, motto_translation = Wisely if Sincerely. , established = 1972 , type =

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, secondary,

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

, principal = David Rule , enrolment = ~739 (7–12) , newspaper = ''The Davidson Dispatch'' (monthly newsletter) , yearbook = , mascot = Davo Moose , colours = Red and navy blue , campus = Mimosa Street , coordinates = , city = Frenchs Forest , state =

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, country =

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, website
Davidson High School
Davidson High School, (abbreviation DHS) is a school located in Frenchs Forest,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, on Mimosa Street. It is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

operated by the New South Wales Department of Education with students from years 7 to 12. The school was established in 1972 as a result of the growing population in the Frenchs Forest and Belrose areas and is located on a site bounded by heritage-listed remnant bushland. Davidson High has a prominent history of involvement in the performing arts, in Dance, Drama and Music, and annually produces the "Season of Performing Arts" at the local Glen Street Theatre. In 2004 and 2007, Davidson High entered the New South Wales Rock Eisteddfod Competition with pieces relating to the Iraq war. Both performances came under a lot of media scrutiny, with a similar result. Many of its alumni have gone on to notable success, some taking high public office and others gaining distinction within their particular fields.

History

Davidson High School was originally to be called Sorlie High School after George Sorlie, an idealistic developer of land in the district. However, the residents of the area requested a change of name for the suburb, which was granted. The new suburb, and consequently the new high school, was named after Sir Walter Davidson, a popular

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

from 1918 until his death in 1923, and to whom the parklands of called Davidson Park were dedicated, which now lies within Garigal National Park. This forms the western boundary of

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

. However the site of the school lies not in Davidson but on the western edge of Frenchs Forest. A meeting was called on 12 August 1971 at

Wakehurst Public School Wakehurst Public School is a co-educational primary school located in the Sydney suburb of Belrose, and draws its students predominantly from the surrounding suburbs of Belrose, Davidson and Frenchs Forest. The school has approximately 400 enro ...

. Representatives of the teaching staff and P.&C. Associations of Frenchs Forest, Wakehurst, Mimosa, and Belrose Public Schools, were advised by representatives of the Education Department of a proposed new school adjoining the grounds of Mimosa School. This new school would be known as Davidson High, with the anticipated completion date of January 1973.Davidson High School P&C Association, ''Davidson High School - The First Twenty years'' (Syd, 1992) The design of the school, drafted by architects Ian McHutchison, Douglas Anderson and Ronald Powell under the administration of the

New South Wales Government Architect The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...

Ted Farmer, was termed a "Study 3 School". The design was created to be the 'go-to plan' for the majority of constructions in NSW state schools from 1971. Thus, Davidson High School was one of many created in this

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

style in the period, including Evans High School (1971, Blacktown), Mulwaree High School (1971, Goulburn),

Galston High School , motto_translation = Let Us Strive And Not Yield , slogan = Achieving Excellence – Inspiring Success , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school , educational_authority = ...

(1972, Galston),

Lake Illawarra High School Lake Illawarra High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located on Reddall Parade, which follows the shores of Lake Illawarra, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Established ...

(1972, Lake Illawarra),

Kooringal High School Kooringal High School (abbreviated as KHS) is a government-funded co-educational dual modality partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in Kooringal, a suburb of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina region of ...

(1973, Wagga Wagga),

Casula High School Casula is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 34 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool. Casula is the first suburb immediate ...

(1973, Casula) and

Macintyre High School MacIntyre or McIntyre is a Scottish surname, relating to Clan MacIntyre. Its meaning is "Son of the Carpenter or Wright". The corresponding English name is Wright. People surnamed ''MacIntyre'', ''Macintyre'' * Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish phi ...

(1974, Inverell). The design reflected the change in the NSW Education system since the landmark ' Wyndham Report' and the ''Public Education Act 1961'' from the

Form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data * ...

