History and Tradition
The Hutchins School was established in Hobart Town, in 1846, in memory of The Venerable William Hutchins, first Archdeacon of Van Diemen's Land. It has a proud history as one of Australia's oldest private schools for boys, with alumni distinguished in all fields of endeavour - including judges, bishops, leaders of industry, military heroes, musicians, artists and sportsmen.
The School commenced operations under Headmaster J. R. Buckland at Ingle Hall, a large Georgian house which still stands in lower Macquarie Street, Hobart. Three years later it moved a few blocks up Macquarie Street to a handsome, purpose-built schoolhouse designed by Tasmanian architect, William Archer. By the 1950's the School was growing too large for this inner-city site and a new Junior School was built on an elevated site overlooking the River Derwent at Sandy Bay. The Senior School followed later, constructed on the adjacent site of the former Queenborough Cemetery. The Macquarie Street building was sold in 1965, with Hutchins commencing full operations at Sandy Bay the following year. Continued growth and development on the Sandy Bay site has seen the school expand to encompass an Early Learning Centre (1981), Junior (1957), Middle (1964, 1980) and Senior (1966) Schools, science wing (1964, 1994), boarding house (1964), chapel (1971), gymnasium (1974), drama studio and auditorium (1980), performing arts centre (1989, 2003), as well as sports ovals (1957, 1969), hockey/soccer field (1974) and tennis courts (1982).
Modelled on traditional English schools such as Rugby and Winchester Schools, Hutchins has maintained its links with the past while at the same time looking firmly towards the future. Traditional values based on high academic endeavour, good sportsmanship, a strong House system and a Chapel which is central to the life of the School are balanced with a modern curriculum, where Information and Communication Technology is applied across all subjects, and a dynamic international program of staff and student exchanges. The Hutchins School is a founding member of the International Coalition of Boys' Schools, an alliance of 350 schools in seven countries which exchanges information, ideas and the latest research into the education of boys.
Physics student, James Pitman, 1966
