880 Public Instruction Act made schooling compulsory in NSW for the first time, for children aged six to 14. This legislation led to four decades of public- school expansion to accommodate the rapidly growing population. North St Leonards Public School was established in 1883, becoming Crows Nest Boys High in 1910. Due to overcrowding at North Sydney Public School, North
Sydney Girls High opened in 1914, followed by North Sydney Boys High in 1915. These were selective high schools, which – together with the leaving certificate introduced in NSW at a similar time – ensured high academic standards.
The establishment of North Sydney Girls High was evidence of a new public commitment to girls’ education, whereas the cottage schools ‘for young ladies’ in the 1880s and 1890s had largely prepared girls for marriage and motherhood. Several of the first teachers were university-educated women. A more progressive approach to education was developing for both girls and boys, with children seen as active and creative individuals rather than just rote learners.
Another significant effect of the Public Instruction Act was the withdrawal of state aid to church schools. Nevertheless, private and religious schools in North Sydney expanded even more during this time. Many large family homes were converted into educational facilities, including Monte Sant’ Angelo (1875), St Aloysius (1879), Redlands (1884), Wenona (1886), Sydney Church of England Grammar ‘Shore’ (1889) and Loreto Kirribilli (1907).
Excavation around the former North Sydney Technical High School for the Greenwood Plaza shopping complex, c1989
By the 1920s, North Sydney was an educational hub. There followed a time of upheaval as many local families were displaced by construction work for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Great Depression and World War II both hindered school development. Following the post-war baby boom of the 1950s, schools faced overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of teachers, and inadequate facilities. The 1960s and 1970s saw existing high schools extending premises to meet demand, amidst a backdrop of dramatic urban change, including the demolition of around 500 homes for the Warringah Expressway and a shift towards high-density living. Not all schools could adapt, however. North Sydney Technical High School, as North Sydney Public had been since 1942, was forced to close in 1969 due to increasing commercial pressure in the CBD.
Today, North Sydney’s education landscape continues to evolve. Cammeraygal High School opened in 2015, on the previous site of Bradfield College, marking the first new public high school in the area since 1961. Unusually for North Sydney, this is a comprehensive rather than selective school. A new primary school, Anzac Park Public, also opened in 2016 at the former Anzac Memorial Club site in Cammeray, as part of a broader State Government investment in public education.
An exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of Greenwood School is currently on display at Stanton Library, showcasing significant donations from the Old Lions Archive to the North Sydney Heritage Centre.
Historical Services, North Sydney Council
