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.
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.
File:Visit by the Governor-General, Lord Stonehaven, 24 June 1926.png|thumb|Visit by the Governor-General, Lord Stonehaven, in 1926
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.