St Mary s to St Catherine s

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2 St Mary s to St Catherine s Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney John Luttrell, fms Marie A Lourey Second Edition revised and updated to 2006 Celebrating 185 years of Catholic schooling in the Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic Education Office, Sydney 38 Renwick Street, PO Box 217 Leichhardt, NSW 2040 Phone: (02) Fax: (02)

3 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This set of historical profiles was first commissioned by Br Kelvin Canavan, Executive Director of Schools, Archdiocese of Sydney, in recognition of 180 years of continuous Catholic schooling in Australia and as a contribution towards the celebration of Jubilee Br John Luttrell fms worked with many people Principals, secretaries, school archivists and archivists of Religious Congregations in order to finalise each historical profile. Assistance was also forthcoming from members of the Catholic Education Office, Sydney, who were familiar with the history of particular schools and districts. The CEO archivist provided assistance and access to relevant material. The Promotions and Publications Unit took responsibility for the publication of the book. The Unit was also most helpful in providing photographs from its collection. The photo library of the Catholic Weekly newspaper was also most helpful. In 2005 Br Kelvin requested that the profiles be updated and that the schools which have opened since 2000 be included. This also provided an opportunity to make changes and corrections to the original publication, and to include historic photographs from CEO and school archives. Once again the Communications Unit has provided valuable assistance in proofreading and layout and design. Marie A Lourey ABBREVIATIONS Br Brother CBFC Catholic Building and Finance Commission CEC NSW Catholic Education Commission of New South Wales CEO, Sydney Catholic Education Office, Sydney cfc Christian Brothers csb Brigidine Sisters csj Sisters of St Joseph of Orange dc Daughters of Charity fdnsc Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart fma Salesian Sisters fms Marist Brothers Fr Father fsc De La Salle Brothers fsp Patrician Brothers ibvm Loreto Sisters - Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mgr Monsignor mssp Missionary Society of St Paul (Paulists) NCEC National Catholic Education Commission NSW New South Wales op Dominican Sisters osb Benedictine Order osc Poor Clares osu Ursuline Sisters pbvm Presentation Sisters rsc Sisters of Charity rscj Religious of the Sacred Heart rsj Sisters of St Joseph rsm Sisters of Mercy SAA Sydney Archdiocesan Archives SACS Board Sydney Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Board sdb Salesians of Don Bosco sgs Sisters of the Good Samaritan sj Society of Jesus (Jesuits) sm Marist Fathers; Marist Sisters Sr Sister Design: Kirsty Curnow and Sally McDowell First published May Revised December 2006 Catholic Education Office, Sydney, 2006 ISBN PN 2145 Printed in Australia ii Licensed under NEALS

4 Contents Foreword iv Introduction v Table 1: Openings, Closures and Restructuring xiii Table 2: Enrolments in Catholic Schools xv Archdiocese of Sydney: Map xvi Schools by Date of Foundation xvii Schools Now Closed xxii School Profiles by Date of Foundation 1 Index of Schools by Suburb 170 Front cover: Transition/Kindergarten Class believed to be Newtown, with Lauren Smith, Year 2, St Catherine of Siena Primary School, Prestons, 2000, in foreground. Back cover: Br John O Brien fms and students at Marist College Kogarah (then a co-educational school) c iii

5 Foreword During the year 2000 the Catholic Church celebrated the Great Jubilee of Christianity. In the Archdiocese of Sydney a highlight of the celebrations was the Jubilee gathering of the 77,000 students at Stadium Australia on St Patrick s Day. That year also marked 180 years of continuous Catholic schooling in Australia, from the year 1820 when Fr John Therry established a Catholic school at Parramatta. Five years on, the Catholic Education Office, Sydney launched a new Strategic Leadership and Management Plan, Towards 2010, on the occasion of the Sydney Catholic Schools 2005 Archdiocesan Performing Arts Festival, Entertaining Angels at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, in October The new publications include the School Review and Improvement Framework for Catholic schools, the Learning Framework Discussion Paper, and the schools self-review instrument, How Effective is Our Catholic School? Towards 2010 is focused on the students in our Catholic schools as we continue to strive to provide highquality education in the Catholic tradition. In marking 185 years of Catholic schools and Catholic school systems that we have today, it is important that we preserve and record the history of their development. The story of Catholic schooling in the Archdiocese of Sydney has earlier been surveyed by the author of this book, Br John Luttrell fms, in his Worth the Struggle: Sydney Catholic Schools St Mary s to St Catherine s complements this general account by sketching the individual history of each of the schools of the Archdiocese. The historical profiles are arranged chronologically, beginning with the earliest school of the present Archdiocese, St Mary s Cathedral College. Obtaining the data was not an easy task, because source material for many schools is quite fragmentary. Nevertheless, Br John Luttrell managed to give an account of every school. In this second edition Marie Lourey has updated the school profiles for the past five years, including those that have closed or amalgamated and the four new schools that have opened. She has also added more historical details to some of the profiles. There is much for the reader in these profiles: glimpses of very early schooling; evidence of the prodigious contribution of the Religious Congregations in Catholic education; a sense of the struggle and crisis facing Catholic schooling in the 1950s and 1960s; and an appreciation of the transformation of individual schools since that time. Of course, most readers will turn first to the story of the schools which they attended. Although individual school profiles make up the heart of this book, I also recommend the Introduction, with its survey of the pattern of Catholic school development in Sydney and its valuable sets of data. Perhaps most revealing and poignant is the list of 125 Catholic schools now closed. St Mary's to St Catherine s was originally commissioned by the Catholic Education Office, Sydney, as one means of marking the Jubilee Year in 2000 and paying tribute to all those who have contributed to Catholic schooling in Australia. This second edition is once again dedicated to the thousands of Religious Sisters, Brothers and priests who did so much to develop these schools over the past 185 years. Br Kelvin Canavan, fms Executive Director of Schools iv

