Hutchins taking flight

Paula Xiberras

A flight simulator still sits at Hutchins school. Its the legacy of flying lessons that had once been taught as an elective by the school at the ‘Cambridge aerodrome with the onsite simulator providing a back-up’. It’s a good metaphor for a school that has taken flight and has striven to develop boys potential for a number of years.

I recently spoke to Margaret Mason-Cox who has completed an impressive chronological study of the history of the Hutchins school.

Hutchins is a school that has always been about developing boys best capabilities and over time expanding this to include and celebrate their specific interests. It has evolved over time and no longer is the emphasis solely on the classics, now it is encouraged and supported if a boy wishes to pursue a career in acting or music, woodwork or sport. No discipline is considered more worthy than another.

The school has moved physically as much as it has in curriculum content. The school moved from what is now the Mercury Print Museum, where it was situated from 1846 to 1849 to the impressive Macquarie Street building designed by William Archer to it’s present home at Sandy Bay.

Margaret skilfully relates the many outside and inner influences that have gone together to form the school, one of these has been the gradual introduction of the female contingent both in the teaching fraternity (pardon the pun) and as students. The first female student was Agnes Anderson the daughter of headmaster Anderson.

Margaret believes the introduction of girl students and the ties between Hutchins and Collegiate, and to an extent with Fahan and Mt Carmel at Matric level, has made a positive impact on the school. It has as Margaret said ‘helped keep the boys here’. When parents were considering the benefits of co ed education another positive factor of having girls at the school has been the softening effect on the boys by having girls in class. The fact that having the girls there means co coordinating buses etc and the unavoidable impacting on time and finances does not deter or outweigh the benefits of having female participation at the school.

The addition of having girls in the class has also helped widen the options open to boys studying subjects not traditionally offered at an all boy school like Hutchins.

Another feature of Hutchins has been it’s highly qualified teachers staff members and headmasters with the ability to introduce a number of unique subjects in most cases ‘options’ or ‘electives’ such as hot air ballooning flying lessons. In these cases the subjects were always options or electives.

Margaret’s father was a headmaster at Hutchins when he moved the family here from Melbourne in 1954. Margaret is a Hutchins alumni too, having been enrolled at Hutchins kindergarten.

Margaret doesn’t like saying much, but its acknowledged that under her father’s watch that he ‘was a breathe of fresh air’ and was instrumental in getting the school moved to Sandy Bay.

With a love of sports Margaret’s dad engendered a revitalisation of school spirit.

There are some record making stories too, such as the headmaster Buckland who held office for 28 years to be followed by his son; which saw ‘a family ownership’ of the role for 50 years.

Margaret believes each headmaster proved a foil for the one after him and each one added something to the school.

Margaret has given us a book that illuminates the story of a school that has evolved both in physicality and in the staff and student body, and all along gives us a history that is as exciting as it is exact.

Margaret’s book ‘Character Unbound: A History of The Hutchins School’ is available from the following link.

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