, motto_translation = I strive, I undertake, I achieve , established = , type = Government-funded

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 ...

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

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 compar ...

, principal = Peter Howes , enrolment = 440 , enrolment_as_of = 2018 , teaching_staff = 50.1 FTE (2018) , newspaper = ''Endeavour''
(fortnightly newsletter) , yearbook = The Parnassian , mascot = , colours = Navy blue and white , campus = , coordinates = , city =

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-eas ...

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

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 , website = , pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales , pushpin_image = Australia New South Wales relief location map.png , pushpin_mapsize = 250 , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in

, pushpin_label = , pushpin_label_position = left , module= , footnotes = Murwillumbah High School, (abbreviated as MHS) is a government-funded

comprehensive

, located on Riverview Street in

, in the

region of

, Australia. Established in 1929, the school enrolled approximately 440 students in 2018, from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 in the United ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory educa ...

, of whom nine percent identified as

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

and six percent were from a language background other than English. The school is operated by the

NSW Department of Education ) , 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 , e ...

; the principal is Peter Howes.

History and campus

1924

After much deliberation and discussion, the Department has resumed an area of about eight acres on Hartigan’s Hill as the site for the new High School. Every day the optimists make a trip to the site to see what progress has been made with buildings, but, so far, the Department has not seen fit to make any use of the newly acquired site.

1928

The foundation stone of the new High School buildings was laid on March 17 in the presence of a large gathering of parents and students. An untimely thunderstorm just failed to mar the proceedings, for when the Minister of Education inspected the Guard of Honour, comprising Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, the sun had just broken through. Murwillumbah High School was made a "full" high school in 1929 and moved into its current site in that year with the opening of a three-storey complex which has become a well-known landmark in Murwillumbah. Since 1929 many buildings have been added with major development beginning in the 1960s. In 1992 a new Library was opened and in mid-1997 the Multi-Purpose Centre/Hall was opened and dedicated as "''The Elliott Centre''", after a previous Principal of the school, Joe Elliott. The school is built on the side of a hill, creating several floor levels across the school. Construction began in 1969 and continued over the following 3 years, culminating in a school that would meet the needs of the years to come. During this time the school's librarian and careers advisor Bruce Chick initiated the planting of a large

Hoop Pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of '' Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist ...

forest on the southern edge of the school. It was planted in 1970 as a Cook Bicentennial project. Students from the school were given the opportunity to plant a tree as a part of the commemoration. The original intention was to sell the timber from the plantation when the trees had reached maturity. The leadership of the school during these years fell to Joe Elliot and Bill Dowdell. The latter, in particular, is remembered with great affection by former students. Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

had sighted, mapped and named

Mount Warning Mount Warning ( Bundjalung: ''Wollumbin''), a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located west-south-west of Mu ...

in the Murwillumbah area as he sailed up the coast in 1770 and the fortnightly school newsletter ‘Endeavour’, is named in honour of his ship. Development became the focus of attention during the early 1990s, when the school population peaked at 1,300 before the opening of Wollumbin High School, which then relaxed school capacity numbers.

Symbols

The official school colours are navy blue and white. However, over the years other colours were adopted (e.g. grey). The first school magazine (yearbook) was published in December 1923 when the Murwillumbah Secondary School was a district school i.e. one that incorporated primary and infants departments. The school magazine was quickly named ''The Parnassian'' and has been published every year since it first appeared, copies of which are held in the school library.

Notable alumni

Doug Anthony John Douglas Anthony, (31 December 192920 December 2020) was an Australian politician. He served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1971 to 1984 and was the second and longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister, holding the position ...

former Deputy Prime Minister *

Rory Arnold Rory Arnold (born 1 July 1990) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He played for the Stade Toulousain in the Top 14 competition, and has represented in test matches. His regular position is lock. Family and early life Rory Arno ...

Australian rugby union player for the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

Jack Boyd John Charles (Jack) Boyd (3 December 19213 March 1985) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1973 until 1984. He was a member of the Country Party and its successors. Boyd was born in Murwi ...

former politician; represented

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

(1973–1984) *

Bob Bugden Robert Alfred Bugden (born 25 February 1936) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was a with the St. George Dragons in the first half of their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was al ...

Australian rugby league footballer for the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

* Paul Cowderoycountry music artist * Robert Haganinternational impressionist artist, author, and TV personality * Ronald McKayEmeritus Professor, Vice Chancellor of the Northern Territory University (1996 - 2002) * Stanley Stephenspolitician; represented

(1944–1973) and Minister for Housing in the Askin Government * Bronwen Whitley (Pratley)USA Today bestselling fiction author * Sir Eric WillisCabinet Minister from 1965 to 1976 and 34th

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

Max Willis Max Frederick Willis, (6 December 1935 – 18 August 2021) was an Australian politician and senior Army Reserve officer. He was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1970 to 1999. His brother Sir Eric Willis was brie ...

politician; served in the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

(1970–1999) and as President of the Council (1991–1999) * Edwin Wilsonpoet and painter; fifth form only, as recorded in 'The Mullumbimby Kid' * Alan Woodsinternational professional punter (pioneer of computer betting syndicates) - the Alan Woods rating system (AWRS) adopted by Bridge clubs throughout Australia.

References

External links

*
New South Wales Department of Education and Training
- Murwillumbah High School
NSW Schools website
{{Public high schools in New South Wales, state=autocollapse Public high schools in New South Wales 1929 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1929 Northern Rivers