6 Introduction Introduction St Mary s Cathedral School, The present St Mary s Cathedral College is the oldest Catholic school within the Archdiocese of Sydney. This building was constructed in at the direction of Archbishop Polding and adjoins the present College buildings. Today the building is known as the Chapter Hall (Photo courtesy of Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales) Since 1800 there have been hundreds of Catholic schools in the area of the present Archdiocese of Sydney. They have ranged from the small, elementary school run by an Irish lay teacher before 1850 to a modern school of over 1,000 primary and secondary pupils. Scores of these schools have closed, some leaving no records. At the same time more than forty schools founded before 1900 continue today, and there have been new openings in each decade. It should be noted too that the Archdiocese of Sydney has been progressively reduced in area, and that many old schools in other dioceses began their existence within the Archdiocese. The school with the longest continuous existence is Parramatta Marist High, now located at Westmead, which began in 1820, at the initiative of the newly arrived chaplain to the colony, Fr John Therry. Today there are 168 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney, educating over 79,000 children. 1 The oldest is St Mary s Cathedral College, which began in 1836 when Bishop Polding started classes at his house in Woolloomooloo. One of the four newest schools, opened in 2006, is Clancy Catholic College at West Hoxton, a new suburb on the southwest extreme of the Archdiocese. Histories have been written about the general development of Catholic education in Australia, and these have demonstrated the role that schools have played in the general history of Australia and of the Australian Catholic Church. 2 The purpose of this study, however, is to put individual faces to a large group of these schools, those of the Archdiocese of Sydney, and to relate briefly the individual story of each Sydney school how and why it began, who were its significant pioneers, how it gained its present make-up, what has made it special. It is hoped that this will give some recognition to the past, contribute to the sense of identity of each school, and encourage the preservation of school archives and histories. Much historical information has been gathered for the compilation of these school outlines. The data has come from the schools themselves, from Religious Congregations, from the CEO s records, and from parish histories. However, people in all these areas admit that there may be gaps or errors in their records, and it has not always been possible to research further in doubtful areas. For this reason the publication should 1,2 See Endnotes, page xii v

7 continue to be seen as an interim account of the histories of all the schools. It is hoped that it will encourage readers to provide further information and to point out any errors so that, eventually, more definitive histories of the Catholic schools within the Archdiocese can be written. There are many similarities in the histories of the schools in particular periods. To minimise repetition of these general themes it will be helpful here to review briefly and in general terms the development of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney since EARLY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS From the first decades of European settlement, Catholics wanted to have separate schools for their children. So, in the period up to 1870 there were scores of these established, nearly all small elementary schools run by one or two Irish teachers (often husband and wife). When permanent Catholic priests arrived here from 1820, they often took the responsibility for founding these schools and employing the teachers. All Saints Catholic Primary, Liverpool began this way in 1837; likewise St Mary s Primary School, Concord in The New South Wales (NSW) Governors supported the development of schools and supplied a substantial amount of the funding to the various Churches to establish them. Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic and Methodist schools multiplied, and by 1863 there were 122 Catholic schools in NSW. A problem was that the Churches tended to establish their schools in the larger towns, and this led to competition for students. Governments by the 1850s saw that this was not providing for the more sparsely populated areas; and so they developed their own National Schools which catered for children of all religious denominations. A dual system of National and Denominational schools developed, both funded by the government. Similar systems were established in the other colonies of Australia. As the population grew and the cost of funding schools increased, many NSW politicians believed this dual system to be an inefficient use of government funds. From the 1850s governments applied stricter standards to the schools, and numerous church schools lost their government funding. Many Catholic schools struggled on without funding, but a considerable number closed. In 1880 the NSW Premier, Sir Henry Parkes, brought in the Public Instruction Act, by which funding was withdrawn from church schools after the thirty-first day of December one thousand eight hundred and eighy-two and was provided only for State schooling, which was to be free, compulsory and secular. Similar legislation was passed in the other colonies between 1870 and Intense and widespread sectarian animosity accompanied these changes. Catholic leaders insisted that separate schools were essential for the faith of the children, and for the next hundred years charged that Catholics were victims of government injustice and sectarian prejudice. The NSW bishops, led by Archbishop Roger Vaughan, vowed that they would maintain the Catholic schools in a way that would astonish the government. RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS AND THE SCHOOLS The bishops solution was to ask Religious Congregations to provide teachers for the schools, and to appeal to Catholics to continue to enrol their children and to maintain their financial support. They were successful in both appeals. Most Almost all Catholic school leaders were members of Religious Orders until Above, a group of Principals at a conference in 1955: (L to R) Br J S Campbell cfc (Brisbane); Br Faber Turnbull fms (Tighes Hill); Br L B Joseph cfc (Wahroonga); Br Demetrius Redford fms (Church Hill); Br Edmundus Larkin fms (Randwick); Br Nilus Kenny fms (Macedon) vi

