Matraville Sports High School

Matraville Sports High School (abbreviated as MSHS) is a government co-educational comprehensive and specialist secondary school, with speciality in sports, located on Anzac Parade, Chifley, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Matraville Sports High School
Location
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Australia
Coordinates33°57′54″S 151°14′41″E / 33.96500°S 151.24472°E / -33.96500; 151.24472
Information
Former nameMatraville High School
TypeGovernment-funded co-educational comprehensive and specialist secondary day school
MottoEndeavour
Established
  • January 1960; 64 years ago (1960-01)
    (as Matraville High School)[1]
  • December 2001; 23 years ago (2001-12)
    (as Matraville Sports High)[1]
School districtBotany Bay; Metropolitan South
Educational authorityNew South Wales Department of Education
SpecialistSports school
PrincipalNerida Walker
Years712
Enrolment305[2] (2011)
Campus typeSuburban
Colour(s)Navy and sky blue   
AffiliationNSW Sports High School Association
Websitematrasport-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Map

Established in 1960 as Matraville High School, the school became a specialist high school in December 2001 and caters for approximately 300 students from Year 7 to Year 12. The school is operated by the New South Wales Department of Education; the principal is Nerida Walker. Its alumni include Bob Carr and a number of professional sportsmen and women, with its tradition in producing prominent rugby league and rugby union players earning the school the description as a "great rugby nursery".[3] Matraville Sports High School is a member of the NSW Sports High Schools Association.[4]

History

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In the years consequent upon the Second World War, the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney saw increasing population growth and, as a result, increasing demands for infrastructure to assist that growth. At the time, the closest high schools in the area were South Sydney Boys' High School and Maroubra Junction Girls' High School. As a result, the local member and Minister for Education, Bob Heffron, made the decision to establish a new high school in Matraville. The site on the corner of Anzac Parade and Franklin Street in southern Matraville was secured by the Department of Education in 1957. The original school site was covered in virgin Banksia scrub growing on low sand hills bordered by houses on Mitchell Street.[5] The southern part of Matraville became the suburb of Chifley in 1964.

At Heffron's instigation, the new school would be co-educational, in a period when the vast majority of NSW secondary schools were sex segregated. Prior to 1960, Robert E. Mobbs, a former Second World War army officer who had also helped establish Fairfield Boys' High and Arthur Phillip High, was appointed as the school's first headmaster. However, a lack of funding restricted the start of construction and it was not until well after the first 200 students had been accepted in 1960 that building began. Therefore, the first students were housed at Daceyville Public School and the 1961 intake of students were sent to Gardeners Road Public School. Designed by the New South Wales Government Architect, in February 1961 the NSW Department of Public Works awarded the contract of £247,740 to build stages I and II of the school to Monier Builders Pty Ltd of Villawood.[6] Construction was finished by early 1962, which allowed the students to finally move in, and was officially opened by the local Member of Parliament for Maroubra and NSW Premier, Bob Heffron, on 27 September 1963.[5][7]

The school soon generated a reputation for excellence in sports, with a particular emphasis on rugby that was developed by sports master and coach, Geoff Mould.[3] The Waratah Shield, the state knockout competition for Rugby Union, was won by Matraville in 1972, 1976,[8] 1977, 1983 and 2007 and the ARL Schoolboy Cup was also won in 2007. In recognition of the school's excellence in this area, in December 2001, Matraville High was re-established as a specialist sports high, thus becoming "Matraville Sports High School".

School details

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In 2020, there were 344 students enrolled in the school from Years 7 through to Year 12. Of these, 115 students were girls and 229 were boys. The school has an enrolment of 35% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and 14% of students have a language background other than English. There were approximately 40 teaching staff at the school.[9]

Notable alumni

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Matraville Sports High - Cumberland". History of New South Wales government schools. NSW Department of Education. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Matraville Sports High School". School Locator. NSW Public Schools. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Visontay, Michael (11 July 1985). "A great rugby nursery". The Eastern Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 26.
  4. ^ "High Performance Schools". School programs. Cricket NSW. 2019. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Matraville High School's 50th anniversary". Southern Courier. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Contracts". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 February 1961. p. 24.
  7. ^ "Premier Opens New School At Maroubra". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 September 1963. p. 8.
  8. ^ Curran, Brian (23 August 1976). "Union boy turn on the style - Matraville lift the shield again". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 13.
  9. ^ "2020 Annual Report" (PDF). Matraville Sports High School. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  10. ^ "In my shoes: Josh Addo-Carr". Melbourne Storm. 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  11. ^ Coultan, Mark (18 June 1993). "The War Against Peace Studies - Bob Carr's fight against political correctness". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 13.
  12. ^ a b c Walter, Brad (16 July 2013). "Family friends buoyed by Cordner's highs after lows". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Ella Brothers". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  15. ^ "The sky's the limit as UNSW teams up with Matraville Sports High School". UNSW Newsroom. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  16. ^ Visontay, Michael (11 July 1985). "A great rugby nursery". The Eastern Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 26.
  17. ^ "Generation next: time to get excited". Sydney Roosters. 26 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  18. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs – Article". Site Name, i.e. Moz. 26 September 2023. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  19. ^ "| Latest Rugby News | Wallabies Rugby". wallabies.rugby. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Today's Tale – David Knox – unquestionable ability". stumptostump.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  21. ^ Eldridge, Russell (4 September 1981). "Schoolboy who wears two caps". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 34.
  22. ^ Barrett, Chris (31 March 2011). "Cooped-up Rooster gets a run with Tigers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  23. ^ a b c d "Warriors sign Titans centre". NZ Herald. 26 September 2023. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Matraville Sports High v Erindale College". 18TH MAN. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Schoolboy Cup: Walker leads Matraville to victory". National Rugby League. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  26. ^ "Lloyd Frederick Walker". www.classicwallabies.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
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