Cooerwull was founded in 1882[1] by the Scottishpastoralist and industrialist, Andrew Brown, who was also the Lithgow Valley's first European settler. The school, which was originally intended to be a training academy for prospective Presbyterian ministers,[2] was the first Presbyterian school established in New South Wales.[3]
The Academy ceased operating when most of its staff and some students enlisted to fight in the First World War.[2] It then became a private residence, and in 1953 the site was converted into the Catholic, La Salle Academy, which is still in operation today.[1]