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Although the school which later became so well known as 'Oaklands' was conducted for the main part of its existence at Mittagong, it nevertheless had its genesis in Moss Vale, and some very interesting details concerning it and the founder, the late Henry Edmund Southey, have been furnished to me by one of Mr Southey's daughters. The late Mr Southey was the eldest son of Colonel William Southey, of the Madras Staff Corps and was born at Battary, India, Presidency of Madras, in 1850.

He had two brothers, Col Robert Southey and Brig Gen Melville Southey. Mr Southey entered Wellington College, Berkshire, in 1863, the headmaster being Dr Benson, who was later to become Archbishop of Canterbury. Benson decided that young Southey was more suited to an academic career than for the Army, and when he left Wellington College he went to Magdalen College, Oxford, there gaining a scholarship Demy. About this time, Mr Southey's father died suddenly in India, so he left Oxford and came to Australia with letters of introduction and became a master at Mr Belcher's school at Goulburn. Soon afterwards he married Eliza Rinton Phillips, daughter of a retired naval officer.

Early in the 1870s, Mr Southey, who was a keen athlete and an accomplished boxer, rented Throsby Park, Moss Vale, and started the school with 11 boys, the house accommodating about 30, including masters. The fledgling institution grew rapidly, and it was soon necessary to transfer it to Oaklands, Mittagong, which was acquired from Mr Frederick Tooth, founder of the brewery, about 1872-73. The story of its progress there is, in itself, an intriguing one, but must be reserved for another occasion. Mr Southey died on 20 December 1935, and rests in Bowral general cemetery. With the passage of years, that highly regarded school, Tudor House, has gone from strength to strength. It seems it was originally a private school, founded in 1898 by Mr W Inman. The site of the school was at Vaucluse, near Nielsen Park. In 1902 the school was transferred to its present site in the building which was originally a private residence for Mr A Osbourne, then known as 'Hamilton', the architect being Mr Horbury Hunt. Romance is lent the name 'Tudor House', which was first applied to the school on its removal to Moss Vale, by the circumstances surrounding its choice by Mr Inman. Reminded by the Tudor architecture of the building, of a house in Yorkshire wherein one of his ancestors lived in the 17th century, he named the new venture. When Mr Inman left the school, he was succeeded by Rev W Fisher, MA, and on the latter's death in 1916 the school was continued under the headmaster-ship of Mr T Skuse. Later, Mr A Mann carried on, with Mrs Fisher as partner. Another change came in 1925, when a Council representing the Anglican Diocese of Sydney purchased the school, and continued to control it until 1942, when the Council of The King's School took it over.

With the continued progress of the institution, it has been necessary from time to time to augment the buildings, and new dormitories and classrooms were added in 1923 and 1928. A new Senior House was added in 1936 under the headmastership of Mr J Medley, later Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University, and extensions were made to this and the dining hall more recently. The school proposes to conduct Jubilee celebrations in December [1948], when, it is hoped, the foundation stone of a War Memorial Hall, to be built when restrictions permit, will be laid. At present there are 92 boarders." Note: Parry acknowledged Mr W Meyer, the (then) headmaster in 1948, for the historical facts about Tudor House.

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