Exploring our Founder, Miss Eliza Fewings.
Miss Eliza Fewings was born in Bristol in 1857 and was trained as a teacher by her brother, James Fewings, the then Headmaster of King Edward VI Grammar School in Southampton.
Early in her career, Miss Fewings acquired a reputation as a successful Headmistress in England and Wales, renowned for advocating for equal educational opportunities for women.
Miss Fewings arrived in Brisbane in 1896, where she was appointed Headmistress of the Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School. During her short time there she had a great impact on the school. Miss Fewings asked parents to look beyond the intellectual role of the school and work with the school to encourage the girls in “self-knowledge, self-reverence, self-control and a teachable loving spirit to enable them to go forward in life continuing their education for the benefit of the community”.
Miss Fewings expressed concern over the academic standard at BGGS and so called for the introduction of external examinations, challenged the allocation of scholarships and questioned the trustees’ judgement. Subsequently Sir Samuel Griffith, Chief Justice of Queensland and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for BGGS, dismissed her. The matter soon became an issue of public interest, with community meetings, public letters and editorials published, demanding that she receive justice; the balance of public opinion was reported to be in her favour.
Not to be deterred, only a month later, in October 1899, Miss Fewings established the Brisbane High School for Girls, now known as Somerville House. With the motto ‘Honour before Honours’ and 31 students, it resided in the basement of the Baptist City Tabernacle in Spring Hill. Teachers that had resigned from BGGS in protest joined her to form the founding staff body. Miss Fewings arranged for the school’s first boarders to live under her care, in her Toowong home. In just three years the School quickly became one of the largest girls’ secondary schools in Queensland with over 150 students.
Miss Fewings instigated a broad curriculum and her desire for transparent external examinations was finally satisfied; Somerville House was the first school in Australia to submit the work of the entire school to examination by a university board. Founding and early students won scholarships to Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and achieved honours at Cambridge. But academics was not her only focus; she believed in a holistic, multi-faceted education for women.
Described by one of her former staff members as “absolutely fearless and would face the world for the sake of her convictions”, the woman who created our school was “cool, courageous, resourceful”. As a social activist, she exuded remarkable strength of character and a determination to fight for justice, setting the tone for a progressive and holistic education for women, built upon fearless ideals.
The values Eliza Fewings demonstrated in our school's founding days live on today, creating the culture that defines Somerville House. Her commitment to academic excellence, holistic education, and social justice continues to inspire and shape the experiences and achievements of our students, ensuring that the spirit of our visionary founder endures.
Join us in celebrating this heritage at the Somerville House Foundation 125th Anniversary Artworks Launch event, being held Monday 22 July. Don't miss this special occasion to hear from artist Dr Rhyl Hinwood on the creation of these masterpieces and the history that has inspired them. Bookings essential.
Click here to learn more and RSVP.
Credit: - Hall, Noeline. A Legacy of Honour: the Centenary History of Somerville House. Boolarong Press, 1999. © Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association. - August 2019, Do You Know the Story of Eliza Fewings? https://www.somervillehouseoga...