# The Hutchins School

The Hutchins School is an Anglican, day and boarding school for boys from pre-kindergarten to Year 12 in Hobart, Tasmania. Established in 1846, Hutchins is one of the oldest continually operating schools in Australia.
Hutchins is a founding-member of the International Boys' Schools Coalition (IBSC), and a member of Independent Schools Tasmania (IST). The Hutchins School is one of two boys' schools in Tasmania.

## History

The Hutchins School was established in 1846 at Hobart Town in memory of The Venerable William Hutchins, first Archdeacon of Van Diemen's Land. Arriving in the colony in 1837, Archdeacon Hutchins had worked to establish a faithful ministry, erecting churches and schools and laying the foundation for secondary education under the auspices of the Church of England.
The School commenced operations under Headmaster John Richard Buckland at Ingle Hall, a large Georgian house dating from 1811 which still stands in lower Macquarie Street, Hobart. Three years later it moved several blocks up Macquarie Street to a purpose-built schoolhouse designed by Tasmanian architect, William Archer.
In the early days of many and varied schools and tenuous longevity, Hutchins survived by absorbing pupils, staff and plant of other less robust institutions, including Christ's College (1846–1912), The High School (1850–65), Horton College (1855–93) and Officer College (1888–1900). When Hutchins joined forces with Christ's College in 1912 it was the signal for Arthur A. Stephens to close Queen's College, founded by him in 1893, and accept the post of vice-master of Hutchins. In 1905 Hutchins amalgamated with Buckland's School, opened in 1893 by William Harvey Buckland, son of founding headmaster J. R. Buckland and brother of second headmaster John Vansittart Buckland. Hutchins would go on to absorb King's Grammar School (1907), Franklin House School (1917) and Apsley House School (1928), and affiliate with Gryce (1934) and Gladwyn (1937) Schools.
By the 1950s the School was growing too large for its inner-city site and in 1957 a new Junior School was built on an elevated site overlooking the River Derwent at Sandy Bay. This followed the opening at the Sandy Bay site of a sub-primary section in 1946 and the Memorial Oval and pavilion in 1955. The Senior School was later constructed on the adjacent site of the former Queenborough Cemetery, following a council referendum in which ratepayers voted '1 for educational purposes' in 1960. As part of this arrangement the council committed to pay for 1,900 bodies to be exhumed from the cemetery with the school funding all other exhumations. As of 2024, it is unclear how many bodies were actually exhumed by the council. By 1964 the Senior School campus encompassed a boarding house and science wing, quickly followed by an administration block and classrooms, while the Junior School campus across the road soon expanded to include a fledgling Middle School. The Macquarie Street building was sold in 1965, with Hutchins commencing full operations at Sandy Bay the following year.
In March 2024, two graves were found during earthworks for a new building at the school. An archaeology team was brought in and 1,973 human remains were exhumed upon completion of the project in late 2024. It is believed to be the largest mass exhumation ever undertaken in Australia. Due to poor management of the former cemetery it was difficult to identify most of the remains. 1,717 out of 1,973 of the bodies were identified. The remains were reinterred at the Cornelian Bay Cemetery. It is believed that hundreds of bodies remain buried under school property.

## Co-curricular program

The school runs an extensive co-curricular program offering music, performing arts, debating, sports and the Duke of Edinburgh International Award.

### Sport

The Hutchins School is a member of the Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools (SATIS).

#### SATIS premierships

The Hutchins School has won the following SATIS premierships.
* Athletics (23) – 1968, 1981, 1983, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
* Basketball – 2009
* Cricket (22) – 1926, 1938, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2018, 2021
* Cricket T20 (2) – 2018, 2021
* Cross Country (38) – 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
* Football (14) – 1968, 1969, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010
* Hockey (17) – 1978, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
* Rowing (28) – 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021
* Rowing Eight (46) – 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1934, 1937, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021
* Soccer (7) – 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2014
* Swimming (27) – 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2018
* Tennis (10) – 1962, 1974, 1975, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2005, 2020, 2021

