Innisfail State High School (ISHS) was a high school situated in Innisfail (Queensland, Australia).[3][7] The school was located in "Division 4" of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council local government area.[9]
Motto
The school's motto was the Latin phrase Honor Et Labore,[1] which means "Honour and Labour" in English.[2][1]
Nomenclature
The school's name was derived from its location in the suburb of Innisfail. That suburb, and the adjacent suburbs of East Innisfail and Innisfail Estate, derived their names from their location, and proximity to the boundaries of the old town of Innisfail. The town was initially named Geraldton after the first settler, but in 1910, the government renamed it to Innisfail, due to confusion with Geraldton in Western Australia. That town derived its name from the name of the sugarcane plantation owned by Thomas Henry Fitzgerald, a sugarcane farmer who settled on local river frontage land and established the first European settlement in the region in 1880, which became a sugar-producing region.[10] Innisfail is the poetic name for Ireland, meaning “Isle of Destiny”, based on the old Irish word for "Island of Fál" (Irish: Inis Fáil), a reference to the standing stone (Irish: Lia Fáil) at the Inauguration Mound (Irish: an Forrad) known as the "Stone of Destiny".[11]
The school suffered severe damage when the town was devastated by Cyclone Larry in 2006, necessitating the school to function using several demountable classrooms while it underwent substantial repair and rebuilding.[12]:1[13][14] Community consultation commenced in August 2007,[12]:1 and there was overwhelming community support for the relocation to the local TAFE (Technical and Further Education) site for the start of the 2010 year.[12]:1 For a more effective and efficient delivery of education services,[12]:1 in 2010,[15] on 31 December 2009, the school closed [4] and the Innisfail State College was formed by amalgamating the school with two other local educational institutions:[4][13][12]:1
Innisfail's state special school, then called the Inclusive Education Centre, but now called the Diverse Learning Centre[4]
In 2009, the final year of the school's operation, the school had a teaching staff of 56 (Full-time equivalent: 56)[6]:8 and a non-teaching staff of 35 (Full-time equivalent of 35).[6]:8
Principals
Julie Pozzoli was Innisfail State High School's first and only female principal, arriving eight weeks before it was damaged by Cyclone Larry in 2006.[17][18]:3 Pozzoli remained the principal until the school's closure in 2009,[1][6]:1 becoming the founding principal of the newly-amalgamated Innisfail State College from 2010[19][16][12]:2 to 2012.[20]
1234567"Principal's message". Innisfail State High School (www.innisfailsc.eq.edu.au). Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
↑"Principal's message". Innisfail State College (www.innisfailsc.eq.edu.au). Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
123Crompton, Jo; Morton, Rick (28 February 2010). "Innisfail State College celebrates official opening". The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory (Press release). Queensland Government (www.statements.qld.gov.au). Retrieved 11 November 2025.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑"Principal's message". Innisfail State College (www.innisfailsc.eq.edu.au). Archived from the original on 1 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
↑"Principal's message". Innisfail State College (www.innisfailsc.eq.edu.au). Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
↑"Brent Cockbain". British & Irish Lions Rugby Club (www.lionsrugby.com). Retrieved 6 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
