Wellington College, is a state-run boys

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand. It is situated in 12 hectares of

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...

land in the suburb of Mount Victoria, in the vicinity of the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

and

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

. The school was founded in 1876 through a deed of endowment from

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

, the then

Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and l ...

. Wellington College is one of the oldest boys' secondary schools in New Zealand. The history and influence of Wellington College have made it notable in the history of New Zealand, with prominent alumni such as Arthur Coningham, Bernard Freyberg and William Pickering. The school is known nationally for both its academic success, as well as a large number of sporting activities. The school has an enrolment of about 1750 boys. Glen Denham is the current

Headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

History

Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though

gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1869 the school moved to a new, spired, wooden building on the hills above the central city in Clifton Terrace from where it could be seen from many places in Wellington. In 1874 the college opened in a much larger building at its present location. The former boarding establishment at the College, Firth House, was named after

Joseph Firth Joseph "Pentland" Firth (25 March 1859 – 13 April 1931) was a New Zealand educationalist and teacher. He was the headmaster of Wellington College from 1892 to 1920. He was born and died in Wellington. Early life and family Born in Wellingto ...

, the headmaster from 1892 to 1921. Wellington College's Pavilion, Firth House and the Gifford Observatory were opened on 1 December, 1924. The War Memorial Hall was opened on 2 March, 1928, financially supported by £6000 from the Old Boys' Association. The War Memorial Hall and classroom wings were demolished by the Ministry of Works and replaced in the 1960s with a new hall and seven-storey Tower classroom block due to its lack of earthquake reinforcements. The stained glass window from the front of the War Memorial Hall is now located in the front of the existing hall. In the 1960s the Old Boys Gymnasium was built on the eastern boundary of the campus replacing the swimming pool and during the 1970s the Maths, Library and Technology blocks were opened, replacing the last of the War Memorial Hall building and classroom wings that opened in 1928. In 1980 Firth House was demolished to make way for a new gymnasium which opened in 1982. 1988 saw the opening of the Arts and Music block, and the Brierley Theatre, named after old boy

Ron Brierley Ronald Alfred Brierley (born 2 August 1937) is a New Zealand born investor and corporate raider, chairman and director of a number of companies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. He founded R. A. Brierley Investments Ltd (BIL; renamed ''Guo ...

. The first dedicated computer rooms in the College opened in 1994 in a new building located behind the school hall. 2001 saw the opening of the Science block, on the western boundary of the campus. In 2008 the Languages block opened, also located on the western boundary. The campus also has many prefabricated buildings, some functioning as offices and some as classrooms. The only "historical" buildings remaining on campus to this day are Firth Hall, the Pavilion and the Gifford Observatory. Wellington college

In 2016, the College Hall was demolished to make way for a larger Assembly Hall and Performing Arts Centre, which would be able to hold the entire school with its growing population. In preparation for this, the staffroom was moved to Firth Hall, the Uniform Shop opened a new premise next to the Archives, and the Computer Block was opened on the first floor of Tower Block. Construction on the new hall commenced in September 2016 and was opened in 2018 by

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

About

Wellington College's enrolment zone mainly covers the central and western suburbs of Wellington (

Rongotai College Rongotai College is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in the southeastern suburb of Rongotai, Wellington, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18), the school has 622 students as of July 2015. About 40 per cent of the studen ...

serves the southeastern suburbs, and

Onslow College Onslow College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Johnsonville, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It had a student population in 2020 of 1250 students. The current principal is Sheena Millar. History Onslow College opened i ...

the northern suburbs). The school also competes in a local athletics competition known as "McEvedy Shield" along with St. Patrick's College (Town), St. Patrick's College (Silverstream) and

. Historically, Wellington College have won the shield more than any other school. It is next to

Wellington East Girls' College Wellington East Girls' College (WEGC, Maori name: Te Kura Kōhine o te Rāwhiti o Te Upoko o Te Ika) is a state single-sex girls' secondary school which sits directly above Mount Victoria Tunnel, Wellington, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 ...