8 Self-help before the return of State Aid. Volunteers building a section of Sacred Heart Primary, Cabramatta in 1958 Catholics kept their children in Catholic schools, and Religious Congregations came to Australia in great numbers. This is not to say that Religious had not already been involved in schools in Australia. The oldest existing school in Sydney, St Mary s Cathedral College, began as a Benedictine school in 1836 at Archbishop Polding s Woolloomooloo house. Several other Religious Orders, such as the Sisters of Charity, were involved with schools in Sydney before But the great influx was from In the period the number of Religious teachers in NSW grew from 900 to 6193, supplying all the Principals and about eighty per cent of the teachers in Catholic schools. In Sydney there were now networks of schools run by large Religious Congregations, such as the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St Joseph and the Christian Brothers. And this has been an enduring legacy. While most of the small Catholic schools founded before 1880 have now disappeared, two-thirds of today s schools in the Archdiocese were founded by Religious Congregations in the period 1880 to CRISIS PERIOD From about 1950 to 1975, Catholic schools in Australia experienced enormous pressures which at first threatened to undermine them, but which in the end led to their transformation into the Catholic schools of today. The main pressure was that of numbers. The Catholic school population more than doubled in this period, due to the baby boom and the Federal government immigration program following World War II. Teachers were needed for the increased numbers, but the Religious Congregations, who were generally experiencing a decline in recruitment, could not meet this demand after The second pressure was the need to raise substantial funds to employ lay teachers and build the extra classrooms and schools for the increased numbers, all at a time where there was no direct government funding for Catholic schools. The sorry result in the 1960s was a pattern of large and crowded classes taught by dedicated but sorely underpaid and undertrained teachers. A third major pressure on the vii

9 schools in this period was the requirement to reform and extend the curriculum. In NSW this need became pressing in the 1960s with the release of a report of a committee chaired by the Director General of Education, Dr Harold Wyndham. What became known as the Wyndham Scheme for secondary schooling was accepted by the government of NSW in 1961 and came into operation in It made significant demands on all secondary schools. Schooling was extended by a year to Year 12; a core curriculum was mandated; specialist areas, such as Science and Art rooms, had to be provided; and classes in the first four years had to be streamed for individual subjects, which were to be taught in three levels of difficulty (Advanced, Credit and Ordinary). This was a crisis period for Catholic schooling, and there was serious discussion about cutting back on the commitment to Catholic schools from Kindergarten to Year 12. Catholic authorities in Sydney, however, decided that the commitment had to be maintained in the face of these pressures. In fact, in the period 1950 to 1975 most schools were extended, and thirtyseven new Catholic schools were opened in the Archdiocese. TRANSFORMATION Strong action by Catholic educational authorities was required and this took three main forms, occurring concurrently. One element was a sustained pressure campaign directed to State and Federal governments to secure direct funding for Catholic schools. The first success came in December 1963, when Prime Minister Robert Menzies promised grants for Science rooms in private schools. At the State level the first breakthrough was in 1968, when the NSW Liberal- Country Party government Catholic school funding and development gained government interest after 1960, especially in election years. Above, Prime Minister William McMahon with Sr Cleophas sgs and Sr Bernadine sgs at Rosebank College, Five Dock in 1972 introduced grants of $12 for each primary school student and $18 for each secondary school student attending a non-government school. In 1970 the Federal government also provided grants to each pupil, and in 1973 commissioned a national enquiry into the needs of all schools. The resulting Karmel Report led to substantial Federal funding to Catholic schools. The increased funding enabled Catholic authorities to undertake the second element of their response, which was to address the shortage of qualified teachers in the schools, particularly as the number of Religious teachers in schools was declining. More lay teachers were employed, and by 2005 these Prime Minister Bob Hawke at St Ursula s College, Kingsgrove in 1991 viii

10 Mgr John Slowey, Diocesan Inspector and Director of Schools comprised 99 per cent of the teaching force. The qualifications problem was addressed by the development of a number of Catholic Teacher Training Colleges run by Religious Congregations. In 1982 these were amalgamated to form Catholic College of Education Sydney, which in 1991 became a foundation component of the new Australian Catholic University. Teachers in NSW Catholic Schools Year Religious Lay Lay % ,654 1,628 31% ,530 5,343 68% ,168 11,688 91% ,311 97% ,835 99% Reorganisation and rationalisation of schools was the third element of the response to the crisis. Before the 1960s most Catholic schools were relatively independent, raising their own funds, adding to buildings, and paying their own salaries. The Archdiocese of Sydney in 1960 had over three hundred of these schools run by many different Religious Orders. In the past the Archbishop had relied on the separate Religious Congregations and the small CEO containing a few priest-inspectors to provide some management and supervision of the schools. But the widespread pressures of the 1960s, which affected all Catholic schools, required more centralised leadership and a more co-ordinated and cooperative response if Catholic schooling was to be maintained. This would be vital in organising the campaign for government funding and, in the 1970s, for the distribution of these funds. The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Gilroy, announced in 1965 the formation of the Catholic Building and Finance Commission (CBFC), containing clergy, CEO representatives and laymen with financial and building expertise. The CBFC would take responsibility for the planning, building, financing and rationalisation of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. Funds of schools would be pooled centrally, and the CBFC would pay the teachers from the common fund. At the same time the small CEO, led by Mgr John Slowey, was expanded so as to provide educational leadership and support for the schools and the CBFC. The Religious Congregations agreed to place most of their schools under this central management of the CBFC and CEO. This created a centralised system of Catholic schools, with schools joining the system being called systemic and others Congregational or nonsystemic. By 1975 about 80 per cent of Sydney schools were systemic. Similar school systems were created in all twenty-eight dioceses of Australia. Co-operation among these was facilitated by the establishment of a Catholic Education Commission (CEC) in each of the six States and two Territories, as well as a National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) based in Canberra. These Commissions liaise with State and Federal governments on behalf of Catholic schools, especially in negotiating block grants for the systems. By 1975 it was clear that Catholic schools in Sydney had survived the funding and staffing crisis. This was because of the successful campaign for government funding, the employment of more teachers, and the support that the new system and central funding provided for many of the struggling schools. Nevertheless, Catholic authorities were still cautious, and in the 1970s ix

