The property on which the Knox Grammar Preparatory School has grown was part of an original land granted to Mr John Terry Hughes on the 18th August 1842.
On July 21 1895 the land title transferred from Mr Leonard Hartford Lindon to Mr John Thomas Toohey who founded Toohey's Pty Ltd with his brother. Toohey engaged the architect Herbert Wardell to design a large federation period mansion known as "Innisfail". |
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"Innisfail" viewed from the northwest c. 1900, showing the western facade and the circular driveway. |
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| John Thomas was a brewer and Member of the Legislative Council, 30 April 1892 to 5 May 1905. He was a Director of the City Fire Insurance Company and other companies, a leading Roman Catholic and a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory. He was a leader of the Home Rule Movement a support of the Irish Nationalist Movement and a benefactor of many Roman Catholic charities. |
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The gate lodge soon after its completion c.1900. |
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| These first two photographs are selected from a series taken c1900 by Mr J Yanz, Mr Toohey's chief grounds man and handy man, not long after completion of the buildings and are reproduced here with his family's kind permission. |
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Mr John Yanz operating the electrical apparatus - wet cell batteries generated electricity for the household c.1900. |
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Dr Armstrong, a Sydney surgeon, and his wife purchased the property from Mr Toohey's widow in 1918 before Knox Grammar School purchased it in 1928 to provide a campus for the fast growing Preparatory School that began life in 1925 on the senior school campus under the care of Mr. Chapman. Mr H L Fry joined Mr Chapman on staff in 1926, while Mr Drummond and Lt Cdr A H Quince arrived in 1928. Mr Quince was eventually to become Master-in-Charge of the Preparatory School and remained on staff until 1964.
Competitive group activities were limited by a lack of space and the first two classes were often combined under the one teacher. Assembly was a brief, simple meeting in one of the classes in a room at the top of School House, with a hymn and a short talk. |
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Knox Grammar School in 1925. Mr C P Chapman is seated next to Rev R O Greenwood in the third row. |
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| By October 1928, Mr MacNeil, the founding headmaster, and his wife had moved their quarters from School (now Gillespie) House to Ewan House. The Preparatory School began its life on Billyard Avenue in 1929. |
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The Knox Grammar Preparatory School, Ewan House, 1929. Masters Mr A H Quince, Mr Drummond, Mr N H MacNeil, Mr Fry and Mr C P Chapman. |
In recognition of Mrs Armstrong's generosity to the school in relation to the financial arrangements for the sale of the property, "Innisfail" was re-named "Ewan House" as Ewan was Mrs Armstrong's family name.
An early prospectus shows how the Federation mansion was transformed into classrooms. The old drawing room became an assembly hall and the music room, a common room. The billiard room became a boarders' locker room on one side and a classroom on the other. |
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Interior view of Ewan House from an early prospectus. |
| A house system was introduced but by 1931, houses gave way to troops in which a point system for efficiency was added at each term's end when the "Crack Patrol" was announced. When this distinction had been retained for 12 months, the patrol had its name inscribed on the honour board. |
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Ewan House Patrol Leaders, 1929. |
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In 1932 Mr C R Riley presented a Scouts display day and as a result the troop gained enough support to make a camp at Avalon in September. This was the first in a long series of camps, some overnight in the "wilds of Wahroonga", others for the weekend or longer at the coast and two Jamboree camps at Melbourne in January 1935 (for where Marsden Hordern, pictured at right, was about to leave) and Sydney in 1939.
The Scouts acquired their first den in 1934, made from old cow bales, lumber-room and a shed. The boys put a clay floor in and forty feet of shelving, white washed the interior and with the donated Australian and Commonwealth flags, the den was complete. Mr A L Baker and Miss Snowden took over Scouts in 1937 and in 1939 the troop began a drive for a proper den. |
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| By 1936 the pressure of enrolments brought about the need for a new classroom block and Gillespie Hall was completed. From this original block the buildings have grown. |
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View of the 1937 classroom block from what is now Yeldham Field, featuring the original Innisfail fountain. |
| Drama at the Prep has a long tradition, as shown by this production of The Scarlet Pierrot in 1940. |
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| Government issue - 1958. |
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In 1970, the boarding houses were rearranged. Fifth & sixth form (Y11 & 12) boarders were moved to the upper floors of Ewan house while the Prep library still operated on the ground floor. The Preparatory School still used the front room of Ewan House as their Library until 1971. Since the early 1970s, Ewan House referred to the boarding house and was no longer associated with the Preparatory School |
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Preparatory School Library, Ewan House, 1971. |
| Father and son three-legged race in 1975. |
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| Computers were adopted early at Knox Prep, as indicated by this stylish model in 1987. |
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The latest addition to the Preparatory School was commenced in 2003 with the addition of a special centre for students in Kindergarten to Year 2, meaning a boy can now undertake his entire schooling from K to 12 at Knox. During construction, the current students painted a mural featuring Ewan House, demonstrating how new and exciting developments at Knox are traditionally linked with the School's proud history.
 K-2 Centre |
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