Schools Club was a private, social club in Australia, founded in February 1927. After mergers in 1977 and 2007 the club is now the Union, University & Schools Club.

History

In the early 1920s the old boys of five of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales decided to establish a

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

base for their fellow

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

. Those involved in the development of this idea wanted to provide a clubhouse where men, who had recently left school and had undertaken business careers, could meet. It was anticipated that these club facilities would assist the schools' sporting and development appeals. The founding president was an Old Newingtonian, Eric Kelynack (1882-1957), who was a former chairman of the Institute of Incorporated Accountants. He was the son of the Rev Dr William Kelynack a notable

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 b ...

churchman and former President of Newington. The club opened in premises owned by the Fairfax newspaper family at a building that was later demolished for the development of

Australia Square Australia Square Tower is an office and retail complex in the central business district of Sydney. Its main address is 264 George Street, and the Square is bounded on the northern side by Bond Street, eastern side by Pitt Street and southern s ...

Membership

Membership was originally open to the alumni 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 King's School,

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

Sydney Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , grades = Early learning ...

and

The Scots College , motto_translation = O that we may be worthy of our forefathers , location = Bellevue Hill, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney , country = Australia , type = Independent single-sex primary a ...

. In 1970, the alumni of all

Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia The Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia (HCISA) was founded in 1931 and amalgamated in 1985 with the Association of Independent Headmistresses to form the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. It is ...

became eligible to join the club.

Facilities

Initially some facilities were shared but each member school managed a separate club room in its own style. Because some members were under the legal drinking age the club didn't become licensed until 1947. The original clubhouse was demolished in 1962 for the Australia Square development and the club transferred to a new building near

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...

. In the mid-1970s the club sold its premises and merged with the University Club. It moved to Phillip Street to form The University & Schools Club.The University And Schools Club – Lawlink NSW
Retrieved 8 August 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schools Club 1927 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1927 Organisations based in Sydney Gentlemen's clubs in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney

History

Membership

Facilities

See also

References