College Archives

The St Stithians Archive contains the historical records of the College dating back to the formation of the Trust in 1941. The historical records reflect in documents, artefacts, images and recordings the multiple pathways that the College, its alumni, its staff and wider community have trodden since the vision of the founders, Albert Charles Collins and William Mountstephens, was first conceived. Further, the archive provides links to the local and Cornish roots of the unique environment entrusted to the College. It is also working closely with the recently revived local heritage association in order for both the College and the local community to draw mutual value from the association.

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The archive is conceived as a “living history” asset. To this end, a living history museum is in planning during 2018. This facility will serve the whole Saints community and be accessible online as well as in the identified venue close to the Chapel. As a first step, the magazines of all the campus schools have been digitised and published online through a digital archiving facility. Further, almost all of the physical photographs in the archive have been digitised and will be made available in batches on the same site during the course of 2018.

Acquisitions and Access

The physical organisation of the archive and detailed access to its contents is in development. An archival indexing system will enable physical and online access through multiple access points. Our varied acquisitions include inter alia:

  • Photographs donated by our 1950s and 1960s alumni that had not been published in the Stythian magazines
  • Junior Prep digital photographs – complete record courtesy Mel Morrison
  • Correspondence between Mark Henning (BC Headmaster 1969-1988) on behalf of the Headmasters’ Council (now ISASA) and the Department of Education relating to the admission of students of colour to the College
  • A video recording with Ken Hovelmeier of his experiences as a BC staff member from 1962 to 2000
  • A vinyl recording of the combined choirs of St Stithians and Kingsmead made in 1973 (found in an attic in the UK!)
  • An album of newspaper articles featuring the Boys’ Prep from 1991 to 1996
  • A signed copy of Denis Beckett’s (Class of 1963) “Magenta”
  • The Chapel windows fundraising register
  • Class of 1967 50th Reunion album
  • Photographs of Tumna (Ireland) where St Etaine is believed to have originated – courtesy Alistair Stewart
  • The original cattle grid of the Driefontein Farm from the former entrance near Hilltop Street close to the Randburg CBD
  • The history of the St Stithians Singers from which the Johannesburg Philharmonic Choir developed
  • Records of the St Stithians College Rowing Club including recently acquired photographs of the opening of the Boathouse in 2001
  • David Gurney’s school files from 1963-1967
1958_Rugby_1st_team

The 1958 first rugby team

Contributions to the archive

In order for the archive to reflect not only the formal history of the school, but also the recollections and stories of the experiences of all associated with the College, you are invited to contribute your stories, documents, artefacts and other memorabilia to the archive. Digital photographs should be sent as jpeg images of at least 400 d.p.i. Documents and photographs that you wish to share, but retain the originals of, can be digitised by the archive. Kindly email the archivist at archives@stithian.com to arrange delivery or collection of any items you wish to donate.

Areas in which we would particularly like to have assistance with records are:

  • Links to online or other published news of our alumni or former staff members
  • Publications by alumni or former and current staff members
  • Programmes of events held at the College over the years (we have some, but not all)
  • Programmes of memorial services held in the Chapel over the years
  • Informal photographs and film/video recordings relating to school days (we can have older formats converted)
  • Memorabilia
  • Stories of school days – written or recorded
  • Information about the buildings or developments on the Campus over the years
  • Links between current families and early alumni or staff members that we may not be aware of

Opening hours

The archive is open on a part-time basis, usually between 09h00 and 14h00 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Should you wish to visit or donate to the archive, it can be opened at other times on request. Please email archives@stithian.com to arrange a visit.

Enquiries

Should you have a query about the history or records of the College, please contact the Archivist, Dr Mary Reynolds, who will gladly assist you.