Kinross Wolaroi School is an independent Uniting Church co-educational early learning, primary, and secondary day and boarding school, located in Orange, New South Wales, west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1886 it is the oldest school in Orange and operates across two campuses and serves students from early learning to Year 12. The modern school was formed in 1975 through the amalgamation of Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College and The Kinross School (formerly Presbyterian Ladies' College, Orange).
Kinross Wolaroi is a non-selective school and educates approximately 1,100 students, including around 350 boarders, across three sections: Pre-Preparatory, Preparatory, and Senior School.
The school's affiliations include the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, Junior School Heads Association of Australia, Australian Boarding Schools' Association, Association of Independent Co-Educational Schools, the Independent Schools Association, and Round Square.
History The school traces its origins to 1886 with the foundation of Weymouth House. In 1975, Weymouth House's successor, Wolaroi College, amalgamated with The Kinross School to form Kinross Wolaroi School, which subsequently enteried the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977.
Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College
1886-1925 Weymouth House, was opened in 1886, in the Union Bank building in Orange. The School was founded by Thomas Henry Richards, who served as its sole owner and teacher after relocating to Orange from All Saints College in Bathurst. In 1893 Richards purchased the Wolaroi mansion, built by John Charles McLachlan, allowing the School to relocate to a larger campus. The move coincided with a change of name to Wolaroi Grammar School.
In 1913, Charles Campbell secured Wolaroi and became the third headmaster. In 1925, his successor, Mr. Connell, left Orange to join the staff of The Kings School in Parramatta. He therefore sought someone to purchase the School. This provided an opportunity for the Methodist Church to secure the continuation of the College.
1926-1945 In 1925, the Methodist Church assumed control of the school, renaming it Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College. The college reopened in 1926 under the direction of Stanley Brown who oversaw a broadening of the curriculum and programs offered. Brown is credited with stabilising the College finances during his tenure as Headmaster. The College Council later honoured him by naming the entrance gates "The Stanley Brown Memorial Gates".
1945-1975 The period following the Second World War and in particular the period from 1950 to 1962 was the greatest period of expansion for Wolaroi. Under Headmaster D.A. Trathen enrollments more than doubled, and new facilities were constructed. This period of expansion also included a tightening of both academic and sporting standards.
In 1971 Wolaroi College was visited by the Sultan and Sultana of Selangor, whose son, Tengku Abdul Samad Shah, was a student of the college at the time.
By the early 1970s, following a drought in Western NSW, the college faced financial difficulties and declining enrollments. In 1973, amid a societal attitudes regarding single-sex education the College Council began investigating the feasibility of becoming a co-educational school. This culminated, when in 1975 the Wolaroi College Council resolved to amalgamate with The Kinross School.
Presbyterian Ladies' College (The Kinross School) There had been substantial Scottish immigration to Orange since its foundation in the 19th century which had led to a sizeable Presbyterian community. Throughout the 1920s the Presbyterian community realized that there was a need for the establishment of a girls' school that could provide a well-rounded education based upon the ideals found within reformed Christianity. In response to this The Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC) opened in Orange in 1928 on a 43-acre site, named "Campdale". With Miss Eleanor Linck as its first Headmistress. Dorothy Knox took over in 1932 and she led the school until 1936. After which point Ina Miller became headmistress for 33 years. In 1973, PLC became co-educational, and changed its name to The Kinross School. During this time Wolaroi was suffering from financial difficulties and the Methodist Church approached the Presbyterian Church to take over management of Wolaroi. In 1975 both The Kinross School Council and Wolaroi College Council agreed to amalgamate.
Kinross Wolaroi School
1975-2015 In 1975 Wolaroi College amalgamated with The Kinross School to form Kinross Wolaroi School. Following the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, the School came under that denomination.
Alan Anderson was appointed headmaster in 1978 and served until 2001.Stevens, Peter (2011). Kinross Wolaroi School: A Pictorial History 1975-2006. orange. p.29. . In his first year he declined to announce a Dux, citing low academic standards. During his tenure he introduced stricter discipline, tighter uniform regulations, restrictions on student leave, and compulsory cadets for boys from 1979, then extended to girls in 1983. In July 1979, around thirty boarders staged a protest on the main Wolaroi oval seeking relaxation of the new rules; they returned to their boarding houses after being warned they faced expulsion.Stevens, Peter (2011). Kinross Wolaroi School: A Pictorial History 1975-2006. orange. p.30. .
By 1988, enrollments had grown to 728 students, including 384 boarders, making it the largest co-educational boarding school in New South Wales and the fourth largest in Australia at that time. In 1989 continued expansion in boarding numbers led the school to lease of the Victorian-era Croagh Patrick House.
In 1998, the former preparatory principal at Kinross Wolaroi, John Thomas Kennett, was convicted of sex offences against twelve boys.
Rev. David Williams was appointed as Headmaster in 2002 and was succeeded by Brian Kennelly in 2007. Under Kennelly's leadership a building program was undertaken to upgrade infrastructure such as the Derek Pigot Auditorium.
