Canterbury Boys' High School (CBHS) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 ...

for boys located in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, a south-western suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located near the

Canterbury Park Racecourse Canterbury Park Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located 11 km (7 mi) from the Sydney Central Business District, in King Street in the suburb of Canterbury, adjacent to Canterbur ...

and about 200 metres north of Canterbury Girls' High School. Established in January 1918 as the Canterbury Intermediate High School, Canterbury Boys' High School is part of the St. George Region of high schools, and currently enrols around 470 students from Years 7 to 12. Almost 90 per cent of the students at Canterbury Boys come from a non-English-speaking background.

History

Canterbury Boys' High School traces its origins back to 1917, when a deputation from the local

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

's Parent and Citizens Association asked the Minister for Education to open a high school in the district. There was a concern that the demand for places in local High Schools would exceed available places, and as a result of this request, the Department decided to establish the school at Canterbury. ErnestJohnRourke

The school was opened in January 1918, in what is now the Primary School buildings, and began operating with two classes and 72 students, with Ernest John Rourke B.A. as

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

. The school was initially an intermediate high school (1st to 3rd year), and was therefore named Canterbury Intermediate High School. At its foundation, the search had already begun for a more appropriate site for the new school. In 1919, the land on which most of the original part of the school now stands was resumed, and plans for the new school were prepared. A section of the resumed land is historic, forming part of a grant made by the Rev. Richard Johnson on 20 May 1793. This

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

was called "Canterbury Vale", and it was from this that the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of Canterbury and the school is named. Plans for the new building were completed in late December 1923, and a tender for £22,000 ( A$44,000) was accepted in May 1924. The building was completed and occupied in July 1925 and officially opened on 1 August of that year. The building was soon overcrowded due to the rapid growth of population in the area served by the school, and so plans for extensions were started. Further land acquisitions occurred in 1929 and 1931, and in 1933 the extensions to the northern and southern wings of the original building were completed. CanterburyBHS1934

The school became a full

high 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in 1925, and was subsequently renamed Canterbury Boys' High School. For some years, difficulty was experienced in encouraging boys to complete 4th Year, and to sit for the Leaving Certificate Examination the following year. This was due in part to the difficult economic conditions of the time, and in other cases, boys preferred to enrol in one of the more established high schools such as

Sydney Boys' High School , motto_translation = With Truth and Courage , established = , location = Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pu ...

and the

Sydney Technical High School Sydney Technical High School (STHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Techn ...

. In order to increase enrolments in 4th year, Rourke pressured the Department, and boundary lines were established so that boys living within the area were compelled to enrol at Canterbury. The school was to later become a selective high school from which time many student enrolments were from out of area. Further land on the northern side of the school was resumed in 1945, and later the

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium was erected on part of this land, and completed in 1954. Increasing enrolments and a lack of specialist rooms led to a major extension of the school buildings again being undertaken. The new structure, opened in 1969, contained six science laboratories, two music rooms, three art rooms, two

technical drawing Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and Academic discipline, discipline of composing Plan (drawing), drawings that Visual communication, visually communicate how something functions or is constructed. Technical drawing is essent ...

rooms, two

woodwork Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

rooms, a

metalwork Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

room, a new library and several classrooms, new toilets and a new canteen. This extension was connected to the old building via overhead walkways, and due to it being constructed around a central courtyard, quickly gained the name of the '

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

' block. The appearance of the school changed little over the next two decades, however that was changed in 1988. Canterbury had been campaigning for a multipurpose hall for many years, and so there was much disappointment when a major refurbishing program for the original building and the provision of another classroom block did not include a school hall. There was however a transformation of the original building to that of which is present today. The main changes were lowering of the ceilings, replacement of the assembly hall, the conversion of some rooms on the top floor to a multi-purpose

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, transferring the administration office to the front entrance, providing study rooms and two new staff rooms, and reducing the size of the original staff room. A ground level and first floor walkway was also constructed along the eastern side of the building. In 1958, the status of the school was altered to become "semi-selective", that being from Years 1-3, three classes were fully selective and two classes were of a technical nature, ie, technical drawing, woodwork, metalwork etc. Students from all classes were invited to complete Years 4 and 5. The school retained this status until 1976 when it became a

comprehensive high school Comprehensive high schools are the most popular form of state school, public Secondary school, high schools around the world, designed to provide a well-rounded education to its students, as opposed to the practice in some places in which examinati ...

as part of the school restructuring at the time. Today many of the school’s programs have received acclaim in the printed media, on television and in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The school also received the Director General School Achievement to: "recognise the exceptional quality and outstanding achievements of this school in its Student Welfare Program and Harmonious Race Relations."

