Holloway at 75

When Sandringham Technical School opened its doors to students in February 1949 it was for boys only, which was typical of Victorian technical schools at the time.  The popularity of a technical school in Sandringham was evident in the way the school expanded over the years.  It was not long before new buildings were added to the school site to cater for larger enrollments.  However, in 1951, only two years after Sandringham Tech was opened, the local community and council started agitating for a girls' technical school - such was the demand for technical education for girls that they were attending schools in Brighton and Prahran - not in Sandringham.  This was a situation the community wanted to change.

The change took a while to arrive though.  In 1951, a deputation from Sandringham Tech, Sandringham Council and the local community met with the then Minister for Education to press the need for a girls' school.  The Minister, according to articles in the newspapers, was sympathetic to the idea of a new school, but he lamented that the government had to acquire more land to build one.  The deputation had done their homework and had identified a site adjacent to the existing boys' school, south of Bay Road.  This land was the remaining blocks of the Bon View Estate, part of which had been bought by Sandringham Council in 1943 for the purpose of building a boys' school.  Ten years later, Sandringham Council purchased the remaining blocks to build a girls' school (and then sold the site to the government).  How history repeats!

It took another few years for this project to come to fruition when in the middle of 1957, a flurry of articles published in local newspapers let the community know that a girls’ technical school was soon to be opened – with a caveat stating that the school would be using temporary buildings in the local area.  Like the nearby Highett High School which commenced operating in 1956, buildings for the new girls’ school would not be ready until a year after the school opened.

The new buildings were very different in design to the adjacent boys' school.  With the change of decade came a change of architecture.  Gone were the clean, streamlined brick school buildings of the 1930s and 1940s.  In their place was the utilitarian Light Timber Construction (LTC) designs that were cheap to build, and dominated the education landscape across Victoria.  The Sandringham Girls' Technical School, and nearby Highett High School, were typical of this design and remain to this day (with modifications over the years).  At the Holloway site, the girls' section was built in the northeast corner and is a group of buildings now known as the 30s block.  

In 1958, eighty-six girls enrolled in the new school, and enrollments doubled in the subsequent years.  In 1959 the girls moved into barely constructed buildings at Holloway after spending a year learning in local church halls.  

By 1960, enrolments across boys’ technical and girls’ technical schools had reached 1133 students – 670 boys, 263 girls, and 200 senior students and work completed by the girls in subjects such as dressmaking was being exhibited at outside events.  But times were changing and in 1965 the Education Department directed Sandringham Tech to become fully co-ed.  What this meant was that all classes were now on offer to boys and girls.  

It just goes to show that when education is concerned, community advocacy can be very useful, even if the wheels of time turn slowly.  In terms of school history, the development of a girls' school is a footnote, but the lasting memories of this time can be seen in the 30s block and in writings from the time.

If the school community has any other stories or photos to contribute or donate (especially Sandringham Technical School yearbooks), please do not hesitate to get in contact with Jeremy de Korte (Teacher-Librarian/School Archives).