Archives

The Archives at Kew High School encompass documents, photographs and other material from the school’s establishment in 1963, and earlier educational institutions such as the East Kew Central School, from where students transferred to Kew High School in its formation year. Recently the Archives received a donation of a family history, whose subject attended the earlier incarnation of Kew High School in the 1880s. The Argus newspaper in December 1888 reported on the achievements, both academic and sporting, of students from this first Kew High School, which was located originally in Cotham Road before moving to Charles Street, Kew. 

Donations such as this remind us of the long history of education in the Kew area. The Argus article reported the Principal’s delight thus – 

‘for the first time in its history, the number of boys in attendance at the High School has reached a hundred. What is more pleasant still, the tone and discipline of the school and the health of the boarders were never better than they have been during the year now closing’.

1970 Production of 'The Mikado'
1969 'Ballon d'Essai' student magazine cover, vol. 3
1967 Soccer team
1965 Brass Band
2017 Year 7 camp
Abbey Road recording 1981
Dress-up day 2015
Kew High School 1967
Pirates of Penzance 1980
School Theatre opening 1974
Theatre Preview 1973
Softball team, 1964
1970's school grounds and buildings

No mention of any girls, however, nor the fact that the majority of school students in that year stopped attending school before their 15th birthday, with the school leaving age reduced to 13 years just two years later. How grateful we are to donors who continue to enable us to add to the Archives at Kew High School with interesting and relevant material.

The Kew High School historical timeline

1945 Lands Department aerial photo of school site
Kew High School was established in 1963 as part of the massive explosion in secondary education occurring throughout Victoria. The availability of a 6.5 acre site on the corner of High Street and Burke Road, Kew, announced by Mr Arthur Rylah, Member for Kew, meant that the hopes of a group of committed Kew parents could be realised.
Mr Edwin Cockrem 1963
The first students, under the leadership of the first Headmaster, Mr Edwin Cockrem, were located at the School’s temporary home at East Kew Central School. These 269 students in Forms 1, 2 and 3 were known as students of Kew High School, and became the founding classes of the new school. 15 staff were employed in that foundation year. Also in 1963, the four houses were established: Barker, Boroondara, Cotham and Willsmere, named for their local identity.
Mr Ron Hodge 1964-1965
In 1964 Mr Ron Hodge was appointed Headmaster, and the school re-located to its new home on Burke Road, into an L-shaped two storey building designed by Mr Raymond Davey, Chief Architect of the Public Works Department. Kew City Council permitted students to use part of the adjacent Stradbroke Park as playing fields. At this time the compulsory school attendance age was raised from 14 to 15 years.
Mr Roy Barnes 1966-1970
In 1966 Mr Roy Barnes became the third headmaster and oversaw the introduction of Leaving (Form 5) and evening classes. Kew High School had by this time grown to 900 students. During the late 1960s the culture of the school developed to include House Drama and Debating Competitions, a Careers Night, and End of Year Dinner Dance, and the production of the first of many student magazines. Drama was to become one of Kew High School’s enduring strengths and the production of school plays including Trial by Jury, Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado date from this period. Mr Barnes retired in 1970, with the school’s provision of a sound academic education and its offering of opportunities in sports and the arts being the significant achievements of the school in its formative years.
Mr Bruce Osborne 1971-1976
The fourth principal, Mr Bruce Osborne, was appointed in 1971 and his five-year tenure was marked by staff shortages and an enlarged student population. Throughout the 1970s Kew High School welcomed overseas teachers, the result of the Department of Education’s recruiting of teachers from across the English-speaking world to remedy the dire staffing situation across Victoria. The Kew High School Community Theatre was opened by the Hon. Rupert Hamer, Premier of Victoria, and Member for Kew, in 1974. It comprised a theatre with an orchestra pit, dressing rooms and a lighting and sound system. Architects Clarke, Hopkins and Clark were engaged through the efforts of the school community, donors to the building found, and a government grant, resulting in a popular and versatile school and community facility which later became the home of the Renaissance Amateur Theatre Company.
Mr Terry Shircore 1977-1981
Principal Mr Terry Shircore was appointed in 1977 and he oversaw the expansion of the co-curricular life of Kew High School. In particular, excursions and camps were instigated at Point Lonsdale, Mt Bogong, Phillip Island, Gippsland, Tasmania, Canberra and Wilson’s Promontory. A work experience program was also initiated. The evening classes which had been held for 18 years at Kew High School and which had enabled many students to complete Higher School Certificate subjects during the 1970s were taken over by the TAFE arm of Swinburne College in 1977. Kew High School had successfully demonstrated that an ethnically diverse school community could offer a solid academic, artistic, sporting and musical program.
Mr Ed White (Acting Principal) 1982-1985
Maurice Sevior was appointed Principal in 1982 but only held the position for a few months due to ill health. Mr Ed White (pictured) stepped in as Acting Principal from 1982-1985.
Mr Ian Collis 1985-1991
In 1985 Mr Ian Collis became the school’s first locally appointed Principal. The decade saw an increased focus on pastoral care and greater involvement of parents resulting in the formation of the Kew Parents’ Network in 1985. The development of the curriculum during the 1980s at Kew High School led to the introduction in 1992 of a new two-year Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). Mr Collis had guided the school through its most difficult period, with enrolments falling to 360 students, very few from the local area, with a highly diverse student demographic and a great preponderance of boys.
Mr Alan Taylor 1992-1999
New Principal, Mr Alan Taylor was appointed in 1992 and orchestrated a revitalisation of the school, increasing enrolments and energising the teaching staff. Gaining confidence and momentum in the following years, in 1996 Kew High School was awarded the Australian Quality Award for sustained excellence in education, the first school to receive this national award. In 1999 Mr Taylor was seconded as a ministerial advisor to the Minister for Education. At that stage the School’s longest serving principal, he was succeeded by his deputy Ms Clare Entwistle in 2000.
Ms Clare Entwisle 2000-2020
Clare Entwisle's commitment to the School saw excellent academic results and opportunities for extension activities, full fee-paying international students, a multicultural character endorsing LOTE subjects, enhanced leadership skills for senior students, and major building upgrades in 2002, with the development of the West Wing, new classrooms for Science, Art, technology and IT, a Drama and Music centre, an impressive VCE Centre, a Careers area, new synthetic playing surfaces in the quadrangle, and additions to the School Library.
Ms Josie Millard OAM 2020-present
In 2020 Clare Entwistle retired and the School’s tenth Principal, Ms Josie Millard was appointed. Throughout 2020 and 2021 the development of a new STEM Centre heralded an exciting new phase in the School’s history. Kew High School was the recipient of a $9.75 million grant to build a new STEM Centre alongside the current West Wing, which will support students in their preparation for their futures. The recognition of the School’s outstanding results in VCE through the Premier’s Awards, the initiative of the High Potential Leaders Program, and the spearheading of a school-wide positive behaviours framework program flow from the established culture of excellence which is a hallmark of Kew High School.

