St Mary's College, Melbourne (school)

This article is about the Roman Catholic secondary school in Melbourne. For the Roman Catholic residential college affiliated with the University of Melbourne, see St Mary's College, Melbourne (residential college).

St Mary's College, Melbourne
Main entrance of the former Presentation Campus
Location
11 Westbury Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°51′33″S 144°59′48″E
Information
Former names	Christian Brothers College, St Kilda Presentation College Windsor
Type	Independent secondary school
Motto	Latin: Virtus Sola Nobilitas (Virtue Alone Is Noble)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Denomination	Christian Brothers
Patron saint(s)	Blessed Edmund Rice, St Mary
Established	26 July 1878; 146 years ago (1878-07-26)
Trust	Edmund Rice Education Australia
Chair	Philip Soumilas
Principal	Darren Atkinson
Deputy Principal	Shaun Lancashire
Director of Students	Jen Howard
Chaplain	Fr Jerome Santamaria
Years offered	7–12
Gender	Co-educational
Enrolment	552
Campus	Edmund Rice Campus
Campus type	Inner-city
Houses	Corbett    McMahon    O'Shea    Tevlin
Colour(s)	Navy blue, light blue, green
Slogan	A School For All
Yearbook	Loquax Ludi
Affiliation	Associated Catholic Colleges Catholic Girls Sports Association of Victoria
Website	stmaryscollege.vic.edu.au

St Mary's College (formerly Christian Brothers College, St Kilda) is an independent Catholic co-educational secondary college, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded in 1878 and is both one of the oldest private schools in Melbourne and one of the only co-educational Catholic schools in inner Melbourne.

Originally founded as Christian Brothers College, St Kilda (CBC St Kilda), and run by the Christian Brothers, the school has long since had a lay teaching and administrative staff; becoming co-educational as St Mary's College in 2021 following the closure of Presentation College Windsor (PCW).

The college is governed by Edmund Rice Education Australia and is also members of Associated Catholic Colleges and Catholic Girls Sports Association of Victoria.

History

St Mary's College was founded as Christian Brothers College St Kilda, a Catholic single-sex boys school in 1878. Its former sister school, Presentation College Windsor, was founded in 1873 as a Catholic single-sex girls school.

Founding & single-sex education

In 1872, the parish priest of St Mary's Parish, Dr James Corbett wrote to the Presentation Sisters and Christian Brothers, calling for their assistance in providing Catholic education in the precinct, following the passing of the Educational Act of 1872 and the establishment of a nearby state school.

The Presentation Sisters arrived in 1873, founding Presentation Convent Windsor (later Presentation College Windsor) and running the pre-existing St Mary's Primary School.

The Christian Brothers arrived in 1878, founding Christian Brothers College St Kilda as well as the former St Mary's Boys School; a single-sex primary school located directly west to the CBC site, which ran until 1986 and is now operated by the co-educational St Mary's Primary School East St Kilda for its Specialist Campus. A plaque commemorating the boys school is located on the building.

Both colleges operated as separate single-sex schools for nearly 150 years, with VCE classes being shared between both colleges since 1991.^[1]

CBC was governed and operated by the Christian Brothers until the first lay principal being Mr Gerald Bain-King in 2005, and the college ceding its governance in 2007 to Edmund Rice Education Australia, an organisation that governs schools previously administered by the Christian Brothers in Australia at the time and continues to govern St Mary's College.^[2]

PCW was governed by the Presentation Sisters until their closure.^[3]

Co-education

In 2019, following the announcement of Presentation College Windsor's closure at the end of 2020, CBC St Kilda announced it would reregister from a single-sex boys school to a co-educational school that would operate across both sites.

On 23 November 2020, CBC St Kilda announced the change of name to St Mary's College Melbourne, beginning operation as a Catholic co-educational college in 2021.^[4]

On 2 October 2023, the college announced that the lease on Presentation Campus (owned by the Presentation Sisters) will be terminated in September 2024 to allow more funding to be dedicated to capital works on the Edmund Rice Campus without having to raise tuition fees. These capital works were constructed from November 2023, and up to the closure of Presentation Campus in September 2024.^[5]

Curriculum

St Mary's College offers its senior (years 10–12) students the following pathways:

• Scored Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)
• Unscored Victorian Certificate of Education*
• VCE Vocational Major*
• VET, via external providers.†
• Victorian Pathways Certificate

* Does not allow for study scores or an ATAR to be calculated.

