The Institute of Inspectors of Schools of New South Wales was established on 14 January 1914. It incorporated the traditions of the “inspectorial system” developed by William Wilkins, the first permanent district superintendent and inspector of schools appointed by the National Board of Education on 1 July 1854. Although the inspectorate was abolished on 1 April 1990, the Institute of Senior Educational Administrators continued to provide industrial coverage for chief education officers and to serve as their professional association. This history is a sociological and political examination of an organizational entity and the power it exerted in NSW public education over the last 100 years.