2016-2025 In 2016, the school celebrated its 130-year anniversary and Dr Andrew Parry took over as the Headmaster of Kinross Wolaroi School.
In August 2016, SBS News reported that several Kinross Wolaroi School students were assaulted by adult spectators following a school rugby match between Kinross Wolaroi and St Stanislaus’ College in Bathurst. According to the report, a group of intoxicated spectators confronted players after the game, leading to a physical altercation in which a number of students were injured. The incident prompted discussion regarding spectator behaviour and supervision at inter-school sporting events, particularly between rugby rival schools Kinross Wolaroi and St Stanislaus'.
In July 2020 several former students alleged they had been instructed to remove or alter naturally textured afro hair and protective braided hairstyles in order to comply with school grooming policy. The school responded that its current grooming policy does not prohibit any specific hairstyles, but requires boys’ hair to be “near and off the collar without any "unorthodox" cuts or colours.” The headmaster said that "existing school grooming standards which do not accommodate the natural hair texture and growth of African and Indigenous students have been identified as one issue faced by these students".
Campus and heritage The School occupies 100 acres across two campuses in Orange.
The Wolaroi Mansion Building
The heritage listed Wolaroi Mansion was built by the architect John Hale for John C. McLachlan in 1884. The School, after having outgrown the original buildings, moved to Wolaroi Mansion and grounds in 1893. The building has housed the school dining hall, offices, classrooms, and functions as a boys boarding up until the present day.
The original building consisted of a drawing room, sitting room, dining room, breakfast room, seven bedrooms, four servants bedrooms, a study, servants hall, pantry, kitchen, scullery, laundry, dairy, cellar, children's playhouse, and a lumber room. The existing mansion was expanded following the taking over of the college by the Methodist Church in 1925.
The War Memorial Building The War Memorial Building was constructed during the 1950s and were built with funds donated from the Old Boys' Association and the Methodist Church. The new building was opened on 8 December 1952 by the Rev. Professor G. Calvert Barber, President-General of the Methodist Church of Australasia and Professor of Theology, Queen's College, Melbourne.
The Stanley G. Brown Memorial Gates The Stanley G. Brown Memorial Gates serve as the main entrance to the school's principal site on Bathurst Road. The gates were named in 1956, three years after Stanley Brown's death in 1953.
The Music / Performing Arts Centre In 1991 The Music and Performing Arts Centre, designed by Roy Michael, was opened by Alan Jones and was celebrated by a gala concert compered by Rolf Harris actively involved 600 students.Stevens, Peter (2011). Kinross Wolaroi School: A Pictorial History 1975-2006. orange. p.132-133. .
Reporting on the event for radio station 2UE in November 1991, Jones described witnessing a Beating of the Retreat performance by the school's cadet corps on the main oval, noting with some surprise that girls took part alongside boys, and that he found the standard of discipline and precision remarkable. He went on to praise the gala open-air concert that followed as a showcase of the school's musical talent.Stevens, Peter (2011). Kinross Wolaroi School: A Pictorial History 1975-2006. orange. p.132-133. .
Sporting and Academic Facilities Sporting facilities include eight playing fields, an indoor heated swimming pool, an outdoor pool, a gymnasium, a weights room, a boatshed, and courts for tennis, badminton, basketball and squash.
Academic facilities include a science centre, library, an Amphitheatre, and an auditorium.
House System and Boarding Houses form the basis for many school activities, including assemblies, competitions, and tutor group structures.
History of the house system The houses were established in 1936 "to encourage greater keenness in all contests within the College". The boys were divided into three Houses - the Sir Neville House, the McLachlan House, and the Campbell House. In 1941 it was decided to reform the House system due to unhappiness surrounding the fairness of the current system, and so in 1941 the existing houses were abolished and replaced by two new houses, Brown and Wesley.
Day/Tutor Houses
+House nameHouse ColoursGenderYears activeNamed in honour of Link with the SchoolNotesSir Neville HouseUnknownBoys1936-1941Sir Neville HowseSir Neville was the MP for Calare and reopened Wolaroi in 1926.Campbell HouseUnknownBoys1936-1941Mr C. R. CampbellThe third Headmaster of Wolaroi from 1913 to 1925.Wesley HouseUnknownBoys1941-1975John WesleyThe founder of the Methodist Church.Brown HouseFormerly Boys. Now Mixed1941–PresentStanley G. BrownThe fifth Headmaster of the College.Weymouth HouseUnknownBoys 1886–1890 1955–1975Weymouth HouseThe School attended by T. H. Richards, Weymouth College, a public school in England.McLachlan HouseFormerly Boys. Now Mixed 1936–1941 1969–PresentJohn Charles McLachlanThe original owner and builder of Wolaroi.Douglas House Formerly Girls. Now Mixed1950–PresentJames Stuart DouglasOne of the founders of P.L.C.