Tormore School was a private boarding and day school for girls in North Adelaide, South Australia.

History

Tormore House had its origins in a small school for girls set up by Elizabeth McMinn (c. 1840 – 26 December 1937) and her two sisters Sarah Hamill "Sally" McMinn (died 15 May 1922 in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

) and Martha McMinn, on Molesworth Street, North Adelaide in 1876. This may have been their family home, in which their father Joseph died two years earlier. In February 1884 the McMinn sisters moved their school to another property on nearby Buxton Street, which they dubbed "Tormore" for their birthplace in Ireland. :Residents of Tormore, Ireland included one Mary Rutherdale (c. 1764 – 3 January 1849) - from Parish Headstones Donaghmore,

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

, Ireland
"Here lie the remains of Robert McMinn, of Tormore, who departed this life the 12th October, 1808, aged 70 years. Also the remains of his brother Gilbert McMinn of Tormore, who departed this life on the 12th of April, 1823, aged 77 years. Also the remains of their niece Mary Rutherdale, of Tormore, who departed this life on the 3rd of January, 1849, Aged 84 years. Robert McMinn, of Castle Ennigan, died 15th December, 1879, Aged 80 years." It had been John Whinham's North Adelaide Grammar School, which he relinquished to move to larger premises at the corner of Ward and Jeffcott Streets. The school was taken over by Ann and

Caroline Jacob Caroline Jacob (18 January 1861 – 4 November 1940) was a South Australian schoolmistress, remembered in connection with Tormore House School and Unley Park School. History Caroline was born at Woodlands near Sevenhill, South Australia, Sevenhi ...

towards the end of 1897, and the McMinn sisters left Adelaide on 15 December, retiring to Ealing Common, England. The school moved to new premises at 211 Childers Street in January 1899, with a house for boarders alongside. In 1907 Caroline Jacob took over the Unley Park Grammar School and ran the two institutions concurrently. Around this time substantial improvements were made: separate facilities for the younger (8–12 y.o.) students and additional premises for boarders, art studies and a ''kindergarten''. Caroline Jacob's father financed the construction of a gymnasium, which also served as a large meeting-hall. School enrolments declined alarmingly during World War I; negotiations with (Anglican) Bishop Nutter Thomas for incorporation into the Church education system came to nothing, and in 1918 the school moved to smaller premises in Barton Tce. and the Childers Street premises became the "Andover" residential flats; the School closed in 1920. "Andover" later became the site of the Kindergarten Teachers College, then the Kingston College of Advanced Education in 1974. The subdivided area is now known as Tormore Place. A Tormore Old Scholars' Association was active from at least 1906 to 1954, and a reunion held in 1936 exclusively of the McMinn sisters' students, attracted over 60 old scholars.

Notable students

* Esther Gwendolyn "Stella" Bowen (1893–1947) one of three women appointed official war artists WWII (the others being

Sybil Craig Sybil Mary Frances Craig (1901–1989), was an Australian painter. She was appointed by the Australian War Memorial to accept the appointment as an official war artist. She was the first woman to paint women working in the munitions’ facto ...

and

Nora Heysen Nora Heysen (11 January 1911 – 30 December 2003) was an Australian artist, the first woman to win the prestigious Archibald Prize in 1938 for portraiture and the first Australian woman appointed as an official war artist. Early years Heyse ...

) *

Phyllis Dorothy Cilento Phyllis Dorothy Cilento, Lady Cilento (née McGlew; 13 March 189426 July 1987) was an Australian medical practitioner, prominent medical journalist, and pioneering advocate of family planning in Queensland. In August 2018, about 900 staff at L ...

née McGlew (1894–1987) *Francisca Adriana "Paquita" Delprat, daughter of

G. D. Delprat Guillaume Daniel Delprat Order of the British Empire, CBE (1 September 1856 – 15 March 1937) was a Netherlands, Dutch-Australian metallurgy, metallurgist, mining engineer, and businessman. He was a developer of the froth flotation process fo ...

and wife of Douglas Mawson * Heather Gell (1896–1988) leading exponent of Dalcroze Eurhythmics *

Gladys Reynell Gladys Reynell (1881–1956) was one of South Australia's earliest potters and is known for her bold modernist style and her preference for working with native clays. Family and education Reynell was born on 4 September 1881 in Glenelg, a s ...

(1881–1956)

Teaching staff

* Ellen Ida Benham, BSc. (1871 – 1917) taught science until 1912, then bought Walford School (later Walford Church of England Girls' Grammar School) in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

John Millard Dunn John Millard Dunn (5 January 1865 – 3 March 1936) was an Australian church organist and choirmaster. He held these positions at St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide, for 44 years. History John Dunn was born in North Adelaide a twin son of John Charles ...

(1865–1936) organist and choirmaster for St. Peter's Cathedral, taught singing and music theory *Hilda Farsky BA (1880–1950) married Frederick William Eardley (1874–1958) in 1909 * Rosa C(atherine) Fiveash (1854–1938) drawing teacher *

Ida Doreen Hamilton Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy *Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid * International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing * Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a tech ...

(died 1969) drawing teacher * Helen Milvain Good ( –1941) *Mabel Phyllis Hardy (1890–1977) student at Tormore then taught at Unley Park campus, later proprietor and headmistress of

Stawell School Stawell School was a short-lived (1927–1940) private school for girls founded by Mabel Hardy and Patience Hawker near the summit of Mount Lofty. History Mabel Phyllis Hardy (1890–1977) was born in Malvern, South Australia, a member of the o ...

, Mount Lofty *S(ophia) E(llen) Holder BA (1882–1960) mayoress of Victor Harbor *Ann "Annie" Jacob (17 December 1853 – 11 January 1913), Caroline's sister *Arabella Aldersey Manning (1868–1949) married Charles Mather Leumane (c. 1845–1928) on 21 December 1907. She was drawing teacher, 1900 to 1907. He was an operatic tenor and singing teacher; James Riley was a notable student. *

Mary A. Overbury Mary Anstie Overbury (c. 1851 – 27 March 1926), sometimes referred to as Mary Anne Overbury, was an artist and teacher of art in South Australia. History Overbury was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, a daughter of Thomas Overbury, manager ...

( –1926) prominent artist. Later had her own school at Hawthorn. *Hilda Dora Evelyn Tucker ( –1962) vice principal from c. 1915

References

{{Reflist Educational institutions established in 1883 Defunct schools in South Australia High schools in South Australia Defunct girls' schools in Australia Private schools in Adelaide 1883 establishments in Australia 1920 disestablishments in Australia History of Adelaide