11 only four new schools were built in the Archdiocese all in the expanding south-west. 4 In the 1980s seven new schools were built. In the mid-1980s some major developments within the Catholic Church affected Archdiocesan Catholic schools. In 1986 Pope John Paul II announced the establishment of the new dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay. These took from the Sydney Archdiocese areas of fastgrowing population to the north and west. They also took about 150 schools and about forty per cent of the school population. Nevertheless, in terms of population the resultant Archdiocese of Sydney was still by far the largest diocese in NSW, and retained one-third of the school population of the State. The other major change was in the central leadership of the educational system. There was dissatisfaction with the dual system of leadership whereby the CBFC managed finance and building, while the now greatly expanded CEO managed educational programs. In 1987 both organisations were amalgamated into the one CEO, Sydney. It was headed by an Executive Director of Schools, the first appointee being Br Kelvin Canavan fms. The CEO was responsible to another body, appointed by Archbishop Clancy in This was the Sydney Archdiocesan Catholic Schools (SACS) Board, which was to provide leadership and overall direction to Sydney Catholic schools on his behalf. The Board was chaired by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson and included CEO leaders, clergy, school Principals and parents. It was later expanded to include representatives of Religious Institutes and Congregational schools. This leadership structure continues today, with Mgr Vincent Redden as Chairman, and in May 2005 the SACS Board held its 200th meeting. In the schools themselves a significant change since 1970 has been the transition to lay responsibility and leadership, as the number of Religious declined. The development of lay leadership for schools has been a preoccupation of Catholic Education Offices, Religious Institutes and Australian Catholic University. In the 1960s all Catholic schools in Sydney had a Religious Principal. In 2005 more than 87 per cent have lay Principals. Those in systemic schools are appointed by the CEO. In Congregational schools owned and operated by a Religious Congregation, there is often a School Board which appoints the Principal. Overall, the transition has been smooth, and has been readily accepted by parents and pupils. This acceptance is shown by the continued willingness of parents to enrol their children in Catholic schools. Enrolments in NSW have remained stable. In 1965 there were 169,248 children enrolled in NSW Catholic schools, which was 21.2 per cent of total school enrolments, and THE FIRST SYDNEY ARCHDIOCESAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS BOARD, 1987* Bishop Geoffrey Robinson Mr Frank Astill Br Kelvin Canavan fms Fr Barry Collins Sr Helen Connolly csb Sr Johanna Conway rsm Mrs Marita Dann Mr Hugh d Apice Mr Barry Dwyer Mr Geoffrey Joy Dr Ross Keane Fr John Langtry Miss Helen McDermott Mrs Anne Miller Br Ambrose Payne fsc Mrs Rosemary Suliman Mrs Vicki Tanzer Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Chairman of the SACS Board (Chairman) Parent (Barrister) Executive Director of Schools Director of Religious Education Principal, Brigidine College, Randwick Religious Director (Inner Western Regional) Parent (Economist) Solicitor Regional Director (Eastern) Director of Financial Services Director of Educational Services Parish Priest, Bonnyrigg Principal, St Vincent s Primary, Ashfield Parent (Teacher) Principal, Catholic College of Education, Sydney Parent (Teacher/Parent Liaison) Regional Director (Southern) * This was the original reconstituted SACS Board. An earlier interim SACS Board had been formed in x

12 Br Kelvin Canavan fms, Executive Director of Schools since 1987 in 2005 enrolments have grown to 239,224 pupils (21.6 per cent of total school enrolments). It is difficult to compare the record of Sydney schools over this period, because the much larger Archdiocese was reduced to its present area in In the twenty-five years between the school-age population (children aged 5 to 19 years) in the 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs) covering the Archdiocese of Sydney declined by 10% or approximately 40,000. The areas of great decline in school-age population have been the older-established areas of the Archdiocese. The decline in overall school-age population has had a strong impact on the provision of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese, and since 1980 has contributed to the closure of thirty-eight schools and the amalgamation of twenty-seven schools to form thirteen new schools. This decline was offset by significant population growth in the Liverpool and Fairfield LGAs. Between 1985 and 2006 twelve new schools opened in these growth areas. Details of these changes can be found in Table 1 on page xiii: Openings, Closures and Restructuring Another important development in Catholic schools has been the changing ethnic backgrounds of students since 1945, shaped particularly by government immigration policies. Because the majority of immigrants have settled in urban areas, and because a large proportion have come from predominantly Catholic countries, these immigrants have made up an increasing proportion of the population of Catholic schools in Sydney. Unlike earlier migrants they tended to come from a non-englishspeaking background. After World War II there were many from southern and central Europe, such as Italians, Maltese and Greeks. As regards the numbers in Catholic schools, there was little precise information until the 1970s. A study of students in 1978 showed that 22 per cent of pupils in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney were from a home language background other than English. 7 The main languages spoken in their homes were Italian, Arabic, Maltese, Spanish, and former Yugoslav (Croat, Serb, Slovene backgrounds). By 1988 the proportion had risen sharply to per cent for the area of the present Archdiocese of Sydney. 8 The new figures showed Arabic and Italian as the predominant languages, and significant increases in enrolments from Spanish-speaking, Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese backgrounds. More recently there has been an increase in Sudanese enrolments. What is the current picture of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney? In August 2005 there were 80,111 pupils in 168 Catholic schools and they were cared for by 5,430 teachers. The majority of these pupils (62,330) were in 148 systemic schools administered by the CEO, Sydney. The remaining 17,416 pupils were in nineteen schools owned and operated by Religious Congregations. 9 A more detailed picture of recent enrolment trends in Sydney, New South Wales and Australia is given in Table 2 on page xv: Enrolments in Catholic Schools. Sources of funding have also changed since 1960, when the cost of Catholic schools was borne almost completely by the Catholic community. Annual grants from the NSW and Commonwealth governments for all students, as well as grants for students with disabilities, and certain targeted programs, now provide about 85 per xi

13 cent of the recurrent costs (mainly teacher salaries) of educating children in Catholic schools. Building costs are alleviated by a NSW government interest subsidy for building loans and by Australian government capital grants for some of the more needy schools. The remaining costs have to be found by parents and parishes. A further reality is that the expenditure per student in most Catholic schools is less than the expenditure per student in NSW State schools. The effect of this is that total government assistance to students in Catholic schools in New South Wales is less than 70 per cent of what governments spend on students in State schools. 10 The year 2000 was celebrated as a Jubilee year by the Catholic Church world-wide. Catholic schools in Australia took up the themes of the Jubilee, endeavouring to see it as a year of Forgiveness, Freedom, Justice and Jubilation. For Catholic school pupils in the Archdiocese of Sydney the highlight was the Jubilee pageant held on 17 March 2000 at Stadium Australia before 93,700 spectators. A cast of 10,000 students enacted stories of Creation, the life, death and rising of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of his life for Australia. Like school pageants of earlier years it was held on St Patrick s Day, and so recalled the influence of the Irish on Australia s Catholic Church and Catholic schools. But the enactments reached back much earlier than this with a recognition of the Aboriginal dwellers of Australia and the injustices that they had suffered, and with a final ceremony expressing the desire for reconciliation amongst all Australians. The Sydney Catholic Schools 2005 Archdiocesan Performing Arts Festival, Entertaining Angels, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 18 and 19 October, was the occasion for A St Patrick s Day gathering of Catholic school children was an annual event in the period Here 7000 children, holding Papal, Irish and Australian flags, form a tableau at the Sydney Showground celebration in 1934 the launch of the new Strategic Leadership and Management Plan, Towards Inter-related foundational strategic planning documents include the School Review and Improvement Framework for Catholic schools, the Learning Framework Discussion Paper, and the schools self-review instrument, How Effective is Our Catholic School? Towards 2010 is focused on the students in our Catholic schools as we continue to strive to provide highquality education in the Catholic tradition. In marking 185 years of ENDNOTES Catholic schools and Catholic school systems that we have today it is important that we preserve and record the history of their development. Such has been the general history of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney; and this can be further illustrated by the lists following of Schools by Date of Foundation and of Schools Now Closed. 11 With the above background we can now turn to the stories of the individual schools. 1 A number of independent Catholic schools, such as Santa Sabina College, have separate secondary and primary schools, although they have an overall headmaster/rincipal. In this study they are treated as one school, although they are sometimes listed as two related schools. Also the Melkite and two Maronite schools are not profiled in the publication. 2 Still the most impressive is Br Ronald Fogarty fms, Catholic Education in Australia , Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, Source: Catholic Education Commission, NSW. 4 Reference is to the area of the Archdiocese of Sydney as it is today. 5 Fgures supplied by the Catholic Education Commission, NSW. 6 See Following the Population, SACS Board Bulletin 56a, 22 July 2002, CEO, Sydney. 7 Catherine Duncan, Ethnic Backgrounds of Students in NSW Catholic Schools in 1978, CEO, Sydney, Levane Abdoolcader, Sydney Voices: A survey of languages other than English in Catholic Schools, CEO, Sydney, The Archdiocese had been reduced in area in 1986 by the creation of the dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay. Abdoolcader calculated that in 1978 in the area of the current Archdiocese 43.4 per cent of pupils in Catholic schools were from a language background other than English. 9 Figures from CEC NSW and CEO, Sydney. For this study a school which has primary and secondary departments and may even have separate Principals for each department is taken as the one school. The figure for teachers is the Full-time Equivalent for the total of full-time and part-time teachers. 10 Data in this section provided by CEO, Sydney. See also Kelvin Canavan, The Transformation of Catholic Schools in Australia, Journal of Religious Education, volume 47, no. 1 (1999), p21 and Kelvin Canavan, The Changing Face of Catholic Schools in Australia (2006). 11 A more detailed treatment is in J Luttrell, Worth the Struggle, CEO, Sydney, xii