-based to subject-based structure of students. Thus each "Study 3 School" was designed with its classrooms organised around each subject department, requiring pupils, rather than staff, to move between lessons, and allowed specialist facilities for each subject, very much an experimental concept at the time. The Brutalist design of the school was one very consciously chosen by the Government Architect's Branch who in one report noted that the school design was "...the largest and most expansive and in terms of the 'heavy' style of architecture, the most handsome yet evolved." Prominent Sydney architect Russell Jack (of Allen Jack+Cottier), in his evaluation of Davidson High's design, agreed, noting that The school's earliest students were housed between

Killarney Heights High School , motto_translation = To each according to his/her conduct , established = 1967 , educational_authority = New South Wales Department of Education , type = Public Coeducational Secondary Day School ...

and The Forest High School from 1972–1973. In early 1973, Year 7 classes were situated in Mimosa Public School and Year 8 classes at Killarney Heights Public School, requiring students, teachers and parents to travel in between schools. The buildings on the present site were first completed and occupied in September 1973. Despite the library not being completed until 1976, the school was officially opened in January 1974 by the NSW Minister for Education,

Eric Willis Sir Eric Archibald Willis (15 January 1922 – 10 May 1999) was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated ...

. The ceremony was also attended by

Dick Healey Richard Owen Healey (7 December 192310 December 2000) was a New South Wales politician, ABC sports broadcaster, and minister of the crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin, Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. From 1973 to 1975 he was Minister ...

( Member for Davidson 1971–1981), Harry Turner, ( Member for Bradfield, 1952–1974) and the principal, William Lambert, who said to the students: "...Davidson High is yours, continue the effort that has been made by so many to develop it. Keep building it, with pride and earnest endeavour." Like the neighbouring Mimosa Public School, Davidson High was built on a site bounded by forested bushland remnants of the Duffys Forest Ecological Community, which was listed as local heritage item under the Warringah Local Environmental Plan in 2000. In December 1995, the Head Teacher of Legal Studies, Jan Jones, was awarded the NSW Award at the 1995 National Excellence in Teaching Awards, presented by the Australian Scholarships Foundation. Jones was the Teacher of Legal Studies at Davidson from 1989 until her death in 2000, and the school function room was dedicated as the ''Jan Jones Room'' in her memory not long after. Teacher of Music from 1989 to 2014, Helen Oberg, was also awarded the NSW Minister's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995.The Davidson Dispatch, November 1995 In October 1997 Davidson High School made a sister School agreement with Morioka Chuo High School in

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. In 1999 Davidson High School was awarded the Director-General's Award for School Achievement for "Achievements in Agenda Priority Areas". In 2007 the Davidson Community of Schools was unveiled by the principal, Rod Cawsey, building closer ties with local primary schools, with the intention to enhance the learning of students in the Davidson community through joint educational programs, combined teacher development and the sharing of resources. The community also consists of Belrose, Kambora, Wakehurst, Mimosa and Terrey Hills Public Schools. In 2011, Davidson High signed a school partnership agreement with the Collège Sainte-Anne de Lachine in

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was an autonomous city until the municipal mergers in 2002. History Lachine, apparently from the French term ' ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Crest and motto

While at Killarney Heights High School in 1972, the parents of the first students were granted permission by the Lairds of the

Clan Davidson Clan Davidson is a Highland Scottish clan and a member of the Chattan Confederation.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of ...

to use the crest, shield and tartan of Clan Davidson of Tulloch. The distinctive tartan colours and the stag's head were incorporated in the badge, and are still used as part of the uniform. The Clan Davidson and subsequently Davidson High Motto - 'Sapienter si Sincere' - means 'Wisely if Sincerely' or alternately, 'with wisdom if with sincerity'. However, during the tenure of the third Principal, Roy Beauman, the motto was altered on the shield from the Latin 'Sapienter si Sincere' to English and the words transposed to read 'Sincerely if Wisely'. The ornate shield was removed from the crest and was produced in green, white, navy and brown. A further change occurred during the tenure of Principal John McManus, and the motto was altered on the crest to 'Wisely Sincerely'. The crest underwent further design changes and was enclosed by a different shield, produced in red and navy.