Principals

Facilities

The facilities of Canterbury Boys' High School include a library for texts and references and four main

computer lab A computer lab is a space where computer services are provided to a defined community. These are typically public libraries and academic institutions. Generally, users must follow a certain user policy to retain access to the computers. This usu ...

s with smaller

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

rooms scattered around the school buildings for the many courses which require computer access. It also has facilities for

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

and

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

programs,

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

labs, a

, two outdoor

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

s, and an

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

for its

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

and

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s programs.

Co-curriculum

CBHS generally performs well in the various sports competitions in its region, and it has a successful

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

team. The school holds an annual "Cantervale" musical

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

to showcase the talents of students and teachers, as well as featuring many cuisines and snacks from different cultures, provided by teachers, students and parents.

Media

In 2004, the school featured in a four-part documentary, televised on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, titled ''Our Boys''. The program, directed by Kerry Brewster, documented the 2002 school year at Canterbury Boys' High School. The school is also the subject of ''Fred Brown's Schooldays'', a book written by former student, Fred Brown. The book gives an account of life and conditions at the school during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Oprah Winfrey donation

During the first of two live shows in the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

on 14 December 2010,

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

donated $1 million to the school to overhaul the school's library and music rooms as well as providing laptops for every student at the school. The show included a live cross to the students who were in attendance.

Old Cantabrians Union

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 ...

of Canterbury Boys' High School are known as Old Cantabrians, and may join the schools

alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), ...

, the Old Cantabrians' Union. The union was inaugurated in 1928, and today former students often visit the school, and are represented at formal functions such as the Year 12 Farewell, Presentation Night and the Prefects Induction evening.

Notable alumni

;Academic * Samuel Ball, foundational education evaluator of Sesame Street, Pro Vice Chancellor Sydney University, CEO Board of Studies Victoria *

Samuel Warren Carey Samuel Warren Carey Order of Australia, AO (1 November 1911, in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Campbelltown – 20 March 2002, in Hobart) was an Australian geologist and a professor at the University of Tasmania. He was an early advocate of ...

– geologist *

John Francis Lovering John Francis Lovering (born 27 March 1930, in Sydney, died 4 January 2023, aged 92) was an Australian geologist. He was Professor of Geology at the University of Melbourne from 1969 to 1987 and Vice-Chancellor of Flinders University from 1987 to ...

, geologist, Professor, Dean and Pro Vice Chancellor, University of Melbourne (1969–1987) and Vice Chancellor, Flinders University (1987–1995). * Dr Jeffrey Miller , academic, founding principal (Vice Chancellor) of

Cumberland College of Health Sciences The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

(1972–1990), Honorary Professor Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (1988) ;Medicine * (Alan) Eric Fisher – president of the Marriage Guidance Council in 1985; president of the

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is the professional body for general practitioners (GPs) in Australia. The RACGP is responsible for maintaining standards for quality clinical practice, education and training, and re ...

from 1986 to 1988.Dr Eric Fisher: pioneering GP who adopted new treatment techniques
Sydney Morning Herald 6 January 2017 * William McBride, gynecologist and obstetrician who revealed to the world the dangers of

Thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...

;Entertainment, media and the arts *

Grahame Bond Grahame John Bond AM (born 21 November 1943) is an Australian actor, writer, director, musician and composer, known primarily for his role as Aunty Jack. Early career Bond began his career in entertainment at University of Sydney in the 1960s ...

, comedian, actor and creator of ''

The Aunty Jack Show ''The Aunty Jack Show'' was a Logie Award-winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day. The lead chara ...

'' * Bill Collins, film historian and TV presenter *

David Frith David Edward John Frith (born 16 March 1937) is a cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of ''Wisden Cricket Monthly''". Life and career David Frith was born in Gloucester Place in Lo ...

, cricket author and journalist * Bryan Davies, singer and entertainer *

John M. Green John M. Green (born 1953) is an Australian thriller writer, publisher and company director. He is a former executive director of an investment bank and was a partner of two law firms. Previously a director of publisher ''UNSW Press'', he co-foun ...

, author, publisher and company director *

Nicholas Papademetriou Nicholas Papademetriou is an Australian actor of Greek Cypriot descent with many television, film and theatre credits. He is a graduate of Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He has had an extensive career in film and television sinc ...

, actor *

Trevor Sinclair Trevor Lloyd Sinclair (born 2 March 1973) is an English football coach, professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was winger who notably played in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, West Ham United and Manchester City. He a ...