14 Table 1: Openings, Closures and Restructuring SCHOOLS CLOSED Parish Primary Schools Dover Heights St Therese s Primary School K-2 Dec 1980? Broadway St Benedict s Primary School K-6 Dec 1982 Watsons Bay Star of the Sea Primary School K-4 Dec 1982 Darlinghurst Sacred Heart Primary School K-6 Dec 1986 Neutral Bay St Joseph s Primary School K-4 Dec 1988 Millers Point St Brigid s Infants School K-3 July 1992 Rosebery St Joseph s Primary School K-6 Dec 1992 Surry Hills St Peter s Primary School K-6 Dec 1995 Newtown St Joseph s Primary School K-6 Dec 1998 Lewisham St Thomas Becket Primary School K-6 Dec 2005 Flemington St Dominic s Primary School K-6 Dec 2006 Regional Primary Schools Kogarah Marist Brothers Primary 5-6 Dec 1982 Marrickville De La Salle Primary 5-6 Dec 1983 Ryde Holy Cross Preparatory School 5-6 Dec 1986 Bondi Beach O Sullivan Primary 5-6 Dec 1987 Bankstown De La Salle Primary 5-6 Dec 1987 Lewisham St Thomas Boys Primary 5-6 Dec 1987 Ashfield De La Salle Primary 5-6 Dec 1988 Concord Christian Brothers Junior 5-6 Dec 1988 Balmain Christian Brothers Primary 5-6 Dec 1989 Liverpool Patrician Brothers Primary 5-6 Dec 1990 Daceyville Marist Brothers Primary School 5-6 Dec 1992 Kingsgrove De La Salle Primary 5-6 Dec 1992 Penshurst Marist Brothers Primary 5-6 Dec 1992 Revesby Heights De La Salle Primary 5-6 Dec 1994 Lidcombe Benedict Junior School 5-6 Dec 1995 Lakemba St John s Primary 5-6 Dec 1996 Fairfield Patrician Brothers Primary School 5-6 Dec 2006 Secondary Schools Bondi Beach O Sullivan Catholic High School 7-10 Dec 1988 Maroubra Junction Brigidine College 7-10 Dec 1988 Balmain Christian Brothers High School 7-10 Dec 1990 Church Hill St Patrick s High School 7-10 Dec 1990 Fairfield Our Lady of the Rosary High School 7-10 Dec 1992 Lewisham St Thomas Boys High 7-10 Dec 1997 Lewisham Benedict Community School 9-10 Dec 1997 Kingsgrove De La Salle College 7-10 Dec 1999 Bankstown Nazareth Senior College Dec 1999 Woollahra Holy Cross College 7-12 Dec 2001 RESTRUCTURING Parish Primary to Regional Paddington St Francis of Assisi Regional Primary K-6 Jan 1999 Schools Extended to Include Years Five Dock Domremy College Yr 11 commenced Jan 1986 Marrickville Casimir Catholic College Yr 11 commenced Jan 1988 Engadine St John Bosco College Yr 11 commenced Jan 1998 Milperra 13 Mount St Joseph Yr 11 commenced Jan 1999 Revesby Heights De La Salle College Yr 11 commenced Jan CEO, Sydney Archives. 13 Mount St Joseph Milperra is a Congregational school. xiii

15 Schools Amalgamated Primary Mosman Sacred Heart Primary and to form Marist Sacred Heart Jan 1982 Schools Marist Brothers Nth Shore Coogee St Brigid s Primary, Coogee and to form St Brigid s Primary Jan 1989 Marcellin Junior, Randwick Enmore St Pius Primary, Enmore and to form St Pius Primary Jan 1990 St Peter and Paul, Tempe Maroubra St Joseph s, Maroubra Beach and to form St Mary s-st Joseph s Jan 1994 St Mary s Maroubra Bay Primary Balmain St Joseph s Primary, Rozelle and to form Fr John Therry Jan 1995 St Augustine s Primary, Balmain Catholic Primary Bondi St Anne s Primary Bondi Beach and to form Galilee Catholic Primary Jan 2002 St Patrick s Primary, Bondi Secondary Marrickville St Brigid s College (7-10) and to form Casimir Catholic College Jan 1982 Schools De La Salle College (7-10) (7-12) Sutherland Mary Immaculate College (7-12) and to form St Patrick s College Jan 1985 Christian Brothers College (7-12) (7-12) Woollahra Holy Cross Senior (11-12) and to form Holy Cross College Jan 1989 Holy Cross Middle (7-10) (7-12) Hurstville St Mary s High School (7-10), to form Bethany College Jan 1993 Hurstville and St Joseph s Girls High (7-12) School (7-10), Kogarah Auburn/Berala Benedict Senior College (7-12), to form Trinity Catholic College Jan 1995 St John s Regional Girls (7-10) Auburn (7-12) and St Peter Chanel High (7-10), Regents Pk Lakemba MacKillop Girls High (7-10) and to form Holy Spirit College Jan 1998 St John s College (7-10) (7-12) Bankstown De La Salle College (7-10) and to form LaSalle Catholic College Jan 1999 Benilde Catholic College (11-12) (7-12) SCHOOLS OPENED Bossley Park Mary Immaculate School K-6 Parish Primary Jan 1985 Bonnyrigg Freeman Catholic High School 7-12 Secondary Jan 1985 Menai Holy Family School K-6 Parish Primary Jan 1986 Casula All Saints Catholic Senior High Senior Secondary Jan 1987 Bonnyrigg John the Baptist School K-6 Parish Primary Jan 1989 Wakeley Mary MacKillop College 7-12 Secondary Jan 1991 Menai Aquinas College 7-12 Secondary Jan 1993 Hoxton Park Good Shepherd Primary School K-6 Primary Jan 1997 Prestons St Catherine of Siena Primary School K-6 Primary Jan 1999 Hinchinbrook Good Samaritan Catholic College 7-12 Secondary Jan 1999 Carnes Hill Holy Spirit Primary School K-6 Primary Jan 2002 Holsworthy St Christopher s Primary School K-6 Primary Jan 2002 West Hoxton Clancy Catholic College 7-12 Secondary Jan 2006 xiv

