Five Addresses, One Vision
Mapping Wenona's 140-Year Journey Across North Sydney
Before Wenona occupied its familiar home on Walker Street, the School spent nearly four decades on the move, shifting between five North Sydney addresses as its ambitious young founder and her successors, searched for a permanent home for a growing community of students.
Recent research by Archivist Dr Elizabeth Hartnell, has traced this journey, revealing just how deep Wenona's roots run in the local area. Every one of the School's five locations sits within a short walk of the others, a testament to the enduring connection between Wenona and the North Sydney neighbourhood it has called home since 1886.
The story begins at 172 Pacific Highway, where 20-year-old Edith Hooke opened Woodstock Cottage in a house built around 1870 by a local timberman, Mr Brown. It is believed Miss Hooke had been teaching Mr Brown's grandchildren, and it was in his modest family home, that she established the school that would eventually become Wenona.
From there, we moved to 198 Miller Street, on the corner of Miller and McLaren Streets, just steps from the current campus. The building, which was leased to Miss Hooke’s mother Mrs Hooke, no longer stands, but the School operated from that address for a full decade, from 1890 to 1900.
The third chapter saw Wenona relocate to West Street, first occupying number 9 in 1901 before expanding into number 7 as well. This was a formative period: Woodstock was formally registered as an entity in New South Wales, and in 1905 the School published its very first newsletter. It was also during this time, in April 1913, that Miss Hooke made a decision that would define the School's identity - she renamed it Wenona.
In 1914, the School moved to St Thomas, beginning in a small stone building on the site where St Thomas’ Preschool stands today. From there, Miss Hooke gradually expanded, enrolling more students and taking over several wooden buildings before eventually occupying the Hall. By 1920, the School had passed to Ms Ralston, who not only felt Wenona had outgrown the site, but could no longer continue without electricity and heating.
Her parents stepped in, purchasing a property called Ernieville, known today as School House, in 1920. After modifications, students moved into the Elliott Street campus at the beginning of 1922. The Undercroft followed in the 1930s, by which time the School had grown to around 200 students.
Wenona has now occupied its current home for more than a century, a milestone few schools can claim … and the pioneering spirit of our founder can still be traced through the streets of North Sydney, just a short walk in any direction.