, long-time Sydney radio announcer and journalist * Lucky Starr, singer and entertainer *

Keith Windschuttle Keith Windschuttle (born 1942) is an Australian historian and former board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was editor of '' Quadrant'' from 2007 to 2015 when he became chair of the board and editor-in-chief. He was the pub ...

, historian, author and publisher, his most notable and controversial work being ''The Fabrication of Aboriginal History'' ;Politics, public service and the law * Jim Cameron, former MLA for Northcott * Hon

Ron Dyer Ronald David Dyer (born 11 April 1943) is a former Australian politician. Born in St Leonards, he became a lawyer and was admitted to the New South Wales Supreme Court in 1972. He had earlier joined the Labor Party, and served as a member of ...

, former Minister for Community Services and Member of the Legislative Council *

Ken Gabb Kenneth George Gabb (born 4 December 1949) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Earlwood in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1978 to 1988, and a state minister from 1986 to 1988. Gabb was born in Earlwood ...

, former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and MLA for

Earlwood Earlwood is a suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Earlwood is located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is part of the St George area. It is in the local government areas of ...

, former partner of predecessor law firms of

Ashurst LLP Ashurst may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Ashurst, Hampshire **Served by Ashurst New Forest railway station *Ashurst, Kent **Served by Ashurst (Kent) railway station *Ashurst, Lancashire *Ashurst, West Sussex *Ashurst Wood, West Sussex Other ...

and

Herbert Smith Freehills Herbert Smith Freehills is an international law firm with headquarters in London, United Kingdom and Sydney, Australia. It was formed on 1 October 2012 by a merger between the United Kingdom-based Herbert Smith, then a member of the "Silver Circl ...

* Hon

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

(1996–2007); Class of 1956 * Keith Pearson, former leader of the National Archives of Australia * Hon John Ryan , former Member of the Legislative Council * Eric John Shields ,

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, former Senior

Public Defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

(NSW) (also attended Orange High School) *

Frank Sleeman Frank Northey Sleeman (4 March 1915 – 1 August 2000) was Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1976 to 1982. Early life and education Sleeman grew up in Redfern, Sydney. He attended Canterbury Boys' High School. Military service and prisoner of war Sl ...

, former Lord Mayor of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

;Religion * Peter Watson,

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Anglican Diocese of Melbourne The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847Alofa Alofa, rugby union player who represented the Warathas * Geoff Bugden, former rugby league player who represented the

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground ...

and

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

. 1980

Rothmans Medal The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest in ...

winner *

Leo Epifania Leo ‘Ledge’ Epifania (born 23 October 1963) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of Italy national rugby league team, Italy and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s as a or ...

, former rugby league player who represented the Western Suburbs and coach of Wests VB Premier league side *

Ted Glossop Ted Glossop (1934 – 31 December 1998) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. Playing career He played for the St. George Dragons for eight seasons between 1950 and 1958 and played 115 games for the club scoring 17 tries. He ...

, former rugby league player and coach of the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

Pierre Hola Pierre Hola (born 9 June 1978) is an Australia-born rugby union footballer. He has represented Tonga and currently plays his club rugby in the Australian Shute Shield for Eastwood. Career Hola made his debut for Tonga in September 1998 in a mat ...

, rugby union player who represented Tonga and the Pacific Islands. World record holder for most successful conversions in a row in a Rugby test match *

Arthur Morris Arthur Robert Morris (19 January 1922 – 22 August 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for h ...

, former cricket player who captained the

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

Anthony Mundine Anthony Mundine Jr. (born 21 May 1975) is an Australian former professional boxer and rugby league footballer. In boxing he competed from 2000 to 2021, and held the WBA super-middleweight title twice between 2003 and 2008. He also held the I ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and former rugby league player (also attended Cleveland Street High School and Kingsgrove High School) *

George Peponis George Peponis (born Georgios Peponis el, Γιώργος Πεπόνης; on 3 September 1953) is a Greek Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national and New South Wales stat ...

, former rugby league player who represented the Kangaroos and served as CEO of the

Ray Ruffels Raymond Owen "Ray" Ruffels (born 23 March 1946) is an Australian former professional tennis player and coach. Playing career Ruffels was an Australian Open semi-finalist in 1968, 1969 and 1975, and a quarter-finalist in 1970 and 1977. In 1978, ...

, former professional tennis player and coach * Peter Spathis, Australian

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

team goal keeper from 2004 to present

References

External links

{{Authority control School buildings completed in 1918 Educational institutions established in 1918 Public high schools in Sydney 1918 establishments in Australia Boys' schools in New South Wales Canterbury, New South Wales