16 Table 2: Enrolments in Catholic Schools 14 AUSTRALIA NSW Year Primary Secondary Total Primary Secondary Total , , , ,216 97, , , , , ,216 98, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,224 Students as full-time equivalents (FTE) Full-time students only SYDNEY (Total) SYDNEY SYSTEMIC SCHOOLS Year Primary Secondary Total Primary Secondary Total ,030 37,604 76,634 35,898 25,349 61, ,864 37,586 76,450 35,684 25,177 60, ,691 38,026 76,717 35,437 25,335 60, ,669 38,193 76,862 35,388 25,367 60, ,061 38,313 77,374 35,751 25,329 61, ,431 38,498 77,929 36,099 25,289 61, ,810 38,631 78,441 36,441 25,293 61, ,897 38,971 78,868 36,494 25,425 61, ,935 39,242 79,177 36,347 25,588 61, ,837 39,846 79,683 36,257 26,073 62, ,958 40,153 80,111 36,355 26,340 62,695 Full-time students only Full-time students only 14 Source: NCEC (Australia) and CEC, NSW. The figures are those for August. xv

17 Archdiocese of Sydney: Map Distribution of Catholic Schools, May 2000 Prepared by Whelans Land Information Consultants Catholic school The locality names are Local Government Areas. xvi

18 Schools by Date of Foundation Archdiocese of Sydney FOUNDED SCHOOL SUBURB PAGE 1836 St Mary s Cathedral College Sydney All Saints Catholic School Liverpool ? St Mary s School Concord St Felix s School Bankstown St Charles School Waverley St Charles School Ryde Our Lady of Mount Carmel School Waterloo St Patrick s School Kogarah Rosebank College Five Dock Villa Maria School Hunters Hill Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College North Sydney St Scholastica s College Glebe All Saints Catholic Girls College Liverpool St Aloysius College Milsons Point St James Primary School Forest Lodge St Ignatius College, Riverview, Lane Cove ? St Thomas Becket School Lewisham St Vincent s School Ashfield Bethlehem College Ashfield St Joseph s College Hunters Hill Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School Randwick St Vincent s College Potts Point Kincoppal-Rose Bay Rose Bay ? St Francis of Assisi Regional Primary School Paddington St Clare s College Waverley St Bernard s School Botany St Joachim s School Lidcombe St Mary s Star of the Sea School Hurstville St Fiacre s School Leichhardt ? St Mary s Primary School Erskineville St Brigid s Primary School Marrickville Marist College North Shore North Sydney St Mark s Primary School Drummoyne Christian Brothers High School Lewisham Holy Cross College Ryde Loreto Kirribilli 36 xvii

19 FOUNDED SCHOOL SUBURB PAGE 1892 St Joseph s School Rockdale St John s School Auburn Santa Sabina College Strathfield St Mel s School Campsie St Anne s School Bondi Beach St Brendan s School Annandale Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College Kensington St Columba s School Leichhardt North Brigidine College Randwick Waverley College Waverley St Paul of the Cross School Dulwich Hill St Pius School Enmore Our Lady of the Rosary School Kensington St Declan s School Penshurst Holy Cross Primary School Woollahra Holy Cross College Woollahra Marist College Kogarah Bexley Marist Sisters College Woolwich Christian Brothers College Burwood St Joan of Arc School Haberfield St Francis Xavier s School Arncliffe Domremy College Five Dock St Michael s School Stanmore St Michael s School Daceyville St Aidan s School Maroubra Junction St Andrew s School Malabar St Mary s School North Sydney De La Salle College Ashfield St Joseph s School Enfield St Anthony s School Clovelly St Aloysius School Cronulla St Patrick s School Bondi All Hallows School Five Dock St Joseph s School Belmore St Michael s School Lane Cove St Michael s School Meadowbank 72 xviii

20 FOUNDED SCHOOL SUBURB PAGE 1923 St Brigid s School Coogee Our Lady of Lourdes School Earlwood St Dominic s Primary School Flemington Marcellin College Randwick St Ambrose School Concord West St Patrick s School Sutherland Holy Innocents Primary School Croydon St Kevin s Primary School Eastwood St Peter Chanel Primary School Regents Park St Martha s Primary School Strathfield Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School Gladesville St Therese s Primary School Lakemba St Finbar s Primary School Sans Souci Our Lady of the Rosary School Fairfield St Patrick s College Strathfield St Raphael s School South Hurstville St Francis Xavier s School Ashbury St Jerome s School Punchbowl St Anthony s School Marsfield Our Lady of Mercy College, Burraneer Cronulla Sacred Heart School Cabramatta De La Salle College Cronulla Marist College Eastwood Boys Town Engadine St Gabriel s School Bexley St Thomas More s School Brighton-Le-Sands St Therese s School Mascot St Agnes School Matraville Regina Coeli School Beverly Hills Immaculate Heart of Mary School Sefton St Joseph s School Riverwood St Patrick s School Summer Hill Our Lady of Fatima Primary School Caringbah Blessed Sacrament Primary School Clifton Gardens Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary School Miranda St Luke s Primary School Revesby 108 xix