Principals

Senior staff

The Principal of DHS from 1992 to 1996 was Roslynne Moxham. In 2002, she was awarded a Fellowship of the

Australian College of Educators The Australian College of Educators (ACE) is an Australian national professional association for educators. Membership is open to all professional educators working in the early childhood, school, and tertiary education sectors, as well as to edu ...

(FACE) "For contributions through outstanding leadership in NSW high schools and to student learning and teaching practice, particularly in Gifted and Talented Education and Music Education". She was also Principal of

Asquith Girls High School Asquith Girls High School, (abbreviated as AGHS) is a government-funded comprehensive single-sex secondary day school for girls, located on Stokes Avenue, Asquith, an upper north shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established ...

and

Fort Street High School , motto_translation = Each person is the maker of their own fortune , sister_school = Suginami Sogo High School, Tokyo, Japan , location = Parramatta Road, Petersham, Inner West Sydney, New South Wales , ...

(2000–2018), before being appointed Director Educational Leadership in the Department of Education. The principal from 1997 to 2001 was Mark Anderson. On his arrival in 1997 enrolments had dropped from 1145 to 484 in the previous ten years. Anderson introduced a gifted and talented program to target the specialist needs of certain student interests to combat this and by the time of his departure, enrolments stood at over 600. In January 2002 Anderson took up the appointment of the founding Principal of the

Sydney Secondary College Sydney Secondary College is a multi-campus urban government-funded, co-educational, dual modality, partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Aust ...

, which had been created through the amalgamation of three inner-city high schools. Serving until 2004, Anderson became School Education Director for the Western Sydney Region in 2005 and is now Director of People and Careers for the NSW Department of Education since 2014. In the 2018 Australia Day Honours list, Anderson was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(AM) for "significant service to secondary education in New South Wales through administrative and executive roles, and to educational standards." The principal of Davidson High from 2002 to 2005 was Chris Bonnor. During that time he was President of the NSW Secondary Principals Council from 2001–2006 and was also a Member of the

(MACE). Previously he had also been Principal of Asquith Boys’ High School from 1991–2000. On 26 January 2007 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division for "service to education through significant contributions to the development of educational policy and practice in New South Wales, the promotion of excellence in school leadership, and advocacy for public education." In 2013, he was awarded a Fellowship of the Australian College of Educators (FACE), with his citation noting that he "has demonstrated outstanding professional practice through significant contributions to student learning, teaching and leadership of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council. Christopher has also made contributions to education policy development in NSW. All of his experience has been characterised by an unwavering commitment to equity of opportunity and outcomes for students." The principal of Davidson High from 2006 until his retirement in August 2011 was Rod Cawsey, who, as Deputy Principal, took over as acting principal from Chris Bonnor in the third quarter of 2005, but did not become officially principal until 2006. Upon his retirement, Deputy Principal Sue Anderson became Acting Principal until Cawsey's successor was chosen. In October 2011, Jann Pattinson was appointed as the new Principal of Davidson High, effective from 17 November. Pattinson was the coordinator of the Pittwater Community of Schools and also the

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

Project Manager for

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

. Pattinson had previously been the DHS Head Teacher for Teaching and Learning and briefly as acting Deputy Principal before leaving in 2006 to become the Deputy Principal at Moss Vale High School.

Houses

House system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...

was formed by staff at Davidson in 1973. The four houses were originally named Mimosa, Blackbutt, Belrose and Waratah, after prominent local plant species. The present house system was introduced by the second Principal, Austin Hayes, and were named after the individual stars of the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

. The current houses of Davidson High School and their associated colours are

Gamma Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

and

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

Performing arts

Davidson High School has a prominent history in the performing arts, dating back to the school's establishment, with three distinct branches: Music, Dance and Drama. The music program at Davidson comprises three bands, Concert Band 2 for years 7-10 and Concert Band 1 for Seniors and all capable students, and a Stage Band for all students. The Bands annually perform at the Season of Performing Arts (SOPA) at the Glen Street Theatre, school functions, and at the Northern Beaches Eisteddfod. There are also Instrumental ensembles that deal with smaller groups such as Brass, Clarinet and Saxophone. The vocal ensemble, originally formed in 1973, is the oldest musical group in the school and performs throughout the year, including the Season of Performing Arts and the

Schools Spectacular The NSW Schools Spectacular is an Australian variety show featuring more than 5,500 students from public schools across New South Wales and was performed annually at the Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) betwee ...

