Preshil

Preshil School
Entrance to the junior school (Arlington)'s Kevin Borland Hall, in the 1970s
Location
Kew, Melbourne , Victoria Australia
Coordinates	37°48′48″S145°2′57″E / 37.81333°S 145.04917°E / -37.81333; 145.04917
Information
Other name	The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School
Type	Independent progressive school
Motto	Courage
Established	1931;93 years ago (1931) [1]
Founder	Margaret J. R. Lyttle
President	Emma Zipper
Principal	Aaron Mackinnon
Staff	~52 [2]
Years	P–12
Enrolment	~350 [1]
Campus	Suburban
Colour(s)	Green and gold
Slogan	Courage to Question
Website	www.preshil.vic.edu.au

Preshil School, also known as The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School, is an independent progressive co-educational, day school located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The original Arlington campus houses the Kindergarten and Primary school, while the Secondary School is located at the Blackhall Kalimna campus. The campuses are located on Barkers Road and Sackville Street respectively. ^{[3] [4]}

Established in 1931 by Greta Lyttle (and later, Margaret E. Lyttle), Preshil teaches a progressive curriculum, ^[5] and is Australia's oldest progressive school. ^[6] Margaret Lyttle was using the Hungarian psychoanalyst Clara Lazar Geroe as an advisor after she moved to Melbourne in 1941. ^[7]

The school caters for students from Kindergarten through to Year 12. In 2017 the school phased out the Victorian Certificate of Education in favour of the International Baccalaureate programme. ^[8]

Preshil's Kevin Borland Hall under construction

Principals

Period	Details
1931–1944	Margaret J R Lyttle
1944–1994	Margaret 'Mug' E Lyttle
1997–2004	Dermot Lyttle
2004–2010	Frank Moore
2010–2020	Marilyn Smith
2020–2021	Natalie Jensen (Interim)
2021–2022	Cressida Batterham-Wilson (Interim)
2022–2024	Josh Brody
2024–present	Aaron Mackinnon

Notable alumni

• Polly Borland – artist
• Clare Bowditch  –ARIA Award-winning artist
• Lauren Burns  –gold medallist in taekwondo at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games ^[9]
• Zahava Elenberg  –architect
• Nicolette Fraillon  –chief conductor of The Australian Ballet Orchestra ^[10]
• Zana Fraillon  –author
• Todd Goldstein – Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club
• Lisa Gorton  –novelist, poet, granddaughter of Prime Minister John Gorton
• Kaiya Jones – actor on Neighbours
• Catherine Anne Money (née Menzies) – scientist at CSIRO (attended primary School)
• Brendan Murphy –Chief Medical Officer of Australia
• Sue Richardson – economist and academic
• Gina Riley – actor known for playing Kim Craig on Kath and Kim
• Jane Routley – fantasy author
• Peter Singer  –philosopher
• Charlie Thorpe – singer in Dash and Will
• Stephen Housden – Musician, lead guitarist for Little River Band
• Greg Hjorth – Australian Professor of Mathematics, chess International Master (1984) and Commonwealth Champion in 1983.
• Stephen Wilkins – Physicist, phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI)
• Rachel Nordlinger – Linguist
• Toby Martin - singer-songwriter

Arlington Campus (395 Barkers Road, Kew)

In 1937, growing numbers lead to the relocation of the primary school to its present site, Arlington campus, further along Barkers’ Road. Greta and Margaret continued to live at the school. ^[11]

Blackhall-Kalimna Campus (12–26 Sackville Street, Kew)

