Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College
The foundation stone was laid on 5 December 1856 by the administrator of the Colony of Victoria, Colonel Edward Macarthur.[1] It is believed that the architect involved was the local German-born architect, Frank Kawerau, of Ryrie Street, Geelong, who also designed many government buildings across Victoria, including Willsmere (formerly Kew Lunatic Asylum (1864)), which has very similar architecture.When the extensions were opened in April 1880, it was officially named Flinders State School no.Historian Diane Langmore has written that, at that time, the school was "dilapidated", and "a dumping ground" for girls who would work in the mills as soon as they were fourteen.In 1950, Matthew Flinders students were the first in the state to sit the "Girls' Leaving Certificate".