Canon George Hallett Sweeting was the first Headmaster of the Bishop’s Collegiate School. He was recruited from London by Bishop Hale in 1858 and arrived in the colony on the ship Dolphin in November 1858 with his new wife, five months after the opening of the school.

He was a scholar and had a reputation as a teacher which was fully borne out by his success at The High School and later at Guildford.

In 1865 Canon and Mrs Sweeting moved to Middle Swan. He was a good farmer, as well as a churchman, and educationalist
 

Reverend Tayler arrived from England aboard the ship “Hastings”. Bishop Hale in London wrote
 
“Our impressions concerning the Taylers are decidedly favourable, and I have great hope that the school will be resuscitated. It is a thing which I consider to be of the highest importance to the Colony."

He was a good cricketer, all-round keen sportsman and under his leadership, the school achieved impressive academic results. 

Reverend Francis Hare arrived from England in early February 1869. He had been made a Deacon just before leaving England, and a year later Bishop Hale ordained him priest. His father and mother were already Perth citizens. When he moved into School House, one of his sister’s moved in and acted as matron until she married, then the another followed her, married and then the third sister moved in.

After a year’s trial Bishop Hale wrote of him “Our School here is now making a very satisfactory start under Mr Hare. He is a very nice fellow, a most pleasant person to have to do with, and I hope we may now be permanently settled".

Edward Haynes was the second master under Reverend Hare and an important character in the history of the School. He is one of the links which provide the continuity of Bishop Hale’s School from 1872 to The High School in 1876.

Unfortunately, as ‘Paddy’ Haynes was not a graduate he was unable to carry on as headmaster after the High School Act of 1876 and the renaming of the school to The High School. There was a delay of two years before the next headmaster was appointed and the school continued to function under Haynes.
 
Colonel Haynes name is remembered today at Hale School through the naming of Haynes House. 
 

A B.A. graduate of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and formerly scholar of Haileybury College, Mr Davies, opened the High School on 1 March 1878. 

A former student of Rugby School, England and a graduate of Queens College Cambridge.

It is noted in records that he possessed an immense moustache! Recalls A. W. Barnett, “At breakfast he would sit back in his chair and draw the ends of it right round to the back of his neck”. 

Mr Beuttler introduced the first school colours — black straw hat with a light blue band. 

Another Headmaster from England, Gee was a graduate of Brazenose College, Oxford. He had been an instructor at the Royal Naval School at New Cross, near Greenwich.

He was known for his hard discipline and severe punishment.

A graduate of Trinity College Cambridge, Faulkner had been on the staff of Christchurch Boy’ High School since 1886 and before that Kings School, Bruton, and King Edwards School, Bromsgrove.

He arrived from New Zealand in September 1890. When Faulkner was appointed, the school was the smallest it had ever been with only 20 students.

His name continues at the school today with one of the two senior boarding houses named after him.

Matthew Wilson began his career at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School in 1896 as a sports monitor. Over the years he took on various roles becoming a senior classics teacher and earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1901. That same year he became the inaugural head of Rusden House at Melbourne Grammar School.

An accomplished academic and a passionate sportsman, he brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the school. He had captained the Essendon Football Club, and, since 1901, had coached the Melbourne Grammar School 1st XI cricket team to an impressive record – 52 wins out of 62 public school matches.  

His arrival at The High School marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter, bringing with him both academic excellence and athletic distinction.

Wilson House is named after Matthew Wilson. 
 

Le Couteur was a distinguished Victorian scholar and educator whose career spanned both national and international academic institutions. He began his academic journey tutoring philosophy at the University of Melbourne, and in 1908, he was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University.

Following his graduation from Oxford, Le Couteur lectured at Bonn, Germany, before returning to Australia in 1913 to become the inaugural lecturer in Philosophy at the newly established University of Western Australia. In 1918 he was appointed Principal of Methodist Ladies’ College in Melbourne.

He was also a passionate cricketer, earning a place in the Sheffield Shield side – an achievement that reflected his dedication and skill in sport.

In 1929, he was appointed Headmaster of Hale School.

Arnold Buntine arrived in Perth from Melbourne in September 1931 to take up the position of headmaster at Hale School. At just 32 years of age, he brought with him a strong academic background and a growing reputation as a capable school leader. Educated at Caulfield Grammar and the University of Melbourne, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Edinburgh in 1922.  

Before joining Hale School, Dr Buntine had taught at both Scotch College and Caulfield Grammar and, in 1927 at the age of 28 he was appointed Headmaster at Camberwell Grammar School.

Dr Buntine was a strict disciplinarian who believed that while school spirit could not be taught, discipline was essential to cultivating it. His leadership style was marked by strength, clarity and a no-nonsense approach that earned him a deep respect within the community.
He was a visionary planner. Recognising the limitation of the Havelock Street campus, which had reached its full capacity by 1935, he persuaded Board Chairman, Bill Brine of the need for a new site – one that could accommodate expanded playing fields, boarding facilities, and classrooms.

Today, the naming of Buntine House pays tribute to a man whose strong will, professional integrity and enduring legacy helped shaped the Hale School we know today.
 

Charles Hadley was appointed as acting headmaster while Dr Buntine took leave to fight in the Second World War.

He was an elderly retired director of education. He operated under a policy of ‘keeping the wheels rolling’ by staff and senior boys, while securing from his old department, old men to replace the young staff members who enlisted.

