History

Newington College was founded in 1863.

The College Archives

Newington’s archives are our corporate memory, forming the bridge between our past, present and future. The archives are authentic documentary evidence of the work and life of our College and community over more than 150 years.

Founding the College

Newington College was founded in 1863. It was established as a result of a growing view in the Wesleyan Methodist Church that an institution higher than elementary school was needed in Sydney. Rev John Allen Manton (1807–1864) was its leading advocate and the College’s first president.

Newington House was the former home of colonial merchant and landowner John Blaxland, on the banks of the Parramatta River at Silverwater. The College opened its doors on 16 July 1863 with 16 students aged between seven and sixteen. The College was conceived as ‘…decidedly Wesleyan in its character [but] … open to the sons of parents of all religious denominations.’ The College also functioned as the home for theological training for the Methodist Church in NSW until 1914.

A timeline of Newington College history

1863	Decision by Wesleyan Methodist Church to establish a “collegiate institution” in Sydney College inaugurated at Newington House, Silverwater, in July
1864	First recorded cricket match against another school team (from Horton College, Tasmania)
1866	College Council established First College athletics meeting First known program of musical, dramatic and recitation performances staged
1867	Australian Rules football played
1868	Black and white colours adopted
1869	First known rugby match (vs University of Sydney) Cadet Unit founded First rifle shooting match (vs Camden College)
1870	First inter-school rugby match (vs The King’s School)
1877	Construction of College at Stanmore commenced

1880	Move to Stanmore
1883	Stanmore Methodist Church dedicated, serving also as College Chapel for next ninety years
1884	School magazine, The Newingtonian, first published Fencing Club started First known performance by a school choir
1885	Bicycle Club started

1886	First Chemical Laboratory constructed Drum, fife and bugle band started, as part of Cadet Corps
1887	A Literary and Debating Society founded First inter-school tennis match
1888	A Musical Society founded
1889	Prefects first appointed A ‘Modern Form’, distinguished from traditional ‘Classics’, established to prepare boys for business careers

1890	First gymnasium constructed
1891	First known performance by a school orchestra
1892	GPS sporting competitions start with foundation of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of NSW
1893	A Science Club started, along with a small geological museum and zoo
1894	First Swimming Bath constructed
1895	Old Newingtonians’ Union founded
1896	First group of students from Tonga enrolled

1899	First school flag, black and white and bearing the wyvern, hoisted
1905	First open scholarships, offered within and outside the College, awarded
1911	Compulsory military training for boys introduced by Commonwealth Government, incorporating existing school Cadet units
1912	Intermediate Certificate examination introduced

1913	Leaving Certificate examination introduced Jubilee (50^th anniversary) celebrations
1914–1918	Some 650 former students and staff serve in First World War; 111 known to have died in service
1915	Theological Institution for training Methodist ministers moved from Stanmore campus to separate site
1919	Influenza pandemic disrupted school year
1920	First entry in GPS Rowing with two IVs
1921	Separate Preparatory School classroom building constructed College wins Head of the River with its first VIII entry

1922	College incorporated (Newington College Council Act 1922 (NSW)) Three First World War memorials dedicated
1925	Robert Glasson Memorial Boatshed constructed at Checkley Street, Abbotsford
1928	Parents’ and Friends’ Association founded
1929	First known performance by a school jazz band
1931	School uniform adopted

1932	House system introduced, initially with four Houses Earliest known school play performed
1933	First College invitational swimming carnival
1934	Glasson Pavilion opened
1935	Gymnasium reconstructed as the Stewart Spence Gymnasium
1937	Cross country races commence as part of House competition
1939	A separate preparatory school, Wyvern House, inaugurated

1939-1945	More than 820 former students and staff serve in Second World War; 61 known to have died in service
1942	First female teacher and subject head appointed
1943	Air Training Corps flight formed
1952	Junior Farmers’ Club started
1953	War Memorial Classroom Block completed, followed by Science Block (1955) and Prescott (Manual Arts) Block (1957)

1957	Preparatory School opened at Killara
1958	Golf started as school sport (re-introduced in 2020)
1961	Nesbitt Wing opened
1962	Wyndham Scheme commenced, leading to School Certificate (1965) and Higher School Certificate (1967) First student representative body established Earliest known school musical performed

