During 1945, both Germany and Japan surrendered, ending World War II. At the same time, the reason for which the Scots College Branch School in Bathurst existed had also ceased, and it was Scots College’s intention to close it at the end of 1945 and move its Junior School back to Bellevue Hill.
There were, however, a group of Bathurst Presbyterians who, having been on the local Advisory Committee that assisted with the running of the Branch School, had decided that Bathurst could do with a Presbyterian boys’ school of its own. The leader of the group was Bathurst Presbyterian Minister Rev. Alan Dougan. The school’s neighbour, Edwin Ray, was a keen supporter, along with Ivor Hector, Douglas Trevor-Jones and Perry Taylor, who all had sons at the Branch School. They argued that the Branch School had been a successful institution, and it was a relatively easy matter to use the Advisory Committee as the Council of the new school.
Representations were made to the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church beginning in, and the campaign to establish Scots College Bathurst succeeded. There were a few hurdles to overcome. A. K. Anderson, the Headmaster of Scots College, Bellevue Hill, otherwise a great supporter of the new school, was concerned that the name might cause confusion with his institution, and it was soon changed to Scots School Bathurst (SSB).
The Headship of the new school was initially offered to Mr A. J. Coombes, B.A. (1st Cl. Hons), who had been Head of the Branch School since 1942. However, he was already past retirement age in 1942 and declined. Eventually, the position of Foundation Headmaster was accepted by Rev. Bruce Galloway. Born in Melbourne, Rev. Galloway had served as Minister to the Parishes of Gulgong, Carcoar and Turramurra. He enlisted in the Army in July of 1940 and served as a Presbyterian Army Chaplain in the Mediterranean and New Guinea.
The Trustees of the Estate of William Arnott leased “Karralee” to the Presbyterian Church for another year, and it was there that Scots School Bathurst opened at the beginning of Term 1, 1946. Enrolment No. 1 was David C. Cox. There were 29 boys enrolled on opening day. During the course of the year, there had been a net increase of one.
The initial problem for Scots School Bathurst in its first year was that it did not own “Karralee”. Because of this, there was no point in making any capital improvements to a site that might not be occupied permanently. Late in 1946, the Trustees of the William Arnott estate advised that they would not be renewing the lease on Karralee after 1946, and if no solution to the issue was not found, the school would be homeless. Bruce Galloway did not reveal this publicly until his 1947 Speech Day Report.
Tim Hector recalls, as a boy accompanying his father and other members of the School Council on inspections of various buildings around Bathurst that might be suitable. Abercrombie House was one site he recalls visiting, but there was at the time a legal obstacle to the sale of Abercrombie House, and the Council looked elsewhere. By the beginning of 1947, the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church had managed to purchase “Karralee” from the descendants of William Arnott.
During 1947, work commenced on renovating the Stable Block. The front was extensively modified to provide the large glass windows that were considered an essential feature of school construction. The upper level was modified with a new floor and converted into two classrooms. It was completed in 1948. A toilet block was built (demolished in 1967 to make way for the present Science Block). The Kennel or Ives House, as it later became known, was also built in 1947.
Staffing was a recurrent issue in the early years of the school. During the War, most young men who would have been working towards a teaching career had been in the armed forces. Schools relied heavily on older men, often past retirement age, to carry on. At the beginning of 1946, a capable young teacher named James Grant was a foundation staff member, but within a few months, he was forced to resign because of ill health. Two positives emerge from this: James Grant recovered and went on to have a notable career teaching at The Scots College and Knox Grammar. The other positive was that he was replaced by John Bulkeley, who was to be in charge of teaching the Primary School boys and Housemaster of the Junior Boarding house, then Bursar for the next 21 years. Rev. Galloway’s annual reports mention John Bulkeley’s willingness to assist with extra duties, his strong moral precepts, and the high academic standards he achieved.
The demands of founding a new school with limited equipment and finances took their toll on Rev. Bruce Galloway. It is known that his health had been impaired by his war service. During 1949 he accepted a call to the Parish of Junee to become the Minister at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. He died in 1976. At the beginning of 1949, enrolments had more than doubled to 53. The building work needed to accommodate a growing school was in place, and Galloway’s successor, John McLucas, remarked that there was a spirit of courtesy and friendliness about the school that he commented on positively in his first Annual Report.
Mr Andrew Maher
The Scots School Archives
