Brighton College (also known as Brighton College for Girls) was a non-denominational day and boarding private girls' school in

Manly, New South Wales Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the Local government in Australia ...

, Australia. It operated from 1889 to 1960 in the suburb of Manly, Australia.

History

Miss Ethel Milne opened a girls' day kindergarten school on Wentworth Street, Manly, in 1880. Brighton College itself was established by Milne in 1889. In the early years, boys were also pupils in the kindergarten; they were admitted again to the infants' department in the early 1940s. By 1928 there were 222 pupils. By 1946 the school was divided into three schools: kindergarten, middle and upper. The school moved frequently in its early years: it was located variously at Wood Street, Fairlight Street, and James Street, and for some time it occupied a large cottage on the Ocean Beach called Brighton. It was also briefly located on

Pittwater Road Pittwater Road is an urban area, urban Main Road in the north-eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Pittwater Road runs from Manly, New South Wales, Manly to Church Point, New South Wales, Church Point, on the southern shore of Pittwater. It p ...

(opposite Manly Park) and in

North Steyne North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

; when it vacated the last of these the building was then briefly occupied by the Manly Grammar School. A new building was opened in 1905, named 'Vista Reale', and located on the corner of Fairlight Street and The Crescent. In 1912 the then owner of Brighton College, Miss Mildred Fry, sold the school to Miss Maria Hayes-Williams, the Principal of the Manly High School for Girls (also known as Leona School for Girls, and originally Manly College for Girls), which occupied Leona House, also located on The Crescent. In doing so, Hayes-Williams kept the name Brighton College for the combined school, after initially naming it Manly High School for Girls and Brighton College. In 1927 the school moved to what would become its final location, 'Kurrumboola', on the corner of Margaret Street and 38 The Crescent, at the Fairlight end of Manly. Boarders were housed at 5 Margaret Street. Increased pupil numbers resulted in the establishment of a branch school in 1923, on the eastern side of Manly. The branch school was moved into the main building in 1924. In 1942 the school obtained the former Chief Justice Sir

Adrian Knox Sir Adrian Knox KCMG, KC (29 November 186327 April 1932) was an Australian lawyer and judge who served as the second Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1919 to 1930. Knox was born in Sydney, the son of businessman Sir Edward Knox. He ...

's country estate, 'Dalkeith', in

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...

as a country branch.

Physical culture Physical culture, also known as Body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US. Origins The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...

was taught by Hans Christian Bjelke-Peterson. There was a Brighton College Old Girls’ Union, established in 1923. The Wyndham Report of 1957 into secondary school education led to the Public Education Act 1961 and the closure of smaller private schools; Brighton College was one such school, closing in 1960.

Houses

The school was divided into houses. By 1932 there were four: Kendel, Wentworth, Hayes Williams and Allenby.

School songs

When still a pupil at the school, in 1925 the future novelist

Kylie Tennant Kathleen Kylie Tennant AO (; 12 March 1912 – 28 February 1988) was an Australian novelist, playwright, short-story writer, critic, biographer, and historian. Early life and career Tennant was born in Manly, New South Wales; she was educate ...

composed the first Brighton School Song, to be sung to the tune of ''

White Wings ''White Wings'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film starring Stan Laurel. Cast * Stan Laurel – Street cleaner * James Finlayson – Dental patient * Marvin Loback – A cop * Katherine Grant – Nurse * Mark Jones – Dental patient * G ...

''. ' Another pupil, Joan Smith, wrote a new school song in 1931, to be sung to the tune of ''The Song of the Vagabonds'', from the musical operetta film ''

The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionaliz ...

'', but which, in turn, had been written by

Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml"Mrs. Rudolf Friml to Receive Divorce"
...

for his 1925 operetta of the same name. ' In 1954, a teacher, Mrs Troy, wrote words and music for a new school song. '

Principals

*Miss Ethel Milne, 1889-1902. *Miss Mildred Fry (later, and better known as,

Mildred Muscio Florence Mildred Muscio (28 April 1882 – 17 August 1964) was an Australian activist for the rights of women and children, feminist and school principal. Early life and education Muscio was born Florence Mildred Fry on 28 April 1882 at Cope ...

), 1903-1912. *Miss Maria Eliza Hayes-Williams, 1912-1915. *Miss K Allenby, 1914-1923. *Miss Maude Mary Musson, 1924-1935. *Miss Annie Isobel Croker, 1936-1960.

Notable pupils

Nancy Bird Walton Nancy Bird Walton, (16 October 1915 – 13 January 2009) was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as "The Angel of the Outback", and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' Association. In the 1930s, she became a fully ...

. *

. The future novelist was the recipient of many prizes in English literature at the school.

References

{{reflist Private primary schools in Sydney Private secondary schools in Sydney 1889 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1889 1960 disestablishments in Australia Educational institutions disestablished in 1960 Defunct schools in New South Wales Defunct secondary schools in Sydney