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Hurlstone Agricultural High School

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Coordinates: 33°58′14″S 150°53′29″E / 33.97056°S 150.89139°E / -33.97056; 150.89139
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Hurlstone Agricultural High School
Location
Map
Glenfield, Sydney, Macarthur region, New South Wales

Australia
Coordinates33°58′14″S 150°53′29″E / 33.97056°S 150.89139°E / -33.97056; 150.89139
Information
TypeGovernment-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day and boarding school
MottoLatin: Pro Patria
(For my country)
Established1 April 1907; 117 years ago (1907-04-01)
FounderJohn Kinloch
Educational authorityNSW Department of Education
SpecialistAgricultural school
PrincipalChristine Castle
Teaching staffc. 50
Years7–12
Enrolmentc. 1,080
CampusSuburban
Campus size112 hectares (280 acres)
Colour(s)Blue, red and gold    
Websitehurlstone-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Map

Hurlstone Agricultural High School (HAHS, colloquially as Hurlstone Ag) is a government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day and boarding school, located in Glenfield, a south-western suburb of Sydney, in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, Australia. HAHS is the oldest government boarding school in New South Wales.[1]

Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, Yanco Agricultural High School and Hurlstone Agricultural High School are the state's only public selective and agricultural schools that also include a co-educational boarding school. The 112-hectare (277-acre) Hurlstone Agricultural campus includes classroom blocks, an operational farm, sporting facilities and student accommodation.[2]

History

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Manual training class, 1913

Hurlstone was established as a boys-only school in 1907 in Hurlstone Park, approximately ten kilometres south west of Sydney, at the present site of Trinity Grammar School. The original owner of the land was a teacher, John Kinloch, one of the first graduates of the University of Sydney. He named the land 'Hurlstone Estate', after his mother's maiden name and set up his own school on it in 1878 which he called the Hurlstone School and College.[3]

In those days most students completed their schooling after primary school and students at 'Hurlstone Agricultural Continuation School' (as it was known at the time) studied there for only two years. In 1926 the school moved to its present site in Glenfield, approximately 42 km south-west of Sydney (between Liverpool and Campbelltown) and adjacent to Glenfield railway station. By then its student numbers had grown from 30 in 1907, to 148.[3] The school supported government policy to promote productivity in the agricultural sector through the training of boys in all aspects of agricultural sciences and farm management.

For a brief period in the early 1940s it was known as 'Macarthur Agricultural High School' in honour of wool-grower John Macarthur, but it soon reverted to its previous name.

Hurlstone was a boys' school until 1979, when the decision was made to become co-educational.[3]

In 2008, the New South Wales Government declared 140 hectares of Hurlstone's farmland 'surplus' and proposed the sale of the land, leaving the school with just 20 hectares.[4] The announcement was met with immediate public protest[5] and the formation of a local community group Save Hurlstone Educational and Agricultural Property (SHEAP)[6] eventuating in a government inquiry into the proposed sale and proceeds of the sale.[7] There was further pressure against the plans when the National Trust heritage listed the school in late 2009.[8] The government inquiry resulted in a recommendation of the sale of a small parcel of school land with the proceeds intended to help upgrade school facilities.[7]

On 18 November 2015, there was another proposal to sell the land the school and its farm operated on.[9]

Principals

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Collectable school cigarette card featuring the Hurlstone colours & crest, c. 1910s

The following individuals have served as principal of the Hurlstone Agricultural High School:

Ordinal Officeholder Term start Term end Time in office Notes
1 Frank McMullen 1907 1916 8–9 years
2 George Longmuir 1917 1938 20–21 years
3 Percival Hindmarsh 1939 1945 5–6 years
4 James McEwan King 1946 1953 6–7 years
5 Clarence G. James 1954 1967 12–13 years
6 Reginald W. Clarke 1968 1978 9–10 years
7 James F. White 1979 1982 2–3 years
8 G. K. Wilson 1983 1987 3–4 years
9 R. M. Kidd 1988 2003 14–15 years
10 John Norris 2003 2010 6–7 years
11 Kerrie Wratten 2011 2013 1–2 years
12 Daryl Currie 2014 2018 3–4 years
13 Christine Castle 2018 incumbent 5–6 years

Population

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The boarding school at sunset. Several dormitories, a kitchen, and dining room are visible.

Enrolment at the school is dependent on selective examinations of Year 6 students from across the state. New students coming in later grades have to sit a similar exam.[10]

Campus

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The school maintains a dairy with a milking herd of 38-45 cows and approximately 60 heifers, dry cows and calves.