• Blackhall was built in 1890 as a private home for William Henry Roberts. In May 1915, ‘Blackhall’ was purchased for £1800 by the Salvation Army and renamed the ‘Catherine Booth Girls’ Home’. The home provided accommodation from 1915 to 1976 for about 90 to 100 girls between the ages of 4 and 16. An original plaque can still be seen at the front entrance. Catherine Booth and her husband William were the founders of the Salvation Army. In November 1955, Catherine Booth Girls' Home was declared an approved children's home under the Children's Welfare Act 1954. During the mid 1950s attempts were made to convert the large scale dormitories to smaller unit accommodation. In the 1960s, the Home began accepting boys aged 2 to 8 years, to keep siblings together. By 1969, its capacity had reduced to 48 with an increasing emphasis on small group care for girls in the 4 to 16 year old age group. In 1972, children were transferred to the home when the Salvation Army closed the William Booth Girls' Home in East Camberwell. The Catherine Booth Girls' Home closed in 1976. Preshil purchased Blackhall for its Senior School in 1978. ^[12]
• In 1890 William H. Jarman, accountant, was the first owner and occupier of 'Kalimna', a substantial two-storey residence; it having an initial N.A.V. of £1503. In the following year the N.A.V. for the eleven-roomed property had increased to £2504 indicating that the building had been completed. Jarman is recorded as owning and occupying 'Kalimna' until at least 1910. Kalimna from 1945 became known as Myra House and was established by the Catholic Church and run 'voluntarily' by the Legion of Mary. It was a Home for girls aged 14 to 18. It could accommodate up to 12 residents, and the average stay was between 3 and 5 months. Myra House was located in Kew until 1954 when it moved to the suburb of Malvern. It closed around 1970. The opening of Myra House, run by the Legion of Mary, was announced in January 1945. Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix, stated that girls trained by the Legion of Mary at Myra House "would be able to face the world with every confidence". ^[13]

Yallambee

In 1975 Preshil purchased former chief justice of Australia, Sir Owen Dixon's home in Kew 'Yallambee' after he died. The interior was gutted to construct classrooms. The school later sold the campus. ^[14]

Burke and Wills

During the 1980s David Corke and students and teachers from Preshil identified a number of blazes marking Burke's camps from the Cooper to the Diamantina. Corke also replotted the site of Wills' death and an additional memorial cairn was erected by Joe Mack at the revised location. ^[15]

ERA Secondary School

ERA Secondary School in Donvale was founded by Preshil Parents who wanted a secondary school to complete education after Preshil. Although Preshil later withdrew support in 1970 the school officially opened in 1971 at 'The White House' in Warrandyte int a temporary premises and later that year in Donvale. The school closed in 1987 due to financial struggles. ^[16]

See also

• Schools portal

• List of schools in Victoria, Australia

References

1. "Preshil The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School". Victoria. School Choice. 2007. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
2. Millane, Vivien (2007). "Annual Report to Parents" (PDF). About. Preshil School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
3. "Preshil - Secondary School". Preshil - Secondary School. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
4. "Preshil - Kindergarten and Primary School". Preshil - Kindergarten and Primary School. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
5. Carey, Adam (7 August 2011). "Where children rule in a spirit of progress". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
6. "History of Preshil - Preshil". Preshil. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
7. Brett, Judith, "Clara Lazar Geroe (1900–1980)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 3 October 2023
8. Cook, Henrietta; reporter, education (1 November 2015). "Preshil in Kew set to axe VCE because it is too competitive". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
9. http://www.preshil.vic.edu.au/alumni/featured-alumni/ , Featured Alumni, accessed 18 July 2010.
10. "School Blog | Preshil".
11. "Relocation to Arlington | Preshil".
12. "Catherine Booth Girls' Home - Organisation - Find & Connect - Victoria".
13. "Myra House - Organisation - Find & Connect - Victoria".
14. The Library of Sir Owen Dixon Victorian Bar News (160). Summer 2017. p.59. Retrieved 29 March 2023
15. "Retracing Burke and Wills Route".
16. "Era School history".

Bibliography

• Burns, L. (2003). Fighting Spirit. Penguin Books. ISBN   0-670-04037-1.
• Lyttle, Dermot (2002). Preshil Uniquely Different. Kew, Melbourne, Victoria: Preshil.
• White, Naomi Rosh (1995). School Matters: The Preshil Alternative in Education. Port Melbourne: Mandarin.

External links

• Pinkney, Matthew (29 November 2005). "Preshil vision is still splendid". Herald-Sun .
• "Preshil and progressive education in Australia". ABC Radio National . 2006.