“We had to find ourselves; our feet rang strangely on the red brick floor of the cloisters, as we marched for the first time along them to prayers in ‘The Elephant’”, wrote Joan Duffield in 1928, the first year in which Toorak College was located in Mount Eliza. So why is a school in Mount Eliza called Toorak College?
In fact, Toorak College has had four locations in its 130 year history. Founded as a boys’ school in Douglas Street Toorak in 1874, it was converted in 1897, by its first female Principal, Miss Margaret Tripp, to a girls’ school and moved in 1919 to more spacious buildings and grounds in Glenferrie Road near Stonnington. When Miss Ellen Pye the Principal took over the school from Miss Tripp in 1898 there were only eighteen girls enrolled and no team sports were played. By the time she left in 1907 there were over a hundred enrolments and sports teams included tennis, hockey, rowing and basketball. An annual sports day had also been established. Miss Pye chose the crest of three white daisies and a Latin motto “in labore quies” meaning “in work is the true rest of life”.
In 1926 the co-principals, the Misses Isabel and Robina Hamilton, sold the property to pursue their desire to establish a small school in the country on the English model. Negotiations for a new site fell through, the scheme was abandoned and the closure of the school was announced at Speech Night. An appeal by parents and old girls saved the school from extinction. Action was taken to change its status from a privately owned institution to a not-for-profit company. Land was purchased in Mount Eliza and plans were drawn up for a new school. Temporary accommodation was found in Lansell Road Toorak. In September 1928 the first assembly was held at the newly built school.
One timber building came with the School to the new Mt Eliza site. On hearing the news one father, Mr Russell is said to have exclaimed; “You are surely not taking that white elephant!” The name ‘The Elephant’ stuck and was used for the next forty years as an assembly hall, classroom, theatre and a venue for dances until it was demolished in 1972. It now lives on in our twice yearly school publication, ‘The Elephant’.
The Hamilton sisters established the House system. The names of Douglas and Mayfield were the street names bordering the School at its former location in Toorak. Hamilton was named after the Hamilton sisters. In 1948 Tripp was named in memory of the third Principal Miss Tripp and was the House established for day girls. The College’s student population was increasing with more and more day girls and in 1955 a new House Pye was formed, named in memory of the former Principal, Miss Ellen Pye. The most recently established House is Cerutty, named after the College’s tenth Principal, Dorothea Cerutty.
The Toorak College Old Girls’ Association was established in 1908 and the Parents’ and Friends’ Association was officially formed in 1946. These two groups have led the fundraising for the continuous improvement in buildings and facilities. Various developments include the establishment of Wardle House in 1957 in Woodlands Avenue and the building campaign of the 1960s which raised funds for the building of Mary Herring Hall, the Sir Norman Carson Library and the Science laboratories.
The Chapel was dedicated in 1972 and the Boarding House was extended and named Joan Ansett Hall after Lady Ansett who dedicated more than 40 years to the development of Toorak College.
More recent major projects have included the closure of Charles Street and the opening of Bardon House. In 2004 improvements included a new Aquatic Centre and ‘The Pavilion Cafe’ which replaced our existing Tuck Shop. More recently, major works have been undertaken in the refurbishment of classrooms across the whole School, including the introduction of electronic, interactive whiteboards. Extensive new facilities and resources have been added to Wardle House, to coincide with our 2008 move to co-education throughout the Junior School. Significant building will commence later in 2008 to establish large-scale, state of the art Music facilities.
After 130 years the school retains its original name Toorak College and is looking forward to building on its proud history.