Kinross Wolaroi School

Kinross Wolaroi School is an independent Uniting Church co-educational early learning, primary, and secondary day and boarding school, located in Orange, New South Wales, west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1886 it is the oldest school in Orange and operates across two campuses and serves students from early learning to Year 12. The modern school was formed in 1975 through the amalgamation of Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College and The Kinross School.
Kinross Wolaroi is a non-selective school and educates approximately 1,100 students, including around 350 boarders, across three sections: Pre-Preparatory, Preparatory, and Senior School.
The school's affiliations include the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, Junior School Heads Association of Australia, Australian Boarding Schools' Association, Association of Independent Co-Educational Schools, the Independent Schools Association, and Round Square.

WWW kws.nsw.edu.au

History

The school traces its foundation to Weymouth House, later Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College, and Presbyterian Ladies' College, Orange, renamed The Kinross School in 1973. The two institutions amalgamated in 1975 as Kinross Wolaroi School, subsequently entering the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977.

Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College

1886-1925

Weymouth House, a small privately owned school for boys, was established in 1886, in the Union Bank building, Orange. The School was established by Mr. Thomas H. Richards, the sole owner and teacher, having come to Orange from All Saints College in Bathurst. The School was a success, and in 1893 the Wolaroi mansion, built by Mr. John Charles McLachlan, was purchased, enabling the boys to move to a larger campus. The move led to a change of name for the school, to Wolaroi Grammar School.
In 1913, Mr. Charles Campbell secured the site and became the third headmaster. In 1925 however, Mr. Connell, who had succeeded Campbell, left Orange to join the staff of The Kings School in Parramatta. He therefore sought someone to purchase the School. This provided an opportunity for the Methodist Church to secure the site and the continuation of a boy's college in Western New South Wales.

1926-1945

In 1925, the Methodist Church took control of the school and changed the name of the school again, this time to Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College. The college reopened in 1926 under the direction of Mr. Stanley Brown who continued to expand the school and increase the diversity of subjects and programs offered at Wolaroi. He is widely credited with having saved the college from financial ruin. As thanks the College Council named the entrance gates to the School 'The Stanley Brown Memorial Gates'.

1945-1975

The period following the Second World War and in particular the period from 1950-1962 was the greatest period of expansion for Wolaroi. It was during this period that enrollments more than doubled, and the construction of new facilities had been initiated by the Headmaster, Mr. Thrathen. Additionally, this period of expansion also included a tightening of both academic and sporting standards.
In 1971 Wolaroi College received, as Speech Day guests, their Royal Highnesses the Sultan and Sultana of Selangor. One of the Sultans sons, Tengku Abdul Samad Shah, was attending Wolaroi College at the time.
This expansion lasted until a drought hit the region in the 1970s. In 1973, suffering from financial difficulties, due to decreased enrollments, and with a change in societal attitudes regarding single-sex education the College Council began investigating the feasibility of becoming a co-educational school. This culminated with the decision to amalgamate with The Kinross School by the Wolaroi College Council in 1975.

Presbyterian Ladies' College (The Kinross School)

There had been substantial Scottish immigration to Orange since its foundation in the 19th century which had led to a sizeable Presbyterian community. Throughout the 1920's the Presbyterian community realized that there was a need for the establishment of a girls' school that could provide a well-rounded education based upon the ideals found within reformed Christianity. In response to this The Presbyterian Ladies' College opened in Orange in 1928 on a 43-acre site, named "Campdale". With Miss Eleanor Linck as its first Headmistress. Dorothy Knox took over in 1932 and she led the school until 1936 when Ina Miller became headmistress.
For the next 33 years Miller would shape the direction of the College and set very high standards for the student body as well as staff.
In 1973, PLC also became co-educational, and changed its name to The Kinross School. During this time Wolaroi was suffering from financial difficulties and the Methodist Church approached the Presbyterian Church to take over management of Wolaroi. In 1975 both The Kinross School Council and Wolaroi College Council agreed to amalgamate.

