Scots All Saints College has a very long history, and many past students have helped write this history.
By the 1870’s, Bathurst was busy as a thriving gold and pastoral centre. It had also become crowded with all kinds of schools- each fighting for its share of the public purse, parents’ fees and children’s (usually irregular) attendance. The opening of St. Stanislaus, founded in the 1860’s, did not go unnoticed in Anglican circles, especially by Rev. Thomas Smith, the canon to All Saints’ Cathedral. He was concerned about the low level of education available, with the desire that the Church of England should not be outdone by the Roman Catholics, so in 1873, he set up a committee to establish a school like St Stanislaus. In 1873, his committee obtained a site from Bishop Marsden, Bishop of Bathurst. Unfortunately, despite generous donations from committee members, there was not enough money to build, so Canon Smith sold his farm and orchard between Strathfield and Burwood for eighteen hundred pounds and lent it to the building fund. By December, the building was underway, and the opening was advertised for January 1874. As the buildings were not finished, temporary premises were used until 1875, with the name change, All Saints’ College moved to its new ‘home on the hill.’ There are still some remnants of the ‘Gothic edifice’ amongst the Bathurst High School buildings which occupy the site today.
Among the first boys to present themselves at the gates were the two Wade boys and T B U Sloman, son of one of the school’s founders. Sir Charles Gregory Wade became Premier of New South Wales in 1907-10. Brother Leslie Augustus Wade became Chief Commander for Water Conservation and Irrigation. The Burrinjuck Irrigation Scheme was largely due to his efforts, and the dam was built under his supervision. He also played Rugby Union for NSW against Queensland and Great Britain.
Many of the first boys enrolled were sixteen or seventeen, boarding for the first time, and as sons of pastoralists, looking to follow their fathers’ careers, so it was difficult to teach the classics (although good at football). They came from places like Dubbo, Mudgee, or Forbes and travelled by Cobb & Co. coaches up to 100 miles without a break at the beginning and end of the holidays. At that time, the terminus of the Great Western Railway from Sydney was at Raglan, four miles from the city. The train journey took eight hours, and school fees were sixteen guineas for boarders, three guineas for day boys.
Watson Augustus Steel, a student during headmaster Edwin Bean’s time, was a notable and scholarly historian, wrote for The Bathurstian, and was the author of the first History of All Saints’ College Bathurst 1934, written in collaboration with Charles W. Sloman (ASC 1882-84). This book has recorded the names of many of the notable Old Boys from All Saints’ in the early days before the school moved from the hill in 1923.
Thomas Robert McKibbin (ASC 1887-1889) was considered the greatest cricketer and best bowler All Saints’ has produced. After leaving school, he played with New South Wales against English Teams and several state teams, for NSW and Queensland against England and for Australia against England, as well as for the Australian X1 that toured England. He was also a keen supporter of Rugby Union in Bathurst. He later became a grazier at the historic property, Macquarie, on the O’Connell Plains, Bathurst.
Another athlete of this time was John Norman Smith (ASC 1893-7), who was said to be the best athlete the school had produced. At the Greater Public Schools Sports 1896 and the GPS sports, he held the record for throwing a cricket ball (115yds. 2ft. 11in.) and broad jump (21ft.) His sports achievements continued in 1897, Sydney at the Australian Championships sports meeting, and in the same year, he played football for Western Union against New Zealand and for New South Wales against Queensland in 1900.
William James Kell (ASC 1896-1900) was to become a founder of the building firm Kell and Rigby. He was a staunch, loyal and generous Old Boy who contributed greatly to the school in many ways. He supervised many of the constructions that took place at the school and provided finances and gifts to the school over many years. He supervised the construction of the War Memorial Playing Field (now Watson Oval) and the Recreation Hall (now Kemmis).
Maxwell Gordon Edgell (ASC 1909-1915), upon leaving school, enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery, in which he served until the end of the Great War, rising to the rank of Captain. After the war, he spent two years in America, learning the art of asparagus growing and canning. Returning to New South Wales in 1925, he joined in partnership with his father and brother Hamblin and erected the first cannery at Bathurst in 1926 (now Simplot). His interest in the school is manifested in the many generous gifts from himself and the company, and he represented the Old Boys Union on the College Council for many years. His ancestral home, Bradwardine (later Britten), was the first factory site of Edgells Canning Co. and has this year celebrated its centenary.
There have been many more Old Boys and Old Girls who have been recorded as notable for many different achievements, and these are listed in the early history books; copies can be found in the school museum and archives. The list will continue to grow, as even though All Saints’ College is no longer, its history and its alumni live on, some achieving great things already, and some have yet to do so.
Mrs Memory Sanders
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