The school has five campuses: Kew (ELC to Year 12), Donvale (ELC to Year 6), the Carey Sports Complex in Bulleen, the Carey Sport Complex in Kew and an outdoor education camp near Paynesville in eastern Gippsland called Carey Toonallook.
The school is named in honour of the Reverend Dr William Carey, a Baptist missionary and self-taught language scholar who carried out humanitarian work in India for the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) in the late 18th century.[2] Carey's motto was based on William Carey's 1792 sermon from Isaiah 54, in which he called on Baptists to establish a missionary society.[12][2]
History
Foundation staff and scholars on Carey's first day in 1923Inaugural Headmaster, H. G. Steele in 1923
Carey Baptist Grammar School was founded by the Reverend Leonard E. Tranter in 1923 after the Urangeline estate was purchased by the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV) in 1922 for £14,000 in the pursuit of providing a Baptist education for boys.[13][14] The Urangeline mansion estate was originally designed by architect, Joseph Reed for the Scottish-born solicitor, James C. Stewart.[13][15] Work was completed in 1884 with the mansion being originally named Edzell then Mildura and finally Urangeline by its final owner in 1899. On Carey's opening day, 68 boys and four teachers were present for the offical photograph on 13 February 1923.[16][15]
In 1925, the School Council appealed for a £10,000 amount to build a boarding house for students.[14][17] After funds had been attained later that year, construction began and the Laycock House was officially opened in 1926.[17] Between 1926 and 1951, it would be the boarding house. By 1951, the school chose to close the boarding house and convert it into classrooms.[17][18] In 2008, the school decided to replace the Lacycock house in exchange for a new performing arts centre, named in honour of its principal at the time, Phil de Young, who opened it in March 2010.[14][18]
Carey opened Raymond Hall and its prepatory school in May 1925 at a total cost of £5,000.[16][19] The hall was named after George Nelson Raymond, a wealthy boot factory owner and Baptist.[19] The hall provided for the space to conduct assemblies and other large events until the Memorial Great Hall was completed in 1955.[19] By 1942, the Prepatory school housed over 100 students. In the 1990s, the hall and rooms were repurposed for the Middle School.[14]
By 1926, the student population had grown to over 200 boys, demanding the need for an oval on the Urangeline estate.[20] At a cost of £1,250 from the Oval appeal, levelling went underway with 7,000 tons of earth moved by horse.[21] In 1927, the oval was opened for use and named Sandell Oval after the 1926 dux of the school, Arthur K. Sandell.[20]
The Memorial Great Hall (MGH) was opened by Governor of Victoria, Sir Dallas Brooks as a way to memorialise the fallen students who faught in World War Two.[14][22] It was opened in 1954 and seated most assemblies and other meetings. The hall included a stained-glass window of the school badge.[22] However, the building was renovated on two separate occasions. One in the 1990s and more recently in 2020, in which it now seats 1,000 students.[23]
In 1960, 14 acres of land were purchased by the school in the suburb of Bulleen.[14][24] The Carey Bulleen Sports Complex was officially opened by the Deputy Premier of Victoria, Arthur Rylah in October 1962.[24] Since then, the land has been used as the schools playing fields as well as hosting a gymnasium and pool.[25]
In 1971, the William Carey Chapel was opened by the President of the Baptist Union, Merlyn Holly after two years of construction.[26] The design was led by the chaplain of the school at the time, Alan Wright. Numerous pieces of artwork and a scultpure was designed by Clifton Pugh.[16] The chapel was paid for by the 'Forward Carey' Appeal of 1960, totalling $102,000.[26] In 2020, the chapel was declared heritage listed by the local Boroondara Council following an extensive renovation by the school.[27][28]
The school began co-education in 1979 when girls entered Years 11 and 12.[14][2] Coeducation was extended to all years by 1984.[2][better source needed] By 2011, the school had achieved an even gender split between boys and girls.[14][2]
In 2019, the school bought the bowling club property of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) on Barkers Road.[29] The school renamed the property the Carey Kew Sports Complex. The school celebrated its centennial year in 2023 with various celebrations throughout the year.[30][better source needed] Carey purchased the Kalimna mansion from nearby Preshil in 2024 due to its financial difficulties.[31]
Principals
There have been eight principals (formerly headmasters before 1989) since the school was founded in 1923.[14] The current principal is Jonathan Walter, since January 2020.[4]
^"Victoria". Schools. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. 2007. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
^"Carey Baptist Grammar School". Find a School. Association of Independent Schools of Victoria. 2007. Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
^ abcdefghiPenrose, Helen (2023). Torchbearers: A Centenary History of Carey Baptist Grammar School. HistorySmiths. pp. 7–26, 113–120, 140–143, 217–231, 235–238, 411. ISBN9780648957430.
^ ab"Urangeline". Carey Collections. 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
^ abcSmall, Michael (1997). Urangeline: Voices of Carey 1923–1997. Playwright Publishing. pp. 9–12, 16–18, 47–53, 65, 82–87. ISBN9780646328515.
Penrose, Helen (2023). Torchbearers: A Centenary History of Carey Baptist Grammar School. HistorySmiths. ISBN9780648957430.
Reed, Raymond (2018). Carey Was Our Home: The Carey Boarding House 1923–1951. Carey Baptist Grammar School. ISBN9780646992181.
Morgan, David (2010). The Years Unfold: A History of the Old Carey Grammarians Association. L&R Print Services.
Wright, Alan (2006). A Chaplain Remembers: Lifelong reflections on the educational and spiritual values shaping the William Carey Chapel. Westgate Publishing. ISBN9780646470771.
Farrer, Keith (2005). William Carey – Missionary and Botanist. Carey Baptist Grammar School. ISBN9780646452807.
Small, Michael (1997). Urangeline: Voices of Carey 1923–1997. Playwright Publishing. ISBN9780646328515.
Hansen, Dorothy; Ian, Hansen (1990). Yours Sincerely, G. L. Cramer, Headmaster. Carey Baptist Grammar School. ISBN0646012592.
Sayers, Stuart (1973). By Courage and Faith: The First Fifty Years at Carey Baptist Grammar School. The Hawthorn Press. ISBN0725601108.