Kinross Wolaroi School

1975-2015

In 1975 Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College and The Kinross School amalgamated to become Kinross Wolaroi School. With the creation of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, the School became a part of that Church.
After initial difficulties the school flourished in the region and a new era of development began. The direction came under the leadership of the school's second headmaster, Alan Anderson. Anderson made a series of reforms upon being appointed in 1978, in order to attract more students and to improve both academic and sports results. In 1979 Anderson made Cadets compulsory for boys, girls were allowed to join the unit from 1983. In that same year no Dux was announced 'because of low academic standards.'
Anderson also reinforced traditional school discipline which led to adverse student reactions. This culminated in July 1979 when thirty boarders went on strike. The boarding students had decided to leave their boarding houses and sit on the Main Oval. They were demanding a relaxation of the new rules and regulations. The students were given five minutes to return to their boarding houses or face expulsion. The boarders returned to their houses. The students of Kinross Wolaroi were met with increased strictness with rules such as stricter uniform regulations, restrictions on leave downtown, and building team spirit through compulsory sport.
After a period of expansion and after having pursued an aggressive marketing strategy in Western NSW to attract more regional boarders, the school entered a period of consolidation. This involved the upgrading and maintenance of the school's existing facilities and infrastructure.
By 1988, the school had grown to 728 students and was now the largest co-educational boarding school in New South Wales and the fourth largest in Australia, with 384 boarders.
In 1989 continued expansion in boarding numbers led to the lease of the Victorian mansion 'Croagh Patrick House' by the school.
In 1998, the former preparatory principal at Kinross Wolaroi, John Thomas Kennett, was convicted of sex offences against twelve boys.
Reverend David Williams was appointed as the third Headmaster in 2002. He was succeeded by Brian Kennelly in 2007. Under Kennelly's leadership a building program was undertaken on the Wolaroi site, to upgrade much of the ageing infrastructure such as the Derek Pigot Auditorium and many classroom facilities such as the Dr S. Pussell Science Block.

2016-2025

In 2016, the school celebrated its 130-year anniversary and Dr Andrew Parry took over as the fifth Headmaster of Kinross Wolaroi School.
In August 2016, SBS News reported that several Kinross Wolaroi School students were assaulted by adult spectators following a school rugby match between Kinross Wolaroi and St Stanislaus’ College in Bathurst. According to the report, a group of intoxicated spectators confronted players after the game, leading to a physical altercation in which a number of students were injured. The incident prompted discussion regarding spectator behaviour and supervision at inter-school sporting events, particularly between rugby rival schools Kinross Wolaroi and St Stanislaus'.
In July 2020 several former students alleged they had been instructed to remove or alter naturally textured afro hair and protective braided hairstyles in order to comply with school grooming policy. The school responded that its current grooming policy does not prohibit any specific hairstyles, but requires boys’ hair to be “near and off the collar without any "unorthodox" cuts or colours.” The headmaster said that "existing school grooming standards which do not accommodate the natural hair texture and growth of African and Indigenous students have been identified as one issue faced by these students".
As of 2025, the school provides co-education and single-sex boarding using its two main campuses. Classes and boys' boarding are at the Wolaroi Campus on Bathurst Road, while female boarders live at the PLC Campus on Coronation Drive.

Campus and heritage

Kinross Wolaroi has a campus of 100 acres in Orange, NSW.

The Wolaroi Mansion Building

The heritage listed Wolaroi Mansion was built by the architect John Hale for John C. McLachlan in 1884. The School, after having outgrown the original buildings, moved to Wolaroi Mansion and grounds in 1893. The building has housed the school dining hall, offices, classrooms, and functions as a boys boarding up until the present day.
The original building consisted of a drawing room, sitting room, dining room, breakfast room, seven bedrooms, four servants bedrooms, a study, servants hall, pantry, kitchen, scullery, laundry, dairy, cellar, children's playhouse, and a lumber room. The existing mansion was expanded following the taking over of the College by the Methodist Church in 1925.

The War Memorial Building

The War Memorial Building was constructed during the 1950's and acted as the first expansion of the school outside of the buildings that were original to the McLachlan estate. In 1951 it became apparent that new classrooms were required. The new classrooms were built with funds donated from the Old Boys' Association and help from the Church. The new building was opened on Monday, 8 December 1952 by the Rev. Professor G. Calvert Barber, President-General of the Methodist Church of Australasia and Professor of Theology, Queen's College, Melbourne.

The Stanley G. Brown Memorial Gates

The Stanley G. Brown Memorial Gates act as the main entrance to the school's main site and are located on Bathurst Road. The naming of the gates occurred in 1956 after the death of Stanley Brown in 1953.

