Historical information

Sunshine West High School started in 1960 with classes held in the old church and the church hall of St Mark's Anglican Church, Sunshine, Victoria, 3020. The school transferred to Lachlan Road, West Sunshine when the new building was completed. In 1961 the proportion of students from European background was almost 52% and those of British-Australian almost 48%. By 1965 the number of students totalled 699, with 28 of them being the first to do the Form 6 (Year 12) Matriculation exam. By 1969 the number of students had increased to the point that some classes were held in shelter sheds. In 1992 the multi campus Sunshine College was formed through the amalgamation and restructure of six schools: Sunshine West High School, Sunshine Technical School, Ardeer High School, North Sunshine Technical School, Sunshine High School, and Tottenham Technical School. The last two school sites were closed and are now occupied by Victoria University and the Tottenham English Language Centre respectively. Sunshine West High School became the junior West Campus of Sunshine College. The style of school uniform displayed here is not used by the Sunshine College.

The girls had two sets of uniforms, one for the summer and one for the winter. The frock and blazer (as displayed) were for the summer but a grey straw hat, grey socks, and black shoes were also part of the compulsory uniform. The displayed grey v-necked jumper could be worn in both summer and winter. The winter outfit consisted of a blue shirt, a tie (as displayed), a grey box pleated tunic, blazer, grey stockings, black shoes, a blue felt hat and grey gloves. Of particular interest is that the boys did not have to wear the feminine looking style of grey jumper with the pink and blue stripes. They wore a dark blue jumper.

There was a 'uniform inspection' carried out after the Monday morning assembly and the Prefects had the task of policing students to make sure that they wore the full complement of items, both to and from school. The 3 badges indicate that the female student was a member of the School Council, which had replaced the Prefects around 1969 or 1970, and she was also Captain of one of the 4 Sports Houses and of her Form.

Sources of information: (1) http://www.sunshine.vic.edu.au/history.htm (accessed 4/11/2015). (2) Book - 'Harvester City' by Olwen Ford (page 412). (3) Discussions with two former students.

Significance

Sunshine West High School played a significant part in the secondary education of local children, however the school had a relatively short life span in its own right during the latter part of the twentieth century. The items of girls school uniform, the school insignia, and the 3 metal badges serve as a historical reminder of the previous existence of the school, and of the colours and designs of these items.

Physical description

Four items of girls school uniform plus 3 metal badges: (1) Dark blue blazer with school insignia on the left breast pocket. (2) Blue and white striped frock. (3) Light grey v-necked jumper with dark blue, light blue, and pink stripes around the neck and the cuffs. (4) Dark blue tie with light blue and pink diagonal stripes. The 3 badges are School Captain, House Captain, and Form Captain.

Inscriptions & markings

Insignia on blazer - SWHS / COURAGE AND WISDOM