St Michael's Collegiate School

1892–1939

In 1892, at the invitation of Bishop Montgomery, seven Sisters came from the mother house in Kilburn, England, to Tasmania. Of these, three Sisters remained in Tasmania and at the request of Dean Dundas, opened a school for girls and boys in October 1892. Sister Hannah was the principal of the school which had an initial enrolment of 12 children, six boys and six girls. Classes were held in the Synod Hall. The son of Bishop Montgomery was Bernard Montgomery, who attended the school whilst living in Tasmania^[7] and went on to be the victorious British Army field marshal in the Second World War organising the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and taking the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Sister Phyllis became the principal in 1895, by which time the number of enrolled students had risen to 71, including 6 boarders. To cater for this growth in numbers the school moved to 'Stephenville', a large house in Macquarie Street. 'Stephenville' was built in 1825 for the Solicitor General of Tasmania Sir Alfred Stephen.

During the following decades the school continued to expand, and in 1912 the school purchased the house 'Tremayne', located next door to 'Stephenville'. This provided extra class rooms and accommodation for the senior boarders.

In these early days the school was known as the Collegiate School. The students did not have a uniform as such, but were required to wear a long dark coloured skirt and a white blouse.

Building of St Michael's Collegiate School, c. 1927.

From around 1915 girls who became prefects were presented with a silver brooch in the form of the school emblem. These were worn for the term of office and then handed back to the school to be passed to the next year's prefects. Sister Phyllis then presented each outgoing prefect with a gold signet ring. At some time during the 1920s some girls began to wear a brooch with the initials C.C.E.S., which stood for Collegiate Church of England School.

In 1929 Tremayne was demolished to make way for a larger, two-storey, purpose-built building, which housed classrooms downstairs and boarding accommodation upstairs. This new building, also named 'Tremayne' was opened in 1932. Throughout this time the school continued to be run by Sister Phyllis who remained principal until 1933.

In 1937 a summer uniform was introduced. It was very different from the traditional navy blue tunic and black stockings, and much more comfortable to wear in the warmer months. It was a beige-coloured tunic. This uniform remained virtually unaltered for over 50 years.

1940–1999

Due in part to the onset of the Second World War, the school did not embark on any further expansion until 1953, by which time the school required separate buildings for a junior school. For this purpose two adjacent houses in Macquarie Street were purchased in 1953. In 1959 a new large Assembly Hall was completed, and not long after a number of new classrooms were added.

In 1973, 80 years after the foundation of the Collegiate Church of England School, the Sisters of the Church handed the responsibility of the running of the school over to a board, and in 1974 the school saw its first lay principal.

21st century

In 2011, Nicolaas Ockert Bester, who was a science teacher and head of maths and science at St Michael's Collegiate, was convicted and jailed by the Tasmanian Supreme Court for two years and ten months for a sex crime against a 15-year-old girl student the year prior.^{[8][9][10][11][12][10][13][14]} He was 55 years old at the time.^[9] He was convicted and jailed for an additional four months in 2016, for later bragging about it on social media.^[11][12][13] Principal Judith Tudball informed parents of the charges, and said Bester had been employed at the school over 20 years.^[9]

In 2017, Raynor Ian Bartsch, 56, who was a physical education teacher and head of sport at St Michael's Collegiate between 1989 and 1993, pleaded guilty and was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for maintaining a sexual relationship for eight weeks in the 1990s with a young person (a 16-year-old girl student).^[15][16] During the trial, the court heard that the school was aware of allegations, but allowed the teacher to finish the year teaching, working at the pool, and coaching.^[15] At the time, the acting principal and the school chaplain both spoke to Bartsch about his behaviour.^[17]

Sport

Collegiate offers a wide range of sports. Captains are usually chosen in Years 11 and 12, but in some cases a Year 10 girl is chosen as captain. Collegiate girls have represented Australia in softball, hockey, soccer, rowing and underwater hockey, and many students represent Tasmania in many sports.

Music

At present Collegiate has an orchestra, various ensembles and choral groups, and a School of Performing Arts (SPA) which is a 'school inside a school'.