SCEGGS Redlands Ltd., was originally a part of the SCEGGS Group of schools located at Bowral, Cremorne, Darlinghurst, Loquat Valley, and Wollongong. The Group was managed by the Executive, with Canon Prescott as President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer (later accused of malfeasance), together with other members of the SCEGGS Council.
In 1973 the Redlands P & C Officers – President Lang, IPP Roberts, and VP Adams, learnt unofficially of a management problem within the SCEGGS Group, and discreetly investigated those issues, eventually learning of the ‘cash deficiency (approximately $9 million)’. Bowral Campus had disappeared off the radar, having been sold off in an endeavour to raise cash, leaving Darlinghurst Campus and the other sites heavily mortgaged. Wollongong merged with the Illawarra Grammar School, Loquat Valley was somehow hived off and continued apparently as an independent school with Mrs. Prescott as its Head of School, leaving the Cremorne and Darlinghurst sites in danger of a forced closure.
The services of Mrs. Isobel Humphery, Head of SCEGGS Redlands school, were terminated at the end of the school year (1973), and Mrs. Helen Foote was appointed as the Acting Head of Redlands. Following a letter sent to Parents of Redlands school about the problems of the SCEGGS Group and in particular SCEGGS Redlands, Messrs Lang, Roberts and Adams were appointed by the parents of Redlands to be three Trustees representing all school parents in negotiations with the SCEGGS Council, the Administrators Price, Waterhouse and Company, the Bankers, the Lawyers, the Head of Darlinghurst as well as their parent group. As well, the Trustees were requested to develop a Business Plan for a Redlands’ continuance, if it were possible.
By early 1974 the three Trustees had examined the potential for continuance of the Redlands Campus which in 1973 had a student enrolment of some 686 female students. They had concluded that as Redlands Campus was the least mortgaged site that could be saved, they proposed to the Administrators that a rental program of the school site for six years, including a proposal to purchase the school during that six year rental contract period. Further they were prepared to have the Darlinghurst students leave Darlinghurst for the Redlands site, including the appointment of the Head of Darlinghurst to become the Head of SCEGGS located at Redlands.
Their plan included the right of purchase of the SCEGGS uniform, right of purchase and usage of the SCEGGS Emblem, and Motto. Further if the school were to go co-educational, they would invite the Mosman Anglican Preparatory Boys’ School to move to the Redlands Campus as a boys’ school to be developed in its own right and being regarded as complementary to the girls’ schools (many of whom were from the same families).
During the year (however) an annou8ncement was made by the Archbishop at Synod of the difficulties of the SCRGGS Group. In 1974 John Lang as a Redlands Trustee was invited to join with the Archbishop, Mr. Dickson Shore Chairman, on the stage at Speech Night.
In 1975, as was by then as usual, the business was under interim management but with a falling enrolment of students. In fact I learnt that if the school were to collapse the HSC students would be allowed to opt for teaching continuance at Shore in order not to disadvantage them in their final school year, and their potential of University entrance subsequently. In this year my elder daughter fell within this category.
Plans were developed by Administrators and the Redlands Trustees for a Corporation to be formed, and Rental Licence was granted by the SCEGGS Council for six years for the new Corporation to take over the school from 1976, onwards with an option to purchase the property and of course to purchase right of the school name of SCEGGS Redlands, motto and insignia badge. A Board of Directors was nominated to take over the school Corporation, and the subscribers were John Lang, John Roberts, Bruce Adams, Austin Rudge, Rodney Pegus and Charles Goldberg. The other nominated Directors were Rodney Moore of the Administrators, Brian Carey, Dr Anthony Andrews and from the (Diocesan) Secretariat Mrs. Isobel Lucas, Rev Victor Cole and Mr Greenwood. As well Mr Warwick Lewarne was a very dedicated adviser, and he played a major role in assisting the Board.
Due to the dramatic departure of students during this year it was necessary to find some additional ‘working capital’, and I sought the assistance of some 20 plus School fathers to sign with the Trustees to borrow funds from the Commonwealth Bank. Indeed in those days our personal assets were on the line in the event that the new School Corporation failed and we were to return the funds guaranteed; albeit the guarantees were only in the realm of between $1000.00 and $3000.00. The sum seems minimal in hindsight, with little risk, however in those days the dollars were sizeable and interest rates at dizzy heights.
At that date we honoured those parents with an Honour Board which now presumable continues to hang in the Assembly Hall.
In 1975 we suffered a minor operational loss as forecasted in the six year Business Plan. In 1976 the newly formed SCEGGS Redlands Limited (SCEGGS Redlands Ltd., later to become SCECGS Redlands Ltd.) commenced our school year with 186 enrolled students. By the year end, we suffered the second further minor forecasted loss as ‘predicted’, and hereafter we were in the 3rd and 4th years to move to ‘break even’ years prior to smallish profits in the 5th and 6th years.
One would think the journey is now at an end for the Trustees – and as a new direction commences for the Directors. WRONG!!
The day after we commenced in our own right as SCEGGS Redlands Limited we were approached by a Developer to sell him the Military Road school site, and his exchange offer was “the former Warringah Drive In Theatre on Warringah Road, with a dully new built school and an oval”. Some deliberations were mentally considered, but at that time and with s shortfall of forward enrolled students it was a wrong timing issue; 4 or 5 years later it may well have been right – saving the effort needed to secure a Redlands future into the 21st century. We decided however to look at buying some of the farm back as soon as possible, even though we had the need of tenure security to manage over the next 2 years. In particular we wished to acquire properties the school had had to divest itself of in the pain of the SCEGGS financial difficulties – in the immediate or adjacent blocks around the school site.
