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Thanks again to Cam Smith for identifying uniform buttons for me.

Urrbrae Agricultural High School

Located in Adelaide, South Australia, this high school has a forty hectare farm and a dedicated wetland area to allow for studies in agriculture, animal husbandry, crop production along more standard secondary school subjects.

It was established on land donated by Peter Waite in 1913, and bequested in 1922 by his widow, with government funding approved in 1926. However, building had not yet begun in 1929 when it was added to a list of schools to be built urgently (so claimed!) to provide work for the unemployed within the building trade (presumably due to the Wall Street Crash) with the opening of the unfinished school in 1932. The initial intention was to provide boarding for country students, this never eventuated.

The Brisbane Courier, 22nd November 1922 page 12.

It appears it was taken for granted that this was a boys school in the early days; boys were receiving ” a sound general secondary education and a sound grounding in the elemental theory and practice of agriculture.” (As reported in 1953). After all, girls just had to marry farmers, not actually be farmers, right? It was not until 1972 that any girls were admitted, with the school becoming co-educational in 1974.

The Mail (Adelaide), 12th December 1953 page 8.

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