The Hutchins School


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, and a member of Independent Schools Tasmania. The Hutchins School is one of the two boys' schools in Tasmania.
WWW hutchins.tas.edu.auIG thehutchinsschool

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.
The school commenced operations under Headmaster John Richard Buckland at Ingle Hall, a large Georgian house dating from 1811 which still stands in lower Macquarie Street, Hobart. Three years later it moved several blocks up Macquarie Street to a purpose-built schoolhouse designed by Tasmanian architect, William Archer.
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, The High School, Horton College and Officer College. 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, Franklin House School and Apsley House School, and affiliate with Gryce and Gladwyn Schools.
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. 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. 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.
In March 2024, two graves were found during earthworks for a new building at the school. 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. 1,717 out of 1,973 of the bodies were identified. The remains were reinterred at the Cornelian Bay Cemetery. It is believed that hundreds of bodies remain buried under school property.

Sub-Schools

The Hutchins School operates from a single consolidated site at Sandy Bay, where the institution is organised into three distinct sub-schools that together provide a continuous education from early learning through to Year 12. These divisions are housed within purpose-built facilities on the campus.
  • Junior School - Pre-Kindergarten to Year 5
  • Middle School - Year 6 to Year 8
  • Senior School - 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.

Co-curricular program

The school runs an extensive co-curricular program 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, Buckland. Each house has a brother house from St Michael's Collegiate School. Buckland, Dundas and McPhee are 'red houses'. School, Rivers and Stevens are 'blue houses'. Thorod, Monty and Reiby are 'green houses'. Stephens, Kilburn and Mitchell 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.
The Hutchins School HousesThe Hutchins School HousesThe Hutchins School Houses
House nameColourMascot
BucklandRedEagle and Waratah
SchoolBlueMerino Ram
StephensYellowLion
ThoroldGreenStag

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of The Hutchins School include:

Rhodes Scholars & Victoria Cross Recipients

As of 2024, The Hutchins School has had 26 Rhodes Scholars, the latest being the 2024 Tasmania scholar, Billy Blackett. Alumni have been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Australian states other than Tasmania, such as the 2016 New South Wales scholar, Harjeevan Narulla.
Notable Hutchins alumni to be awarded the Rhodes Scholarship include:
Two Hutchins Old Boys have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in Commonwealth countries. They include: