Wellington College is one of the oldest boys' secondary schools in New Zealand. The history and influence of Wellington College have made it notable in the history of New Zealand, with prominent alumni such as Arthur Coningham, Bernard Freyberg and William Pickering. The school is known nationally for both its academic success, as well as a large number of sporting activities.
Opening of the Memorial Hall, Wellington CollegeWellington College's "Old Wooden Building" c. 1880Cricket game at Wellington College, c. 1900
Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1869 the school moved to a new, spired, wooden building on the hills above the central city in Clifton Terrace from where it could be seen from many places in Wellington.[4] In 1874 the college opened in a much larger building at its present location.[5] The former boarding establishment at the College, Firth House, was named after Joseph Firth, the headmaster from 1892 to 1921.[6]
Wellington College's Pavilion, Firth House, and the Gifford Observatory were opened on 1 December, 1924. The War Memorial Hall was opened on 2 March, 1928, financially supported by £6000 from the Old Boys' Association.[7] The War Memorial Hall and classroom wings were demolished by the Ministry of Works and replaced in the 1960s with a new hall and seven-storey Tower classroom block due to its lack of earthquake reinforcements.[8] The stained glass window from the front of the War Memorial Hall is now in the front of the existing hall.
In the 1960s the Old Boys Gymnasium was built on the eastern boundary of the campus replacing the swimming pool[9] and during the 1970s the Maths, Library, and Technology blocks were opened, replacing the last of the War Memorial Hall building and classroom wings that opened in 1928.[10]
In 1980 Firth House was demolished to make way for a new gymnasium which opened in 1982. 1988 saw the opening of the Arts and Music block, and the Brierley Theatre, named after old boy Ron Brierley.[11]
The first dedicated computer rooms in the College opened in 1994 in a new building behind the school hall.
2001 saw the Science block's opening on the western boundary of the campus. In 2008 the Languages block opened, also located on the west boundary.
The campus also has many prefabricated buildings, some functioning as offices or classrooms.
The only "historical" buildings remaining on campus to this day are Firth Hall, the Pavilion, and the Gifford Observatory.
Firth Hall, left, and the former College Hall, right
In 2016, the College Hall was demolished to make way for a larger Assembly Hall and Performing Arts Centre, which would be able to hold the entire school with its growing population. In preparation for this, the staffroom was moved to Firth Hall, the Uniform Shop opened a new premise next to the Archives, and the Computer Block was opened on the first floor of Tower Block. Construction on the new hall commenced in September 2016 and was opened in 2018 by Jacinda Ardern.[12]
Wellington College's enrolment zone mainly covers the central and western suburbs of Wellington (Rongotai College serves the southeastern suburbs, and Onslow College the northern suburbs).
On 7 October 1987 by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.[25] The cost of the grant was donated by K. Rees-Thomas, an old boy of the college and father of headmaster H. G. Rees-Thomas
Crest
A Wreath of the Liveries is set for Crest a pedestal ornamented in the style of Sheraton Argent supporting a hand lamp as in the Arms
Helm
Asallet Proper lined Gules, with a Mantling Sable doubled Or
Escutcheon
Or, an open book Proper, binding and fore-edges Gules, ensigned by a covered hand lamp burning proper, pendent from the sinister side of the book a bookmark Gules charged with five plates in saltire, on a chief Sable four mullets of the Field.
Motto
Latin: Lumen accipe et imperti (Receive The Light And Pass It On)
Symbolism
The coat of arms of Wellington College is based on that of Bernard Freyberg, charged with an oil lamp, used on the seal of the college since 1873,[26] and a book, representing knowledge. The five plates on the bookmark come from the coat of arms of the Duke of Wellington. The sallet is a type of helmet usually granted to corporate bodies in Scottish heraldry.[27]
^William Main, Wellington Through a Victorian lens revisited, Steele Roberts Publishers, Wellington, 2011, p. 25, the endpapers and the dustjacket.
^Beasley, A.W. (1992). The Light Accepted : 125 Years of Wellington College. Wellington: Board of Trustees of Wellington College. p. 19. ISBN1869340329.
