Hurlstone Agricultural High School

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Hurlstone Agricultural High School
Motto	Pro Patria 'For my Country'
Established	1907
Type	Public selective co-educational secondary day/boarding school
Founder	John Kinlock
Students	961
Grades	7–12
Location	Glenfield, NSW Australia
Campus	112 hectares
Colours	Blue, Yellow, Red
Website	// www.hurlstone.com.au

The Hurlstone dairy is a small operation with 42 head of cattle.

Hurlstone Agricultural High School (abbreviated HAHS) is a selective agricultural secondary school for students from Years 7 to 12 in Glenfield, the oldest of its type in New South Wales, Australia. It is unique in that it is the state's only public selective and agricultural school that also includes a coeducational boarding school. It was also the first public boarding school in NSW. The 1.2 km² campus is dominated by its operational farm and includes extensive sporting facilities and student accommodation. As it is a NSW public school, it is also participates in the Hume and Edmondson Boys zone Combined High Schools (CHS) sporting events, in particular, Rugby Union and Hockey.

1 History
2 Population
3 Campus
4 Traditions
5 Notable alumni
6 Controversies and Media Attention
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

Hurlstone was established as a boys-only school in 1907 in Hurlstone Park, approximately ten kilometres south west of Sydney, at the present site of Trinity Grammar School. Girls weren't accepted until around the 1970s. The original owner of the land was a teacher, John Kinloch, one of the first graduates of the University of Sydney. He named the land 'Hurlstone Estate', after his mother's maiden name, with the aim of setting up his own school on it.

In those days, most students completed their schooling after primary school and students at 'Hurlstone Agricultural Continuation School' (as it was known at the time) studied there for only two years. In 1926, the school moved to its present site in Glenfield, approximately 42 km south west of Sydney (between Liverpool and Campbelltown) and serviced by the Main Southern Railway. By then, its student numbers had grown from 30 (in 1907) to 148. The school supported government policy to promote productivity in the agricultural sector through the training of boys in all aspects of agricultural sciences and farm management.

For a brief period in the 1940s, it was known as 'Macarthur Agricultural High School', in honour of woolgrower John Macarthur. However, the school soon reverted to its previous name.

Female students were first admitted to Hurlstone Agricultural High School in 1979.

Hurlstone celebrated its centenary on April 1st 2007. Guests and guest speakers at the ceremony were, in order of first appearance:

Aunty Mae Robinson, Mil-Pra Regional AECG
Mr John Norris, Principal of Hurlstone Agricultural High School
Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales
Reverend Colin Williams
Mr Michal Kidd, Former principal of Hurlstone Agricultural High School, 1988-2003
Mr Allan McClelland, Chair of Centenary Committee (Hurlstone)
Mr Tom Taylor, The oldest surviving former Hurlstone student at 100 years and 10 months (as of April 1st 2007)

Hurlstone has had 12 principals: Mr F. McMullen (1907-16), Mr G. F. Longmuir (1917-38), Mr P. Hindmarsh (1939-45), Mr J. Mc. E. King (1946-53), Mr C. G. James (1954-67), Mr R. W. Clarke (1968-78), Mr J. F. White (1979-82), Mr G. K. Wilson (1983-87), Mr R. M. Kidd (1988- mid 2003), Mr J. Norris (mid 2003- May 2006), Mr O. Kenny (May-Dec 2006), Mr J. Norris (March 2007- ).

For more history, click on the Hurlstone Agricultural High School website

[edit] Population

The boarding school at sunset. Several dormitories and a kitchen and dining room are visible.

Enrolment in the school is dependent on examinations of Year 6 students from across the state. The school maintains high academic standards and is consistently listed in the top 20 NSW high schools in terms of HSC marks. It is one of the oldest and best known selective schools in NSW.

The student population of about 960 is divided between boarder students (who reside on the school grounds and originate mainly from country NSW), and day students (who commute mostly from the south western Sydney region). The boarder-day student ratio is roughly 1:2. For sporting and accommodation purposes the school is divided into four houses: Farrer (red), Macarthur (yellow), Wentworth (blue) and [Lachlan] Macquarie (green).

