The College’s Sesquicentenary this year has not been our first big anniversary full of celebrations; nor indeed was our Centenary in 1963. In 1913 the College celebrated in ‘golden’ Jubilee, marking 50 years since it was founded. We are fortunate in having a detailed record of the Jubilee, set out in a special edition of The Newingtonian published at the end of 1913.

While the anniversary of the College’s opening was in July, the Jubilee’s planners ‘felt that the weather at that season was not favourable, least of all for any outdoor function’. Thus the first event, the Jubilee Service, was held on 24 September. The Stanmore Methodist Church, serving as the College’s Chapel, was decorated with flags, flowers and ‘festoons of greenery’. This event was primarily for the present boys, who appeared in three divisions: boarders in the ‘historic School uniform’ [in fact, the old blue Cadet uniform], the day boy Cadets in their new khaki uniforms, and ‘the little boys going in their ordinary clothes’. The service was followed by Cricket matches and a supper in the evening, ‘and much amusement was given by two groups of boys who had prepared scenes of entertainment for the rest.’

A week later, the Old Newingtonians held their reunion. A dinner in the dining hall, ‘the sitting of which had been remodelled to provide for the unaccustomed size of the company’, was followed by a gathering in the ‘schoolroom’ (now the Prescott Hall). ‘The School colours, flags, ivy ferns, and palms gave a picturesque appearance’, while conspicuous among the decorations were the shields and banners won by the Cadets that year as State and Commonwealth Competition Champions. Instead of ‘Dear Newingtonia’, the Old Boys sang ‘Floreat Newingtonia’, composed by L H Allen (ON 1899) and sung to the tune of ‘Men of Harlech’.

Another week saw the Jubilee Dinner at the Farmer & Co. Café in the City. This event brought together staff and members of the College Council, along with Headmasters of other schools and representatives from the Parliament, the Methodist Church, the Education Department and the University of Sydney. Much of the evening seems to have been taken up with toasts and responses, reported verbatim in the Jubilee Newingtonian. Still more speeches were to have been made, but were prevented by the requirement to close the restaurant at 10 o’clock, ‘to the regret of all present’.

The final event, a garden party, was to have been held on 4 October, but was postponed for a week, due to the arrival in Sydney of the new Australian Fleet, the Centenary of which has been celebrated with the International Fleet Review over the past fortnight. The garden party was planned ‘so as to give the mothers, wives and sisters of old and present boys the opportunity of participating’, in contrast to the other, male-dominated events. Hundreds of guests enjoyed refreshments on the Colonnade and elsewhere, while the Newtown band ‘discoursed music in the distance’ and the 1st XI played the ‘I Zingari’ Cricket Club.

The Jubilee was also an opportunity to raise funds to help secure the College’s future. Unlike the fundraising for our Sesquicentenary building projects, the Jubilee Fund was only started in the Jubilee year, with the aim of raising £10,000 over the following three or four years. By the time the Jubilee Newingtonian was published, £7,000 had been raised already.

David Roberts
College Archivist