Hurlstone features a fully functional farm and a commercial dairy. Animals on the farm include: beef and dairy cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and chickens.[11] Clarke House is a heritage listed building which houses Hurlstone's memorabilia museum.[12]

The school also hosts a memorial forest and cairn on Roy Watts Road, past the boarding school. Established in 1950, it is believed to be Australia's first living war memorial, with a gum tree dedicated to each of the 600 students from the school who served in WWI and II.[13] Currently, ANZAC and Remembrance Day ceremonies are held at the memorial forest.

As part of the 2008 mini-budget, the New South Wales Government declared 140 hectares of the school to be surplus to educational needs and the land will be sold in 2011.[4] However, due to a strong public protest against this action,[5] an inquiry was led into process of selling approximately seven-eighths of the school.[7] As a result, Mal Peters, the Inquiry Chair, recommended the school's agricultural sector to be upgraded in order to reflect current industry practice and standards due to it being an economic, wise and important public investment for the people of NSW as it supplies young scientists with the knowledge for the ever declining, but demanding agricultural sector of the world.[14]

In 2020 a new school called Hurlstone Agricultural High School was to open at Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury.[15] The existing school in Glenfield would be renamed Roy Watts High School (after Hurlstone alumnus Roy Watts) and would remain fully selective but would no longer be an agricultural school.[16] However, this decision was cancelled in December 2019. The farm land would have been converted to a new public school as well as housing and a shopping centre.[17]

Notable alumni

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  • Phil Burton – Australian musician, member of the Australian pop vocal band Human Nature
  • Alan O. Trounson (1958–1962) – biologist, stem cell researcher and IVF pioneer[18]

Military

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Politics, public service and the law

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  • John Kerin – Australian Labor Party politician, former Federal Treasurer (1991), Minister for Transport and Communications (1991), Minister for Primary Industries and Energy (1983-1991) and Member for Werriwa
  • Mark Latham – politician, former Leader of the Australian Labor Party[22]
  • Dick Klugman – Member for the federal seat of Prospect 1969–1990, Co-founder of NSW Council for Civil Liberties;[23]

Sport

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Patty, Anna (29 September 2007). "Parents demand answers over top school's finances". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ "Hurlstone Agricultural High School · Roy Watts Rd, Glenfield NSW 2167, Australia".
  3. ^ a b c Hurlstone Agricultural High School. School History Archived 28 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "Andrew Stoner – Media – Media Releases – Labor Must Abandon Plans to Sell Hurlstone Agricultural High School's Land". Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009. NSW Government Mini-Budget - Andrew Stoner
  5. ^ a b "Liverpool news, sport and weather | Liverpool City Champion | Liverpool, NSW".
  6. ^ Diamond, Jenny (29 March 2010). "Hurlstone inquiry's key finding welcomed". Education. 91 (3). Surry Hills: 8. ProQuest 392273425.
  7. ^ a b c http://www.hurlstoneinquiry.nsw.gov.au Archived 9 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ McDougall, Bruce (2009). "Hurlstone School's farm sale put into National Trust". The Daily Telegraph (published 9 October 2009). Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Principal's letter to HAHS alumna" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  10. ^ Enrolment section of: http://www.hurlstone.com.au/
  11. ^ Farm section of: http://www.hurlstone.com.au/
  12. ^ "HAHS Clarke House". 28 June 2007.
  13. ^ "Hurlstone Agricultural College Memorial Forest | Monument Australia". monumentaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "New Hurlstone Agricultural HS - NSW Department of Education". www.dec.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  16. ^ ‘Ironic’ twist in Hurlstone saga Wollondilly Advertiser 13 October 2017
  17. ^ "Glenfield Educational Precinct - NSW Department of Education". www.dec.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  18. ^ p. 45 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Hurlstone Inquiry.
  19. ^ Flying high – Local News – News – General – Campbelltown – Macarthur Advertiser Archived 7 July 2012 at archive.today
  20. ^ Grant, Ian (1996). "Edmondson, John Hurst (1914 - 1941)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 14 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 80. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  21. ^ p. 619 Who's Who in Australia 1977
  22. ^ Burke, Kelly (10 February 2004). "One of the old school". TV & Radio. The Age. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  23. ^ Obituary in Sydney Morning Herald 14 March 2011
  24. ^ Patty, Anna (26 May 2006). From the principal's desk: furniture sale means I've been carpeted Sydney Morning Herald.
  25. ^ Blackburn, Kevin (2012). The Sportsmen of Changi. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 978-1-74224-100-5.
  26. ^ "Charles Melton". Barons of the Barossa. 20 October 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
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