## Headmasters

| Headmaster | Term begin | Term end |
| John Richard Buckland | 3 August 1846 (1846-08-03) | 13 October 1874 (1874-10-13) |
| J V Buckland | 1874 | 1892 |
| H H Anderson | 1892 | 1906 |
| E G Muschamp | 1907 | 1908 |
| G A Gurney | 1908 | 1912 |
| L H Lindon | 1912 | 1917 |
| C C Thorold | 1918 | 1929 |
| J R O Harris | 1929 | 1942 |
| V S Murphy | 1942 | 1945 |
| P Radford | 1946 | 1953 |
| W H Mason-Cox | 1954 | 1958 |
| H V Jones | 1958 | 1958 |
| G H Newman | 1959 | 1963 |
| D H Lawrence | 1963 | 1970 |
| D B Clarke | 1971 | 1986 |
| J M B Bednall | 1987 | 1996 |
| W D Toppin | 1997 | 2007 |
| Warwick Dean | 2007 | 31 December 2016 (2016-12-31) |
| Dr Rob McEwan | 1 January 2017 (2017-01-01) | incumbent |

## Notable alumni

Notable alumni of The Hutchins School include:
* Errol Flynn, Hollywood actor
* Percy Abbot CMG, a soldier, politician and solicitor
* Stuart Barnes, poet (1981–1995)
* John Bisdee VC, first Australian winner of the Victoria Cross (1882–1885)
* Frank Bowden CBE, FRS, scientist
* Tim Bowden, broadcaster, journalist and author (1946–54)
* Sir Stanley Burbury KCMG KCVO KBE, Governor of Tasmania (1973–1982)
* Bob Clifford, founder of Incat, shipbuilder and entrepreneur (1961)
* Sir John Davies KCMG, politician, newspaper proprietor and first-class cricketer
* Lyndhurst Giblin DSO, MC, economist
* Stephen Gumley, engineer and first CEO, Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (1966–74)
* Richard Hewson, master mariner and navigator, winner of 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race (1992–97)
* Mitchell Hibberd, AFL Footballer
* Michael Hodgman, Liberal MHR (1947–56)
* Roger Hodgman, theatre and television director
* Will Hodgman, Liberal Premier (1980–86)
* Kevin Hofbauer, actor (2006)
* Paul Hudson, AFL footballer and coach (1988)
* Leonard Huxley KBE, physicist and former President of the Australian Institute of Physics
* Thomas Murdoch CMG, politician
* Brodie Neill, designer (1983–96)
* Harold Nicholas, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, judge and politician
* Hamish Peacock, javelin olympian (2008)
* Sir James Ramsay KCMG, KCVO, CBE, DSC, Governor of Queensland (1977–1985)
* Arthur Smithies, Harvard economist
* John Stopp, President of the Legislative Council of Tasmania (1992–1995)
* Damon Thomas, Alderman and former Lord Mayor of Hobart, Tasmanian Crown Solicitor, State Ombudsman, CEO of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Korean Consul (1967)
* James William Tibbs CMG, Headmaster of Auckland Grammar School, 1893–1922 (1867–72)
* Alan Walker, architect
* Owen Walsh, Administrator of Norfolk Island (2008–2012)
* Denis Warner OBE, CMG, war correspondent, author and journalist (1928–35)
* Guy Wylly VC DSO, joint first Australian winner of the Victoria Cross (1889–1893)

## Rhodes Scholars & Victoria Cross Recipients

As of 2024, The Hutchins School has had 26 Rhodes Scholars, the latest being the 2024 Tasmania scholar, Billy Blackett. Alumni have been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Australian states other than Tasmania, such as the 2016 New South Wales scholar, Harjeevan Narulla.
Notable Hutchins alumni to be awarded the Rhodes Scholarship include:
* 1923 – Leonard Huxley
* 1979 – Stephen Gumley
Two Hutchins Old Boys have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in Commonwealth countries. They include:
* Major Guy George Egerton Wylly VC DSO (1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen; Boer War; 1900)
* Trooper John Hutton Bisdee VC OBE (1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen, Boer War; 1900)