, also in Mount Victoria, and shares with that college the Gifford Observatory. Although Wellington College is situated next to Wellington East Girls' College, its sister college is

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. H ...

located in Thorndon. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, Wellington College earned the highest number of scholarships in the New Zealand scholarship exams.

Board of Trustees

The Wellington College Board of Trustees consists of twelve elected and appointed members.

Notable alumni

The Arts

* Maxwell Fernie – organist, conductor and music teacher * Alexander Grant – ballet dancer, teacher, and company director * Jonathan Harlen – author * Dai Henwood – comedian * Raybon Kan – writer and comedian *

Bret McKenzie Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born 29 June 1976) is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's c ...

–

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning songwriter and member of

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...

John Mulgan John Alan Edward Mulgan (31 December 1911 – 26 April 1945) was a New Zealand writer, journalist and editor, and the elder son of journalist and writer Alan Mulgan. His influence on New Zealand literature and identity grew in the years afte ...

– editor, writer, journalist and Army officer * Robert J. Pope – songwriter, poet, cricketer *

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film '' Ghost Ship''. Since ...

– actor

Broadcasting & journalism

Edward George Honey Edward George Honey (18 September 1885 – 25 August 1922) was an Australian journalist who suggested the idea of Moment of silence, five minutes of silence in a letter to a London newspaper in May 1919, about 6 months before the first observanc ...

– Australian journalist credited by some as the originator of the Two-minute silence tradition * John Campbell – journalist, radio and television personality * Keith Quinn – TV and radio sports presenter * Chris Spence – journalist *

Bryan Waddle Bryan Alexander Waddle (born 1948) is a veteran New Zealand-born sports broadcaster, sometimes called "The voice of New Zealand cricket". He grew up in Karori and went to school at Wellington College. His father was the public address announc ...

– cricket commentator & radio presenter

Business

– businessman *

Alan Gibbs Alan Gibbs (born 1939) is a New Zealand-born businessman, entrepreneur and art collector. After a successful business career in New Zealand, which made him one of that country's wealthiest individuals, he relocated to London in 1999. He retains ...

– businessman *

Arthur Myers Sir Arthur Mielziner Myers (19 May 1868 – 9 October 1926) was a New Zealand politician. He was Mayor of Auckland City from 1905 to 1909, Member of the House of Representatives from 1910 to 1921, and a Cabinet Minister. Today he is remembered ...

– businessman and politician * Steve Outtrim – businessman *

Frank Renouf Sir Francis Henry Renouf (31 July 191813 September 1998) was a New Zealand stockbroker and financier. Early life Born in Wellington on 31 July 1918, Renouf was the son of Mary Ellen Renouf (née Avery) and Francis Charles Renouf. He was educated ...

– businessman

Public service

Henry Avery Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659after 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases ...

, New Zealand's Quartermaster General during World War Two and former All Black * Grafton Francis Bothamley –

Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives The clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives is an officer of the New Zealand House of Representatives and is the principal officer (chief executive) of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Role The clerk of the ...

* Arthur Coningham – World War II commander and World War I Air Ace. Portrayed in the film ''

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...

'' *

Ken Douglas Kenneth George Douglas (15 November 1935 – 14 September 2022) was a New Zealand trade union leader. Early life Douglas was born in Wellington in 1935. His parents were Marjorie "Maj" Alice ( Farrow) and John Atholwood "Atty" Douglas. He wa ...

, trade union leader and politician * Bernard Freyberg, Governor-General, World War I VC Winner and World War II commander *

Thomas Gault Sir Thomas Munro Gault (, 31 October 1938 – 19 May 2015) was a New Zealand jurist. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom as well as a non-permanent judge of the Court o ...

– Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand *

William Gentry Major General Sir William George Gentry, (20 February 1899 – 13 October 1991) was a professional soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces who served during the Second World War. He was Chief of the General Staff of the New Zealand Military Fo ...

