The school is located in North Wollongong, a suburb of the Illawarra area in New South Wales, Australia….about 80km south of Sydney.
This website was created following a reunion in November 2013 for students and staff that attended the school prior to it becoming co-educational in 1985.
Since the reunion this website has been expanded to include historical photos and information about many places of interest in the Wollongong area.
This website was created following a reunion in November 2013 for students and staff that attended the school prior to it becoming co-educational in 1985.
Since the reunion this website has been expanded to include historical photos and information about many places of interest in the Wollongong area.
Wollongong Secondary Junior Technical School
~1917 to 1960
~1917 to 1960
Wollongong Secondary
Technical School
'Junior' dropped sometime after 1954
Technical School
'Junior' dropped sometime after 1954
Keira Boys High School
1960 to 1979
1960 to 1979
Keira High School
1979….
First female students enrolled in 1984
1979….
First female students enrolled in 1984
'Excelsior'….
The school’s motto since 1917, Excelsior, is the comparative form of Excelsus, Latin for high or lofty, Excelsior then means Reaching Higher. Longfellow, the American poet, provided Keira’s first teaching staff with the inspiration to adopt the word Excelsior as the motto. Longfellow wrote a poem on the incessant aspiration for youth to achieve, ending with the line, “A voice replied, ‘For up the height, Excelsior’”.
The school’s motto since 1917, Excelsior, is the comparative form of Excelsus, Latin for high or lofty, Excelsior then means Reaching Higher. Longfellow, the American poet, provided Keira’s first teaching staff with the inspiration to adopt the word Excelsior as the motto. Longfellow wrote a poem on the incessant aspiration for youth to achieve, ending with the line, “A voice replied, ‘For up the height, Excelsior’”.
Where it all began....see the following pages.
Wollongong National School on the south east corner of Crown and Kembla Streets was erected in 1840, opened in 1851 and closed in 1885; After 1866 it was known as the Wollongong Public School; Inscription above window: 'Public School Boys Department'. Photo taken in 1880.
