The Hutchins School, colloquially known as Hutchins, is an Anglican, day and boarding school for boys from pre-kindergarten to Year 12 in Hobart, Tasmania. Established in 1846, Hutchins is one of the oldest continuously operating schools in Australia.
Hutchins is a founding-member of the International Boys' Schools Coalition (IBSC),[2] and a member of Independent Schools Tasmania (IST).[3] The Hutchins School is one of two boys' schools in Tasmania.
History
The Hutchins School was established in 1846 at Hobart Town in memory of The Venerable William Hutchins, first Archdeacon of Van Diemen's Land. Arriving in the colony in 1837, Archdeacon Hutchins had worked to establish a faithful ministry, erecting churches and schools and laying the foundation for secondary education under the auspices of the Church of England.[4]
In the early days of many and varied schools and tenuous longevity, Hutchins survived by absorbing pupils, staff and plant of other less robust institutions, including Christ's College (1846–1912), The High School (1850–65), Horton College (1855–93) and Officer College (1888–1900). When Hutchins joined forces with Christ's College in 1912 it was the signal for Arthur A. Stephens to close Queen's College, founded by him in 1893, and accept the post of vice-master of Hutchins. In 1905 Hutchins amalgamated with Buckland's School, opened in 1893 by William Harvey Buckland, son of founding headmaster J. R. Buckland and brother of second headmaster John Vansittart Buckland. Hutchins would go on to absorb King's Grammar School (1907), Franklin House School (1917) and Apsley House School (1928), and affiliate with Gryce (1934) and Gladwyn (1937) Schools.[4]
By the 1950s the School was growing too large for its inner-city site and in 1957 a new Junior School was built on an elevated site overlooking the River Derwent at Sandy Bay. This followed the opening at the Sandy Bay site of a sub-primary section in 1946 and the Memorial Oval and pavilion in 1955. The Senior School was later constructed on the adjacent site of the former Queenborough Cemetery, following a council referendum in which ratepayers voted '1 for educational purposes' in 1960.[5] As part of this arrangement the council committed to pay for 1,900 bodies to be exhumed from the cemetery with the school funding all other exhumations. As of 2024, it is unclear how many bodies were actually exhumed by the council.[6] By 1964 the Senior School campus encompassed a boarding house and science wing, quickly followed by an administration block and classrooms, while the Junior School campus across the road soon expanded to include a fledgling Middle School. The Macquarie Street building was sold in 1965, with Hutchins commencing full operations at Sandy Bay the following year.[citation needed]
In March 2024, two graves were found during earthworks for a new building at the school.[7] An archaeology team was brought in and 1,973 human remains were exhumed upon completion of the project in late 2024. It is believed to be the largest mass exhumation ever undertaken in Australia. Due to poor management of the former cemetery it was difficult to identify most of the remains.[6] 1,717 out of 1,973 of the bodies were identified.[8] The remains were reinterred at the Cornelian Bay Cemetery. It is believed that hundreds of bodies remain buried under school property.[6]
Executive Leadership
Dr Rob McEwan- Principal
Mr Ken Kingston- Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School
Mr Stephen Coventry- Head of Junior School
Ms Fiona Moroney- Head of Middle School
Ms Emma Nuttall- Deputy Head of Junior School
Ms Rebecca Terry- Head of Student Engagement
Ms Deb Lie- Head of Inclusive Education
Ms Claire Taylor- Head of Teaching and Learning (Years 6-12)
Ms Lauren Carr- Head of Thorold House (Asst. Head of SS)
Ms Giovanna Padas- Head of Stephens House (Asst. Head of SS)
Mr Martin Chambers- Head of School House (Asst. Head of SS)
Mr Matt Sayers- Head of Buckland House (Asst. Head of SS)
Ms Kate Nunn- Head of Year 6
Mr Ivor Leonard- Head of Year 7
Mr Mike Webster- Head of Year 8
Heads of Faculty
Ms Alison Farmer- Head of English and Modern Languages
Mr Anthony Peck- Head of Mathematics
Dr Adam Grover- Head of Humanities and Social Sciences
Mr Brett Smith- Head of Science
Ms Michelle Weeding- Head of Visual and Performing Arts, Head of School of Performing Arts
Ms Rachelle Robinson- Co-Ordinator of Visual Arts
Mr Anthony Hyland- Head of Design, Production and Digital Technologies
Mr Matt Groves- Director of Outdoor Education
Mr Anthony Prior- Head of Health and Physical Education
Mr Greg Stanton- Head of Music
Ms Caitlyn Tulk- Co-Ordinator of the Power of 9 Program
Mr Paul Bonnitcha- Career Education and Vocational Learning Officer
Divisions of The Hutchins School
The Hutchins School operates from a single consolidated site at Sandy Bay, where the institution is organised into four distinct divisions that together provide a continuous education from early learning through to Year 12. These divisions are housed within purpose-built facilities on the campus.