- World War II commander * Lord Grey of Naunton – last Governor of Northern Ireland * Frederick Hanson, World War II commander, subsequently Commissioner of Works at the Ministry of Works *

Michael Hardie Boys Sir Michael Hardie Boys, (born 6 October 1931) is a New Zealand retired lawyer, judge, and jurist who served as the 17th Governor-General of New Zealand, in office from 1996 to 2001. Early life and family Hardie Boys was born in 1931 in Wel ...

– former Governor-General of New Zealand * Thomas Hislop – Mayor of Wellington from 1931 to 1945 *

Don Hunn Donald Kent Hunn (born Wellington 26 December 1934) is a senior New Zealand diplomat and civil servant. Hunn is the son of Sir Jack Hunn, a former Secretary of Defence, Maori Affairs, and Justice. Education Hunn attended Wellington College ...

CNZM – senior New Zealand diplomat, civil servant, and State Services Commissioner *

Ngātata Love Sir Ralph Heberley Love (7 September 1937 – 17 October 2018), known as Ngātata Love, was a New Zealand Waitangi Tribunal negotiator, academic and Māori people, Māori leader. Love was a Professor Emeritus of Business Development at Victori ...

– academic and Treaty negotiator *

Rex Mason Henry Greathead Rex Mason (3 June 1885 – 2 April 1975) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Education, and Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the directio ...

– politician *

Matthew Oram Sir Matthew Henry Oram (2 June 1885 – 22 January 1969) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was the 13th Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1950 to 1957. Early life Oram was born in 1885 at Christchurch. His mo ...

– lawyer, politician, Speaker of Parliament * Graham Beresford Parkinson – World War II commander *

Paul Reeves Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

– former Governor-General of New Zealand *

Adrian G. Rodda Adrian George Rodda (11 March 1911 – 31 October 1997) was a senior New Zealand civil servant. He was born in Wellington, and educated at Johnsonville School, Wellington College (New Zealand), Wellington College and Victoria University College. ...

– senior civil servant and Chairman of the State Services Commission * Eric Roussell –

* William Ball Sutch, New Zealand public servant, put on trial for espionage * Ray Wallace, Mayor of Lower Hutt from 2010 to 2019

Science

George Leslie Adkin George Leslie Adkin (26 July 1888 – 21 May 1964) was a New Zealand farmer, geologist, archaeologist, ethnologist, photographer, tramper and environmentalist. As an amateur scholar he made a significant contribution to the study of natural science ...

– farmer, geologist, ethnologist, photographer, and environmentalist. *

David Benney David John Benney (8 April 1930 – 9 October 2015) was a New Zealand applied mathematician, known for work on the nonlinear partial differential equations of fluid dynamics. Education and early life Born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 8 April ...

– emeritus professor and former head of the Department of Mathematics at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

* Ian Foster – computer scientist *

Diamond Jenness Diamond Jenness, (February 10, 1886, Wellington, New Zealand – November 29, 1969, Chelsea, Quebec, Canada) was one of Canada's greatest early scientists and a pioneer of Canadian anthropology. Early life (1886–1910) Family and childho ...

- anthropologist in Canada * William Pickering – former Head of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

(space scientist) * Philip Robertson – chemist, university professor and writer *

Jonathan Sarfati Jonathan David Sarfati (born 1 October 1964) is a young Earth creationist who writes articles for Creation Ministries International (CMI), a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry. Sarfati has a PhD in chemistry, and was New Zealand nation ...

–

creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 'th ...

, scientist, and New Zealand Chess Champion

Sport

Nelson Asofa-Solomona Nelson Asofa-Solomona (born 29 February 1996) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and New Zealand at international level. Asofa-Solomona won the 2017 NRL Grand Final and th ...

– rugby league player for

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

Tom Blundell Sir Thomas Leon Blundell, (born 7 July 1942) is a British biochemist, structural biologist, and science administrator. He was a member of the team of Dorothy Hodgkin that solved in 1969 the first structure of a protein hormone, insulin. Blun ...