[edit] Campus

The Hurlstone Campus covers the area from Glenfield Train station, along Roy Watts Road and extends to sections of Quarter Sessions Road near the Hume Highway. The main entrance to the school is located on Roy Watts Road, although most students enter from the Horne Park gate at Glenfield station. The school is serviced by the East Hills, South and Cumberland train lines.

Hurlstone features a fully functional farm and a commercial dairy. Some of the livestock on the farm include:

Various beef and dairy cattle
Sheep
Pigs
Chicken (egg and meat)
Boer Goats
Alpacas
Peacocks

Hurlstone was the first public school in NSW to have its own swimming pool. The 33m pool is located next to the boarding school, and is used for swimming carnivals and recreational purposes.

Clarke House is a heritage listed building next to the English 'Cottage' which houses a Hurlstone memorabilia museum.

On Roy Watts Road past the boarding school stands a memorial forest with trees planted in the shape of a cross to remember old Hurlstonians who have fought in the wars. The memorial forest is where the Anzac Day and Remembrance day ceremonies are held.

[edit] Traditions

The school motto is Pro Patria in Latin which means For My Country. The school organises an annual Country Fair on the last Saturday in August, involving student families across the state. There is also a school warcry and an annual rugby match between the Year 12 boarders and day students (won 29 - 21 by the day students in 2006), and old Boys and First Grade Rugby.

[edit] Notable alumni

Toby Allen - singer
Phil Burton - singer
John Hurst Edmondson VC - soldier in World War II; the Hurlstone school hall is named in his honour.
John Kerin - politician, former Treasurer of Australia
Mark Latham - politician, former Leader of Australian Labor Party
Jim Lees - former Commissioner of the New South Wales Police
David Lyons - rugby union player, Wallabies
Peter Moore - author
Kate Ritchie - actress
Andrew Tierney - singer
Margaret Tierney - former Miss Australia (1995)
Michael Tierney - singer

Andrew Tierney, Michael Tierney, Toby Allen and Phil Burton all met at Hurlstone, and would later form the singing group Human Nature. Margaret Tierney is the older sister of Andrew and Michael.

[edit] Controversies and Media Attention

In 2002, Hinchinbrook teenager and Hurlstone student Hamidur Rahman died on year 8 camp at Yanco Agricultural High School near Leeton in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of western NSW: the official cause of death was described as anaphylactic shock resulting from ingestion of peanut butter.

In 2004 a Departmental inquiry exposed an array of poor welfare practices within the boarding school. The scrutiny came about as a result of a defamatory website which was created but removed several days later: although it was only available for access for between two and three weeks, a number of students and teachers either accessed it directly or were made aware of its presence and content.

A review, the results of which were issued on May 31, 2004, by the NSW Department of Education, concluded that "there was a culture of protection of the school's reputation, even if that necessitated some acceptance of unsuitable practices and behaviours" (Doherty, 2004) among teachers and administrative staff.

The school was recently compared to James Ruse Agricultural High School in terms of academic achievement, sporting commitments and agricultural teachings. While exceeding at the latter two, the school was attacked on the grounds of its academic achievement.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on May 26, 2006, that the high school's principal, John Norris, has been stood aside after admitting to selling school furniture on eBay. Mr Norris said he had raised about $2000 for the school from the sale of surplus industrial arts work benches. He said many of the 11 items were sold for cash and receipts had been given only when specifically requested. "I guess you could sell it on the street corner if you wanted to," Mr Norris said in the paper.

Mr Norris has since been reinstated as principal. see "Dining-out principal reinstated" March 3, 2007 "The Daily Telegraph"
"The tribunal was told Mr Norris spent tens of thousands of dollars of public funds without approval. He sought reimbursement from school funds for a $500 dinner for six at Sydney's Intercontinental Hotel, claiming they were a business expense. The tribunal said that meal and others were not valid charges and Mr Norris's conceptualisation of them as conference dinners was "entirely misguided''.