1963	Centenary celebrations Centenary Hall opened Language Laboratory installed
1966	Further Science Block constructed
1967	Killara Preparatory School moves to present campus at Lindfield
1968	Physical Education Centre, incorporating a new gymnasium and an outdoor swimming pool, opened
1969	Unofficial basketball competition with five other schools commenced, followed by GPS competition in 1975
1972	Lane Block constructed

1973	Soccer (now Football) commenced as school sport, initially in an independent schools competition Student magazine, John Jones, first published
1974	The Newington Foundation established After changes over previous decades, eight Houses established
1975	Association of the Arts (now the Creative Arts Association) established
1976	Community Corps introduced as an alternative to Cadets Resources Centre (Library, audio-visual and other facilities) constructed
1978	Fencing revived as school sport First Founders’ Concert held, initially as part of Founders’ Day activities

1982	Pastoral care system, incorporating Houses, introduced
1984	New College Chapel dedicated; first performance on Knud Smenge organ
1988	Arts Centre (Music and Visual Arts) opened GPS Cross Country and Soccer competitions commenced Independent schools’ Water Polo competition inaugurated
1992	Newington wins “Eight out of Eight” senior GPS Summer sports competitions

1993	New Physical Education Centre (now the Taylor Sports Centre), including heated indoor swimming pool, and Space Frame opened
1995	New Boatshed opened at Abbotsford John Waterhouse Society inaugurated
1997-1998	Major noise attenuation works due to opening of Sydney Airport’s Third Runway
1998	Wyvern House Preparatory School moves to present campus at Cambridge Street, Stanmore Edmund Webb House, initially for senior boarders, opened at Cambridge Street
1999	Footbridge over busy Stanmore Road opened
2003	First biennial Literature Festival held Volleyball introduced, with initially limited GPS competition
2004	Newington Challenge program introduced as an alternative to Cadets

2007	First RockFest competition
2008	First cohort of Year 11 students commence International Baccalaureate studies
2009-2010	Re-development of Lindfield campus completed, and Don Brown Hall and Music Centre opened
2010	Centre for Ethics established Roy Zimmerman Library at Wyvern House opened
2011	Technology Centre opened Concordia Gallery opened
2012	Cross Fit (now NewFit) program commenced as an alternative to team sport

2013	Sesquicentenary celebrations AJ Rae Centre and LRD Pyke Centre, along with Sesquicentenary Quadrangle, opened
2016	Tupou College Centre for Year 7 and Duckmanton Drama Centre opened Table Tennis competition against with some GPS and CAS schools commenced
2017	Entry Forecourt completed Australian Rules (‘AFL’) football revived with an Independent Schools’ competition
2018	Early Learning Centre opened
2019	Student magazine, Censored, first published
2020	Year 12 Study Centre created Response to COVID-19 pandemic, including pivot to online learning and staged return to campus
2021	Renewed disruption with COVID Delta outbreak Additional eight Houses announced, with sixteen-House structure to operate from the start of 2022

A Sesquicentenary History

This history of Newington College, commissioned for the 150th anniversary in 2013, stands upon the shoulders of Newington’s past historians. And yet it is a new history, and takes a somewhat different tack from previous histories. The book was authored by Sydney based public historian Dr Stephen Gapps. The book is filled will rare photos, intriguing documents and fascinating stories that chronicle the full 150 years of Newington College.

Newington College: A Sesquicentenary History 1863 - 2013 by Dr Stephen Gapps

About the Author

Dr Stephen Gapps is a Sydney based public historian and museum curator. He has worked extensively as a professional historian on a variety of oral and written history projects ranging from histories of pastoral sheep and cattle stations, to Sydney pubs and deserted gold mining towns and now to the Newington College Sesquicentenary publication. Dr Gapps was the Winner of the NSW Premier’s History Awards 2011 – Community or Regional History, for his book Cabrogal to Fairfield: A history of Fairfield City. Other publications include Front pages that shaped Australia: 100 of the nation’s most influential cover stories and newspaper headlines.

To order a copy, please email alumni@newington.nsw.edu.au

College Crest and Song

Newington’s school song, ‘Dear Newingtonia’, was first sung at Speech Day on 13 December 1895.