Wellington College, is a state-run boys secondary school in Wellington, New Zealand. It is situated on 12 hectares of green belt land in the suburb of Mount Victoria, in the vicinity of the Basin Reserve and Government House. The school was founded in 1867 through a deed of endowment from Sir George Grey, the then Governor of New Zealand.
Wellington College is one of the oldest boys' secondary schools in New Zealand. The history and influence of Wellington College have made it notable in the history of New Zealand, with prominent alumni such as Arthur Coningham, Bernard Freyberg and William Pickering. The school is known nationally for both its academic success, as well as a large number of sporting activities.
The school has an enrolment of about 1,900 boys. Glen Denham is the current Headmaster.
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History
Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1869 the school moved to a new, spired, wooden building on the hills above the central city in Clifton Terrace from where it could be seen from many places in Wellington. In 1874 the college opened in a much larger building at its present location. The former boarding establishment at the College, Firth House, was named after Joseph Firth, the headmaster from 1892 to 1921.
Wellington College's Pavilion, Firth House, and the Gifford Observatory were opened on 1 December, 1924. The War Memorial Hall was opened on 2 March, 1928, financially supported by £6000 from the Old Boys' Association. The War Memorial Hall and classroom wings were demolished by the Ministry of Works and replaced in the 1960s with a new hall and seven-storey Tower classroom block due to its lack of earthquake reinforcements. The stained glass window from the front of the War Memorial Hall is now in the front of the existing hall.
In the 1960s the Old Boys Gymnasium was built on the eastern boundary of the campus replacing the swimming pool and during the 1970s the Maths, Library, and Technology blocks were opened, replacing the last of the War Memorial Hall building and classroom wings that opened in 1928.
In 1980 Firth House was demolished to make way for a new gymnasium which opened in 1982. 1988 saw the opening of the Arts and Music block, and the Brierley Theatre, named after old boy Ron Brierley.
The first dedicated computer rooms in the College opened in 1994 in a new building behind the school hall.
2001 saw the Science block's opening on the western boundary of the campus. In 2008 the Languages block opened, also located on the west boundary.
The campus also has many prefabricated buildings, some functioning as offices or classrooms.
The only "historical" buildings remaining on campus to this day are Firth Hall, the Pavilion, and the Gifford Observatory.
About
Wellington College's enrolment zone mainly covers the central and western suburbs of Wellington, (Rongotai College serves the southeastern suburbs, and Onslow College the northern suburbs).
The school also competes in a local athletics competition known as "McEvedy Shield" along with St. Patrick's College (Town), St. Patrick's College (Silverstream) and Rongotai College. Historically, Wellington College has won the shield more than any other school.
It is next to Wellington East Girls' College, also in Mount Victoria, and shares with that college the Gifford Observatory. Although Wellington College is situated next to Wellington East Girls' College, its sister college is Wellington Girls' College located in Thorndon.
In 2011, 2012, and 2013, Wellington College earned the highest number of scholarships in the New Zealand scholarship exams.
Board of trustees
The Wellington College Board of Trustees consists of twelve elected and appointed members.
Currently the Board Chair is Cameron Harland, who is also the Chief Executive at NZ On Air
Notable alumni
The Arts
John Beaglehole – historian
Colin Beyer – lawyer and businessman
Roy Cowan – potter, illustrator, and printmaker
Maxwell Fernie – organist, conductor and music teacher
Alexander Grant – ballet dancer, teacher, and company director
W. Gray Young – architect
Jonathan Harlen – author
Dai Henwood – comedian
Raybon Kan – writer and comedian
Bret McKenzie – Academy Award-winning songwriter and member of Flight of the Conchords
Gordon McLauchlan – writer
John Mulgan – editor, writer, journalist and Army officer
Clive Matthew-Wilson – writer
David Mitchell – poet
Don Peebles – artist
Robert J. Pope – songwriter, poet, cricketer
Jack Shallcrass – author, educator, and humanist
Burton Silver – cartoonist, parodist, and writer
Charles Treadwell – lawyer, soldier, author and politician
Karl Urban – actor
Broadcasting & journalism
Edward George Honey – Australian journalist credited by some as the originator of the Two-minute silence tradition
John Campbell – journalist, radio and television personality
Graeme Moody – sports broadcaster
Keith Quinn – TV and radio sports presenter
Chris Spence – journalist
Selwyn Toogood – radio and television personality.
Bryan Waddle – cricket commentator & radio presenter
Business
Ron Brierley – businessman
George Burnes – businessman and first-class cricketer
Stewart Duff – businessman, civic advocate and politician
Alan Gibbs – businessman
Saul Goldsmith – importer and merchant
Michael Hirschfeld – businessman, and was President of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1995 to 1999.
Arthur Myers – businessman and politician
Steve Outtrim – businessman
Frank Renouf – businessman
Stephen Town – chief executive
Public service
Henry Avery – New Zealand's Quartermaster General during World War Two and former All Black
Grafton Francis Bothamley – Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives
George T. Bolt – public servant, served as chairman of the Public Service Commission
Alfred Brandon (mayor) – Mayor of Wellington
Alfred Brandon (RAF officer) – lawyer and military aviator who served in the First World War
Edmund Percy Bunny – Mayor of Lower Hutt
John Gibbs Churchill – trade unionist and local politician
Arthur Coningham – World War II commander and World War I Air Ace. Portrayed in the film Patton
Ken Douglas – trade union leader and politician
James Lloyd Findlay – soldier and air force officer who served in both World Wars.
Bernard Freyberg – Governor-General, World War I VC Winner and World War II commander
Les Gandar – politician of the National Party.
William Gaudin – politician
Thomas Gault – Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand
William Gentry – World War II commander
Thomas Goddard – jurist
Science
George Leslie Adkin – farmer, geologist, ethnologist, photographer, and environmentalist.
Brian Barratt-Boyes – New Zealand cardiothoracic surgeon
David Beaglehole – New Zealand physicist
David Benney – emeritus professor and former head of the Department of Mathematics at MIT
Ian Foster – computer scientist
Murray Hill – seed technologist
Diamond Jenness – anthropologist in Canada
William Pickering – former Head of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (space scientist)
Philip Robertson – chemist, university professor and writer
John Salmon – photographer, entomologist, academic, conservationist, and author.
Jonathan Sarfati – creationist, scientist, and New Zealand Chess Champion
Fred White – New Zealand-born Australian physicist and ornithologist who was Chairman of CSIRO
Sport
Leni Apisai – rugby union player
Ernest Beechey – cricketer
Charles Benbow – cricketer
Ernest Bezzant – cricketer
James Blackwell – rugby union player
Perry Freshwater – rugby union player for Leicester Tigers and England Rugby
Nelson Asofa-Solomona – rugby league player for Melbourne Storm
Trevor Barber – cricketer
Wally Barclay – cricketer
Tom Blundell – professional cricketer for the Wellington Firebirds and New Zealand Black Caps
Leo Bertos – former professional football player for the Wellington Phoenix, Rochdale A.F.C., Perth Glory FC and the All Whites
Harry Boam – cricketer for the Wellington Firebirds
Craig Bradshaw – Former Professional Basketballer, and member of New Zealand Tall Blacks
George Bridgewater – New Zealand rower
Tim Brown – former professional footballer for the Wellington Phoenix and the All Whites. Also co-founder of Allbirds
Ralph Caulton – All Black
Dane Coles – All Black
David Collins – cricketer