The history of Sarah Redfern
Sarah Redfern was born Sarah Wills in 1796. She arrived in Australia aboard the ship "Hillsborough" which transported her convict father to the colony. Her father became a prosperous shopkeeper and received a free pardon in 1810.
In 1811, the young Sarah, aged 14 years and 10 months and very tall for her age, married William Redfern, a prominent emancipist doctor in the colony after whom the suburb of Redfern was named.
The Redferns often visited Campbellfields, the house they had built on grants they obtained around Airds. The family settled at Campbellfields permanently in 1825. Here, Sarah was a busy hostess, entertaining, among others, Governor Macquarie and his wife.
When Dr. Redfern took their elder son to Edinburgh to further his education, Sarah stayed at Campbellfields and helped manage the estate. After her husband's death in 1833, the estate known as "Campbellfields" was sold but the name of the woman who spent so much of her time there has remained linked with it.
As a tribute to the memory of this fine pioneering woman who died in 1875, the school has been named ‘Sarah Redfern'.
Sarah Redfern Public School began in 1978 as an all-demountable school located in Bensley Road, Macquarie Fields. Students were bused to school on a daily basis. The school began to operate from the present site at Minto at the beginning of 1979 and was officially opened on 13th August, 1979 by The Hon. Eric Bedford, B.A.M.P., Minister for Education.
Sarah Redfern Public School is part of a community complex with Sarah Redfern Preschool, Passfield Park School (a school for specific purposes) and Sarah Redfern High School. We are unique in that we share the same site, which opens opportunities for our students to access a wider variety of resources and personnel which would normally be unavailable to primary students.
The educational programs offered at Sarah Redfern Public School are closely linked to the needs of the individual child. Our graduates leave with good academic skills, a positive attitude and the ability to work independently and co-operatively. Most importantly, they are destined to become confident, contributing citizens.