School History Timeline

1860
Queensland’s first Parliament passed the Grammar Schools Act which allowed for the establishment of a Grammar School in any town where at least £1,000 could be raised locally. The Act provided for a Government subsidy of twice this local contribution.

1884-1887
A group of prominent local citizens formed a committee to investigate the feasibility of establishing a Grammar School in Townsville. On 12 May 1884, the Chairman of the Townsville Grammar School Committee, Robert Philp, wrote to the Queensland Minister of Lands requesting a grant of land for the purpose of building a school. The letter was accompanied by a petition of 31 signatures. The request was granted for a block of land at Kissing Point; however, the interim Board of Trustees decided that the site was too far out of town and, under the guidance of Thankful Percy Willmett, a Town Councillor, sought approval to move the site to its present position on Paxton Street. Mr Willmett was to become the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 1888. For the school to be viable, the sum of £1000 had to be raised and shown as evidence to the Government of the goodwill of the Townsville community.

With great support from The Townsville Daily Bulletin and regional newspapers, the sum of £1892/3/6 was reached by the end of 1884. Construction of School House began in 1887 on the ten-acre Paxton Street site.

• Edward Finnemore Upward was appointed Acting Headmaster (1888).
• Townsville Grammar School opened in School House on 16 April 1888, with an enrolment of 23 boys - the seventh Grammar School established in Queensland.
• Thankful Percy Willmett was appointed as the first Chair of the Board of Trustees (1888).
• The first School badge was introduced with the motto Bonus Intra Melior Exi (1888).
• The first Speech Day was held on 14 December 1888.
• Henry Aplin was the first Dux of the School.
• Charles Henry Hodges was appointed Headmaster from the Rugby School, Warwickshire, England (1889).
• Headmaster Hodges presided over the first Founders’ Day on 16 April 1889.
• The first Gymnasium was built, funded by the Queensland Government (1889).
• Mary Foley and Letitia Crowder were the first two female students enrolled. This made Townsville Grammar School the
  first co-educational, independent secondary school on mainland Australia (1893).
• The Dovecote was established for girls (circa 1896)
• The first School Magazine was published (1897).
• The first recorded School Cricket team, 1st XI (1897).
• The School Song, Carmen Townsvillare, was written in Latin by William Alexander Purves and the music was composed by JR Castling (1898).

• Frederic Thomas Miller was appointed Headmaster (1901).
• The Old Boys’ Union was formed (1901).
• Cyclone Leonta hit Townsville on 9 March 1903, destroying School House.
• The school moved temporarily to Town Hall in Flinders Street East and then relocated to the Museum on Stanton Hill (1903).
• School House re-opened on 8 February 1904, reconstructed with a slightly different design by Townsville architects, FDG Stanley Tunbridge and Tunbridge.
• Effie Hartley was the first female Dux of the School (1904).
• The School’s longest serving Headmaster, Percy Fritz Rowland (Boss Rowland) was appointed (1905).
• The Governor of Queensland, Baron Chelmsford, visited the School to present the Chelmsford Cup (later
  renamed the Rugby Cup) and unveil the Honoris Causa Board. The Rugby Cup was first presented to LG Alroe (1907).
• The first School Cadets Unit was formed (1907).
• George Hall became the first Townsville Grammar School student to receive a Rhodes Scholarship (1910).

• The Old Girls’ Union was formed (1912).
• The Governor of Queensland, Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams, visited the School to unveil the Pro Patria Honour Board (1917).
• WWI saw many Past Grammarians enlist for service with 23 recorded as losing their lives while serving their country (1915-1919).

• Governor General Lord HenryWilliam Forster visited the School (1923).
• The School was granted six acres of land on the corner of Paxton & Landsborough Streets (1924).
• The Old Boys’ Union was renamed The Old Boys’ Association (1926).
• The first annual Townsville Grammar School Ball was held (1928).
• The Mary Agnes Donald Prize was first awarded (1930).

• Sir John Lawrence McKelvey (1899), was the first Townsville Grammar School student to be Knighted (1933).
• To mark the Coronation of King George VI, the Townsville Botanical Gardens donated trees to the School (1937).
• Chester Parker became the second Townsville Grammar School student to receive a Rhodes Scholarship (1938).
• Thomas Burnside Whight, a Past Grammarian, was appointed Headmaster (1939).
• The Duffin Shield, Champion Boys House was introduced (1939).
• The Grimsey Cup, Champion Girls House, was introduced (1940).