– professional cricketer for the

Wellington Firebirds The Wellington Firebirds are one of six New Zealand men's first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. It is based in Wellington. It competes in the Plunket Shield first class (4-day) competition, The Ford Trophy domestic one ...

and New Zealand

Black Caps The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...

Leo Bertos Leonida Christos Bertos (born 20 December 1981) is a New Zealand professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Hamilton Olympic in the National Premier Leagues. Leo Bertos is currently the head coach of Northern NSW NPL side West ...

– former professional football player for the

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

and the

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

* Harry Boam – cricketer for the

Craig Bradshaw Craig Robert Bradshaw (born 28 July 1983) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. Bradshaw played four years of college basketball at Winthrop University in the United States before playing professionally with clubs in New Zeala ...

– Former Professional Basketballer, and member of New Zealand Tall Blacks * George Bridgewater – New Zealand rower *

Tim Brown Timothy, Timmy, or Tim Brown may refer to: Music * Timothy Brown (bassist) (born 1969), bassist for the band The Boo Radleys * Timothy Brown (conductor) (born 1946), English choral conductor * Timothy Brown (hornist), English hornist Sports Gridir ...

– former professional footballer for the

and the

. Also co-founder of Allbirds * Ralph Caulton – All Black *

Dane Coles Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

– All Black *

Ross Durant Ross Durant is a former association football player who played as a defender. He represented the New Zealand national team at international level. Durant played four official internationals for the ''All Whites'' in the space of nine days, mak ...

– football player for New Zealand

Simon Elliott Simon John Elliott (born 10 June 1974, in Wellington) is a retired New Zealand International footballer who most recently served as head coach of USL Championship side Sacramento Republic FC. Semi-professional and college career Elliott play ...

– former football player with the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

and New Zealand All Whites * Marc Ellis – former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, entertainer, businessman * James Franklin – cricketer, plays for

and

Wes Goosen Wesley Goosen (born 20 October 1995) is a South African-born, New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship. Early career Born in the South African city of East London, Goosen moved t ...

- Rugby Union player for * Ken Gray – All Black *

Onny Parun Onny Parun (born 15 April 1947) is a former tennis player of Croatian descent from New Zealand, who was among the world's top 20 for five years and who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1971 and 1972. He made the final of the Australi ...

– tennis player *

Dion Prewster Dion Anthony Prewster (born 10 January 1990) is an American-born New Zealand professional basketball player for the Sandringham Sabres of the NBL1 South. He played college basketball for San Jacinto College and Stephen F. Austin State University ...

– Professional Basketballer, and member of New Zealand Tall Blacks. *

Lima Sopoaga Lima Sopoaga (born 3 February 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays for Lyon in the Top 14 competition. His regular playing positions are Fly-Half and Centre. Early life Sopoaga was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His family co ...

– All Black *

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

– New Zealand rower *

Neemia Tialata Neemia Stanley Tialata (born 15 July 1982 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Stade Toulousain in the Top 14. As well as representing New Zealand from 2005 - 2010, he also played for the H ...

– All Black *

Filo Tiatia Filogia Ian "Filo" Tiatia (born 4 June 1971 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand international rugby union footballer, best known as a back-row forward and occasional lock for Welsh region the Ospreys. Tiatia made his debut for Wellingt ...

– All Black * Ian Uttley – All Black *

Phillip Wilson Phillip Sanford Wilson (September 8, 1941 – March 25, 1992) was an American blues and jazz drummer, a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, U ...

– Olympic gold medallist rower

Headmasters

Coat of Arms

References

External links

Official website

NZQA examination results

Wellington College and the First World War (from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage)
{{Schools in Wellington Boys' schools in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1867 Secondary schools in the Wellington Region Schools in Wellington City Cricket grounds in New Zealand 1867 establishments in New Zealand