Foundation
Support Redlands Future: Expansion of High Country Campus
For over a century, the Redlands High Country Campus in Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains region has been a much loved location for our students. When Year 12 students leave the School, Camps and Winter School are among the top three programs they enjoyed most at Redlands.
“The Winter School final dinner was testament to the strong friendships which had developed. The tears flowed freely and no one wanted to go home, because the High Country Campus had become home. We watch the sunrise as we stumble to breakfast, red clouds scud across the mountaintops, pure white snow reflecting pink. Gradually the day becomes warmer. It is bright, sunny, and perfect. All around me, happy faces, and mountains fill the air.” Jessie Hodgkinson RL 2000
This year we are planning to have our very first Giving Day to raise much needed funds for the expansion of High Country Campus. Originally developed by the School in partnership with the Redlands Parents and Friends Association, High Country Campus was opened in 1996 with two accommodation buildings. Two more buildings have been added since.
Our new residential Moonbah Program for Year 9 students will commence in 2025, aligning with our Vision of inspiring students to achieve life readiness and to let their light shine and our Strategic Driver of supporting and challenging students to achieve personal excellence through programs and pathways. To accommodate the whole of Year 9 split over two terms, we need to be able to house approximately 20 more students and 12 more staff.
We are Seeking Support in Many Different Ways
Join us as a Matching Gift donor and inspire our community, help on the day or join the Giving Day organising team. If you interested, please contact me directly dcasimaty@redlands.nsw.edu.au.
For any further information, please visit High Country Campus Appeal.
Platinum Luncheon | 140 Year of Service at Redlands
Next week we will be welcoming over 120 Alumni who graduated from Redlands 50+ years ago to our Platinum Luncheon. Up until 1978, Redlands was a girls school only.
As part of this Luncheon we will be welcoming Coralie Amos OAM, RL 1964, who is celebrating her 60th reunion. This year we are naming a scholarship after her to acknowledge her contribution to community service.
A special acknowledgement to Marguerite Gillezeau, Redlands Archivist, for preparing a wonderful history about Service at Redlands.
The Early Years of the School 1884 – 1945
In 1891, Redlands opened it’s doors to boarders as a need was growing and Miss Arnold had a strong personal connection with this decision, having been orphaned at a the age of five when her parents died of tuberculosis in London. Separated from her siblings, young Clara experienced the benefit of benefactors who ensured she completed her education at a small boarding school in St Albans, Herefordshire, modelled on a family environment and operating from the home of its Principal, Mrs Sarah Upton – a model Miss Arnold adopted.
In terms of external charities and social causes, the first school bazaar was held at the College for Girls on Christmas Eve, 1893 and raised a significant sum of money for the yet to be built Royal North Shore Hospital.
The Principals established the Old Girls Club in 1908, renamed the Old Girls Union (and now the Redlanders Association), as a way for alumni to keep connected with the school, both socially and philanthropically.
In 1918, students from Kindergarten to Year 12 knitted socks and balaclavas for the soldiers at the front. Fundraising fetes and music and drama productions were held to raise money for the Red Cross, YMCA and French-Australian League of Help, with the students also insisting on donating their prize money to the war effort.
The School’s commitment to charity, both towards fundraising and individual students, saw the first official Redlands scholarships awarded in the aftermath of World War I in 1921, establishing a tradition that has continued for over a century. The awarding of scholarships and bursaries and waiving of fees as the 1930s Depression created financial hardship for many families enabled students to stay on at Redlands at Miss Roseby’s expense. When she first bought Redlands in 1911, Miss Roseby had, in turn, experienced a benefactor in Miss Arnold. The Roseby sisters purchased Redlands as a business but leased the property until Miss Arnold’s death in 1932, paying only reduced rent, equivalent to the cost of Council rates. This act of generosity allowed Miss Roseby to concentrate on providing innovative education to her students. In 1934, when the School celebrated its 50th anniversary, it was the first time Redlands focussed on its own fundraising, raising much needed money for bursaries and school equipment. Nonetheless, service continued throughout the 1930s as the school community raised funds for the Rachel Forster Hospital and fostered two young girls in India. During the years of World War II, while the School held fetes and other fundraisers for the Red Cross and other charities, former students joined the armed services in even greater numbers than in World War I, working in a wide range of war related industries.
Next week: Service in the post-war era, SCEGGS Redlands 1945 – 1975.
Mrs Dana Casimaty
Director of Development
dcasimaty@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9858