Donations to Archives

In 2021 we have been busy responding to numerous inquiries from Kew High School alumni searching for information and images from their time at the school. Fortunately, the holdings of photographs are relatively comprehensive from the early 1960s onwards, and we have been able to provide class photographs and photographs of individual students on request. Often working in partnership with the staff of Ourschool, the alumni service for students in state secondary schools, it has been rewarding to be able to assist our school community with information and pictorial material which is uniquely held in the Archives. Similarly, copies of the school’s history Aspire, Strive, Achieve – The Kew High School Story 1963-2013 – which was written for the school’s 50th anniversary, have been sent to alumni keen to engage with their school years and connect with former classmates.

In addition to the conventional materials found in archival collections, we are very interested in adding to the collection with the more ephemeral evidence of the school’s history. The COVID-19 pandemic has created circumstances and an environment at Kew High School which are particular to the last 20 months, and the Archives would welcome donations of material relating to recent events, whether it be in the form of documents, photographs or other less robust items which nevertheless contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the school’s experiences during the year. Of course loaned material will be scanned and returned, and we look forward to hearing from parents, staff and students interested in expanding Archives’ holdings in this way. 

Accessing our archives

Kew High School maintains an Archive of class photographs, school magazines and other memorabilia. If you have class photographs, news of other alumni or other historical material that you think may be of interest to us, please email the Archivist at alumni@kew.vic.edu.au.

If you are trying to track down your own class photographs, please make contact and we will do our best to assist.