{"id":13880,"date":"2022-05-07T09:35:31","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T23:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.askroz.com.au\/blog\/?p=13880"},"modified":"2025-05-30T18:43:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T08:43:06","slug":"osborne-ladies-college-in-blackheath-was-run-like-a-british-naval-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askroz.com.au\/blog\/osborne-ladies-college-in-blackheath-was-run-like-a-british-naval-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"Osborne Ladies College in Blackheath was run like a British Naval Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Osborne Ladies College in Blackheath, ran from 1923 until 1958 and was run like a British Naval Academy. Headmistress, Violet Gibbons, drew upon her own patriotic passion for Britain and the British Navy. Osborne\u2019s best years were the 1920s and 1930s.<\/span><\/div>\n
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In 1923 Gibbins moved her school to its final location on 40 acres near Blackheath overlooking the Kanimbla and Megalong Valleys. The building was the former site of an unused hotel built in 1888. Here: https:\/\/w3w.co\/implications.turbulence.replaces<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In the words of a former student, this became her \u201cmagnificent obsession\u201d. Not only did her school take its name from the Royal Naval Training College on the Isle of Wight, but naval jargon, procedure and tradition permeated all aspects of school life.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The school\u2019s dormitories, classrooms, dining and assembly rooms and even the bathroom became \u2018ships\u2019 and sailed the educational seas under such famous names as Sirius, Sydney, Revenge, Rodney, Pelican, Neptune and Nelson. The system of authority within the school paralleled a naval structure of command, the younger students beginning as midshipmen, or \u2018middies\u2019, attaining the rank of lieutenant or captain in their senior years. Teachers were commanders and the headmistress the Admiral who addressed her crew from the quarterdeck or bridge.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In addition to the quarterdeck, the rooms of the school were known by the names of Royal Navy ships such as-<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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