History and Heritage of
Parramatta High School
Parramatta High School was opened in 1913 (1915 at the present site) and was the first co-educational comprehensive public high school in the state of New South Wales. We are proud of our grand tradition and conscious of the real sense of history which permeates the very walls of the school.
A brief history of Parramatta High School
As compiled by Mr P.Taylor, Head Teacher History, Parramatta High School.
 The following pages outline, in concise form, some of the history of our school - now in its 87th year.

Page 1 The very beginning - the foundation stone - the motto - 1913-15
Page 2 The Great War - the Spanish influenza epidemic - the first P&C - 1913-20
Page 3 Some school personalities - nicknames of the 20's - 1920-30
Page 4 and 5 The Depression, more nicknames, blindingly good poetry, Lacey's old horse and a new headmaster (and more...) the 1930s.
Page 6,7, 8 Four -maybe five- new headmasters, the bucks and the does, Word War II (and more...) the 1940s.
Still to come... Baby boom years, the resumption of the lease..a new site for PHS?, the great fire... Stay tuned.

Below are some links to other items of historical significance...
Details on our school badge The significance of our school badge and the motto: fax mentis incendium gloriae.
Go to Tommy page William Leonard "Tommy" Atkins - the founding Headmaster (1913-32)
View the 14-18 Honour Roll The Honour Roll of the 1914-18 War
View the 39-45 Honour Roll The Honour Roll of the 1939-45 War
Dux of School The Dux of School honour roll from 1913 to 1979
School Captains The School Captains honour roll from 1915 to 1979
1963 Speech Day Program The program from our 1963 Golden Jubilee Speech Day
Prizes A list of prizes awarded for academic and sporting achievement
A Dedication to the Staff of Parramatta High School A Dedication to the Staff of Parramatta High School
The Songs of Parramatta High The Songs of Parramatta High
War Cries The War cries of our sport houses
ANZAC Day 1916 ANZAC Day, as eloquently commemorated in 1916.
Ex-student Victor Harding describes the changes which War has wrought on him in a letter from the front in 1918.
Look at the 'new' flagpole plaque In 1919 our new flagpole was dedicated. You can view the dedication plaque here.
Go to Historical images menu Our (expanding) collection of historical photographs of Parramatta
Excerpts from early PHS magazines Some images from the PHS school magazine, from 1916 on.
Read about the lease Read about the lease of the school grounds.
Text excerpts from early PHS magazines A history of PHS as written in the 1916 school magazine. (5 x 25k)
Crossing the Line Read a 1917 PHS perspective on the naval custom of "crossing the line".
Telegraph Pictorial 1927 In 1927 the Telegraph Pictorial featured PHS students having a rollicking good time...
The Porter Line In 1943, acting headmaster W.Porter introduced the infamous "Porter Line" to the school. Read about how graciously PHS students of the day accepted this gender-based segregation
Gallery of Headmasters View our gallery of Headmasters - from 1913...
The Staff of PHS - 1956 In 1956 Robin Elias, aged 12, produced some charcoal sketches of some of her teachers.
44 years later, Heather McKay, aged 56¾ wrote the accompanying text.
oval In the 1950s the school began collecting one pound donations from families towards the construction of a sports field close to the school. Read the story here.
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