Matthew Flinders Girls' Secondary College is an all-girls State secondary school located in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It provides education for students years 7-12.

History

The school opened as Flinders National Grammar School in January 1858. The foundation stone was laid on 5 December 1856 by the administrator of the Colony of

, Colonel

Edward Macarthur Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Macarthur (16 March 1789 – 4 January 1872) was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, Commander-in-chief of British forces in Australia from 1855, and an administrator of the Colony of Victoria for 12 m ...

. It is believed that the architect involved was local, German-born architect, Frank Kawerau, of Ryrie Street, Geelong, who also designed many government buildings across Victoria, including ''Willsmere'' (formerly Kew Lunatic Asylum (1864)), which has very similar architecture. The school was to be named the Geelong National Grammar School but, at the foundation ceremony, Macarthur asked permission to name it the "Flinders National Grammar School", after Captain

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

, the first European explorer to circumnavigate Australia, who climbed the local

You Yangs The You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise up to above the flat and low-lying Werribee Plain in southern Victoria, Australia, approximately due west of the rural town of Little River, southwest of Melbourne CBD and north of Ge ...

and described the Geelong area. When the school opened in January 1858, 116 boys were enrolled, but there was no room for girls. Falling enrolments forced the school to become

coeducational 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 ...

in 1864. The school was extended and remodelled in December 1879, due to increased student numbers. When the extensions were opened in April 1880, it was known as Flinders State School no. 260. The school was unofficially known as 'Link's School', after fifth headmaster

George Link George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, who was in charge from 1879 to 1894. During that time enrolments increased to 1000 students. By 1938, enrolments were still increasing but there was not enough space. As a result, the decision was made in 1939 for the school to become "Matthew Flinders Girls School", under Ada Knowles. The school was led by Frances Higgins from 1942 to 1947. In 1948, it was said to be "dilapidated", and "a dumping ground" for girls who would work in the mills as soon as they were fourteen. At that point the school appointed

Minnie Elizabeth Cawthorn Minnie Elizabeth Cawthorn (23 August 1898 – 10 May 1966) was an Australian headmistress and aviatrix. She transformed what is now Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College from dilapidated to pristine. Life Cawthorn was born in Prahran in 1898. ...

as the new head. She decided that the students should not be trained as housewives but to have a life. The school became the "Matthew Flinders Girls School" and the grounds were pristine. In 1950, the first students to sit the "Girls' Leaving Certificate" in Victoria were at the school. In 1956, Mary Lausza became the new head of the school. In 1966, under Dr J. S. Bowden, the school gained high school status and it was renamed "Matthew Flinders Girls High School". The school is now called Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College.

Today

The college operates on two campuses. Years 7, 10, 11 and 12 students are located on the Main Campus, whilst Years 8 and 9 are on the smaller Helen Fraser Campus.

References

External links

Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College

''Kids Voice Magazine''
* Peter Begg (1990). ''Geelong - The First 150 Years''. Globe Press. {{Coord, 38, 09, 00, S, 144, 21, 12, E, display=title, region:AU-VIC_type:edu Girls' schools in Victoria (Australia) Educational institutions established in 1940 Schools in Geelong Heritage-listed buildings in Greater Geelong 1940 establishments in Australia