Osborne Ladies' College was an Australian

girls school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, same-sex education, same-gender education, and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in se ...

located in

Blackheath, New South Wales Blackheath (Postcodes in Australia, postcode: 2785) is a town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, between Katoomba, New South Wales, Katoomba and Mount Victoria, New South Wales, Mount Victoria in New ...

from 1923 until 1958. It was renowned for being run in the tradition of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

History

Violet Gibbins was a

pupil teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

who attended courses at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. Though she did not obtain any qualification, she became a teacher and later the principal of Cairns High School. She started a school in Bondi in 1910 initially for boys, but the school was later changed to girls. The school was advertised as being run along Royal Naval lines with a

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cr ...

being presented to the school in 1912 by the visiting HMS ''Drake''. During the First World War, Gibbins brother, Captain Norman Gibbins, was killed in action at

Battle of Fromelles The Attack at Fromelles ( (Battle of Fromelles, Battle of Fleurbaix or ) 19–20 July 1916, was a military operation on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was carried out by British and Australian troops and was subsidiary ...

. She later moved her school to Epping, changing the name of her school from the Epping Ladies' College to Osborne Ladies' College, in honour of the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

. In 1923 Gibbins moved her school to its final location on near Blackhheath overlooking the Kanimbla and

Megalong Valley Megalong Valley is part of the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of Katoomba, New South Wales, Katoomba. On its eastern side, the valley is separated from the Jamison Valley by Narrow N ...

s. The building was the former site of an unused hotel built in 1888. The average enrolment of the school was 50 students aged 7 to 16 years of age.

Traditions

The school uniform was in naval blue worn with Royal Navy buttons. Junior girls of the school were known as "Middies" from the term

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

, with

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

s being addressed as

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

s, and the

head girl The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

being addressed as lieutenant commander. Military courtesy applied with the senior girls being saluted. Gibbins was known as "the Admiral" while her governess Victoria Everingham knows as "the Commander". In addition to the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

, the rooms of the school were known by the names of Royal Navy ships such as: * HMS ''Pelican'' – Admiral Gibbins' room * HMS ''Sirius'' – Commander Everingham's room * HMS ''Sirius'' – Classroom * HMS ''Sydney'' – Classroom * HMS ''Sussex'' – Classroom * HMS ''Revenge'' – Classroom * HMS ''Albion'' – Classroom * HMS ''Revenge'' – Bedroom *( HMS ''Arethusa'' – Bedroom * – Assembly Hall * HMS ''St. Vincent'' – Mess * HMS ''Neptune'' – Bathroom * HMS ''Dreadnought'' – Sickbay The Osborne girls were marched to location and not allowed to speak to people outside the school. An emphasis was placed on physical fitness, spartan living (only one room was heated at the school, the library), archery, shooting, sports, and dramatic arts. The school was closed in 1958 following the illness and death of Gibbins. The original building burned down in a fire in 1963. A new school, currently the Mountains Christian College was built on the site. Memorabilia from Osborne Ladies' College is on display in the Mount Victoria museum.

Alumni

Jill Adelaide Neville Jill Adelaide Neville (29 May 193211 June 1997) was an Australian novelist, playwright and poet. Biography Neville was born in Sydney, Australia, the older sister of Richard Neville. She grew up in the Blue Mountains area, becoming involved in ...

(1932–1997) – Novelist, playwright and poet.

Notes

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External links

*''Osborne College Revised'' http://bmfh.org/index.php/The-Blue-Mountains/Places-of-Interest/Osborne-College-my-view.html Educational institutions established in 1910 1910 establishments in Australia Educational institutions disestablished in 1956 1956 disestablishments in Australia Education in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) Defunct schools in New South Wales Defunct secondary schools in New South Wales