CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF HISTORY 1896-2021
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 .
In 1900 , Guildford Grammar School fielded a cricket team in the Darlot Cup competition , played between four leading private schools in Perth . This pre-dated the PSA competition . Improvement to the grounds led to the introduction of a sports day , featuring athletic contests . Later an Australian Rules Football team was formed , and the School entered in the Public School ’ s boat race . Subscriptions were being raised in 1903 to purchase a rowing shell .
The Big School Room was built in 1900 on the Woodbridge estate close to the train station . In a letter to Charles Harper in 1901 , Gillespie pointed out the present run-down premises were holding back the success of the School . Academic achievements began to improve .
From Gillespie ’ s time on , Guildford became an exclusive boys ’ school as Mary and
The School at Woodbridge in 1897 , under the care of Francis Bennett and Marion Walker .
Mildred Harper were the last of the girls to leave by 1900 .
Gillespie had quickly married Frank Francis Bennett ’ s widow , Nellie in December 1899 and they started a family .
Alexander David Gillespie died in October 1903 . He had caught a severe chill after having fallen overboard while coxing the school rowing crew .
Guildford Grammar School was again looking for a new Headmaster .
William Stewart Corr – 1904 to 1909
After the death of Alexander Gillespie , Charles Harper finalised the appointment of the third Headmaster , William Stewart Corr in 1903 following a trip to Sydney .
The School was officially named Guildford Grammar School although the name had been widely used in the earlier years .
William Corr was a bachelor and was known to be a handsome man and a ‘ natty ’ dresser with charming manners . He enjoyed an immediate rapport with Charles Harper .
The School needed suitable boarding and classroom accommodation and the Governor , Sir Frederick Bedford laid the foundation stone at a ceremony on 23 June 1904 . Constructed by Law and Atkins , the new two-story building was officially opened on 1 November 1904 . The cost of the new extensions was 4,000 pounds .
Work commenced on a new cricket pitch and Corr quickly set about organising athletics
William Corr was born in 1863 at Creswick in Victoria from a family with modest means .
Corr arrived at Guildford Grammar School in 1904 , the same time that Charles Harper established a Guildford Grammar School Council .
Alexander David Gillespie . |
The academic standards for the School needed a complete overhaul for teaching staff and curriculum . Corr wanted to establish a system of discipline and the priority was to establish a cadet corps and introduce military drill . His attention also focused on neat dress and good manners and curbing the freedom of students drifting in and out of the school grounds without adequate supervision . Evening entertainment was introduced as well as sport and physical activities . A better prefect system to supervise the playgrounds and boarding house was quickly established . |
William Stewart Corr . |
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