Old Girls return to Frensham - 100 Years On

One hundred years ago this year, the inaugural meeting of the Frensham Fellowship of Old Girls was held with members encouraged ‘…to put their time and abilities to good use, to study and keep abreast of world affairs and to keep in touch with the School’. This call to action for Fellowship encouraged members to carry out into the world the ideal of love and service expressed in Frensham’s motto, In Love, Serve One Another.

On the weekend of 6 and 7 April, the Frensham Schools community will celebrate this milestone with a Back to Frensham Weekend including a Cocktail Party, Service & Celebration, tours of Frensham and Morning Tea in the newly renovated Dining Room.

A highlight of the weekend will be the viewing of a new installation honouring Australian pictorial photographer, Harold Cazneaux, who in 1934 was commissioned by the School’s first Headmistress, Miss Winifred West, to photograph Frensham. Cazneaux’s photographs are hung in galleries around the country including the Art Gallery of NSW, with The National Library of Australia home of the principal archive of his prints and negatives. A sandstone and bronze installation - a gift from Frensham to Fellowship’s past, present and future members - will pay tribute to Cazneaux.

From Cazneaux’s photography of the School, a book of 100 photographs titled The Frensham Book was published, and in a nod to the book, Frensham has created a photo collage of its own called Centenary Collection: Frensham 1913-2013, Frensham Fellowship 1919-2019.  This inspiring pictorial display is hung in the School’s Cooper Hall for Back to Frensham Weekend visitors to view and for current students and staff to enjoy.

Former Chair of Governors, Ms Gabrielle Curtin, said during Frensham’s Centenary in 2013: ‘We know very few organisations survive for 100 years. The research shows that the ones which do survive stay steadfast to their values whilst adapting strategically to new challenges and opportunities. Our values must be our moral compass, our guiding light, our rock. While acknowledging our history, our raison d'être is to build on this history whilst looking to the future and developing a contemporary education in the broadest sense of the word.’

The Back to Frensham weekend celebrates and acknowledges the School’s rich history and community – a history that informs the School’s future as an outward-looking and forward-thinking boarding and day school for girls.