Crows Nest Boys High School

Crows Nest Boys High School (abbreviation CNBHS) is a former high school located at 365 Pacific Highway in the Sydney suburb of Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia. It was a boys' high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education with students from years 7 to 12. The school was first established in 1883 as St Leonards North Public School. However, the school was declared surplus to the needs of the department and officially closed in 1992. The school and its heritage-listed buildings are now the campus of North Sydney Girls High School.

History 1883: establishment as St Leonards North Public School The school was first established in 1883 as St Leonards North Public School, with Jeremiah Crowley as the first Head Teacher. Crowley's term was so well-regarded that by the time of his retirement in 1900, the school was often referred to as "Crowley's School".

1910: as Crows Nest Public School In July 1910, owing to confusion over the "St Leonards" name as two other public schools in the area possessed it (St Leonards East and St Leonards Superior), the school was renamed Crows Nest Public School.

In 1912, a new two-storey building in the Federation Free style, which formed the main building of the school along the Pacific Highway, was opened. Further extensions to this building, designed by Government Architect Richard Wells, were completed in 1924 and officially opened by the Minister for Education, Albert Bruntnell. A Roll of Honour commemorating the service of students in the First World War was unveiled in February 1917.

1936: as Crows Nest Central Junior Technical School In January 1936, as part of an effort by the NSW Government to expand vocational education, the school was converted into Crows Nest Central Junior Technical School, which then provided secondary technical education.

1959: as Crows Nest Boys High School The school was renamed Crows Nest Boys High School in January 1959. An Army Cadet unit was formed in 1946: it was disbanded in 1975 due to the withdrawal of Commonwealth Government support for school-based cadet units. The unit re-formed in 1980, as a joint unit with North Sydney Boys High School, which lasted until disbanding in 1990.

1992: closure By the early 1990s, the school was targeted for closure by the Department of Education, as part of a plan to expand the size of North Sydney Girls High School. The boys' sister school, Cremorne Girls High School, and Milsons Point Public School were also closed around this time. Crows Nest Boys' staff and community attempted to retain the school as a TAFE NSW college, but in March 1992 the Minister for Education, Virginia Chadwick, announced it would close. It was decided to move North Sydney Girls from their campus across the Pacific Highway to the boys' school site (the old North Sydney Girls to become Bradfield College for vocational education). Crows Nest Boys closed in December 1992, with the decision to close noted by one teacher: "There was no political will to save our school ... it was seen as expendable. We’d done all this work, taken the consultation process seriously, and we lost the school anyway". The controversy continued after the closure when the last Headmaster, Don Weir, was refused several appointments and was only offered a lower position by the Department.

Legacy The buildings of the former Crows Nest Boys High School are heritage items listed under the North Sydney Local Environment Plan 2013. In 2014, the Department of Education resolved to create a new public high school in the North Sydney area (on the site of Bradfield College, which would move to St Leonards). As the first new public school in the area since 1961, some former alumni of Crows Nest Boys campaigned to restore the "Crows Nest High" name, colours and motto to the new school. The Department, however, eventually decided on "Cammeraygal High School", which opened in January 2015.

Headmasters

Years SLNPS 1883–1900 Jeremiah Crowley (Head Teacher) 1900–1910 William Roberts (Head Teacher) Years CNPS 1910–1912 William Roberts (Head Teacher) 1912–1920 Theo Sheehy (Head Teacher) 1920–1921 Bede Keough (Head Teacher) 1921–1926 J. H. Hopman (Head Teacher) 1926–1927 Henry Hepburn 1927–1935 Arthur Knight Years CNCJTSCrows Nest Boys High School Honour Roll - Headmasters 1936–1942 Frederick Charles Derham 1943–1946 William Arthur Morris 1947–1949 Arthur Herbert Cooper 1950–1958 Alexander G. Robertson Years CNBHS 1959–1963 Edward Thomas Wallace B.Sc. Dip.Ed.First Headmaster of Blacktown High School 1956–1958. 1964–1970 Harold James Hamnett B.Sc. Dip.Ed.First Principal of Mosman High School 1961–1964. Jan–Dec 1971 John Holme B.A. Dip.Ed.Principal of Cabramatta High School 1968–1970. 1972–1974 William John Cooke B.A. Dip.Ed.Principal of Kandos High School 1969–1971, Inspector of Schools 1974–1975, Principal of Mosman High School 1976–1979. 1975–1986 Leonard Harvey B.A. 1987–1992 Donald James Weir B.A.

Notable alumni

Peter Carson – rugby union player Mark Hartill – rugby union playerRA & the private schoolboy image ABC News 14 June 2023 Levon Khachigian – medical research scientist and Professor of Medicine at UNSW Jaimie Leonarder – musician and radio DJ Brian Norton – rugby league player. Coach of North Sydney Marty Rhone – singer and actor

Crows Nest Boys High School

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