. The school drama programme consists of ensembles of junior and senior students and of which concentrate on working up performances for the Season of Performing Arts, drama nights, and the regional and state drama festivals. In recent years the Drama ensemble has done a 'Drama Tour' to local Schools, performing workshops for young students. Davo Library

In dance, students have performed in many competitions such as the NSW Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, in which Davidson participated from its inception in 1980 to the competition's end in 2012, and the Season of Performing Arts.

Rock Eisteddfod

The school came under external criticism and media scrutiny when Davidson has entered the 2004 Rock Eisteddfod competition with a performance, named "Bad Night in Baghdad", with a satirical and underlying message about the Iraq war. The dance piece sparked up debate over the alleged "politicisation" of schools and freedom of speech, and was criticised by the then Federal Minister for Education, Dr. Brendan Nelson, who said that the production presented an "extremely biased view" of the war. However, the school and the dance piece were also defended by the principal of the day, Chris Bonnor, and New South Wales Deputy-Premier and Education Minister, Dr. Andrew Refshauge. Despite this, Davidson went on to take joint first place with Rose Bay Secondary College in the Open grand final and performed at the national competition. In 2007, Davidson entered a second performance with a similar topic, entitled ''Bad Knight II'', which got the attention of the then Federal Minister for Education,

Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin ...

, who accused the teachers of having "private political agendas" and said that the timing of the performance was "interesting", given the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

(APEC) summit was being held in Sydney at the time, where U.S. President

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

and other foreign leaders would be visiting. The performance was defended by the NSW

Minister for Education and Training In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Education administers the Department of Education. The position is held by Labor MP Jason Clare, following the Australian federal election in 2022. Portfolio scope The Minister is responsible fo ...

John Della Bosca John Joseph Della Bosca (born 18 July 1956) is an Australian former politician, representing the Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council. From 1999 to 2009, Della Bosca served a range of ministerial portfolios, including Ministe ...

, who accused Bishop of using her supposed concern over the school's performance to criticise the public education system: "I think it's another demonstration of how far out of touch Mrs Bishop and her colleagues in the Howard government are...the concern they have is just another (opportunity) to run down the achievements of young people in public education."

Season

The "Season of Performing Arts" or "SOPA" was established in 1994, originally as the "Evenings of Performing Arts", as a means of annually showcasing the best of all the performing arts: Music, Dance, and Drama. It is held over several days at the local Glen Street Theatre.

Student leadership

At the instigation of the second Principal, Austin Hayes, the first student council was formed in 1976, and the first School Captains were elected in 1975. The Student Representative Council (SRC) consists of students elected from years 7-11 who are active in the school and have an input into school and student issues. In senior years there are two

School Captain A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

s, four School Vice-Captains and the

Prefects Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

, who are elected by their year and are ambassadors for the school, directing assemblies and providing leadership for the school and extra-curricular activities. In addition to this, there are also four House Captains elected for each house: two Junior Captains from year 10 and two Senior Captains from year 12. The House Captains provide leadership and direction for House activities in the School Carnivals and other sporting events. Debating and Public Speaking also play a role in the school, with previous student involvement in the Premier's Debating Challenge, New South Wales Law Society

Mock Trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting ...

Competition, the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

Public Speaking Competition, Rotary 'Youth Speaks' Competition, and the Rotary

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

Assembly.

Notable alumni and staff

Academia and community

Cornelia Rau Cornelia Rau is a German and Australian citizen who was unlawfully detained for a period of ten months in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Australian Government's mandatory detention program. Her detention became the subject of a government inquiry w ...