† Can be completed alongside Scored/Unscored VCE, and must be completed with the VCE VM program.

VCE results 2012–2023^[6]

Year	Rank	Median study score	Scores of 40+ (%)	Cohort size
2012	195	30	5.3	101
2013	305	28	4.1	91
2014	179	30	7.2	91
2015	236	29	5.5	119
2016	268	29	2.6	106
2017	190	30	5.1	87
2018	147	31	6.7	108
2019	234	29	5.2	116
2020	241	29	4.7	91
2021	265	29	3.6	130
2022	206	30	4.4	137
2023	150	31	6.4	117

Campuses

St Mary's College has one campus, the Edmund Rice Campus. Formerly, it used also the old site of Presentation College Windsor as a campus for students in years 9, 11, and 12.

Edmund Rice Campus

Located on 11 Westbury Street, St Kilda East as the original site of CBC St Kilda, the Edmund Rice Campus is the home-campus for all year levels.

The site was originally established by the Christian Brothers in 1878.^[7]

Presentation Campus

Located on 187 Dandenong Road, Windsor as the original site of Presentation College Windsor, the Presentation Campus was the home-campus for Years 9, 11 and 12.

The Year 9 Nobilitas Program was operated on this campus in the Rahilly Centre.

The site was originally founded by the Presentation Sisters in 1873.^[7]

Presentation Campus closed on September 20, 2024.^[8]

Houses

The St Mary's College houses were established in 1955 in honour of previous principals of CBC St Kilda.^[9]

Houses	Colour	In Honour Of	Motto
Corbett		Br J. P. Corbett Principal 1878–1881	Latin: Macte Virtutem (Strive with virtue)
McMahon		Br R. A. McMahon Principal 1930–1936	Latin: Ad magorem Dei gloriam (Do all things for God's greater glory)
O'Shea		Br J. C. O'Shea Principal 1887–1902	Latin: Quem timebo (Whom shall I fear)
Tevlin		Br J. S. Tevlin Principal 1909–1919	Latin: In oruce glorior (I will glory in the cross)

Principals

An honour board of all previous headmasters of St Mary's College is located in Logue Hall, Edmund Rice Campus.

Years	Name
1878–1881	Rev. Br. J. P. Corbett
1881–1885	Br. T. R. Hughes
1885–1887	Br. B. J. Morgan
1887–1891	Br. D. F. Bodkin
1891	Br. D. F. O'Donoghue
1891–1895	Br. J. B. Nugent
1895–1897	Br. J. L. Ryan
1897–1903	Br. J. C. O'Shea
1903–1906	Br. T. S. Carroll
1906–1909	Br J. F. Fogarty
1909–1919	Br. J. D. Tevlin
1919	Br. J. M. Fagan
1919–1921	Br. J. S. Turpin
1921–1924	Br. J. K. O'Neill
1924–1930	Br. J. M. Fagan
1930–1936	Br. T. A. McMahon
1936–1942	Br. W. B. Crennan
1942–1945	Br. J. V. Coghlan
1945–1948	Br. B. G. Rooney
1948–1949	Br. G. C. Davy
1949–1953	Br. W. B. Crennan
1953–1954	Br. F. J. Levander
1954–1960	Br. J. V. Goghlan
1960–1966	Br. R. G. McCartney
1966–1972	Br. F. I. McCarthy OAM
1972–1978	Br. R. M. Miller
1978–1984	Br. P. L. Chapman
1984–1987	Br. P. W. Dowling
1987–1993	Br. P. E. Noonan
1993–2005	Rev. Br. Roger A. Cripps
2005–2019	Mr Gerald Bain-King
2020–2023	Mr Terry Blizzard
2023	Mr Michael Lee OAM
2024–present	Mr Darren Atkinson

Sport

St Mary's College is a founding member of the Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC) and a member the Catholic Girls Sports Association of Victoria (CGSAV).