Then the major school banker wanted settlement of $1,300,000.00 for the Redlands site to pay out the Redlands’ mortgage. We told the banker we were not responsible for the debt – that was the SCEGGS Body Corporate Group Debt supported by the Archdiocese, that Redlands had performed to expectations in 1975 and now in the 1976 year. However we pointed out that as they had not been paid the $900,000.00 interest, and obviously had not declared it for taxation, we would offer them $400,000.00 to repay the capital, in return for debt-free property. The bank considered the matter, agreed to write off the unearned interest debt, which became the subject of discussion with primary creditor, and settlement by the SCEGGS Group was made at an even lower settlement than we had offered.
Then lo and behold! We had some controversial issues which arose between the Redlands (Ltd) Directors and the Diocesan Nominated Directors. The Chairman closed a very tedious Board meeting at 2.00 a.m. and left the premises, to later hear that the Diocesan Directors had remained on the premises praying for us under the trees.
During the winter months of 1976, the Chairman decided to hold a school service of thanksgiving – to offer our thanks for the operations thus far, and for the future success of the school. He advised the Board that such a service had not been undertaken since 1884, nr from the period of Redlands acquisition by the Diocese in the mid ‘Forties’. The service was adopted ( to become an annual service thereafter) and was conducted by Bishop Hulme-Moir. Coincidentally the next years’ service was promulgated as planned, but unfortunately it was held without any Diocesan Clergymen, who were all unable to attend, and with apologies. The service was conducted by the Chairman, and thereafter there was never a problem in securing the service of Clergymen for the thanksgiving service – now an annual calendar event in the life of the school as an annual Foundation Day ceremony.
Then an opportunity arose to purchase 3 Winnie Street, a property adjacent to our site boundaries, and which would have provided a school boundary in Winnie Street, provided a school boundary off the main road, and away from the two major traffic streets in a more comfortable bus drop-off point. Regrettably our offer price was inadequate and we found that a private purchase had been made by a Diocesan officer.
Our next negotiation led to a deal in which the loan repayment had to be met and any balance above our price and the offer we made would be shared equally between Redlands and the Diocese/SCEGGS Group. Surprisingly we received several hundred thousand dollars, with strings attached, including financial issues if and when we proceeded to the ultimate purchase of the school site.
Mrs Helen Foote retired when she reached the statutory age. Mr Rodney Wells was appointed at the time the school was to proceed to become a co-educational campus. As it happened we had been given some references and data which proved ultimately to be flawed, provided by some of the referees as well as the Deputy Chairman of the Brisbane school from which Mr Wells had been dismissed. In attempting to repair the position we found ourselves in, we offer Mr Wells the opportunity either to resign or be dismissed. He felt obliged not to accept our decision and engaged Edward St John QC to represent his interests, and regrettably dismissal prevailed. At that time Miss Enid Lakeman was appointed Acting Head of the school and was in that position for about a year or so.
In 1981 Mr. Lewarne suggested we consider Mr. P.J.Cornish as an applicant for the position of Head of the School and we were fortunate in that he together with a number of other smaller schools’ Heads and larger schools’ Deputy Heads furnished applications plus C.Vs. There was some heavy lobbying from within the Sydney Archdiocese; however our decision lay with an outstanding applicant whose global experience, his teaching ethics, his educational qualifications, his family background and his reference from Heads of Shore and TAS where he was then currently employed, identified that Mr. Cornish could lead us into our planned leadership of the private School systems, the needed expansion of the school making us both a family and international school in which international families would wish to have their children educated when they were in Sydney on business assignments.
It was at this time that the Church appointed Directors sought the right to make the appointment based on the Church needs and culture, rather than necessarily on the “THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB’. Mr Roberts offered an option to the Board: if the Board was not prepared to support Mr. Cornish for the position of Principal of the school, then he would move that a Head would not be appointed and that the Board would appoint a General Manager. This would allow all Directors to vote – and that with the larger Director group being non-Church appointees, and appointment of Mr. Cornish would be assured.
During these days the three Trustees moonlighted at their own employments. In fact J Lang joined the Independent Schools Association Ltd to ensure we took Redlands into the realms of the leading schools, and as well he took an appointment to the Federal Schools Commission for the purpose of understanding how schools are managed, how they are financed etc.
Historically P Cornish too the Redlands Campus to two campuses, 1700 plus students, founded the Snowy Mountains Grammar School, purchased the collapsed ACPE College, assisted in the reconstruction of Girton Grammar School and others, introduced the Early Childhood facilities of Redland House, and then the International Baccalaureate opportunities, all leading from Early Childhood studies to Tertiary Education training, encompassing a major expansion of the curriculum, entry into the portal of Games, then Dance – and other extra-curricular activities much loved within the school.
I hope this is an adequate history of the reconstruction of the Redlands School, despite the obstacles mounted to make us trip in the early times of reconstruction starting in the ‘Seventies’.
John H A Lang OAM, J.P. KStJ, PHF
Written 2018 to 2020, reviewed June 2020.