– German citizen and Australian permanent resident who was unlawfully detained as part of the mandatory detention program. *Professor Cathy Owen – Professor of Psychiatry and former Director of the Medical Education Unit, ANU College of Health and Medicine. *Associate Professor Nicole Verrills – cancer biologist at the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute, and recipient of the 2007

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for her research on

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. * Kirsten Banks – Indigenous Australian astrophysicist and science communicator .

Media and business

* Kerry Brewster – Walkley Award-winning television journalist and film-maker for WTN,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and SBS. *

Tara Brown Tara Brown (born 14 March 1968 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian television presenter and reporter. Early life and career Brown attended Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, New South Wales, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Ar ...

– Journalist and reporter on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

show, 60 minutes, since 2001. * Joshua Murray – 1993 School Captain, former

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to Premier of NSW,

Morris Iemma Morris Iemma (; born 21 July 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales. He served from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney, Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Techno ...

, and

Walkley Award The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...

-winning Radio Journalist.

Politics, law, and defence

Andrew Humpherson Andrew Humpherson (born 15 August 1960) is a former Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Davidson from 1992–2007. He has since pursued a career in public affairs overseeing the Government a ...

– politician, former Member for Davidson in the

NSW Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New S ...

and Deputy Shire President of

Warringah Council Warringah Council was a local government area in the northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the Warringah Shire Council, and became "Warringah Council" in 1993. In 19 ...

. *Commodore Richard Menhinick {{post-nominals, country=AUS, size=80%, AM, CSC – Retired senior officer of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. * Michael Wigney – Judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

since 9 September 2013.

Sport

* Georgina Rowe – national representative rower, a medallist at the 2018 and 2019 World Rowing Championships. *

Geoff Toovey Geoffrey Toovey (born 17 June 1969), also known by the nickname of "Toovs" or "Tooves", is the former head coach of the Bradford Bulls and former professional rugby league footballer. Toovey played halfback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, ...

– former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer and former member of the

NRMA NRMA (formerly National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel and other servic ...

Board of Directors.

Entertainment and the arts

* Lucinda Dunn {{post-nominals, country=AUS, size=80%, OAM – Professional dancer and former Principal Artist of the

Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson's, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teache ...

, 2002-2014. * Matt Ellis – Singer-songwriter. *

Andrew Farriss Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021. Care ...

– keyboardist and key composer for the

n band

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

. *

Jon Farriss Jonathan James Farriss (born 10 August 1961) is an Australian drummer and founding member of rock band INXS. Biography Jon Farriss was born to Dennis and Jill Farriss, and is the second youngest of four children: brothers and fellow band mem ...

– drummer for the Australian band INXS. *

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

– original lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS.{{cite web, title =Michael Hutchence: Life, publisher =The Official site of Michael Hutchence, url =http://www.michaelhutchence.org/index.php?page=198, access-date = 2009-01-16 * Guy Maestri – contemporary artist and winner of the 2009

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

* Sharon Millerchip –

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

-winning stage actress and performer. *

Lachlan Philpott Lachlan Philpott (born 20 March 1972) is an Australian theatre writer, director, and teacher. He graduated from the University of New South Wales (BA Hons Theatre and Film), the Victorian College of the Arts (Post-Grad Dip, Directing Theatre), and ...

– playwright and winner of the 2009 Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Award. * Danielle Spencer – Singer-songwriter.

Notable staff

* Noila Jean Berglund {{post-nominals, country=AUS, size=80%, AM – Deputy Principal (1980–1982), first female Deputy Director-General (Regions and Schools), NSW Department of Education (1990–1993).{{cite news , last1=Parker , first1=Maralyn , title=Leading light in education , agency=The Sydney Morning Herald , date=28 January 1990 , page=133

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Davidson High School website

New South Wales Department of Education
- Davidson High School {{High Schools in North Sydney, state=autocollapse {{Public high schools in Sydney, state=autocollapse Frenchs Forest, New South Wales Public high schools in Sydney * School buildings completed in 1972 Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants Educational institutions established in 1972 1972 establishments in Australia