The Illawarra Grammar School

In 1958, the Master-of-Orders at Shore School, the Reverend Richard Frederick Bosanquet was appointed as the first Headmaster of The Illawarra Grammar School. On Tuesday 3 February 1959, with 28 boys enrolled, the School’s first classes were held at St Mark’s Church in West Wollongong. On 10 October 1959, the foundation stone for the first building at Geard’s Hill (now Senior School Reception) was laid by the new Archbishop of Sydney, Hugh Gough.
Offering glorious westward views of Mt Keira, Mt Kembla, Mt Nebo and other local landmarks, this site provided some surmountable challenges. A blanket of blackberries and lantana almost made it inaccessible. The School’s Parents and Friends volunteered to clear an entrance and level the site to commence construction. In 1976, the Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School (SCEGGS), Gleniffer Brae, officially combined with The Illawarra Grammar School, making it a school for boys and girls.
SCEGGS was founded in 1955, as a branch of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, in the manor of the Hoskins family of Gleniffer Brae (now the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music).