The Music / Performing Arts Centre

The School Council made the decision to construct a Music and Performing Arts Centre and they engaged Mr. Roy Michael as the architect. The Music and Performing Arts Centre was officially opened on Saturday November 2 by Alan Jones and was celebrated by a gala concert compered by Rolf Harris actively involved 600 students.

'We went to the main oval for the Beating of the Retreat, an extraordinary performance by the Cadet Corps. Its a co-ed school and the girls are in the same gear as the boys... Holding the rifles, presenting arms, saluting, the lot. The discipline, the presentation in regard to detail was fantastic. It was impressive and inspiring and you couldn't help but feel how much other young Australians were being denied the benefits... Then there was a Gala Open Air Concert, an exhibition of the music talent of the school.'

Sporting Facilities

Kinross Wolaroi's sporting facilities include:

Eight playing fields
ERG Room
Indoor 8-lane heated swimming pool, and an additional outdoor swimming pool
Weights room
Gym
Boatshed
Cricket facilities
Courts for tennis, badminton, basketball and squash

Academic and music facilities

Kinross Wolaroi has numerous academic and music facilities including:

Science Centre which contains six science labs
Library that houses over 2,000 books
Music and Performing Arts Centre which includes private music practice rooms and a performing arts theatre
An outdoor Amphitheatre
Full Sized Auditorium that can seat over 1,000 students with an attached chapel
Industrial technology and woodworking facilities

House System and Boarding

The school's house system is the framework for student pastoral care, community life, and co-curricular participation. Students remain in their house throughout their time at school. Houses form the basis for many school activities, including assemblies, competitions, and tutor group structures. Each student is provided with a Head Mentor and Wellbeing Mentor within their house upon enrollment.

History of the house system

The system of sporting houses was first established in 1936 "to encourage greater keenness in all contests within the College". The boys were divided into three Houses - the Sir Neville House, the McLachlan House, and the Campbell House. In 1941 it was decided to reform the House system due to unhappiness surrounding the fairness of the current system, and so in 1941 the existing houses were abolished and replaced by two new houses, Brown and Wesley.

Day/Tutor Houses

House name	House Colours	Gender	Years Active	Named in honour of	Link with the School	Notes
Sir Neville House	Unknown	Boys	1936-1941	Sir Neville Howse	Sir Neville was the MP for Calare and re-opened the Wolaroi building in 1926.
Campbell House	Unknown	Boys	1936-1941	Mr C. R. Campbell	The third Headmaster of Wolaroi from 1913-1925.
Wesley House	Unknown	Boys	1941-1975	John Wesley	The founder of the Methodist Church. Wolaroi was a Methodist church school.
Brown House		Formerly Boys. Now Mixed	1941-Present	Stanley G. Brown	The first Headmaster of the College after the sale Methodist Church took responsibility for the running of the College.
Weymouth House	Unknown	Boys	1886-1890 1955-1975	Weymouth House	The School attended by T. H. Richards, Weymouth College, a public school in England.
McLachlan House		Formerly Boys. Now Mixed	1936-1941 1969-Present	John Charles McLachlan	The original owner of Wolaroi Mansion.
Douglas House		Formerly Girls. Now Mixed	1950-Present	James Stuart Douglas	Was one of the founding members of Presbyterian Ladies College, Orange. He was Chairman of the P.L.C. council from 1932 to 1933.
Gordon House		Formerly Girls. Now Mixed	1950-Present	Mr D.W.T. Gordon	Was one of the founding members of P.L.C.
Dean House		Mixed	1986-Present	William Douglas Johnston Dean	The first chairman of the merged school from 1975–1976.
Richards House		Mixed	1986-Present	Thomas Henry Richards	The owner, Headmaster, and sole teacher of the initial school, Weymouth House, which opened in June 1886.
Williams House		Mixed	2016-Present	Rev. David Williams	Former Headmaster of Kinross Wolaroi from 2002–2006
Blackman House		Mixed	2016-Present	Rev. Everard Harley Blackman OAM	The school chaplain from 1979–1989.

