Our Founding Story

Where our story began

A world away from Canberra in the England of 1870, our School’s story began when Emily Ayckbowm founded the Church Extension Association and later an Anglican Order of Nuns that continues to the present-day—the Community of the Sisters of the Church. At the time of its founding, the Order was dedicated to caring for impoverished and orphaned children through the establishment of orphanages and a home for sick children. In 1873 their work extended to formal schooling and together the Sisters established St Augustine’s School for Girls and Infants in Kilburn.

From the outset, the Community of the Sisters of the Church was committed to active social justice and worked to make positive social change, particularly focusing on the role of women and girls in the world. At CGGS, our values are inspired by the Sisters of the Church—their lives are beacons of integrity, courage and the schools they founded remain bastions of respect and inclusion.

As the number and reputation of the schools grew, the Community of the Sisters of the Church developed a reputation for rigorous, holistic education. In response to numerous requests from Anglican bishops in the colonies, Mother Emily sent Sisters to Canada, India and Australia. In 1892, seven Sisters, accompanied by a number of Associates and orphans, set sail for Hobart on board the SS Coptic. Incredibly, the seven sisters established schools in Hobart, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth within 15 years of their arrival in Australia. The Order also found two schools in New Zealand during this period.

The second of the Australian schools is especially important to us. It was originally called The Collegiate High School and later renamed as St Gabriel’s School, opening in the Sydney suburb of Waverley in 1893. It is to this School we owe the creation of St Gabriel’s Canberra in 1926.

St Gabriel’s Canberra initially opened in Glebe House, the rectory of St John’s in the suburb of Reid in 1926. The School opened with 10 excited students, four of whom were boarders, and enrolments grew to 22 students by the end of the year.

Before long enrolment demand increased and so, the Sisters set about building a permanent school in Deakin to expand their educational enterprise. A site was located on Melbourne Avenue and, surrounded by sheep paddocks, Bishop Radford laid the foundation stone for the new school on 8 May 1927, one day before Parliament House was specially opened by the Duke and Duchess of York. Canberra’s population at the time was just 5,000 people.

Come 1933, the Sisters’ schools were feeling financial pressure and they were faced with the tough decision to close one or more of their schools. A dedicated group of parents and the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn combined to save our school and St Gabriel’s was re-named Canberra Church of England Girls Grammar School.

Following the end of World War 2, there was a boom in birth rates and migrants to Australia. Canberra in turn also grew and so did CGGS. In 1972 the Junior School moved to a new campus on Grey Street, and both campuses continued to expand, improve and transform.

A century in the making

Deep in our DNA is the story of big dreams and bold determination. Our School’s history is interwoven with the that of the nation’s capital and is, in itself, emblematic of, and a key contributor to, the journey of female empowerment in Australia. Our foundational story is multi-faceted and layered—from the first founders, to the present day—the fabric of our School is made up of many ‘founders’.

Together, we are part of our incredible century-long story and there are many women and men to whom we should be grateful. It is on their shoulders we stand and to whom we owe respect and gratitude.

Today, 100 years on, we proudly and passionately carry forward their enduring legacy of love, honour and service for generations to come.