School History
Governor Stirling Senior High School was officially opened on October 28th, 1959 by the Minister
for Education, Mr A.F.Watts G.M.G., M.L.A. On this day the official school name was changed from
Midland Junction High School to The Governor Stirling Senior High School. This day also saw the
formal adoption of the new school crest which bears the motto of the old Midland High School:
“Honour Before Honours”.The shield of the badge is surmounted by a traditional State swan with
wings encompassing the central motif.
In 1964 ,Woodbridge House became an annexe for Governor Stirling Senior High School. Around
thirty students were involved in the High School Certificate courses, and the house provided
a unique, non-institutional learning environment for the small close knit student community which
developed independently of the main school. The students took an interest in the history of the
place and were responsible for the recovery of the wind vane missing from the house, which was
discovered in the mud of the river bed. During this same period Woodbridge House became the
headquarters for the Midland District Youth Committee; an advisory body representing up to
thirteen local youth organisations.
Remnants of the Stirling era remain on what is now Governor Stirling Senior High School site.
Mature olive trees growing on the high bank overlooking the river are believed to have orginated
in the colonial period. The school stands on the site of a small cottage built by Stirling during the
Swan River Colony’s infancy. In 1930, an obelisk was erected, by the W.A. Historical Society, which
stands on the river bank adjacent to the school gymnasium and it reads:- “Captain James Stirling,
R.N., First Governor, Commander-in-Chief,and Vice Admiral of Western Australia from 1829-1839
erected a ‘Cottage Orne’ here prior to July 21st, 1831.”
History Images (16 MB)