Leigh College was from 1915 until 1974 a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Theological College located at 416-420

Liverpool Road Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury. It contains several attractive terraces o ...

Strathfield South, New South Wales Strathfield South is a suburb, in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia in the state of New South Wales, 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Strathfield local government area. The area was historically part of ...

. It was the successor to

Wesleyan Theological Institution The Wesleyan Theological Institution was from 1863 until 1914 an Australian Methodist theological college located firstly in Silverwater, New South Wales and from 1881 at Stanmore, New South Wales. History At the Methodist Conference of 1862, the ...

. The site includes three significant historic properties: ''Brundah'', a Victorian style house, ''Leigh College Hall'', a neo-Georgian Revival style building and the ''E. Vickery Memorial Chapel''.

History

''Brundah'', an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

style house, was built on the site in the mid-1880s for a wine merchant, Thomas Alt. The house was home to the Alt family until 1911 and then was owned by Paul Lamarand. In 1915, the Methodist Church purchased the house and grounds and moved its theological students from Stanmore where they had shared the grounds of

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

. The new college was named in honour of the Wesleyan missionary Samuel Leigh. In 1927, the foundation stone for a new building was laid by the Sir

Dudley de Chair Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair (30 August 1864 – 17 August 1958) was a senior Royal Navy officer and later Governor of New South Wales. Early life and career De Chair was born on 30 August 1864 in Lennoxville, Province of ...

. The new ''Leigh College'' was opened in 1928 to a design by Byera Hadley. Hadley also designed a chapel that was built in honour of the Hon.

Ebenezer Vickery Ebenezer Vickery (1 March 1827 – 20 August 1906) was an Australian businessman, pastoral farming, pastoralist and philanthropist. Early life Ebenezer was born in London and arrived in Sydney with his parents and siblings aboard the ''Richa ...

MLC. The site became the home of the United Theological College, a part of the theology school at

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explore ...

, in 1974 with the union of Leigh College (Methodist), Camden College (

Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to Australia. Congregational Churches existed in all states and territo ...

) and St. Andrews College ( Presbyterian Church). The new Uniting Church college moved in 1987 and the land was sub-divided. The site became the home of Noor Al Houda Islamic College and is now the Australian International Academy.AIA website
Retrieved 15 April 2017.

Heritage listings

The Memorial Chapel and Leigh Hall are listed on the

Royal Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

(NSW Chapter) Register of Twentieth Century Buildings of Significance and with Brundah are classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW). The College site, including front and rear grounds, is also contained in the National Trust's ''Strathfield Urban Conservation Area Precinct 3''. Image:Strathfield South Theological College.JPG, Brundah Image:South Strathfield Theological College 2.JPG, Leigh Hall Image:Strathfield South Theological College 3.JPG, Gates

References

{{authority control 1915 establishments in Australia Universities in New South Wales Defunct universities and colleges in Australia Educational institutions established in 1915 Education in Sydney Education in New South Wales Methodism in Australia Methodist seminaries and theological colleges Seminaries and theological colleges in New South Wales Municipality of Strathfield