The seed was sown by the NSW Government when it provided the ticket for Jan Webster’s voyage from England to Australia in 1885 to take up an appointment with the Hurlstone Training College for Women at Ashfield - a. contract for three years on a salary of £200 p.a.  After completing her agreement with the Government in 1888 she married Walter Monckton - an architect associated with the Blacket family.  An inheritance from an uncle assisted in the young family settling in Agnes Street Strathfield in 1895 with their two sons.

Because educational facilities, especially for boys, were very limited, Jeannie, as Jane had become known, decided to teach the boys herself.

Friends and neighbours clamoured to have their children join the two boys under Jeannie’s instruction, so a school was established which was called ‘Meriden’ - acknowledging the great benefit they had derived from Walter’s English inheritance.  It is presumed that some nineteen or twenty children were in attendance with two staff to assist.

Boarding facilities were available and fees for tuition were from 1 ½ guineas ($3.15) to 2 guineas per quarter for the regular curriculum which included English, French, Latin, Mathematics, Australian History, Music, Needlework and Dancing.

With the sale of the Agnes Street property in 1907 and the move to Woodward Avenue, the school continued to operate into 1908 when it was sold and the Monckton family moved from Strathfield to Manly. Walter died in 1924 and Jeannie in 1939.

A Miss Bertha Turner, who had originally migrated from England to housekeep for her brother, is supposed to have been a member of staff at Meriden in 1908 because her brother had married and she was free to follow her own path.  She bought the goodwill and property of the established school and continued Meriden in Woodward Avenue until a larger property was required in 1909, moving to a temporary establishment in the Boulevards near Santa Sabina.  However, when a larger property in the original Redmire Estate was available to rent in Redmyre Road - the present site - Meriden School was finally settled, the original name of the home ‘Wariora’ &’ being discarded.

Expanding in 1914 with the purchase of ‘The Briars’ formerly ‘Riccarton’ adjacent to Meriden and the purchase of the original Redmyre Rd. property, Meriden now owned lots 21, 22, 23, 24 and ‘part of 25.

Success of the school was assured as it the kindergarten being co-educational. The aim of the school was to educate the girls both morally and intellectually, to enter the range of spheres then available to women. The school was associated with the Church of England Parish of St. Anne’s.

As the Department of Education’s requirements changed in 1916 Turner approached SCEGGS in 1918 with the concept of amalgamation.  However, financial commitments prevented them from any further negotiations.  SCEGGS Council suggested that a syndicate of local church people might be interested.

Uniform was introduced in 1921 and the School Crest adopted that same year; the Meriden flag was presented by the Old Girls’ Union in 1922.  Their community support included the provision of a cot at the Ashfield Infants Home.

As Miss Turner’s health deteriorated and there was a suspicion the school might close, a group of local citizens met and discussed the future of this popular educational centre.  It was agreed that a Council would manage the School and debentures were sold to obtain the necessary finance.

The original home ‘Wariora’ purchased by Miss Turner was not included in the transfer but remained her property, then transferred to her brother on her death who sold it to the gardener and his wife who in turn ran it as a boarding house.  Eventually it was purchased by Meriden.

Miss Grace Overy was the new headmistress appointed by the Council.  In 1927 sports practice was carried out at ‘the cow pastures’ — the grounds of a ruined mansion ‘Milroy’ in Broughton Road.  The end of this decade saw a flourishing school.  Expansion of school facilities in the 1930s set the seal on this progressive and cultural centre of learning.

Reference

Cooke, A., ‘Visions of Parnassus’, 1997