Toorak College Life ‑ 100 Years Ago

On Tuesday April 14 2020, Toorak College celebrated its 146th birthday. Founders Day provides an opportunity for the Archives Committee to research a particular topic relating to Toorak College’s history and to share these findings with current students in order to educate them on the heritage of their school.

This year, the Archives Committee focused on what life was like as a Toorak College student 100 years ago. This was an interesting time for all Australians as the end of WW1 saw many changes begin to occur in society. In Melbourne, suburbs like Kew, Hawthorn and Caulfield were being established. There was a large growth in state schools and private schools, and as such Toorak College had to prove their worth. An increase in student numbers at the end of 1918 saw the need for the school to move from the Douglas St, Toorak campus, to a more spacious facility on nearby Mayfield Avenue. The opening of the new campus in 1919 was delayed until the 10th March that year, due to the outbreak of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Fortunately, no Toorak College community member was impacted by this disease.

The 1920s marked a time when women were beginning to be given positions outside the home and teaching was considered a favourable occupation. Universities were starting to offer places to females, hence one of our famous Collegians, Dame Mary Herring (Lyle, TC’12) , was one of the first female medical students to enrol at Melbourne University.

The School was divided into three sections, Kindergarten, Junior School until the age of 14, followed by the Seniors, up to what would be the equivalent of today’s Year 11 and 12. The majority of students left after Intermediate certificate which is equivalent to Year 10.

School life was still influenced by the effects of the War. Prizes were forgone and the money used to help rebuild the country after the War. Donations from School productions were given to charity. Senior girls made outfits for French orphans under the supervision of the French teacher. They also continued to knit socks for still serving soldiers.

Toorak College had a curriculum including water colour painting, elocution, plain sewing, singing, French, Latin, Arithmetic, Algebra and Australian History. Sport played an important role in the curriculum, and Toorak College was one of first schools to employ a professional sports teacher.

One of the articles in the 1920 Elizabethan magazine tells of little girls in the kindergarten making a daisy chain to decorate the classroom.

What our research into this year’s Founders Day topic clearly shows us is that many of the features of school life 100 years ago, still remain. The tradition, spirit and the sense of belonging were the foundation of the School then and are still with us today.

Carolyn Such (Wiltshire, TC’69) - President, Toorak College Archives Committee

With thanks to Miss June Lambert for her work in researching this topic.