This year holds exciting plans for Frankston High School, the secondary college celebrating its 100th year. The opening of a new building, various alumni events, on-site museum tours, student-led activities and the release of a book commemorating the milestone are just some of the events ahead.
Frankston High opened on February 12, 1924, at the original site of the Masonic Hall in Young St, and its first students would be awestruck to witness the advances made 100 years on. On its debut, 64 pupils – a far cry from the 1900-plus students attending the school today – were taught in a single room with no desks, no blackboards and no inkwells. Three forms and two classes shared one room, separated by a material partition.
A referendum to open the school had passed with a majority of 500 votes, despite some residents expressing the view that a secondary school was unnecessary because “young children should be out working”. Times have certainly changed. Frankston High is now a highly regarded educational establishment providing students with the opportunity to advance their enjoyment and performance in the fields of academia, sports and the arts.
In honour of the school’s centenary, past student and former staff member Sue Robinson has written 100 Years, 100 Voices. Due for release shortly, it documents the stories of 100 past students – one for each year the school has been open. You’ve probably heard of some of Frankston High’s most successful alumni: Debbie Flintoff-King, Diane ‘Dee Dee Dunleavy, Mal Walden and Don Charlwood; but have you heard of some of these: Sir John Holland, founder of the John Holland Construction Group that built Canberra’s Parliament House; Dr Ruth Bishop, the scientist who discovered the gastroenteritis-causing virus in children and by doing so saved thousands of lives; Dr Neil Davey, who introduced the successful adoption of decimal currency in Australia in 1966; and Bill Pratt, founder of Frankston’s Pratt’s Supermarkets, later absorbed into the American company Safeway, eventually becoming Woolworths. It’s a history any school would be proud of, right here in our own community.
For event inquiries, contact office@fhs.vic.edu.au; for inquiries and 100 Years, 100 Voices pre-orders, contact srobinson@fhs.vic.edu.au
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