Early history The Reverend John Manton proposed that a collegiate institute, "decidedly
Wesleyan in character" be founded in Sydney with a liberal enrolment policy of accepting children from ‘all religious denominations.’ On 16 July 1863, the Wesleyan Collegiate Institution opened with 16 pupils, with two theological students entering the following week. Newington College, as the school soon became known, prospered during its time on the
Parramatta River and in 1869 was the first Australian school to play rugby (against the
University of Sydney), and soon after was the first school in Australia to hold an athletics carnival. In 1869, the Newington College Cadet Corps was formally incorporated by the
Governor of New South Wales,
Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore. It is one of the oldest continuous corps in the
Australian Army Cadets. Expanding student numbers meant that more extensive premises closer to the city were required. A bequest by
John Jones of land at Stanmore saw the College move to the newly fashionable inner-city suburbs. A grand stone edifice was designed by
Thomas Rowe and was described by Morton Herman, an architectural historian, as 'an almost perfect example of scholastic
Gothic Revival architecture'. The Thomas Rowe-designed Founder's Building, including its interior and surrounding grounds, are listed on the
heritage register of the former
Marrickville Council.
Thomas Wran completed substantial architectural sculpture commissions on the capitals of the stone colonnade of the building. Earth-moving work began on the site in 1876 and by May 1878 the building had reached first floor height. A public ceremony was held and six commemorative stones were laid. Among the six given the honour of laying the stones were
Sir George Wigram Allen , the philanthropist who was
Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He had lent
A£12,000 for the new buildings at Stanmore and later endowed the Wigram Allen Scholarship for boys proceeding to matriculation. The formal opening of the new school building was by Sir George on 18 January 1881. By resolution of the College Council, the name Newington College was perpetuated on the new site. Seventy school and theological students migrated from Silverwater to Stanmore. Other local government heritage listings across the Newington campuses include the former Stanmore Methodist Church, also designed by Rowe in 1874 and now part of the Duckmanton Drama Centre and the
Victorian Italianate-style
parsonage that is now the Critical Thinking Centre; and at , the late 20th Century Robert Glasson Boatshed that replaced the 1920s original. A gymnasium was built in 1890, and a swimming pool was opened in 1894 however both have been replaced by a multi-court gymnasium and indoor swimming pool.
20th century Newington ceased its connection to theological training in 1914, when the
Wesleyan Theological Institution moved to the newly founded
Leigh College at
Strathfield South. In 1921, a stone
war memorial, designed by Old Newingtonian
William Hardy Wilson (ON 1898), was opened in memory of those old boys who had paid the supreme sacrifice in
World War I. A separate preparatory school was opened in 1921, after a bequest by
Sir Samuel McCaughey. It became known as Wyvern House in 1938, when a new building was opened by Old Newingtonian
Sir Percival Halse Rogers (ON 1901). The Stanmore Road boundary of the school is distinguished by a rusticated stone and wrought iron fence and two sets of entrance gates that were designed by Old Newingtonian
military engineer and architect Colonel
Alfred Warden (ON 1887). In 1936 the Millner gates were opened after a benefaction by
Colonel Thomas Millner (ON 1903) in memory of his father. In 1938 the second set of gates were opened and named in honour of Frank Edwin Dixon who left £200 to the school in 1929. In 1925 a rowing facility was built at Abbotsford, and in 1957 another preparatory school was founded on the North Shore – first at
Killara, and subsequently relocated to
Lindfield. Since
World War II, the College buildings and facilities expanded significantly under the ONU Honorary Architects Panel and the convenorship of
Hedley Norman Carr (ON 1922). During the headmastership of
Tony Rae, the Senior Block (1972), Resources Centre Library (1975), and Chapel (1984) were opened. A new
Physical Education Centre (1993) was opened by Old Newingtonian
Nick Farr-Jones , and a new boatshed at Abbotsford (1995) were two of the most important property additions. In 1998, while Michael Smee was Headmaster, Wyvern House moved to a separate campus in Cambridge Street, Stanmore. The former Wyvern House building was then renovated and renamed the Le Couteur Wing in memory of former Headmaster
Philip Le Couteur. In 2007 Newington acquired the Concordia Club (the former German cultural club) on Stanmore Road for 3.51 million. , Le Couteur was re-renovated and visual arts classes began to occupy the first floor with languages and learning enhancement classes held on level two.
21st century During 2006 the press reported on an industrial relations dispute at Newington in which then headmaster David Scott planned to force staff to re-apply for their jobs in a restructure that would also reduce their holidays. Scott said that 'The action was taken after a comprehensive review of the school and had nothing to do with the federal government's
WorkChoices reforms'.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Scott believed that the Independent Education Union was being mischievous 'at best', or using an 'outright and deliberate lie' in suggesting the restructure was linked to workplace legislation. Following a meeting between the Union and Newington College, Scott agreed to not declare senior staff positions vacant and the school continued to negotiate collective arrangements covering salary and working conditions for staff. David Mulford was appointed Headmaster in 2009 and served in that role until retiring in 2018. The Nesbitt Wing (1961), named in honour of College chairman
Robert H. Nesbitt (1951–64), was refurbished and extended in 2012 to encompass the Technology Centre. Between 2009 and 2012 Newington spent 78 million on capital works; in 2012 33.7 million was outlaid on infrastructure alone. In 2013 the College celebrated its
sesquicentenary with the opening of two new buildings honouring two former Headmasters – The
Lawrence Pyke Science Centre and The
Tony Rae Resources Centre Library. This development was awarded the Master Builders Association of New South Wales's Excellence in Construction Award and was funded by donations and parent fees. The facilities at the Stanmore campus cover over and contain a library, a 250-seat lecture theatre, the new boarders' dining room, a cafeteria, and science labs. In November 2013, the PE Centre was renamed the Taylor Sports Centre in honour of Old Newingtonian
cricket and
rugby union international
Johnny Taylor (ON 1915). The naming was performed by Old Newingtonian Olympic rower and coach
Michael Morgan (ON 1964). On 18 July 2016, in commemoration of the sesquicentenary of Newington College's brother school
Tupou College, the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Tonga
King Tupou VI and his wife
Queen Consort Nanasipau'u visited the College to open the Tupou College Centre. The centre houses specialist teaching spaces and a health centre. The Duckmanton Drama Centre was named in honour of
Sir Talbot Duckmanton (ON 1938) and opened on 31 July 2017. Sir Talbot served on the Newington College Council from 1964 until 1978 and chaired the Council Executive Committee for five years.
Co-education On the 20 November 2023 it was officially announced that the College would be transitioning to co-education, with the College Council outlining a plan to begin introducing girls into Year 5 and Kindergardeten in 2026, Year 7 and 11 in 2028, with the intention of becoming fully co-ed by 2033. In December 2024 a student at Newington College filed a lawsuit in the
Supreme Court of NSW to challenge the College's decision to become coeducational. The
plaintiff, known as "Student A" on an anonymisation order, stood against the Council of Newington College and 25 other defendants. The case rested on the definition of "
youth" in the College's 1873 Trust Deed, with the plaintiff arguing that the term referred exclusively to boys and young men. In May 2025 the court ruled that "youth" applied to both male and female students as a
gender-neutral term, allowing the transition to coeducation to go ahead. ==College Council==