Archives – Fort Street’s Headmasters

We continue our series where we look back at some of our principals from the past. In this edition we’ll look at R. Philps’ research of Fort Street’s 14th Headmaster.
John William Turner (1849-1913) impressed Frederick Bridges in 1870 and returned to Sydney as head of a George Street school which was soon and renamed Blackfriars Public School. Here his career blossomed. In 1889 he became head of Fort Street Model School and master of method at the Fort Street Training School. His role was extended in 1893 when the two institutions were amalgamated under the one head. He supervised the introduction of secondary education to the school, was commanding officer of the cadet corps and found time to produce an operetta or cantata each year. A strict disciplinarian, he was affectionately known by his pupils as ‘The Boss’. He was remembered by a former pupil as ‘stockily built’ and ‘square headed’, with ‘a clear, steady, direct gaze’.
In 1902 Turner and Sir George Knibbs were appointed by the See government to investigate overseas developments in primary, secondary, technical and other branches of education. Visiting seventeen countries, they published a three-volume report on their return in 1903; of the 231 recommendations it contained, Turner’s were the more financially practicable. Although their work contributed to subsequent reforms, Peter Board’s more succinct analysis had greater impact.
Appointed assistant under-secretary to Board in the Department of Public Instruction on 8 February 1905, Turner succeeded Knibbs as superintendent of technical education in 1906. Turner fought to obtain appropriate facilities, encouraged staff involvement in decision-making and fostered technical education in country regions.

Iain Wallace
Archivist