Boarding Houses

Kinross Wolaroi offers co-educational boarding for students from Years 7 to 12. The school accommodates more than 350 boarders across two campuses in Orange. Boarding has been a feature of the school for over 130 years since the school was first established in 1886.
Boarding is divided by the school’s two campuses, with boys’ boarding located on the original Wolaroi site and girls’ boarding located on the former PLC site. Boarding houses provide residential life programs, academic support, and structured routines. Both sites contain modern boarding house facilities, recreation centers, swimming pools, chapel facilities, dining halls, gym facilities, and manicured gardens.
The majority of boarders are drawn from across regional and rural NSW, Victoria, and Queensland. But boarders are also drawn internationally.

House name	Years Active	Gender & Campus	Named in Honour of	Notes
Wolaroi House	2015-Present	Boys - Wolaroi	The Mansion was designed by John Hale and built by J. C. McLachlan.
Trathan House	1958-Present	Boys - Wolaroi	Rev. D. A. Trathan, former Headmaster of Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College.
Weymouth House	1982-Present	Boys - Wolaroi	The original school founded by T. H. Richards in 1886.
Tower House	1890-Present	Boys - Wolaroi	The central tower, which forms an iconic part of the Wolaroi Mansion.
Croagh Patrick House	1989-1995	Boys - Wolaroi	Victorian Mansion designed by John Hale in 1883 for Edwin Lane
New House	1950-Present	Girls - PLC
Stuart-Douglas House	-Present	Girls - PLC	Mr James Stuart-Douglas, a founding member of P.L.C.
Miller House	2003-Present	Girls - PLC	Miss Ina Miller who was Headmistress of P.L.C. for over 30 years.
Loader House	1985-Present	Girls - PLC	Mr David Loader, the first Headmaster of the amalgamated school.

Co-curricular activities

A football team was formed at the school in its first year, 1886. With other sports soon also being played at the school. Throughout the inter-war years a number of other activities were also offered including - Athletics, Cricket, Football, Swimming, and Tennis. Drama and debating were also offered. Other clubs included Camera Club, Garden Club, Musical Club, Radio Club, and a branch of the Junior Farmers' Club. In addition, until it was disestablished in 1934, there was a Wolaroi Scout Troop which was known as the Wyvern Patrol.

Sport

The Kinross Wolaroi Prep School is a member school of both the Heads of Independent Co-Educational Schools and Junior School Heads Association of Australia. Through these organisations, students have the opportunity to participate in Athletics, Swimming and Cross-Country through to a national level. Boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 may play in a sports team during the winter season, and from Years 3 to 6 in the summer season. Sport is then compulsory for all students from Year 3 onwards.
In the senior school, boys can participate in sports such as rugby, soccer, cricket, cross country, basketball, water polo, swimming, rowing and tennis. Girls may compete in sports such as hockey, netball, basketball, waterpolo, swimming, aerobics, squash, diving, rowing, softball, soccer and tennis. Sporting competition in the senior school is facilitated through the school's membership in a number of associations, including Orange Town Competitions, Western Associated Schools, Independent Schools Association, Association of Independent Co-Educational Schools, and NSW Combined Independent Schools.

Rowing

Rowing is an important sport at Kinross Wolaroi. Training is conducted on the Spring Creek Dam and the KWS team compete in both domestic and international regattas. These include the NSW Head of The River, The Nationals Regatta, and the Henley Royal Regatta in England.
Rowing at Kinross Wolaroi begins in Year 8, where students are introduced to the fundamentals of the sport through their Physical Education classes. Following on from learning the fundamentals there are two rowing squads:

Junior Squad
Senior Squad

Since 2021, Kinross Wolaroi has held the title of top performing school at the NSW State Championships.

Cadet Unit (KWSCU)

The Kinross Wolaroi School Cadet Unit was established over 60 years ago, and has a unit strength of 300 cadets. KWSCU is a member of the Australia Services' Cadet Scheme, with a total enrolment of approximately 23,000 cadets Australia-wide. Unless a student is selected in the band or orchestra, membership of the Cadet Unit is compulsory for all students in semester two of Year 7, Year 8 and the first semester of Year 9, with further service encouraged following the award of rank. A camp, bivouacs and leadership courses are held annually. The unit parades through Orange on Anzac Day, and also conducts a farewell parade to Senior Cadets and band members, and in recent years a Ceremonial Parade on Open Day. A formal mess night is held annually for the Senior Cadets and Band members, their parents, and officers.
Each platoon is commanded by a Cadet Under Officer, with the assistance of a Platoon Sergeant, and is divided into three sections, with each led by a Corporal. Rank is attained after a cadet with suitable experience attends and passes the relevant promotion course. Typically, a CUO is in Year 11, and has served for four years in the cadet corp.

