page_title: Wellington College, Wellington
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Wellington College, Wellington / History
caption_attribution_description: Wellington College with cricket game in progress, [ca 1900] Reference Number: 1/2-106902-F Unidentified photographer Original negative Photographic Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library Find out more about this image on our Manuscripts + Pictorial website
context_page_description: Wellington College is a boys secondary school in the Wellington, New Zealand suburb of Mount Victoria.
context_section_description: Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853.  In 1869 the school moved to a new, spired, wooden building  on the hills above the central city in Clifton Terrace from where it could be seen from many places in Wellington. In 1874 the college opened in a much larger building at its present location. The former boarding establishment at the College, Firth House, was named after Joseph Firth, the headmaster from 1892 to 1921.
  Wellington College's Pavilion, Firth House and the Gifford Observatory were opened on 1 December, 1924. The War Memorial Hall was opened on 2 March, 1928, financially supported by £6000 from the Old Boys' Association. The War Memorial Hall and classroom wings were demolished by the Ministry of Works and replaced in the 1960s with a new hall and seven-storey Tower classroom block due to its lack of earthquake reinforcements. The stained glass window from the front of the War Memorial Hall is now located in the front of the existing hall.
  During the 1970s the Maths, Library and Technology blocks were opened, replacing the last of the War Memorial Hall building and classroom wings that opened in 1928. Also, the Old Boys Gymnasium was built on the eastern boundary of the campus replacing the swimming pool.
  In 1980 Firth House was demolished to make way for a new gymnasium which opened in 1982. 1988 saw the opening of the Arts and Music block, and the Brierley Theatre, named after old boy Ron Brierley.
  The first dedicated computer rooms in the College opened in 1994 in a new building located behind the school hall.
  2001 saw the opening of the Science block, on the western boundary of the campus. In 2008 the Languages block opened, also located on the western boundary.
  The campus also has many prefabricated buildings, some functioning as offices and some as classrooms.
  The only "historical" buildings remaining on campus to this day are Firth Hall, the Pavilion and the Gifford Observatory.
  In 2016, the College Hall was demolished to make way for a larger Assembly Hall and Performing Arts Centre, which would be able to hold the entire school with its growing population. In preparation for this, the staffroom was moved to Firth Hall, the Uniform Shop opened a new premise next to the Archives, and the Computer Block was opened on the first floor of Tower Block. Construction on the new hall commenced in September 2016, starting with the removal of the Memorial Window.
caption: Cricket game at Wellington College, c. 1900
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