In 1873, following the closure of W. H. Savigny's college, Canon Thomas Smith of All Saints' Cathedral, Bathurst, with the support of Bishop Samuel Marsden began the process of starting the School. The following year, on 27 January, the Bathurst Church of England College opened its doors to seven students under the headmastership of Henry Kemmis. Renamed All Saints' College, the school officially came into being in mid-1875 when it moved to its permanent site on the corner of Piper and Hope Streets after a successful fund raising campaign and the Bishop's donation of land.