Music and performing arts

Kinross Wolaroi has a variety of music ensembles that students are encouraged to join including - Orchestra, Concert and Marching Band, Chamber Ensembles, Chamber Strings, String Quartets, Chamber Choir, and Vox Ensemble. Each ensemble performs at school events and ceremonies including the Kinross Wolaroi Performing Arts Festival. The school also offers private tuition in woodwind, brass, strings, percussion, piano, speech and drama, voice and guitar.
The Kinross Wolaroi School drama programme perform a musical annually at the Orange Civic Theatre.

The Regional Engagement Enterprise (TREE)

In 2017, Kinross Wolaroi School launched The Regional Engagement Enterprise initiative, which provides community-based learning experiences, especially opportunities in local agribusinesses, for all students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Other activities

In addition to sport, music, and the Cadet Unit, a number of other activities are available to students. These include: the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, stud cattle, cattle paraders, ski tour, public speaking, debating, art club, archives, computer club, photography club, crusaders, community service, peer support, young achievers, student representative council and library.

School affiliations

Kinross Wolaroi School is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, the Junior School Heads Association of Australia, the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, Association of Independent Co-Educational Schools and is an associate member of the Independent Schools Association. In 2021 Kinross also joined the Round Square international schools program

Notable alumni

Alumni of Kinross Wolaroi School, Kinross School, the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Orange, or Wolaroi Methodist Boys' College may elect to join the Kinross Wolaroi Ex-Students' Association. Alumni of Kinross Wolaroi are represented across politics, media and culture, business and science, and sport.

Government, Law and Public Service

Susan Cullen-Ward – Susan of Albania. Australian born wife of Leka, Crown Prince of Albania
Belinda Neal – Former Labor Senator for NSW and former Member for Robertson

Arts, Media and Culture

Sir Richard J F Boyer - Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) from 1945 to 1961.
Ken Hannam - Australian film and television director
Ian Stapleton – Australian heritage architect

Business, Science and Academia

Prof. Janet Carr – Physiotherapist and Academic, world authority on rehabilitation after stroke
George Finch, MBE FRS – Chemist, Fellow of the Royal Society and pioneering high-altitude mountaineer who participated in early expeditions to Mount Everest, setting an altitude record in 1922.

Sport

Jason Belmonte – Professional tenpin bowler
Edwina Bone – Australian International and Olympian Hockey player
Nedd Brockmann - Ultramarathon athlete and motivational speaker
Ashleigh Gardner – Cricketer
Jo Garey - Australian national women's cricket team, 1995/96
Grace Hamilton - Australian rugby union footballer who captained Australia internationally
Phoebe Litchfield – Australian Cricketer
Ben McCalman – Wallabies and Western Force Rugby Union player
Jemima McCalman – Australian Rugby Union player, playing internationally for Australia and the Brumbies
Kate Smyth - Commonwealth Games and Olympic Marathon Runner
John Sumegi – Olympic Silver Medalist in Canoeing 1980
Jone Tawake – Brumbies rugby union player
Chris Tremain – Big Bash League, Sheffield Shield and One Day International Cricket player
Cody Walker – Australian Professional Rugby League Player, currently playing for South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jono West – former NSW rugby union player
Anna Windsor – Swimmer who competed at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games

Crest, Motto and Symbolism

With the merger of the schools the previous Latin mottos were abandoned and in 2008, the school adopted the new Latin motto of Scientia, Amicitia, Integritas. The school's five core values are Courage, Respect, Inclusiveness, Resilience and Commitment.

School Crest

Meaning

Reference

Symbolism:

The Wyvern surmounting the shield was part of the Coat of Arms of the family of John Wesley.
The Stars are symbolic of Ambition.
The open volume of Knowledge.
The laurel branch of Victory

Motto:

'Agamus Pro Viribus' - 'Strive With All Our Might'

Symbolism:

A circular badge demonstrates the ideal of true community.

Eight stylised people form a stylised Latin Cross demonstrating the centrality of Christianity at the School.

The School's initials, 'KW', can be seen where the two figures meet in pairs.

Motto:

'Scientia Amicitia Integritas' - 'Knowledge, Friendship, Integrity'