Brighton College, Manly

Former private girls' school in Manly, New South Wales

This article is about the former private girls' school in Manly, New South Wales. For other colleges, see Brighton College (disambiguation).

Brighton College

Location

Manly, New South Wales, Australia

Coordinates| 33°47′55″S 151°16′47″E﻿ / ﻿33.79861°S 151.27972°E﻿ / -33.79861; 151.27972
Information
Type| Private school
Motto| Latin: Fortitier et Recte[1]
(Bravely and uprightly)
Established| 1889
Founder| Miss Ethel Milne
Status| Closed
Closed| 1960
Gender| Girls

Brighton College (also known as Brighton College for Girls) was a non-denominational day and boarding private girls' school in Manly, New South Wales, Australia. It operated from 1889 to 1960 in the suburb of Manly, Australia.

## History

[edit]

Miss Ethel Milne opened a girls' day kindergarten school on Wentworth Street, Manly, in 1880.[1] Brighton College itself was established by Milne in 1889.[1]

In the early years, boys were also pupils in the kindergarten;[2] they were admitted again to the infants' department in the early 1940s.[1] By 1928 there were 222 pupils.[3] By 1946 the school was divided into three schools: kindergarten, middle and upper.[4]

The school moved frequently in its early years: it was located variously at Wood Street, Fairlight Street, and James Street,[1] and for some time it occupied a large cottage on the Ocean Beach called Brighton.[5] It was also briefly located on Pittwater Road (opposite Manly Park)[6] and in North Steyne; when it vacated the last of these the building was then briefly occupied by the Manly Grammar School.[1] A new building was opened in 1905,[7] named 'Vista Reale', and located on the corner of Fairlight Street and The Crescent.[1] In 1912 the then owner of Brighton College, Miss Mildred Fry, sold the school to Miss Maria Hayes-Williams, the Principal of the Manly High School for Girls (also known as Leona School for Girls, and originally Manly College for Girls), which occupied Leona House, also located on The Crescent.[5][8] In doing so, Hayes-Williams kept the name Brighton College for the combined school,[1] after initially naming it Manly High School for Girls and Brighton College.[9] In 1927 the school moved to what would become its final location, 'Kurrumboola', on the corner of Margaret Street and 38 The Crescent, at the Fairlight end of Manly.[10][1] Boarders were housed at 5 Margaret Street.[1]

Increased pupil numbers resulted in the establishment of a branch school in 1923, on the eastern side of Manly.[11] The branch school was moved into the main building in 1924.[12] In 1942 the school obtained the former Chief Justice Sir Adrian Knox's country estate, 'Dalkeith', in Gundagai as a country branch.[13]

Physical culture was taught by Hans Christian Bjelke-Peterson.[1] There was a Brighton College Old Girls’ Union, established in 1923.[14]

The Wyndham Report of 1957 into secondary school education led to the Public Education Act 1961 and the closure of smaller private schools; Brighton College was one such school, closing in 1960.[15]

## Houses

[edit]

The school was divided into houses. By 1932 there were four: Kendel, Wentworth, Hayes Williams and Allenby.[16]

## Principals

[edit]

* Miss Ethel Milne, 1889–1902.[1][2]
* Miss Mildred Fry (later, and better known as, Mildred Muscio), 1903–1912.[17]
* Miss Maria Eliza Hayes-Williams, 1912–1915.[1]
* Miss K Allenby, 1914–1923.[1][18][11]
* Miss Maude Mary Musson, 1924–1935.[12][19]
* Miss Annie Isobel Croker, 1936–1960.[10][13][1]

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Nancy Bird Walton[20]
* Kylie Tennant, The future novelist was the recipient of many prizes in English literature at the school.[12]

## Notable staff

[edit]

* Mildred Muscio
* Alice Whitley

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Manly Library Local Studies: Brighton College". Retrieved 7 November 2021.
2. ^ a b "BRIGHTON COLLEGE, MANLY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 19, 900. New South Wales, Australia. 21 December 1901. p. 12. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
3. ^ "BREAKING-UP DAY AT BRIGHTON COLLEGE". The Daily Telegraph. No. 15, 299. New South Wales, Australia. 21 December 1928. p. 28. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
4. ^ "Brighton College Educates For Useful Life". The Farmer & Settler. Vol. XLI, no. 45\. New South Wales, Australia. 6 December 1946. p. 30. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
5. ^ a b "Good Training At Brighton". The Farmer & Settler. Vol. XLIV, no. 45\. New South Wales, Australia. 9 December 1949. p. 28 (Farmer-Settler Education). Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
6. ^ "Manly Library Local Studies: Miss Annie Isobel Croker". Retrieved 7 November 2021.
7. ^ "BRIGHTON LADIES' COLLEGE". The Australian Star. No. 5343\. New South Wales, Australia. 30 March 1905. p. 6. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
8. ^ ""LEONA" HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS". The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. Vol. XXII, no. 82\. New South Wales, Australia. 13 January 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 8 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
9. ^ "Manly Library Local Studies: Manly High School for Girls". Retrieved 7 November 2021.
10. ^ a b "BRIGHTON COLLEGE, MANLY". Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 8 February 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
11. ^ a b "Brighton College, Manly". The Daily Telegraph. No. 13, 740. New South Wales, Australia. 21 December 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
12. ^ a b c "BRIGHTON COLLEGE, MANLY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 129. New South Wales, Australia. 16 December 1924. p. 7. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
13. ^ a b "BRIGHTON COLLEGE, MANLY AND GUNDAGAI". Cootamundra Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 21 January 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
14. ^ "Northern Beaches Library Services: The Brighton Chronicle, December 1933, p 7". Retrieved 7 November 2021.
15. ^ "Smith, Anne, "A short history of education in Manly, NSW", Phanfare, No 226, September-October 2007, pp 21-23 at p 23" (PDF). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
16. ^ "Brighton College". The Sun. No. 1534\. New South Wales, Australia. 21 August 1932. p. 2 (SUNBEAMS Supplement). Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
17. ^ "BRIGHTON COLLEGE, MANLY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 20, 213. New South Wales, Australia. 22 December 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
18. ^ "BRIGHTON COLLEGE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 25, 109. New South Wales, Australia. 27 June 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
19. ^ "SPEECH DAYS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 555. New South Wales, Australia. 7 December 1935. p. 22. Retrieved 7 November 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
20. ^ "Northern Beaches Library Services: The Brighton Chronicle, December 1933, p 8". Retrieved 7 November 2021.