Fitzroy High School
Encyclopedia
Fitzroy High School is a school catering for Years 7 to 12, located in Falconer Street, Fitzroy
, Melbourne
, Australia
. The school was first opened in 1915, but closed in 1992. After a long community campaign, it re-opened in 2004.
History
The Falconer Street School, as it was first known, opened for the 1915 school year, admitting students from Grades 5 to 8. During the 1920s, it was renamed the Fitzroy Central School. In 1957, it received its current name, and was allowed to take students up to Year 12. In 1988, it merged with Exhibition High School, but retained its original site.
Closure
After coming to power in 1992, then-Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett
embarked on an array of budget cuts in an attempt to restore the state's flagging finances. As a result, the decision was made to close a significant number of schools across the state. Fitzroy High was one of the first to be earmarked for closure, and it shut down at the end of the 1992 school year.
After its closure, the local community feared that the site, which had been public land ever since 1871, would be sold for development. Community groups decided to occupy the site, in an attempt to prevent its sale, and in a widely publicised campaign, maintained a 24-hour vigil for fourteen months. People manned the site in four-hour shifts, or slept overnight in the principal's office or administration wing.
In 1993, the state government finally struck a deal with the local community, and the Kangan Batman TAFE was allowed to use the site. They operated a campus at the site until 1998, when budgetary requirements forced it to close. The following year, they handed the site back to the Education Department. Around the same time, Jeff Kennett lost power, and was replaced by Steve Bracks
, who was more supportive of their cause.
The site lay dormant for two years, until then-Education Minister Mary Delahunty
approved plans to re-open the school for Years 7 to 10 in 2001. The site was significantly renovated, involving the construction of a new science and technology wing, a library and a food technology division.
During 2002, the school was used as a central filming location for the children's series Short Cuts.
Re-opening>
On January 28, 2004, the school re-opened, with 135 students in Years 7 and 8. It expanded to Years 9 and 10 in the 2005 school year, and plans were announced in December 2005 to begin classes for Years 11 and 12 in 2007 in conjunction with another Melbourne school, Collingwood College
.
A building program, comprising a unique design to facilitate the school's learning philosophy, was completed in 2009 to increase accommodation for up to 600 students in years 7-12. The new building has now won a number of design awards including the Dulux Colour and the Australian Institute of Architecture Victorian Chapter annual award 2010 -Public Alterations and Additions. The school was also short listed in the 2010 Premier Design Awards in Victoria.
Notable alumni include: Film-maker Nadia Tass. Architect/Developer Nonda Katsalidis. Actor George Spartels. Author Tom Patsinos, prominent businessman the late Frank Rudolph and Underworld figure Mario Condello. Writer Helen Garner
, former member of parliament Caroline Hogg
, former Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So
, Painter John Brack and past director of the National Gallery of Australia James Mollison previously taught at the school.
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The school was first opened in 1915, but closed in 1992. After a long community campaign, it re-opened in 2004.
History
The Falconer Street School, as it was first known, opened for the 1915 school year, admitting students from Grades 5 to 8. During the 1920s, it was renamed the Fitzroy Central School. In 1957, it received its current name, and was allowed to take students up to Year 12. In 1988, it merged with Exhibition High School, but retained its original site.
Closure
After coming to power in 1992, then-Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett
Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
embarked on an array of budget cuts in an attempt to restore the state's flagging finances. As a result, the decision was made to close a significant number of schools across the state. Fitzroy High was one of the first to be earmarked for closure, and it shut down at the end of the 1992 school year.
After its closure, the local community feared that the site, which had been public land ever since 1871, would be sold for development. Community groups decided to occupy the site, in an attempt to prevent its sale, and in a widely publicised campaign, maintained a 24-hour vigil for fourteen months. People manned the site in four-hour shifts, or slept overnight in the principal's office or administration wing.
In 1993, the state government finally struck a deal with the local community, and the Kangan Batman TAFE was allowed to use the site. They operated a campus at the site until 1998, when budgetary requirements forced it to close. The following year, they handed the site back to the Education Department. Around the same time, Jeff Kennett lost power, and was replaced by Steve Bracks
Steve Bracks
Stephen Philip Bracks AC is a former Australian politician and the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Australian Labor Party, and was party leader and Premier from 1999 to 2007....
, who was more supportive of their cause.
The site lay dormant for two years, until then-Education Minister Mary Delahunty
Mary Delahunty
Mary Delahunty is an Australian journalist and retired politician with the Australian Labor Party.-Early life:Delahunty was born in Victoria, Australia and educated at Loreto College, in Victoria. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Latrobe University.-Media career:Delahunty...
approved plans to re-open the school for Years 7 to 10 in 2001. The site was significantly renovated, involving the construction of a new science and technology wing, a library and a food technology division.
During 2002, the school was used as a central filming location for the children's series Short Cuts.
Re-opening>
On January 28, 2004, the school re-opened, with 135 students in Years 7 and 8. It expanded to Years 9 and 10 in the 2005 school year, and plans were announced in December 2005 to begin classes for Years 11 and 12 in 2007 in conjunction with another Melbourne school, Collingwood College
Collingwood College, Victoria
Collingwood College is an internationally accredited government school located in the inner-city suburb of Collingwood, close to the Melbourne CBD. The school's main campus is near Hoddle Street, on the corner of Cromwell Street and McCutcheon Way...
.
A building program, comprising a unique design to facilitate the school's learning philosophy, was completed in 2009 to increase accommodation for up to 600 students in years 7-12. The new building has now won a number of design awards including the Dulux Colour and the Australian Institute of Architecture Victorian Chapter annual award 2010 -Public Alterations and Additions. The school was also short listed in the 2010 Premier Design Awards in Victoria.
Notable alumni include: Film-maker Nadia Tass. Architect/Developer Nonda Katsalidis. Actor George Spartels. Author Tom Patsinos, prominent businessman the late Frank Rudolph and Underworld figure Mario Condello. Writer Helen Garner
Helen Garner
Helen Garner is an award-winning Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist.-Life:Garner was born in Geelong, Victoria, the eldest of six children. She attended Manifold Heights State School, Ocean Grove State School and then The Hermitage in Geelong...
, former member of parliament Caroline Hogg
Caroline Hogg
Caroline Hogg is a former Australian politician for the Australian Labor Party. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1982 to 1996 and a minister in the governments of John Cain and Joan Kirner....
, former Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So
John So
John Chun Sai So JP is a Chinese-Australian businessman who served as the 102nd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia. He was the first Lord Mayor in the city's history to be directly elected by the people; previously, Lord Mayors were elected by the Councillors.First elected...
, Painter John Brack and past director of the National Gallery of Australia James Mollison previously taught at the school.