21 FOUNDED SCHOOL SUBURB PAGE 1951 St Therese s School Denistone St Brendan s School Bankstown Central Our Lady of Mt Carmel School Mt Pritchard St Gertrude s School Smithfield St Joseph s School Como/Oyster Bay Patrician Brothers College Fairfield Our Lady of Fatima School Kingsgrove St Joseph s School Oatley Marist College Penshurst St Catherine Labouré School Gymea All Saints Catholic Boys College Liverpool St Christopher s Primary School Panania St Margaret Mary s School Randwick North Christ the King Primary School Bass Hill St Ursula s College Kingsgrove St Anne s School Strathfield South De La Salle College Caringbah Holy Spirit School North Ryde St Michael s School Belfield St John Bosco Primary School Engadine Mater Dei School Blakehurst Mount St Joseph Milperra De La Salle College Revesby Heights St John Vianney s Primary School Greenacre Marist College Pagewood St Joseph the Worker School Auburn South St Therese s Primary School Padstow Our Lady of the Annunciation School Pagewood St Francis de Sales Primary School Woolooware Sacred Heart School Villawood McAuley Primary School Rose Bay St Therese Primary School Sadleir-Miller St Francis Xavier s School Lurnea St Joseph s School Moorebank St John Bosco College Engadine St Mary s School Georges Hall 144 xx

22 FOUNDED SCHOOL SUBURB PAGE 1979 St Mary-St Joseph Primary School Maroubra Marion Primary School Horsley Park Casimir Catholic College Marrickville Sacred Heart School Mosman Freeman Catholic College Bonnyrigg Heights Mary Immaculate School Bossley Park St Patrick s College Sutherland Holy Family School Menai All Saints Catholic Senior College Casula John the Baptist School Bonnyrigg Mary MacKillop College Wakeley Bethany College Hurstville Aquinas College Menai Trinity Catholic College Auburn Fr John Therry Catholic Primary School Balmain Good Shepherd Primary School Hoxton Park Berne Education Centre Lewisham LaSalle Catholic College Bankstown Good Samaritan Catholic College Hinchinbrook Holy Spirit College Lakemba St Catherine of Siena Primary School Prestons Galilee Catholic Primary School Bondi Beach Holy Spirit Primary School Carnes Hill St Christopher s Primary School Holsworthy Clancy Catholic College West Hoxton 169 xxi

23 Schools Now Closed Archdiocese of Sydney, 2006 SUBURB SCHOOL 15 OPENED CLOSED REASON FOR CLOSURE Ashfield De La Salle Primary School rationalisation of schools Auburn St John s Regional Girls School amalgamated Auburn Benedict Senior College amalgamated Balmain St Augustine s Primary amalgamated Balmain Christian Brothers High School declining enrolments Bankstown De La Salle Primary School rationalisation of schools Bankstown De La Salle College amalgamated Bankstown Benilde Catholic College amalgamated Bankstown Nazareth Senior College rationalisation of schools Bexley North St Bernadette s Primary School school opened at Kingsgrove Bondi St Patrick s Primary School amalgamated Bondi Beach O Sullivan Catholic High declining enrolments [earlier: St Anne s, then Christian Brothers High] Bondi Beach St Anne s Primary School amalgamated Bondi Junction Christian Brothers School [a Marist Brothers school to 1965] Broadway Christian Brothers School disagreement with Archbishop (Abercrombie Street School) Broadway St Benedict s Boys School declining enrolments/ rationalisation Broadway Broadway Business College Broadway St Benedict s Primary c declining enrolments Broadway St Benedict s Girls High School c rationalisation of resources Camperdown St Joseph s Catholic Primary c Chullora Park St Frances Cabrini s (Infants) 1954? 1960? Church Hill St Patrick s High School declining enrolments (St Joseph s High School to 1926) Church Hill Marist Brothers Technical College declining enrolments; rationalisation of resources Concord Christian Brothers Junior 17? 1988 Coogee Marcellin Junior School amalgamated with parish school [a De La Salle Brothers school to 1963] Croydon St Joseph s Home School change in welfare policies Daceyville Marist Brothers Primary rationalisation of schools Darlinghurst Sacred Heart School (earlier The Surry Hills School) decline in enrolments Darlinghurst Marist Brothers High School rationalisation of city schools Dover Heights St Therese s Primary ? 15 Only schools that were in the 1986 boundaries of the Archdiocese of Sydney are listed. The school name given is that used at the time of closure. Earlier names are given where known. 16 Primary classes were ended at De La Salle College in Boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 were catered for at parish primary schools. This happened with a number of Brothers primary schools after This was really an overflow annex of Christian Brothers, Burwood, which was treated as a separate school from about the mid 1980s. 18 Until 1942 Edgecliff had three schools: St Joseph s parish school, St Joseph s Boys School and Monte Oliveto (primary and high school). In 1942 Monte Oliveto primary classes were amalgamated with St Joseph s parish school. Monte Oliveto secondary classes closed in However, it seems that the parish primary school after 1942 was sometimes referred to as Monte Oliveto and sometimes as St Joseph s School. xxii