CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF HISTORY 1896-2021
Headmasters – through the years
Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of Guildford Grammar School ’ s lengthy history are the stories of those who guided the School from inception through to modern times . Article by Rosemary Waller , School Archivist .
Charles Harper – Founder of Guildford Grammar School
Charles Harper , the founder of Guildford Grammar School was a pastoralist , pearl farmer , parliamentarian and part owner of the Western Australian newspaper . He married Fanny de Burgh in 1879 and began construction of his fine two-storey family home named Woodbridge . The building was completed in March 1885 . Charles and Fanny had 10 children . One son , Geoffrey Hillsden died in 1893 , aged just one . His headstone is located behind the Chapel and was part of the original St Matthew ’ s Church cemetery .
Prior to 1896 , the four eldest Harper boys were attending the High School ( later Hale ) in Perth . They travelled every day by train from Guildford . It was said by original student Enid Drake-Brockman ( 1896-1899 ) that the boys were behaving badly , dashing up and down the train ’ s corridors and disturbing other passengers . Members of the public complained to Charles Harper and this may have been the reason he decided to open his own school in 1896 in the billiards room of Woodbridge . There was also the matter of educating his four daughters .
Francis Bennett – 1896 to 1898 Francis Bennett had been running a small private school in a single room in a house at York . Enrolments were dwindling so his
Charles Harper .
appointment as the first Headmaster of Guildford Grammar School by Charles Harper came at an opportune time for Francis and his wife Nellie and three children Francis , Enid and Marjorie .
Two students , Bruce Leake and Fred Snowball , followed Bennett to join the new Guildford Grammar School . Fred went to live with his family in Perth . Bruce and William Hall from Roebourne boarded with the Bennett family in a house in Guildford and walked to Woodbridge every day .
Fees for tuition and boarding at that time were 13 pound , two shillings per quarter . The students sat at long desks each side of the billiards room .
By the end of the first year there were 18 students enrolled . They were all taught by Francis Bennett who was an excellent teacher . He often set a great deal of homework . By this time , he was suffering from a creeping paralysis which made him lame in one leg , forcing him to use a walking stick . He had become quite bad tempered and the students were afraid of him . As more children joined the school , the class in the billiards room overflowed onto the verandahs which stretched along three sides .
By 1897 , Francis Bennett had employed his sister-in-law Marion Walker to teach the younger children .
Francis Bennett ’ s period as Headmaster came to an end on 4 October 1898 when his incurable physical condition sadly led to him drowning himself in the Swan River near Woodbridge . Francis Bennett was buried in the Church of England Cemetery at Guildford on 18 November 1898 .
Alexander David Gillespie – 1899 to 1903
In 1899 , Alexander David Gillespie was appointed by Charles Harper as the second Headmaster after the sad sudden death of Francis Bennett .
Gillespie joined Guildford Grammar School while still at Woodbridge and immediately set about organising the school , grading the pupils and obtaining equipment . He introduced monthly examinations and reports to parents at the end of each term . He impressed upon his more senior students the need for more serious study and urged parents to keep them at school longer to enable success .
The Bennett home in Swan Street , opposite the Police station and two doors down from the corner of Meadow Street . It was still standing in the 1950s .
He introduced sound discipline and made the first appointment of prefects . Calvyn Wyborn Seabrook ( 1896-1899 ) was appointed as the first school captain . Alexander Gillespie also introduced a school badge with the Harper Family crest to be worn by all the students . This was mainly used on the hat bands of the boaters that were worn and as a brooch .
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