The Normanhurst School was an independent, non-denominational,

day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for girls that operated in

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

, in the Inner Western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Despite being non-denominational, the Normanhurst school maintained close links with St John's Anglican Parish, which was situated in the vicinity of the school.

History

The Normanhurst School was established in 1882 by Ellen Clarke, who was an English national. Clarke was principal of the school from its founding in 1882 to 1893. In 1884, her sister Marian Clarke arrived in Australia from England to join the faculty, and founded Abbotsleigh the following year. At its foundation, the school operated out of a cottage located on Bland Street, Ashfield. Later as the school expanded, it moved to another larger campus in Ashfield at the intersection of Orpington and Chandos streets (pictured right). Through the initiative of the then headmistress, Evelyn Tildesley, the Normanhurst School became a founding member of the Headmistresses’ Association of NSW (which has since become the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools) in 1916. The school ceased operations in 1941.

Notable alumnae

* Daphne Akhurst (1903–1933) – five times Australian Open tennis champion *

Janet Cosh Janet Louise Cosh (21 April 1901 – 22 October 1989) was an amateur botanist, botanical collector and secondary school teacher. The Janet Cosh Herbarium at the University of Wollongong is named in her honour. Life Janet Louise Cosh born in A ...

(1901–1989) – amateur botanist and plant collector *

Constance Elizabeth Harker Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada *Constance, Kentucky *Constance, Minnesota *Constance (Portugal) *Mount Constance, Washington State People *Constance ( ...

(1875–1964) – was a headmistress at Somerville House. * Margaret Slattery (1922–2015) – National Secretary of the Australian Parents Council during the 1970s, an advocacy organisation for non-government schools *

P. L. Travers Pamela Lyndon Travers (; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' series of books, which feature the eponymous ...

(1899–1996) – author of the ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'' series of children's books, later adapted into the musical film of the same nameLawson, V., 1999, ''Out of the sky she came: The life of P. L. Travers, creator of Mary Poppins'', published in association with Belladonna Books.

References

1882 establishments in Australia 1941 disestablishments in Australia Defunct girls' schools in Australia Defunct schools in Sydney Defunct schools in New South Wales Defunct boarding schools in New South Wales Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools Defunct secondary schools in Sydney {{Australia-school-stub