Early Learning Centre (ELC)- Pre-Kindergarten to Year 1 (officially apart of the Junior School)
Junior School (JS)- Year 2 to Year 5 (offically includes the ELC)
Middle School (MS)- Year 6 to Year 8
Senior School (SS)- Year 9 to Year 12
Expansion, Modernisation and Development Projects
In recent years, the Hutchins School has undertaken a number of campus expansions and redevelopment projects. These works, including new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities, have been designed to accommodate growth in enrolments and to provide modern, purpose-built spaces for teaching and learning. This section includes expansions, modernisations and developments from 2020 forward.
Chris Rae Building- Named in honour of former teacher Chris Rae, was constructed as part of the school’s campus redevelopment program. It provides contemporary classroom spaces for Years 7 and 8, and serves as a central hub for students and staff within the Middle School
Pre-Kinder Early Learning Play Space- In 2024, the Hutchins School unveiled a new indoor Pre-Kindergarten learning space, designed with flexible, open-plan areas to support dynamic play and early learning. The project was recognised with an award at the 2024 Tasmanian Architecture Awards.
NJ Edwards Hub- The N J Edwards Hub is a major development at The Hutchins School, providing an auditorium, indoor sports facilities, and flexible learning spaces. Named in honour of former Headmaster N J Edwards, the Hub is designed to support student learning, wellbeing, and community engagement, while also serving as a central gathering point for school events and broader community activities. The building is set to be completed in mid to late 2026.
Middle School Year 6 Corridor Modernisation and Redevelopment- The Hutchins School Year 6 Corridor is to be redeveloped in an effort to modernise the Middle School Campus. The modernisation includes a more modern interior and a new open Year 6 Bathroom, including new cubicles, sinks, showers and modernised changerooms. The bathroom will also include brighter skylights and will include modern architecture. The project is said to brighten the Year 6 common-area a provide for a happier, brighter and more open environment for the Year 6 cohort. The project is said to be completed by the end of 2025.
Co-curricular program
The school runs an extensive co-curricular program[9] offering music, performing arts, debating, sports and the Duke of Edinburgh International Award.
House System
As with most Australian schools, Hutchins uses a house system. The current house system consists of four houses (Thorold, Stephens (colloquially known as Steves), Buckland (colloquially known as Bucks), and School). Each house has a brother house from St Michael's Collegiate School. Buckland, Dundas and McPhee (Collegaite) are 'red houses'. School, Rivers and Stevens (Collegiate) are 'blue houses'. Thorod, Monty and Reiby (Collegiate) are 'green houses'. Stephens, Kilburn and Mitchell (Collegiate) are 'yellow/purple houses. Each year, these houses compete against each other in physical and mental contests for the 'House Cup'. These events include inter-house debating, house performance, house choir and athletics. There is also a 'House Spirit Cup' that goes to house with the most School Spirit.
John Stopp, President of the Legislative Council of Tasmania (1992–1995)
Damon Thomas, Alderman and former Lord Mayor of Hobart, Tasmanian Crown Solicitor, State Ombudsman, CEO of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Korean Consul (1967)[15]
As of 2024, The Hutchins School has had 26[23]Rhodes Scholars, the latest being the 2024 Tasmania scholar, Billy Blackett.[24] Alumni have been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Australian states other than Tasmania, such as the 2016 New South Wales scholar, Harjeevan Narulla.[25][26]
1 2 3 Mason-Cox, Margaret (2013). Character Unbound: A History of The Hutchins School. Hobart, Tasmania: The Hutchins School. pp.13–27. ISBN978-0-646-90355-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.