The Gordon’s history began on 1 July 1885, on a cold dry night in Geelong, when a public meeting discussed how best to create a memorial to Major-General Charles Gordon.

One influential group at the meeting believed the memorial should be a school, although there were also some who argued the memorial should be a statue, ‘not a trumpery thing which might burst up in a few years’.

The argument for a school prevailed, and on 21 June 1887, the foundation stone was laid for the Gordon’s first building.

Wars, depressions, changing technologies and governments have all challenged The Gordon, and sometimes threatened its survival.

There is scarcely a single family, a single organisation, or a single building in Geelong that has not in some way been touched by the Gordon.