with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld
Rev Plume ’ s School at Kurrajong Heights
The elite Barker College , located on the North Shore , opened in the 1890s but this private school was originally established in the Hawkesbury before relocating to Hornsby .
The founder Rev Henry Plume , Anglican clergyman and schoolmaster , was born 170 years ago in a village in Norfolk , England . Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather , both Anglican priests , he won a scholarship to study at the Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University and was ordained as a priest in 1875 .
Henry married Eleanor Marshall , the daughter of a surgeon , in 1879 . Following the marriage , the couple journeyed to far North Queensland to undertake missionary work at the invitation of Rev Stanton , before returning to Sydney in 1888 .
On his return in 1888 , Rev Plume was appointed as the rector of Kurrajong ’ s St Stephens Anglican Church . Plume worked tirelessly to have St James Church
Rev and Mrs Plume in 1903 . Courtesy : Barker College Archives .
erected at Kurrajong Heights . St James was designed by Arthur Blacket , son of Edmund Blacket , well known architect who designed the Anglican churches at Wilberforce and Pitt Town .
Whilst Rev Plume focussed on his ministry in Kurrajong and North Richmond , Eleanor played the organ for church services , often led the choir and participated in local concerts .
The year after his appointment at Kurrajong , Henry worked for a period as the acting Warden of St Pauls College at Sydney University . This led him to consider teaching and establishing his own school . Plume placed a newspaper advertisement in 1890 stating he would accept pupils preparing for Matriculations Examinations . Rev Plume was able to continue his obligation to the Kurrajong parish whilst coaching students for exams . The first pupils enrolled were Charles Humphrey , Frank Clowes , Richard Thomas and Cuthbert Blacket , nephew of Edmund Blacket . Evelyn Hill was also amongst Plume ’ s first students , and the first female . She was destined for greater things and in 1890 was one of the first female students to attend Sydney University .
In 1891 Plume acquired Stokesleigh at Kurrajong Heights which was well situated and had extensive views . It was originally designed by the architect Arthur Blacket in the 1880s . With a small intake of students , Plume set up his school at Stokesleigh . The school was named Barker College , in honour of Plume ’ s mentor , Bishop Barker who died in 1882 . Barker was known throughout the district as he had owned a holiday cottage in the area .
Barker College was originally proposed to be co-educational , however , the only females to attend other than Evelyn Hill were Mary , Lois , Lottie and Kitty , the daughters of Mr Bowman of Kurrajong .
Lottie Bowman reminisced of Stokesleigh stating , “ We girls had to play cricket every Sunday afternoon with the boys . Sunday morning we had to translate a chapter of the Bible into French ... We had ten minutes ’ recess at 11am but every one of us also had to take the cross-cut saw and saw the wood that kept the fuel stoves going .”
Plume ’ s school was a success from the beginning and despite wishing to keep enrolments to an average of 12 , an increasing interest led to higher enrolments . Plume was the headmaster and the only teacher , assisted in the beginning by his wife , until additional teachers were employed a few years later .
Rev Plume resigned his position at St Stephens in 1891 to concentrate on the school , although he still assisted throughout the parish until his departure five years later .
William Friend , a boarder at Stokesleigh in the early 1890s recalled , “ At the beginning of a term , William , the Chinese cook and general hand , would meet the coach with a slide , drawn by Mr Plume ’ s sulky horse , and take luggage to the school , over about a mile of rough track .
“ The school house was a weatherboard cottage , with additions for dining room , classrooms etc . There was no electric light , no telephone , and house water was not too plentiful but we had a magnificent view over the Hawkesbury Flats , Richmond and Windsor .
“ The Rev . Henry Plume was Headmaster and all the teaching staff . He limited the number of boys to about eighteen , which in my day , included three
Rev and Mrs Plume at Stokesleigh , the original Barker College site at Kurrajong Heights , 1894 . Courtesy : Barker College Archives .
day boys . We had an hour ’ s work before breakfast .”
Well suited as a school , Kurrajong Heights was not easily accessible , with students catching the train to Richmond and then travelling by coach up the winding steep road . Eventually the isolated property at Stokesleigh became inadequate and it was necessary for the school to move somewhere more accessible .
A health scare occurred in 1894 when an epidemic of scarlet fever closed the school for two months . Ultimately Plume moved the college to Hornsby . Stokesleigh went on to become a guest house for a period but was demolished in the 1970s .
The school motto , Honor Non Honores , Seek Honour Above Rewards , was used on the illustrated address when Rev Plume retired in 1905 . The school was put on the market and purchased by William Charles Carter . It grew under his leadership becoming a recognised and innovative school . Barker College was purchased in 1919 by the Anglican Church .
The Plumes left Australia in 1905 and travelled to France , serving for two years in Cannes . They went on to England and Rev Plume was employed as the honorary curate on the English south coast . He died in 1930 in England and bestowed scholarships at Cambridge and Sydney University .
He dedicated his life to his calling and his passion for teaching . Mrs Plume lived to a great age , dying in 1951 aged 95 years .
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