AGY-398 | Female Orphan School

Full description

The Female Orphan School was set up by Governor King to house destitute young girls. The Schools was initially located in George Street, Sydney in the former residence of Lieutenant Kent.(1) When it was officially opened on 17 August, 1801 31 girls aged between the ages of 7 and 14 were in residence.(2) The Female Orphan School was conducted by an honorary committee appointed by the Governor. The first committee was comprised of two Anglican Chaplains, Rev. Samuel Marsden and Rev. Richard Johnson, Mrs King (the Governor's wife) and Mrs Paterson (wife of the Lieutenant- Governor), the surgeon William Balmain and John Harris, surgeon, magistrate and officer-in-charge of police.(3)The School was financed by the government but some private subscriptions were received.(4) The girls were taught spinning and sewing and some were taught reading and writing.(5) By 1812 it had become a clothing factory and a source of domestic servants, such as dairymaids, kitchen servants and seamstresses.(6) Extensions to the original "spacious brick house" were completed in 1803 so that the establishment could take up to 104 girls.(7) In 1804, the School received a grant of land comprising 12,300 acres at Cabramatta and a farm of 600 acres at Petersham which enabled the School to be self-sufficient in grain by 1805.(8) On 30 June 1818 the girls from the Sydney Orphan School were moved to new premises on the banks of the Parramatta River at Arthur's Hill (later known as Rydalmere). The George Street, Sydney site became the Male Orphan School. Both orphan schools were conducted under similar constitutions, rules and regulations and a committee was established to manage both schools. (9) In 1826, the administration of the Orphan Schools was transferred to the Church and Lands Corporation. The passage of "An Act for Vesting the Orphan School Estates in the Trustees of the Clergy and School Lands in the Colony of New South Wales and for duly governing the Children at School and in Apprenticeship "[ 7 George 4, Act No. 4, 1826] diverted some of the income from the Orphan School lands to benefit the increasing number of Anglican Parish Schools. Under the Act, rules were established for the management of the Orphan Schools and nominated the Madras system of education. The apprenticeship system already being used in the Colony was regulated and a system for dealing with disputes between apprentices and their employers was established.(10) In 1825, Aboriginal girls were transferred to the Female Orphan School from the Native Institution in Parramatta.(11) The Chief Executive until the 1830's was the Master; his wife usually filled the position of Matron. From 1835 the Matron became the Chief Executive and a male Superintendent ( usually the husband of the Matron), was a subordinate position.(15) On 30 April, 1850 the Male Orphan School, which had been relocated at Liverpool in 1823 was closed. The remaining residents moved to the Female Orphan School site at Parramatta and the two establishments amalgamated to form the Protestant Orphan School. (12) FOOTNOTE;
(1) Ramsland, J. "Children of the Backlanes", New South Wales University Press, Sydney, 1986, p. 5
(2) HRNSW, v. 4, p. 446
(3) Ibid, pp. 136-137
(4) Gandevia, B. "Tears Often Shed", Pergamon Press, Sydney, 1979, p.102
(5) Ramsland, J. op. cit. p. 11
(6) Ibid, p. 225
(7) HRA, Series I, v. 3, p. 425
(8) Ibid, v. 5, p. 269
(9) Ramsland, J. op. cit., pp. 11-12
(10) 7 George IV, Act no. 4, 1826 assented to on 2 August 1826
(11) Ramsland, J. op. cit. p. 26
(12) "Concise Guide", 2nd Edition, Po-Pu , p. 49
(13) Ramsland, J. op. cit. p. 6
(14) Ibid, p. 54