In 1946, Vernon Murphy was appointed headmaster of Hale School, succeeding Dr Arnold Buntine. A distinguished West Australian, Murphy was dux of Scotch College in 1917 and went on to graduate from the University of Western Australia. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and completed his Master of Arts at Oxford University in 1925.

He had taught at Newington College in Sydney and St Peters in Adelaide, before serving as headmaster of Trinity Grammar School in Sydney. In 1942 he moved to Tasmania to lead The Hutchins School in Hobart, from where he was appointed to Hale School.

He is still remembered at the Wembley Downs Campus, where the Vernon Murphy Oval stands as a tribute to his service and dedication to education. 
 

John Prince brought to Hale School a breadth of experience and a reputation for transformative leadership. Educated at Winchester College, one of England’s most prestigious public schools, he initially trained as an aeronautical engineer with the General Aircraft Corporation. During the Second World War, he served with distinction in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm as an Observer, operating in theatres from the Arctic to the Pacific.

Following the war, Prince pursued academic studies, earning an Honours degree in Physics from Downing College, Cambridge. In 1950, he moved to Australia and joined the staff of The King’s School, Parramatta. Over the next decade, he served as a senior boarding housemaster, head of physics, and athletics master. Notably, he played a key role in the planning and development of the school’s relocation to its new campus in North Parramatta, contributing to the revival of a once-declining institution.

When Mr. Prince arrived at Hale in 1960, the school needed renewal. As 1963 School Captain Barry Jackson reflected,
"It was run down, out of touch and lacking discipline.”

Mr. Prince’s impact was immediate and profound. With a commanding presence, strong personality, and deep sense of purpose, he revitalised the school. His leadership brought discipline, energy, and a renewed sense of direction.

When John Prince left Hale School in 1965 it was a very different place from the one he had inherited—reinvigorated, reformed, and ready for the future.
 

Dr Ken Tregonning began his tenure as Hale School’s fifteenth Headmaster on Australia Day 1960, arriving by ship from Singapore with his wife Judy and their daughters. A proud Old Haleian, he and his twin brother Alec were educated at Christ Church Grammar School before attending Hale from 1935 to 1941.

Following his school years, Dr Tregonning served as a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. After the war, he pursued academic excellence, earning First-Class Honours in History and Political Science at the University of Adelaide. He was awarded a Gowrie Scholarship, which enabled him to undertake postgraduate study at Oxford University, where he completed a Bachelor of Letters. A Nuffield Fellowship supported a third year of research, culminating in his first published work, Under Chartered Company Rule: North Borneo 1881–1946.

In 1953, Dr Tregonning accepted a lectureship in history at the University of Malaya in Singapore. His academic achievements continued with the completion of a Ph.D. in 1958, and in 1959 he was appointed Raffles Professor of History—a position he held until 1966.

As headmaster of Hale for twenty-two years, Dr Tregonning combined high academic standards with a strong commitment to outdoor education and sport, particularly through his support of the Wittenoom program. His leadership was marked by humility, quiet strength, and a deep dedication to the school’s growth and success.

In the 1988 Cygnet, the Chairman of the Board of Governors quoted G. E. Stuart, who observed: “Dr. Tregonning, with his quiet and unassuming manner, has earned rather than commanded a great deal of respect from the boys, and holds a position in their regards of which any headmaster would be proud.”

His legacy lives on through Tregonning House at the Wembley Downs campus—a lasting tribute to a man whose vision, integrity, and service helped shape Hale School into the institution it is today.
 

Robert John Inverarity was born and educated in Western Australia. He went to school at North Cottesloe Primary, then Scotch College which was then followed by an Arts degree at UWA in Mathematics and a Diploma of Education. He was an excellent cricketeer playing international cricket in three overseas tours and still playing Sheffield Sheild cricket for South Australia when he was forty-one. He was always a teacher first and a cricketer second. His first teaching appointment was at Guildford Grammar School 1967-68 although he spent most of 1968 with the Australian cricket team on tour in England. Following were several teaching positions including Scotch College from 1970-78, England for 18 months and Pembroke School in Adelaide as Deputy Head for ten years before coming to Hale School.

Under John’s leadership, Hale School maintained and enhanced its outstanding record of achievements in academia, sport, drama and music. He was responsible for developing a major capital works program which included the building of a new music and drama centre, now named the John Inverarity Music and Drama Centre, the Peter Wright Technology Centre and the colonnade around the quad connecting buildings and people.

He was regarded by all boys who attended Hale School as a most committed, fair, experienced and dedicated headmaster.
 

Stuart and his family arrived from Sydney to start school in January 2003. 

The school’s physical transformation during his tenure including the building of the Senior Boarding House, the Forrest Library precinct, eighteen new classrooms with F Block and the new Aquatic Centre in 2014. In response to the schools planned growth, Stuart led a school restructure, both organisational and physical, creating three sub-schools: Junior, Middle and Senior. This was a distinctive move in Hale’s history.  

Stuart Meade brought high quality strategic thinking and excellent planning to his role as Headmaster which enabled the school to navigate its way through many simultaneous challenges in the years.

Growing up in Tocumwal, a small town on the Murray River in southern new South Wales, Dean learned and enjoyed the value of being a member of a community. He studied Engineering at the University of Melbourne before working at ExxonMobil as a Graduate engineer.

Drawn to education, Dean went on to teach at Brentwood School in Essex and Geelong Grammar in Victoria over a 13-year period. He was appointed Headmaster at Hale School in 2017 bringing with him a leadership that is marked by a commitment to academic excellence, student wellbeing, and building a culture of integrity and inclusion.