May 8, 2015
Organisers of the Combined Anniversary Celebrations at St Mary’s Catholic College – to be held at the end of this month – have dug out some historic photographs during their research ahead of the big weekend.
Amongst the images they have unearthed is a photograph of the school’s prize-winning Eisteddfod choir in 1934.
The photo had been safely stored away with many other early images in the College’s archive room. Also located was a funky photo of the school staff taken in 1984.
The anniversary weekend is being held on May 30-31.
The celebrations will recognise a number of milestones for the school which have occurred over 2014-15.
2014 was the:
- 85th anniversary of primary education at St Mary’s which began with the Sisters of Charity in 1929
- 80th anniversary of the Good Samaritan Sisters who began work at St Mary’s in 1934
- 50th anniversary of continuous secondary education which began in 1964 at the then primary school
2015 is the:
- 50th anniversary of the 1965 opening of secondary education at Kent Street
- 25th anniversary of P-12 education at Kent Street (1990)
Over the weekend, there will be many opportunities for past and present students, staff and families to celebrate the school’s heritage and many achievements.
There will also be an Open Day from 10:00am–2:00pm on the Sunday so all members of the community can take a look at the College facilities.
Past students and staff can RSVP for the Combined Anniversary Celebrations online
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Catholic education began in Kingaroy with the arrival of four Sisters of Charity in January, 1929. The first lessons were held at the back of St Mary’s Church with about 30 students. Desks were taken out each weekend for Sunday Mass.
As well as the usual schoolwork, religion, music, singing and elocution were taught.
By the time the construction of a separate school building was finished in mid-1929, the number of students had grown to 60.
The Sisters of Charity had been in Kingaroy for about five years when they decided that because of their isolation from Toowoomba and Ashgrove, they would like to withdraw.
Brisbane Archbishop James Duhig contacted the Sisters of the Good Samaritan who promised to send sisters to continue the primary school education.
An excerpt from “Only Love Survives” by Sr Delia Birchely records the arrival of the Good Samaritan Sisters in Kingaroy in 1934:
“Our Sisters had no sooner arrived … when they realised the people were heartbroken at losing the Sisters of Charity. These Sisters were nurses and, as such, had lavished their expert care on the sick and infirm. When the Sisters of Charity left, a great silence descended … It was a full month before anyone came to see our Sisters. The first to break the ice was Mrs Ronayne, laden with gifts of food and other necessities for, in the words of Sr Jean Marie, “we were actually hungry” . Mrs Ronayne promised that she would make sure they had milk every morning and that her husband would keep them supplied with wood … Mr Ronayne would ride his bike in on Sunday and leave the milk before Mass.”
Sr Margaret McDonell, Sr Cletus Devlin, Sr Lucy Morris and Sr Jean Marie McDonald moved into the “temporary” convent and began teaching at the school. They had about 100 pupils.
In 1946, Sr Winefride Heffey opened a secondary school which averaged 12 students a year when in closed just four years later.
In 1951, the Sisters (Sr Julia Kelly, Sr Paulinus Allmon, Sr Stanislaus Harrington, Sr Carmelita Murphy and Sr Florence Donovan) finally moved into their new convent.
In 1964, Sr Lucian Donovan and Sr Marius Aspinall restarted the secondary school in a room in the primary school building with 27 students. In May that year, eight acres of land transferred to the church by Jack Carroll were set aside for a new, separate college.
In 1965, Sr Dolores Carroll, her staff and 80 students moved into the new college building in Kent Street which was opened by Archbishop Dr. P.M. O’Donnell. This was extended in 1976.
The first lay principal at the primary school, Mr Joe Voght, was appointed in January 1979 but the sisters remained on staff. The first lay principal at the high school, Mr Peter Albion, was appointed in 1980.
A plaque to mark the 60th anniversary of the Primary School was unveiled by the Sisters of Charity near the Parish Hall (the old primary school) on September 10, 1989.
In 1990, the primary and secondary schools were combined, forming St Mary’s South Burnett Catholic College. In 2000, a pre-school was opened.
The Good Samaritan connection with the schools continued until 1997 when Sr Maureen Schick left the school.
[Taken from the from the St Mary’s Catholic Parish 75th Anniversary booklet – 2002]
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The program for the Combined Anniversaries Celebration is:
Saturday, May 30:
- 1:00pm – Nanango Races featuring the St Mary’s Anniversary race
- 6:00pm – Combined Anniversaries Mass at the Maryknoll Centre at St Mary’s
- 7:00pm – Combined Anniversaries Dinner and live entertainment
Sunday, May 31:
- 10:00am – College Open Day, memorabilia sales, P&F sausage sizzle, classroom displays and tours
- 12:30pm – Official welcome, past student and staff time line and roll call
- 2:00pm – Open Day finishes
- Related article: St Mary’s To Celebrate Historic Milestones
The celebration of St Mary’s College will bring happy moments for my brother who rode a horse bareback on the 14km from Booie to participate in Grade 7 studies.
Arthur who is now 89 and lives at Victoria on Vancouver Island (Canada) was with a select group of Grade 7 students at St Mary’s Convent where he recorded a pass of 97 per cent.
My parents had little money and I can recall when I was just four to see my Dad and the Catholic priest sitting on lucerne bales where my father (a dairy share farmer) said there was no funds available to continue his studies. Two weeks later the priest arrived again and said the convent officials had agreed to pay his way to Nudgee College and if successful in the key exams, the college would then continue his studies at the Teachers Training College.
The foresight by St Mary’s was justified with Arthur at just 15 teaching students initially at Thallon near St George and later at the former Stuart Valley school on the Kumbia Road. Arthur’s marriage at the end of the war when he was with the RAAF saw the couple return to Canada where Arthur’s studies and research saw him become a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education at a number of Canadian Universities.
On his initial return visit to Kingaroy, Arthur thanked the Convent for their foresight plus making a sizeable contribution to assist the wonderful studies that he was able to utilise in Grade 7.