Charles Rattray Smith (1859–1941) taught in Britain before emigrating to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, where he taught classics and languages at various public schools. He was the inaugural headmaster of Newcastle High School from 1906. In 1915, he became headmaster at

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

; in 1919, he transferred to Sydney High School, where he was headmaster until taking long service leave in 1924 before his retirement in 1926.

Early years

Charles Rattray Smith was born on 29 December 1859 in the Congregational Manse for the Parish of

Rendall Rendall (Old Norse: ''Rennudalr''Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print) or ''Rennadal'') is a parish on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It is in the north west of the island and lies east of the parishe ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

where his father, Alexander Smith, was the

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

Minister; his mother was Clementina née Cobban.General Register Office, Scotland t/as ScotlandsPeople, Statutory registers, Births from 1855; digital image, "United Parishes of Evie and Rendall, County of Orkney", entry 1 for 1860, SMITH, Charles Rattray (29 June 2011).

Education

He attended

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

and was graduated

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1880.

Schoolmaster

Smith returned to Orkney as a schoolmaster: the 1881 Census finds him living in the

Stronsay Stronsay () is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to th ...

Schoolhouse with one of his elder sisters, Frances, as his housekeeper.

Emigration to and early career in New South Wales

In 1883, he emigrated to New South Wales to take up his career as a teacher in public schools. His first appointment was as assistant teacher, Bathurst High School on its opening in October 1883 but soon after took up his first of three appointments at

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

. From March 1885, he acted as temporary headmaster of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...

High. Other appointments followed including to Fort-street Model School and Leichhardt Superior Public School, where he was first assistant master from 1897. In 1902, he returned to

as classics master under J. Waterhouse.

Foundation Headmaster, Newcastle High School

He was tasked with the establishment of the new High School at Newcastle in 1906. He led the "School on the Hill" until 1915. One of the school houses is named "Smith" in his honour.

North Sydney Boys High

He became Headmaster,

North Sydney Boys High North Sydney Boys High School (abbreviated as NSBHS) is a government-funded, single-sex, academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Since 202 ...

in 1915, the second to hold the post, succeeding Nimrod Greenwood. When he arrived, he brought the nickname "Caesar" with him from Newcastle. The history of the early years of North Sydney Boys' High described him as a disciplinarian who favoured detention and would travel the classrooms in the afternoon in academic cap and gown announcing the names of those who would join him for an extra half-hour after school; nevertheless, he was described as "a man of great personal charm and is still remembered with affection by those who were at North Sydney during his time."

Sydney Boys High

Following the sudden death of Robert John Hinder, Smith returned to Sydney High School (Mary Ann Street, Ultimo) in his final appointment as headmaster. He was introduced to the students at the 1918 Speech Day, where he received three cheers.

Family life

On 24 December 1884, Charles married Alice Lydia Hartley at "Glencoe", Cadia, near

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...

. A son, Alexander Gordon, was born in 1886 when Charles was posted to Goulburn; two daughters, Rosa Constance in 1889 and Olive Frances in 1891 were born during his tenure at metropolitan schools; the youngest, Adolphus Charles Cobban, was born in 1897, passing away in his 15th year at the family home, "Corio", Mayfield on 16 August 1912 and was buried 18 August 1912 in Sandgate Cemetery. Charles Rattray Smith M.A. (Aberdeen) died at his residence "Tremenheere", 16 McClelland Street, Willoughby on 10 June 1941 aged 81 years. He was survived by his wife, Alice, and children (Alexander) Gordon, (Rosa) Constance (Mrs Frederick Joseph Harris) and Olive (Mrs Milton D. Hunter). He was buried in the Congregational Cemetery, Northern Suburbs (now Macquarie Park Cemetery,

North Ryde North Ryde is a suburb located in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Ryde is located 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde. One of ...

) on 11 June 1941; his short obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald noted: "Many former pupils and colleagues attended his funeral." Alice died on 31 January 1942 and was buried on 2 February 1942 with Charles.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles Rattray 1859 births 1941 deaths Australian educational theorists Australian schoolteachers Classical Latin literature Australian Congregationalists British emigrants to colonial Australia Education in Orkney Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People associated with Orkney Colony of New South Wales people