Fairholme College is an independent,

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls, located in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

, one of Australia's largest provincial cities, in

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

, Australia. Established as Spreydon College in 1908 by sisters Elizabeth, Jessie and Margaret Thomson, the college has a non-selective enrolment policy, and currently caters for approximately 845 students from

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

to Year 12, including 240 boarders in Years 5 to 12. It is the only school associated with the

Presbyterian Church of Queensland The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...

that is not owned by the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association (PMSA), and is one of a small number of Presbyterian schools in Australia. Fairholme is a member of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), the

Junior School Heads Association of Australia The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia. Officially established in Septem ...

(JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), and the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA).

History

In 1907, sisters Elizabeth, Jessie and Margaret Thomson, all former teachers of the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne (PLC), is an independent, private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1875 at East Melbourne, PLC was on ...

, moved to Toowoomba, with the idea of establishing a girls' school conducted according to the standards of the Secondary Teachers' Association of Victoria. They leased the now heritage-listed house Spreydon, a property with over an acre of land on the corner of Warra and Rome Streets at Newtown in the west of Toowoomba, and on 4 February 1908, opened the privately owned Spreydon College, a Christian boarding and day school for girls. Commencing with a roll of 20 boarders and "quite a number of day girls", the school offered classes from Kindergarten to "Sydney Senior Standard". The Spreydon building housed the Principal and boarders' quarters, while a school room, Kindergarten and

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

were established facing Rome Street. The sisters soon sought the patronage of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

in Brisbane, and this was granted in May 1909. The school proved popular, and steady growth in students numbers necessitated the construction of new dormitories early in 1911, with the school's boarding population nearing 16 out of the 60 pupils enrolled. The Thomson's established their school along the lines of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne, ensuring that all teachers were specialists, that students achieved high academic standards, and that girls were active in sporting interests and displaying good manners and Christian standards. However, at the end of 1914, financial difficulties forced the sisters to resign and return to Melbourne, prompting the Convenor of the Presbyterian Church in Queensland, the Rev. James Gibson, to give an undertaking that the Church would assume ownership of the school. A private company, The Presbyterian Ladies College Limited, was established, and Spreydon College was subsequently renamed and reopened in January 1915 as "The Presbyterian Ladies' College, Toowoomba" (P.L.C). The Church also appointed Amy Carson as Principal that same year. FairholmeCollege1932

P.L.C flourished under Carson's leadership, and the Spreydon property soon proved too small. Margaret Ann Cameron, the owner of the Fairholme Homestead on the Range in East Toowoomba, soon expressed to the Church her desire to establish a girls' school, having previously taught her daughters and other children in Glen Innes, New South Wales during the 1860s. Cameron passed ownership of her property to the Presbyterian Church, and under a new constitution, Carson, together with the College board, opened the Presbyterian Girls' College, Toowoomba in the Fairholme property with 59 students. The relocation of the school was achieved over two stages: the primary departments moved in July 1917, and the rest of the school in January 1918. The motto which was used at The Presbyterian Ladies College Limited, ''Ardens sed Virens'' ("Burning yet Flourishing") was adopted for use at Fairholme. The Presbyterian,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and Congregational Churches were united in June 1977, to be known as The

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

. St. Stephen's Church, of which the school was closely related, formed part of this movement and it was therefore presumed that Fairholme would become a College of the Uniting Church. Queensland's Presbyterian schools such as The Scots PGC College, Somerville House, Clayfield College and

Brisbane Boys' College Brisbane Boys' College (BBC) is an independent, Presbyterian and Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Toowong, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

, either became Uniting or became part of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association network, while Fairholme remained with the Presbyterian Church of Queensland. Subsequently, it is the only College in Queensland owned by the Presbyterian Church, and it remains one of a very small number throughout Australia, with the only other girls schools being the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Armidale The Presbyterian Ladies' College, Armidale (PLC Armidale) is an independent, Presbyterian, Day school, day and boarding school for girls. The school is located in Armidale, New South Wales, Armidale, a large rural town with a population of 24,0 ...

; the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney; and the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne. Cameron Homestead at Fairholme College

In March 1978, the name of the College was changed from "Presbyterian Girls' College, Fairholme, Toowoomba" to "Fairholme College, a College of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland". It had however been known as Fairholme since its inception.

Principals

House system

As with most Australian schools, Fairholme utilises a

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

. The houses of the College are: *Black House (Black) – Named after benefactor W.R. Black. *Cameron House (Gold) – Named after the original owner of the property "Fairholme", Anne Cameron. *Powell House (Green) – Named after benefactor Ray Powell. *Stephens House (Blue) – Named after benefactor, S.G Stephens.

Notable alumnae

Alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

of Fairholme College are known as Old Girls and may elect to join the schools

alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, school A school is the educati ...

, the Fairholme Old Girls' Association (F.O.G.A.). Some notable Fairholme Old Girls include: *

Emilee Cherry Emilee Jane Cherry (born 2 November 1992) is a former Australian Rugby Union player. She represented Australia in Sevens Rugby and won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Rugby career Born in Roma, Queensland and playing for T ...

– winner of Touch Football World Cup; Australian rugby sevens representative * Gemma Etheridge – winner of Touch Football World Cup; Australian rugby sevens representative *

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while fin ...

OAM – Olympic gold medallist (athletics) (also attended

Kooralbyn International School The Kooralbyn International School (TKIS) is an independent, co-educational, boarding and day school, located in Kooralbyn, about 64 km south of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. TKIS is the only school in Australia to have produced two You ...

) * Sally Kehoe – Olympic rower * Laurel Martyn

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

– dancer and choreographer; President and Examiner of the Classical Dance Teachers Aust. Inc. (also attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School) * Libby Munro – actress"Libby's kinky, dark role all the talk in theatre circles"
by Tara Miko, ''

The Toowoomba Chronicle ''The Toowoomba Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs regional areas in Queensland, Australia. As of 2016, the newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia, and forms part of their Regional Med ...

'', 3 July 2013 * Pippa Savage – Olympic rower *

Emily Tapp Emily Tapp (born 10 June 1991) is an Australian wheelchair Paralympic athlete and triathlete. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics but was forced to withdraw before the Games due to a burns injury. Sh ...

– Paratriathlon World Champion

AFL Team Achievements

Senior Female (Years 10-12)

* AFL Queensland Schools Cup : Runners Up: 2018

References

External links

Fairholme College Website

Fairholme College Facebook page
{{Authority control Private schools in Queensland High schools in Queensland Boarding schools in Queensland Educational institutions established in 1908 Presbyterian schools in Australia Girls' schools in Queensland Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools Schools in Toowoomba 1908 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia