Talk:Newcastle Boys' High School

First entry
Let me baptise the Talk Page to say this is a very good start. Thanks, Giles. Your name will go down in the annals of the old school, when the muscles are stiff...and so on. The first quibble. I don't think that the "Boys' " in the name had an apostrophe. It is accepted usage, and the recommended procedure, to omit that possessive where proper nouns are being dealt with. I'll change it later if no one disagrees. I have added Ross Gittens to Famous Alumni. Btw, the words of the old school song don't seem to be printed anywhere in the extant internet literature. It would be worth including, if only because it bears the (unique?) distinction of making a real song and dance concerning the arduous "climb up the hill in the morning" when the Waratah site is built on one of the flattest parts of Newcastle. Myles325a (talk) 07:06, 28 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Yep, just checked the old piccie of the school front out again, and there's no apostrophe in "Boys". I notice that the "Old Boys" org. has no apostrophe either, so I'll delete it. I'll try to add the old photo to the article; of course the school front looks almost exactly the same now as it did then, but somehow, the black and white effect has a history-marinaded look. (This just in: deleted all apostrophes in body of article, but can't delete the one in the title. Who knows how to do that?) Myles325a (talk) 09:24, 30 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, the sign at the front of the school (which I photographed about 33 years ago -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/4197742781/ -- had no apostrophe after "Boys". However, if you look in the catalogue of the National Library of Australia, you will find;
 * The Novocastrian : magazine of Newcastle Boys' High School
 * Newcastle, N.S.W. : Newcastle Boys' High School, -1976
 * I also looked in the State Library of NSW, and found items like this -- http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=34615 -- with the apostrophe after "Boys". There is a redirect from the form without an apostrophe, so I don't think there's a real need to change the title of the article. Giles Martin (talk) 21:09, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

House colours
As a Hannel House boy, I mucked around until I was able to get the red box next to the house name. But I must admit I have forgotten what the colours of the other two houses were. Perhaps an old boy who does could put those in. I notice Shortland (green) was put in first, so I am assuming that was Aussie Legend's house. Myles325a (talk) 08:28, 21 December 2010 (UTC)


 * It was indeed, but I had to look at my badge to remember. :) I'm pretty sure one of the houses was yellow, but I can't remember which one. I was lucky enough to score a pile of the school magazines before I left, but I can't find them so I can't check to confirm. Perhaps my mother threw them out. --AussieLegend (talk) 11:00, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Smith House was blue and Hunter was yellow. Source: personal knowledge! Otherthinker (talk) 10:34, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

School oath, song, war cry
I found a copy of the School Oath (Is that what they called it?) in one of those blue Remis Velisque end of year mags, and I will put that in.

As noted in above discussions, NBHS school song was perhaps unique in that it had us all fervently singing about "climbing up the hill in the morning" when Waratah is as flat as a pancake. Of course, that steep hill refers to Perkins Street, where the School had been situated earlier, and that hill, was and still is, (I believe), one of the steepest residential streets in a city. Certainly, I lived there briefly, and there are hand rails to help guide pedestrians up the hill. I now live in Sydney, and I have never seen a hill with a gradient like that, not here or anywhere else. I can't find the words to the song in the extant material, and although I have sung it a thousand times, one of the few lines I can remember is "When the musles are STIFF that once toed the ball, or climbed up the Hill in the morning."

I can also remember the opening verse (I think)

Smith house boys here's a song for you, Hunter and Hannel and Shortland too, Sing it as our fathers sang it lound and true As they climbed up the Hill in the morning"

And I can remember:

Yes when we're gone in the years far ahead, When the last game's played and the last lesson's said, The name of the School will awake form the dead The memories of many a morning.

Ahh, how strange time is. All of us thought the days when the muscles would be too stiff to toe the ball would be thousands of years away, but here they are, now... Myles325a (talk) 08:44, 21 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Checked Audrey Armitage's book today at Fisher Library

School Song
In 1913 the Novocastrian announced a competition for a school song which was won by R. G. Henderson, M.A. for these words set to the tune of "D'ye ken John Peel?" at :

D'ye ken the school on the hill so high,

Bravely facing the winds and the sky,

While the waves sing their song to the beaches high,

As the bell goes for school in the morning.

Chorus:

Yes, when we are gone in the years far ahead,

When the last game's played and the last lesson said,

The name of the school will awaken from the dead

The memories of many a morning.

Serving straight in a hard-fought match

Sprinting for the tape or a puzzling catch.

The 'blues' from the limit man to the scratch

Will still do their best night and morning.

(Chorus)

Remis Velisque's the motto for all

And our hearts once again will still hear its call,

When the muscles are stiff that once toed the ball,

Or climbed up the hill in the morning.

(Chorus)

At the Waratah site, the boys no longer climbed up The Hill and the first verse was re-written in 1943 by Mr HodgeIn 1913 the Novocastrian announced a competition for a school song which was won by R. G. Henderson, M.A. for these words set to the tune of "D'ye ken John Peel?": new first verse written and text of new first verse :

Smith House boys, here’s a song for you,

Hunter and Hannell and Shortland too,

Sing it as our fathers sang it, loud and true,

As they climbed up the hill in the morning.

Otherthinker (talk) 11:11, 28 June 2011 (UTC)


 * The "Mr Hodge" appears to be the H. Hodge in this photo: http://collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au/keemu/pages/nrm/Display.php?irn=29084 and this person: http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=401986


 * On my next visit to the Mitchell, I'll dig out the draft autobiography and see if there is a reference song.


 * Just checked the NSW Electoral Roll for 1943, Division of Newcastle, subdivision of Waratah and there is one Alfred Harold Hodge, teacher, so I'm satisfied for now that he penned the first verse sung in my day.


 * But when did he write it? His service records http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/script/veteran.asp?ServiceID=A&VeteranID=202034 and http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/script/veteran.asp?ServiceID=R&VeteranID=1051144 seem to put him in the Army then the RAAF in 1943, so was this the year? Looks like I will have to check this detail at the Mitchell.

Otherthinker (talk) 06:24, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

And lastly the War Cry. I THINK I have it:

Booma lacka booma lacka bow wow wow

Chooma lacka chooma lacka chow chow chow

Ha! Ha! Ha! Here we are!

Newcastle Boys High School, best by far.

On the last, perhaps that one is best forgotten. Hope that the old boys write in and we make this NBHS page something to be proud of. Myles325a (talk) 08:44, 21 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Overthinker, could we put the full song in the article? Myles325a (talk) 08:54, 27 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Done. (BTW, it's OtherThinker, as in Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden.) Still need to check Alfred Harold Hodge at the Mitchell.Otherthinker (talk) 14:45, 27 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Very nicely formatted too. Sorry about your user name, but your talk page has "overthinker", so I'm a bit confused. Is it like Nietsche's ubermensch Myles325a (talk) 07:16, 28 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Holy Mustapha!! I've just reread your posts, and I see that EVERY time I read otherthinker I saw overthinker. I'm really sorry, this has never happened to me before. I'll amend my other typos right now. Myles325a (talk) 05:14, 29 July 2011 (UTC)
 * No problem.Otherthinker (talk) 10:43, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Traditions and Transitions
According to Armitage, when NGHS was opened at Hamilton, they kept the school colours of red and blue as a hatband but changed the motto to "Courage and Hope" (p 49) and a teacher designed a new badge which incorporated the letters NGHS is an ornate scroll. In 1935, the new motto was dropped and NGHS reverted to the use of Remis Velisque.(p 60)

She also says that they dropped the Newcastle High School Song (a rather masculinist sport-themed song IMHO) for a new "anthem" and dropped the war cry for a new school sport song based on a tune from G&S Iolanthe.

Otherthinker (talk) 11:33, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Headmasters

 * 1930-31 Robert Frederick Harvey
 * 1932-34 Charles Herbert Chrismas
 * 1935-44 Norman Ross Mearns
 * 1945-47 William Pillans
 * 1948-63 (Frank) Harold Beard
 * 1964-74 (Leonard Thomas) "Tom" Richardson
 * 1975-76 (Victor Huish) "Vic" Webber (relieving)

Sources: Armitage at pp 179-180 and http://www.nbhsoba.org.au/?page_id=38 Otherthinker (talk) 11:58, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Armitage's list has initials for most of the names; her text has some given names and sobriquets; I checked the Electoral Rolls for the relevant period to discover full given names for Harvey (1930 Division of Newcastle, subdivision of Hamilton), Mearns (1937 Division of Newcastle, subdivision of Newcastle), Beard (1954 Division of Paterson, subdivision of Maitland East). Beard was known as Harold to some of his colleagues, and Richardson (nicknamed Chrome Dome in my day) was called Tom. Armitage interviewed Vic Webber who was then the Principal of Toronto HS. Christmas I can't seem to find on the electoral roll but have found an entry for a Christmas, C. H. mathematics teacher in the 1909 and 1910 Sands directories.

Otherthinker (talk) 05:41, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Could not find Chas. Christmas as given by Armitage anywhere. Now I discover he was Chrismas and he can be found on the electoral rolls under that name: Charles Herbert CHRISMAS.

Otherthinker (talk) 05:35, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Notable Old Boys
First, forgive me this, but I don't like lists. "Famous alumni" - what's the criteria of fame? and I'd rather the Australian "old boy" in reference to secondary education over "alumnus" which seems more appropriate for former students of tertiary institutions.

Here's the list of people whose entry in the current Australian edition of Who's Who gives Newcastle Boys High in their education:


 * BACK Michael, Head of Brisbane Office, Freehills
 * BARNES Robert Winstanley, Principal, PRO:NED Australia Pty Ltd, since 2003
 * BARRETT Reginald Ian, Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales, since 2001
 * BEAL Robert William, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Flinders University, since 1988
 * BLAKEMORE John Stewart, International Management Consultant; Managing Director, Blakemore Consulting International, Sydney, since 1987; Founder, Blakemore Group, 1982; Director, Leading Edge Initiatives, since 2000
 * BOURKE (Sid) Sidney Frederick, Professor in Education, University of Newcastle, since 1993
 * BROWN (Jack) Cecil John, Store Keeper, since 1952
 * BURRELL George Albert,
 * CALDWELL (Jack) John Archibald Wayne, Educational Consultant, Hong Kong, since 2003; Adjunct Associate Professor, Flinders University, since 2006
 * COOPER William Thomas, Artist
 * COUSINS (Phil) Phillip Gilbert, Retired
 * CROFT Julian Charles Basset, Emeritus Professor of English, University of New England, since 2001
 * CROZIER Howard Clement, Grazier, since 1988
 * DOUGLAS Robert Matheson, Chair, SEE-Change ACT, since 2006; Emeritus Professor and Visiting Fellow, Australian National University, since 2001; Chair, Australia 21, since 2001
 * FELL Christopher Joseph Dalzell, Emeritus Professor, The University of New South Wales; Principal, Fell Consulting Pty Ltd
 * FITZGERALD Donald, Consultant on Computer Based Integrated Learning Systems, Individual Differences in Learning, Educational Research and Evaluation, since 1993
 * FOREMAN (Phil) Philip Jack, Chair, New South Wales Institute of Teachers, since 2007; Professor of Education, The University of Newcastle, since 2000
 * FRY Ronald Gordon,
 * GIBBS Colin Leslie, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University
 * GILL Michael John, Chief Executive, Fairfax Business Media, Fairfax Media Limited (formerly John Fairfax Holdings Limited), since 2007; Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Fairfax Business Media
 * GOSPER (Kevan) Richard Kevan, International Sports Administrator; Company Director
 * HARDING John, Concertmaster, West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), since 2005
 * HOBBS Bruce Edward, Research Fellow, CSIRO, since 2006; Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia, since 2006
 * HOUGH Michael John, Professorial Fellow, Sydney Business School, The University of Wollongong, since 2009; Professorial Fellow, Educational Leadership, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, since 2003; Professorial Fellow, Educational Leadership Institute, University of Lincoln, UK, since 2003
 * LAWSON Alan John, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Research Training), The University of Queensland, since 2008
 * LAYT James Edward, Managing Director, Layt & Associates (Australia) Pty Limited, since 1994
 * McCARTHY Brian Keith,
 * McGORRY Patrick Dennistoun, Professor of Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, since 2006; Executive Director, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, since 2002; Director of Clinical Services, Orygen Youth Health
 * MORGAN Trefor Owen, Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, The University of Melbourne, since 1984; Distinguished Visiting Professor, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, since 2005
 * MORRIS Peter Frederick,
 * MOSS (Ken) Kenneth John, Company Director
 * MULLANE Graham Robert, Conjoint Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle, since 2009; Costs Assessor, New South Wales, since 2009
 * NEAT Gary Francis, Chairman, ADSHAN Group, since 2000; Director, Nathia Pty Ltd, since 2008
 * OAKES Norman,
 * RATCLIFFE John Spurgeon, Consultant
 * WHITE John William, Professor, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, since 1985

Who's Who is a vanity publication and an entry doesn't equate to fame; it refers to its listees as "notable Australians". So what is our criteria of fame?

Otherthinker (talk) 05:01, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Graham CORLING
May have been involved in the coining of the term "sledging" "Corling was the 228th player selected to wear the famous baggy green cap and wore it with distinction on the 1964 Ashes Tour." Source: Sidelines edited by Kevin, Cranson. 2003. "Sidelines." Newcastle Herald, The (includes the Central Coast Herald), July 14. 40. Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost (accessed June 29, 2011). and Fairfax Newstore at http://newsstore.smh.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=NCH030714BPVGA7JD5BE

Otherthinker (talk) 08:27, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Leigh Blackmore
AustLit has an entry for him but his biography field is empty. His website also has no mention of NBHS.Otherthinker (talk) 10:39, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

Built environment
Newcastle Boys High School was born out of the departure of the girls from Newcastle High School to their new site at Hamilton South in 1930. Even before their departure, there had been agitation for a new school building for the boys. For example, in "1928 the Lord Mayor of Newcastle urged the Minister for Education to expedite the construction of a new boys’ high school. This, he said, would enable the district to cope with the ‘adolescent problem’ (Newcastle Morning Herald, 10 December 1928, p. 6)."

A new site at Waratah for the boys had been promised but, at the official opening of Newcastle Girls High School, David Henry Drummond, the Minister for Education in the conservative Bavin government, reneged on his promise and complained of the drain on the State's finances: more than 25% of revenue was being spent on education and future major works would have to wait. The space created on the Hill by the removal of the girls was taken up by an influx of students from the Cooks Hill Intermediate School.

Overcrowding on the Hill
By 1932 the overcrowding on the Hill saw the transfer of 5 staff and 120 boys to an "annexe" of four rooms in the Newcastle Technical College site at Hunter street sandwiched between the noise of the railways at the rear and the tramcars trundling along Hunter street. The 700 boys left on the Hill endured "the same old draughty, leaky, unhealthy, ill-lit building with its narrow Gothic windows and consequent poor ventilation" augmented by eight portable classrooms transferred from sites where new buildings had been built; the lack of open space for play and assembly was so severe that the daily assemblies took place in three locations with certain staff "running from one place to another, making the same announcements three times."

Otherthinker (talk) 12:44, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

The new school at Waratah
After further agitation, the £20,633 contract for the construction at the Waratah site of the new buildings designed by the Government architect was finally let in June 1933 under tender of Baker and Lamb (who had built Girls High at Hamilton South). The site was at the corner of Turton road and Young street, adjacent to the then Waratah Public School and Waratah Park which also furnished the boys with a sports oval. The Sydney Morning Herald described the project in these terms:


 * "The main class-room block is over 300 feet in length, and is two storys high, the class-rooms being ranged on the east side of the main access corridor. From the centre of this main block is a central wing projecting towards the front and containing on the ground floor the main entrance hall headmaster's room visitors' room and two classrooms, and on the first floor, main staff room and a large library. Adequate provision has been made throughout this main block for hat and cloak rooms, stores, staff rooms, and toilet, cleaners' room, and three concrete stair-cases. A room for the deputy headmaster has also been provided.


 * "At the rear of this main block is the assembly hall centrally placed and connected to the main block by a wide arcaded covered way. The assembly hall is 75 feet by 35 feet, portion of this area being taken up by a 10ft wide stage with dressing rooms on either side.


 * "The construction of the buildings is in brick cavity walling on reinforced concrete footings and roofs covered with French pattern roofing tiles. The floors and stairs throughout are of fireproof construction."

Some months after construction had started, Drummond returned as Minister for Education in the Stevens-Bruxner coalition government to lay the foundation stone on the 16th September 1933.

http://collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au/keemu/pages/nrm/nlibrary/Display.php?irn=29033

Otherthinker (talk) 15:17, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

The War Memorial Entrance, 1952
SMH item http://www.warmemorialsnsw.asn.au/details.cfm?MemNo=896

http://collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au/keemu/pages/nrm/nlibrary/Display.php?irn=31543

Otherthinker (talk) 15:17, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

"Notable" Old Boys
Notable has a certain meaning at Wikipedia, as defined in Notability and many of the recent additions don't seem to meet the general notability guideline. While the inclusion of non-notable individuals in lists isn't strictly prevented, the list should be limited to those who meet WP:GNG, or we should include all students to remain neutral. The capitalisation of surames is not in accordance with Wikipedia's Manual of Style and needs to be corrected. " Jonathan Biggins " is correct, " BIGGINS, Jonathan " is not. The section needs to be completely revised, or reverted. --AussieLegend (talk) 13:52, 26 July 2011 (UTC)
 * changed section same to "Old Boys of note"; edited names to conform to style.Otherthinker (talk) 14:56, 26 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Could you please be more specific as to which of the "recent additions don't seem to meet" the guidleine? Each name comes from Who's Who list of notable Australians. Each gives NBHS as secondary school.Otherthinker (talk) 01:40, 27 July 2011 (UTC)
 * You could start with Michael Back as an example. The general notability guideline requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Directories, telephone lists etc are not what we normally include as "significant coverage". In the case of Michael Back, court docments would be excluded as well, since he's likely to regularly appear in court documents as part of his profession. Looking at his article, none of the references are sufficient to confirm notability and the article would be hard pressed to survive an AfD nomination. Position, achievements and a long list of qualifications don't confer notability. A simple test is to use Find sources. If someone is notable, they're likely to have some online presence or acknowledgement. For example:
 * None of those turn up much at all. --AussieLegend (talk) 14:21, 29 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for this.
 * * Back, Michael: I agree that Back is one of the weaker nominations for inclusion; I drafted the article on him as something of an learning exercise. You are right - it is just the bones and its major weakness is that it doesn't say why he is notable except for being head of one of the largest law firms in Brisbane. I agree that none of the references support notability in the Wikipedia sense. It is unfortunate that his name, when entered into most search engines, gets a lot of hits for Mal Michael, back for Brisbane Lions! works a bit better. Court documents? Appear in court? he's a managing partner who specialises in environmental law, I'd be surprised if he's seen the inside of a working Court room for some time; his name is unlikely to appear in Court documents at all which, in any case, Google won't find. The sort of journals he is likely to write for are not usually publicly available; they are accessible via commercial subscriptions. Few newspapers cover the Australian legal world and one of the best coverages is the AFR (and I don't say that because they've quoted me!) and their articles are behind a pay wall (even Factiva has only the AFR Abstracts).
 * * Beal, Robert: Try or  Notable?
 * * Bentley, Charles Findlay: he wasn't in the original list, I added him later, but I take your point. "Significant coverage"? he's at USyd honorary degree and Mitchell Library - hardly significant. He's overshadowed by Eddy and seems doomed to be a footnote or marginalia (see eg Barcan Alan Raphael, 'Whatever happened to adult education?', AQ, 79 29-36 (2007)). The University of Newcastle doesn't seem to honour him.
 * Otherthinker (talk) 05:35, 11 August 2011 (UTC)
 * * Beal, Robert: Try or  Notable?
 * * Bentley, Charles Findlay: he wasn't in the original list, I added him later, but I take your point. "Significant coverage"? he's at USyd honorary degree and Mitchell Library - hardly significant. He's overshadowed by Eddy and seems doomed to be a footnote or marginalia (see eg Barcan Alan Raphael, 'Whatever happened to adult education?', AQ, 79 29-36 (2007)). The University of Newcastle doesn't seem to honour him.
 * Otherthinker (talk) 05:35, 11 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Otherthinker has done some excellent work on this NBHS article, and even if his comments go no further than the talk page, then even just there, some of the details he has unearthed will at least provide us all with historical perspectives that would scarce exist were these stories to remain in small disparate fragments and buried in dusty archives. I appreciate his work, and am happy to see that someone else apart from old boys Giles Martin and me have given a tinker's on this matter. Perhaps some of the "Old Boys of note" could step up the crease (NOT the plate!) and fill in some other details. AussieLegend, you are a Novocastrian, and you are doing your job, but I have yet to hear ONE word of encouragement or friendliness from you. Let's all lend a hand here. Myles325a (talk) 02:35, 27 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Myles325a. I've put stuff here whilst its still work-in-progress and in the spirit of co-operation - was that wrong? I'm also thankful for AussieLegend's correction on style. I put the list of Who's Who entrants here first but attracted no comment, so I proceeded to edit the article. As you can see, I am taking his advice and revising the section.Otherthinker (talk) 04:49, 27 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks, Otherthinker. What format would best suit the "Old boys" section needs further thought, but AussieLegend is right not to simply axe the good work that Otherthinker has done. Considering that this is an encylopedia, and that many WP articles have already been created on other schools, we should try to be as consistent with their nomenclature as far as possible. Where there are discrepancies in style and nomenclature, then we should adopt "best practice". I was happy the "Famous Alumni" heading has been replaced with the more sober and humble "Notable Alumni" I was not sure about "Old Boys of Note" because it had that air of cliquishness about it, but I have grown to accept it.


 * Sydney Boys High's article is far more advanced (and of course the school is still operating) and we could follow some of their leads. They have a section "Notable Alumni" which is linked to a page of its own concerning these: “List of Old Boys of Sydney Boys High School”. It is a misnomer to title the page thus, as it is a list only of NOTABLE old boys, not ALL old boys (and I have pointed this out there). The page is pretty impressive though, as it divides these "old boys" into categories such as Entertainment, Business and so on. Even more impressive is that of the 57 names listed, only ONE does not have his very own page in WP (!) It might be humbling to compare this with the list for NBHS.
 * Now that is an old rivalry, SBHS v NBHS! I would prefer University High School, Melbourne. The SBHS article is a bit blurb-like.
 * Perhaps find another school which has been de-streamed (trying to find a polite word for what happened in 1976) and renamed? Maitland High School (another old rivalry) comes to mind but the article doesn't seem very far advanced. (Hmmm the history section seems wrong or, at best, misleading. Renamed Evatt HS during building works? Named for Evatt Street? Must correct that.) (Poor old Tech High seems to have been swallowed whole by Merewether High School. Marist Brothers, Hamilton doesn't even seem to have a wiki entry at all.
 * Otherthinker (talk) 05:35, 11 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Still, there is more than one way to become notable. Just to continue the discussion that Otherthinker has started, I would suggest that we do NOT need a separate page for our notable old boys, but that it might be an idea to divide the names up into categories similar to the ones used in the Sydney Boys High School article. Some of these people could well merit their own WP page. Newcastle was very reticent is such matters, even for as Australian town,  but it is becoming a major city in its own right, and the days when anyone who was in the public eye would be told to "Pull ya head in mate" are receding. Myles325a (talk) 07:10, 28 July 2011 (UTC)
 * I seem to have been stuck in Hunter House and just got into Shortland. Haven't touched Hannell or Smith yet! Otherthinker (talk) 05:35, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Incorrect changes today 31 December 2012
A new editor made some good faith changes to the article today that are contradicted by the accepted history of the school. Without access to the source used I can't confirm that the edits directly reflect the source, but if they do, the source seems to have some errors. As explained at Newcastle East Public School, Hill High School was created on the site of Newcastle Public School in 1906 and it was from Hill High School that Newcastle Girls and Boys High schools were split. As far as I'm aware, "Newcastle High School" didn't exist until 1977, after the name change from "Newcastle Girls High School". Accordingly, I've reverted the changes. -- Aussie Legend  ( ✉ ) 03:23, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

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