Holloway at 75

Continuing the history of the school buildings at Holloway Campus, there was a bit of a lull in construction after the completion of the campus library in 1975.  While there was extensive works at the school in 1988 to prepare for the merger of four schools, this did not result in actual buildings.  Rather, the works included refurbishment of the 30s block, a new front entrance between the brick building and the hall, and a new brick wall which was designed to match the style of the brick building.

But one building at the school was sorely missing given the reputation of performing arts at the school; an actual theatre.  This is hard to believe given the run of highly successful stage shows at the college, including the most recent show, "Mary Poppins".  It has been largely unnoticed, but this year, the Holloway Theatre turns twenty years of age.

The below photo from April 2004 shows preparation of the concrete slab behind the school hall.  Over the subsequent months, a steel framework was built and by the end of the year it was ready for occupation.  The 2004 Sandringham College Yearbook shows photographs of dance productions in the new Theatre.  And the Music Department highlighted music events that were held in the new Dramaworks section.

We are very lucky at Sandringham College to have a theatre of this kind where all manner of performing arts events can be held.  Everything from music, dance, drama, and year level assemblies can be accommodated in this space.  As well as this, it is a selling point of our college and the theatre, alongside our performing arts domain, continues to attract students who have an interest in these areas.

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).