Queen's College started as Prospect House Academy when Mr C.E Ham first opened the doors to his school on 21 April 1858 at 6 Shepstone Street in Queenstown.

The school was situated in an outbuilding on the property and consisted of a single room with a mud floor and holes in the wall for ventilation.

[2] From inception the school offered boarding facilities, in the home of Mr Ham, conveniently situated directly across the road from the schoolhouse.

Boys returning from their holiday in July 1864 discovered that their school house had been let to another tenant and their schoolmaster had become a haberdasher.

Grey College was also a significant rival, but the yearly derby between these two rugby giants lost momentum, with 1996 marking the last of the annual clashes.

The main sports fields include the Queen's College Victoria Recreation Grounds, used for rugby and athletics; the Chris Harker Astro, where first team hockey matches are played;[7] and the Parry-Davies Field, home to the first cricket team matches as well as rugby games.