Historical Background

In about 1852, in the very young colony of Natal, two men, Gould Arthur Lucas, a survivor of the "H.M.S. Birkenhead", and Rev. William Orde Newnham, met each other in Pietermaritzburg. Lucas had bought about 640 ha of the Voortrekker farm called "Ongegund", and named his property "Upper Hilton". Newnham moved his little school from Ladysmith to Lucas’s farm in 1872 and Hilton College came into being.

The Headmaster started with £50 in cash, 50 pupils and great faith. There is a Power of Attorney in the Deeds Office, signed on 1 October 1857 by Johanna Christina Zietsman, formerly the widow of P.S. Grobbelaar, authorising the transfer of part of "Ongegund" to Joseph Henderson, who called the whole farm "Hilton", and of the other part to G.A. Lucas who named his portion "Upper Hilton". The actual transfers were not registered until 26 March 1860. Joseph Henderson was, therefore, the School’s immediate neighbour and a very good friend, from the beginning. His descendants have been closely associated with Hilton ever since and the Henderson Field and Henderson’s Hillside are named after the family. The school still leases much of the Henderson farm from the family today.

Conditions in the early days were very primitive. There was a hunting lodge, consisting of a farmhouse and some stables to accommodate the Headmaster and his wife, one assistant master and about 50 boys.

The beauty of the unspoiled tract of land on which Hilton College stands is a unique feature among schools in South Africa and the impact which these surroundings have is a significant part of the overall ethos with which every Hiltonian is imbued.

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