Normanhurst School, Ashfield

Independent, girls' school in Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia
33°53′11″S 151°07′45″E / 33.886373°S 151.1291692°E / -33.886373; 151.1291692InformationTypeIndependent, girls'DenominationNon-denominationalEstablished1882 (1882)FounderEllen ClarkeStatusClosedClosed1941

The Normanhurst School was an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for girls that operated in Ashfield, in the Inner Western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[1]

Despite being non-denominational, the Normanhurst school maintained close links with St John's Anglican Parish, which was situated in the vicinity of the school.[2]

History

The former main building of the Normanhurst School in 2018.

The Normanhurst School was established in 1882 by Ellen Clarke, who was an English national.[2] Clarke was principal of the school from its founding in 1882 to 1893.[2] In 1884, her sister Marian Clarke arrived in Australia from England to join the faculty, and founded Abbotsleigh the following year.[3]

At its foundation, the school operated out of a cottage located on Bland Street, Ashfield.[2] Later as the school expanded, it moved to another larger campus in Ashfield at the intersection of Orpington and Chandos streets (pictured right).[2]

Through the initiative of the then headmistress, Evelyn Tildesley, the Normanhurst School became a founding member of the Headmistresses’ Association of NSW (which has since become the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools) in 1916.[4]

The school ceased operations in 1941.[1]

Notable alumnae

  • Daphne Akhurst (1903–1933) – five times Australian Open tennis champion[5]
  • Janet Cosh (1901–1989) – amateur botanist and plant collector[6]
  • Constance Elizabeth Harker (1875–1964) – was a headmistress at Somerville House.[7]
  • Margaret Slattery AM, DCSG (1922–2015) – National Secretary of the Australian Parents Council during the 1970s, an advocacy organisation for non-government schools[8]
  • P. L. Travers AO (1899–1996) – author of the Mary Poppins series of children's books, later adapted into the musical film of the same name[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Normanhurst Girls School Ashfield". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Normanhurst School, pictorial collection, ca. 1890–1920". The State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Marian Clarke, 1885-1913". Abbotsleigh School history and archives.
  4. ^ "About AHIGS". AHIGS – Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  5. ^ Akhurst, Daphne Jessie (1903–1933). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Janet Louise Cosh". Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  7. ^ Gill, K. E., "Constance Elizabeth Harker (1875–1964)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 28 October 2023
  8. ^ "John and Margaret Slattery: The very public couple". 28 December 2015.
  9. ^ Lawson, V., 1999, Out of the sky she came: The life of P. L. Travers, creator of Mary Poppins, published in association with Belladonna Books. ISBN 0-7336-1072-2


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