Tas That Was – Elizabeth College

Hobart’s Elizabeth College started life in 1842 as a two-room school built by Holy Trinity Church.

Over time, the site grew into the campus seen today.

In 1911, the Holy Trinity Church school became the Elizabeth Street School, serving as a training (practising) school for newly graduated teachers from the University of Tasmania.

When the 1918 influenza epidemic arrived in Tasmania, the school was used temporarily as a medical centre to treat those who were struck down with the illness.

After the end of World War II, it transitioned into a secondary education institution known as the Elizabeth Street Secondary Modern School.

In 1968, it became the Elizabeth Matriculation College to align with Tasmania’s new Higher School Certificate system for Years 11 and 12. The current name of Elizabeth College was adopted in 1985.

Today, Elizabeth College remains one of Hobart’s main senior secondary schools.

References & Bibliography

• Newsletters (Elizabeth College)
• ‘Overwhelming support’: Hobart City High School and Elizabeth College merger off the table (Pulse Tasmania)
• Elizabeth College (Department for Education, Children and Young People)
• Hobart City High & Elizabeth College Future Model: Community Consultation Report
• ‘Tradition of early school moves on’ (The Mercury, 8 November 2002)
• Education Act 2016 (Tasmanian Legislation)
• Our College (Elizabeth College)

Tas That Was is a column that includes:

• anecdotes of life in Tasmania in the past;
• historical photographs of locations in Tasmania; and/or
• documentaries about locations in Tasmania.

If you have an anecdote or photograph you’d like to share with us, please send it to submit@tasmaniantimes.com.

Callum J. Jones is passionate about telling stories. He studied English, History, and Journalism at the University of Tasmania and lived in Western Sydney from 2022 to 2024 while working as a journalist for Professional Planner, a leading online publication for financial planners. Callum has written for Tasmanian Times since 2018 and has also been published in a range of other outlets, including Quadrant and the BAD Western Sydney anthologies.