Kirwan State High School is a coeducational state school located in Kirwan,

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, approximately from the

CBD. In 2017, it has 1997 students with 156 teachers (145 full-time equivalent) and 75 non-teaching staff (59 full-time equivalent), making it the largest high school in North Queensland. It is located in the former city of Thuringowa.

History

The school enrolled its first student for year 8 in January 1979, and was formally opened on 3 November 1979 by Sir

Llewellyn Edwards Sir Llewellyn Roy Edwards (2 August 1935 – 26 May 2021), known as Llew Edwards, was a Queensland state politician and state Liberal Party leader. He was Chair and CEO of Brisbane's World Expo '88. Early life and education Llew Edwards st ...

. In 2013, the school became an independent state high school, with the ability to hire and fire its own staff.

Sport

Kirwan State High School is a nationally recognised school for its performances in sport and has run a range of Sports Excellence programs which have been established for the past twelve years. In year 8, students are selected for the general Sports Excellence Program; then, in year 9, they progress to the sport-specific Excellence Programs in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

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 11 ...

, touch football, soccer,

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Kirwan has won 16 Queensland Championships in sports such as soccer, hockey, indoor cricket, and rugby league. Several students are enrolled in programs run by the Australian Institute of Sport and its Queensland state equivalent. In 2006, two former students from the class of 2002,

Sam Thaiday Samuel Arthur Thaiday (; born 12 June 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, serving as their captain from 2012 until 2013. An Australian internationa ...

and

Jacob Lillyman Jacob Lillyman (born 7 March 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Throughout his career, he played for the North Queensland Cowboys, New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, while r ...

, gained selection in the Queensland Rugby League State of Origin team, and

Brent Webb Brent Douglas Webb (born 9 November 1979) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a . He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, before moving the Leeds Rhinos and the Catalans Dragons i ...

(1996) played a significant role in the 2005 Tri Nations-winning New Zealand Kiwis. Long-serving

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

' hooker

Aaron Payne Aaron Payne (born 18 November 1982) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Townsville Blackhawks in the Intrust Super Cup. Primarily a , he played his entire career for the North Queen ...

also attended the school. Lisa Braunburger (Sports Captain 2005), has also gained selection in the Australian under 19's team and was later recruited in the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The ...

in the National Women's Basketball League. Kirwan State High School is also a regular participant in the Arrive Alive Cup, a competition held for sporting excellence schools nationwide, and is also known for its rivalry with Ignatius Park College, the other leading school in Townsville Rugby League. Iggy and Kirwan host matches against each other in rugby league annually and usually draw large crowds.

Arts

Kirwan has an active participation in the arts and music, and has competed consistently in the annual

Rock Eisteddfod Challenge The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, also known as the Australian Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, was an Australian dance and drama challenge for government-funded high schools that was active between 1980 and 2012. Initiated by the Rock Eisteddfod Chal ...

competition, winning 3rd placing in 2003. It is also known for holding musicals once a year at Townsville's premier cultural center, the 1000 seat Townsville Civic Theatre. The students from Kirwan have presented a wide range of musicals. Another unique offering by Kirwan is its Music Excellence program. Students apply to join the music excellence program in grade 8 and are offered extra music classes and play in specialised grade 8 music excellence ensembles.

Notable alumni

* Trent Bell * Kodie Jang

Rugby League

* Obe Geia *

Gideon Gela-Mosby Gideon Gela-Mosby (born 27 December 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. Background Born in Cairns and of Torres Strait Islander descent, Gela-Mosby grew up on ...

Micheal Luck Micheal Luck (born 21 April 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the North Queensland Cowboys and the New Zealand Warriors. Micheal Luck's position of choice was or . Playing career Queensland Whi ...

Robert Lui Robert Lui (born 23 February 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup. He has previously played for the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys in ...

Rhyse Martin Rhyse Martin (born 1 March 1993) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. He previously played for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. Background Mart ...

* Nene McDonald * Kierran Moseley *

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (born 5 September 2001), also known by the nickname of "Hammer", is an Australians, Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Dolphins (NRL), Dolphins in the National Rugby League. He has also ...

* Brandon Smith * Darryn Schonig * Ray Thompson *

Jason Taumalolo Vaai "Jason" Taumalolo (born 31 May 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a or forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level. Taumalol ...

Enari Tuala Enari Tuala (born 19 October 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League, and h ...

References

External links

Official website

Kirwan State High School (2146)

Kirwan Secondary Special Education Unit (3215)
{{Coord, 19, 18, 35, S, 146, 44, 00, E, type:edu_region:AU, display=title Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants Schools in Townsville Public high schools in Queensland Educational institutions established in 1979 1979 establishments in Australia