• The now named Maurie Blank Administration Building was relocated from the West End State School (1941).
• The RAAF commandeered the School and grounds during WWII. The School relocated temporarily to a private home in Rosslea in January 1942.
• The School was handed back to the Board of Trustees (1944).
• WWII saw many Past Grammarians enlist for service with 36 recorded as losing their lives while serving their country (1939-1945).
• VP Celebrations took place on the School oval (1945).
• The McKimmin Memorial Drinking Fountain was constructed in The Quad (1945).
• Sir Charles William Davidson (1914), became the second Townsville Grammar School student to be Knighted (1945).
• Alan Campbell Logan was appointed Headmaster (1947).
• Maurice William Blank was appointed Headmaster (1948).
• Three formal day Houses were introduced, named after former Headmasters - Hodges, Miller and Rowland (1948).
• The first international students from Papua New Guinea were enrolled (1949).

• The War Memorial Oval was completed on Paxton Street (1951).
• The inaugural running of the McKimmin Mile took place (1954).
• Sir Lawrence James Wackett KBE DFC AFC (1911), became the third Townsville Grammar School student to be Knighted (1954).
• The Science building was constructed, later named the Len Daniels Building (1955).
• Cyclone Agnes hit Townsville on 6 March 1956, causing damage to the School.
• The Past Grammarians Association was formed through the amalgamation of the Old Boys’ Association and the Old
  Girls’ Association (1960).

• A fourth formal day House was introduced, named after a former Headmaster - Whight (1962).
• The new senior dormitory block was completed, named the George Hall Building (1962).
• Leonard Stanley Daniels was appointed Headmaster (1966).
• The pool was opened by the Mayor of Townsville, Alderman Angus Smith (1966).
• Project Phoenix was established with the objective of fundraising to improve infrastructure at the School (1968).
• The Vietnam War saw Past Grammarians enlist for service with one recorded losing his life in service (1969).

• Cyclone Althea hit Townsville on 24 December 1971, causing damage to the School.
• The Rheuben Science Block opened (1971).
• The PF Rowland Library was opened by RN Bennett, MHR (1972).
• The first School Masterplan was developed (1973).
• Sir Anthony Thomas Covacevich (1931), became the fourth Townsville Grammar School student to be Knighted (1974).
• The Headmaster’s house was destroyed by fire and a new residence was built on the corner of Paxton and Landsborough Streets (1975).
• Alan Douglas Morwood was appointed Headmaster (1976).
• The English department building was constructed and later named the Spenser Hopkins Building (1979).

• The Design and Technology Centre opened (1982).
• The Frank Sim Building opened (1983).
• Computers were introduced to the School (1984).
• The Centenary Gymnasium was completed, marking the School’s 100th Anniversary (1988).
• The History of Townsville Grammar School, by Kim Allen, was published (1988).

• Queensland moved from the Tertiary Entrance (TE) score to the Overall Position (OP) score (1992).
• Stephen Charles Paul was appointed Principal (1993).
• Girls boarding was introduced (1994).
• A new boarding house opened, named Parker Hall Building in honour of the School’s two Rhodes Scholars (1995).
• VP 50 Celebrations took place on the renamed Morwood Oval (1995).
• Junior School was introduced with the opening of the Annandale Campus (1997).
• Richard Walker Fairley was appointed Headmaster (1998).
• The Pro Diligentia and Cum Laude Awards were introduced (1998).

• The Music Centre opened at the North Ward Campus (2001).
• The first international students from Hong Kong and China were enrolled as boarders (2001).
• The Alan D Morwood Academic Awards were introduced (2002).
• The Roll of Honour memorial monument was unveiled in The Quad on 24 April 2002.
• School House was entered in the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 December 2002.
• The Middle School precinct (Years 7-9) was established at the North Ward Campus (2006).
• The Pre-Prep Centre opened at the Annandale Campus (2008).
• The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme was introduced (2010).

• School House closed for restoration (2011).
• The Performing Arts Space opened at the North Ward Campus (2011).
• The School celebrated its 125th anniversary (2013).
• Stage one of the North Shore Campus opened - Early Education Centre (2016).
• Stage two of the North Shore Campus opened - Junior School (2017).
• Timothy John Kelly was appointed Principal (2018).
• The inaugural Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp took place at the North Ward Campus (2018).
• Queensland changed from the Overall Position (OP) system to the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) system
  (2020).
• Remote learning was introduced during the COVID-19 global pandemic (2020).

• The pastoral care vertical House system was introduced at the North Ward Campus (2021).
• The Past Grammarians Association was revitalised with a new Constitution (2021).
• School House re-opened (2022).
• The School Museum opened in School House (2023).
• The Avenue of Trees was established at the Morwood Oval for the School’s 135th anniversary (2023).
• The Margaret M McKenzie Academic Awards were introduced (2024).
• The School Cadets Program was reintroduced (2025).
• The Wall of Distinguished Grammarians was established at the North Ward Campus (2025).
• Stage three of the North Shore Campus was constructed (2026).
• Connor Gregory James Barrett was appointed Principal (2026).