International Womens Day 2026

Partnering with Single Handed Equity, the Heritage Society celebrates International Womens Day 2026.

In light of the beginning of Centenary celebrations at Melbourne High School this year, International Womens Day this year at MHS is focused around the exceptional young women of Melbourne Continuation School, and later the High School.

While it might not be common knowledge today, Melbourne High School was once co-educational, in the early 20th century.

The girls of Melbourne High School were truly exceptional members of the school community. Not just academically able, but they participated in A-grade sports teams, represented the school at the Adelaide Exchange, and even formed the school’s royal salute for the Governor’s arrival in 1909. This is something that is not too well known in our history, but evermore worthy of celebration all these years later – how exceptional and admirable these women were for breaking the traditional norms of what’s “lady-like”.

Just in the example of sport, In it’s early years, it was considered immodest for girls to participate, igniting significant debate within the Melbourne High School faculty for what part girls should play in the school, and whether they should be permitted to participate in sporting activities at all as it would affect their “refinement”.

Early on, girls would borrow bats and wickets from the boys’ club to play cricket, however these games were soon suspended after the raw slogging power of the girls resulted in too many broken windows.

As the years passed, more and more girls began to take part in sport and break the trope of the “modest, refined lady”, and to remarkable success. Girls sports at Melbourne High School started to become highly organised, and the school began to enable and encourage the girls to partake in competitive sport.

Recounts of the girls’ performance highlight how they “competed vigorously against schools like “Fintona” Girls’ Grammar School, University High School, and teams from Ballarat and Adelaide”, and many more similar stories. An excellent example of how women of history achieve great things when they’re not held back by discriminatory standards and expectations.

Though a majority of MHS girls would’ve graduated as junior teachers, In just 1908, half of the students who received government exhibitions – a full-ride scholarship to the University of Melbourne, were girls. A phenomenal achievement for the time period, demonstrating that even with the burden of the expectation to take up careers such as teaching and be barred from attaining higher realms of education, these women still saw success on the same level as their male peers.

All of this is an exhibit of the capabilities of women, the women who held up half of our story for a quarter of a century, and how much they can achieve, even when held back.

This year’s digital signage features a collection of female students who embodied the school motto, Honour the Work, in their time at Melbourne High School. A testament to exactly what International Womens Day is about – a celebration of what women can and do achieve.

Pictures on the screens at MHS today include ‘A Grade’ sports teams, both group photos andmid-game images of girls representing MCS in adelaide, a royal honor guard made up entirely of girls, and the winner of the most prestegious prize conferred to a student at the time, the ‘Rix Prize’.

In memory of the girls who held up half of Melbourne High School for a quarter of a century, and bravely stood up to the standards imposed on them.