Canberra Girls Grammar School

Identity area

Identifier

daa/493

Authorized form of name

Canberra Girls Grammar School

Parallel form(s) of name

Other form(s) of name

  • St Gabriel’s School, Canberra, 1926-1933
  • Canberra Church of England Girls’ Grammar School, 1933-2001
  • CGGS

Type

  • Educational

Contact area

 

Archivist

Type

Address

Street address

Melbourne Avenue, Deakin

Locality

Canberra

Region

Australian Capital Territory

Country name

Postal code

2600

Telephone

02 6202 6400

Fax

Email

Note

Description area

History

Canberra Girls Grammar School (CGGS) is an independent non-selective Anglican school with its origins in the 1920s and a current enrolment of approximately 1 600 students. Spread over two campuses, the school is co-educational from Early Learning to Year 2 and girls only from Years 3 to 12. Boarding facilities are available for girls in Years 7 to 12.

In 1926 St Gabriel’s School was opened with just 10 pupils, as the first federal Parliament House was nearing completion. Housed in the old St John’s Rectory (Glebe House), the Anglican Community of the Sisters of the Church had answered a request from Bishop Radford of the then Diocese of Goulburn, who saw a need for such a school in the small community designated as the new federal capital.

In May 1927, Dr Radford laid the foundation stone of the mock Tudor building which today comprises the Boarding House on Melbourne Avenue - just one day before the opening of Parliament House by the Duke and Duchess of York.

The school came close to shutting down during the great depression due to hardship in the rural community which supplied much of its enrolment. However, it was rescued by the determination of Canon Robertson, and later by a dedicated group of parents and friends, who purchased the school from the Sisters in 1935. St Gabriel’s had been renamed the Canberra Church of England Girls’ Grammar School in 1933. The school was renamed Canberra Girls' Grammar School in 2001. The apostrophe was dropped in 2012, so now the school is ‘Canberra Girls Grammar School’.

The School Archives were established in 1987 to serve the needs of Canberra's oldest independent school.

In 1995, the Archives moved to a purpose-built facility and, with enhanced storage capacity in 2012, the collection continues to grow.

Geographical and cultural context

Mandates/Sources of authority

Administrative structure

Officer-in-charge: Archivist

Records management and collecting policies

The Archives collects and preserves records relating to the School and its associated bodies. Donations of items are always welcome.

Buildings

Holdings

The collection consists of the School’s official records from 1926, photographic and uniform collections and school memorabilia.

Finding aids, guides and publications

Access area

Opening times

The Archivist may be contacted Monday to Friday on 02 6202 6457 or by email. [Being checked for currency]

Access conditions and requirements

In writing to Principal or Archivist.

Accessibility

Services area

Research services

Reproduction services

Public areas

Control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Maintenance notes

Access points

Access Points

  • Education (Thematic area)
  • Religion (Thematic area)
  • Clipboard

Primary contact

Melbourne Avenue, Deakin
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600