ACC premierships

St Mary's College has won the following ACC premierships.^[10]

• Athletics (16) – 1918, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1927, 1935, 1942, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1971
• Basketball (1) – 2014
• Chess Division 1 (1) – 1998
• Chess Division 2 (2) – 2007, 2018
• Cricket Seniors 1st XI (12) – 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1948, 1967, 1974
• Cricket T20 Division 2 (3) – 2020, 2021, 2023
• Cross Country Division 1 (2) – 1974, 1975
• Cross Country Division 2 (13) – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016
• Debating Junior Division 2 (3) – 2002, 2007, 2022
• Football (AFL) Division 1 (14) – 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1969, 1971
• Football (AFL) Division 2 (5) – 1992, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021
• Golf Open Division 2 (8) – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2021
• Handball (1) – 1953
• Hockey (3) – 1982, 2007, 2011
• Soccer Seniors Division 1 (4) – 1978, 1987, 1997, 2007
• Soccer Seniors Division 2 (2) – 2019, 2021
• Swimming (23) – 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1977
• Tennis (4) – 1939, 1940, 1941, 1945
• Triathlon (2) – 2018, 2022

Notable alumni

The arts, media and entertainment

• John Burns – radio presenter
• Ronald Conway – psychologist and author of The Great Australian Stupor
• Peter Corrigan – architect of international renown
• Frank Howson – noted scriptwriter and film director
• Richard Hughes CBE – journalist, foreign correspondent in Asia
• Daniel Keene – noted playwright
• Eddie McGuire AM – television personality, former CEO of the Nine Network
• Bob Maguire AM RFD – priest, community worker and media personality
• Felix Mallard – actor and musician
• Shane Maloney – novelist
• Barry Oakley – writer and former literary editor of The Australian newspaper
• Damien Parer – war photographer, filmed the first Australian film to win an Academy Award (1942)
• Daryl Somers OAM – television personality
• Kevin Summers – actor, playwright
• Gerard Vaughan – director of the National Gallery of Australia
• Morris West AO – writer of international renown

Business

• Paul Gardner AM – former chairman of Grey Global, chairman of the Melbourne Football Club
• Robert James Thomson – editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Company and the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, and former editor of The Times

Government, law and military

• James Reginald Halligan OBE – senior public servant^[11]
• Richard Keane – prominent trade unionist and trade minister in the Chifley Labor government^[12]
• Tony Lupton – cabinet secretary, Brumby Labor government, Victoria, 2002–2014
• John Madigan – senator representing Victoria (2011–2016) and deputy leader of the DLP
• Frank McGuire – Labor Party Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Broadmeadows (2011–present)
• Sir Frank Meere – senior public servant^[13]
• John Moller OAM – Commander, Australian Navy (served in Korea and Vietnam)

Sport

• Atu Bosenavulagi – Australian rules footballer for Collingwood
• Simon Meehan – Australian rules footballer for St Kilda
• Patrick John O'Dea – Australian rules footballer turned American football player
• Kevin O'Donnell – Australian rules footballer, father of Simon O'Donnell

References

1. "Our History and Traditions | St Mary's College". www.stmaryscollege.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
2. "Edmund Rice Governance | St Mary's College Melbourne". www.stmaryscollege.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
3. "PCW Melbourne - School Leadership". 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
4. Carey, Adam; Heffernan, Madeleine (23 November 2020). "'Part sadness, part joy' as historic inner-city Catholic schools merge". The Age. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
5. "St Mary's College set to close Windsor Presentation campus". Herald Sun. 6 October 2023.
6. "Trend of St Mary's College by VCE results". bettereducation.com.au. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
7. "Our Campuses | St Mary's College". www.stmaryscollege.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
8. "2024 Lumina Edition - - St Mary's Catholic College". St Mary's College. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
9. "History". 4 March 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
10. "Premiers & Champions – Associated Catholic Colleges". Retrieved 2 February 2021.
11. CP 159: James Reginald HALLIGAN OBE, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 28 September 2016^{[permanent dead link]}
12. Rawson, Don (2002). "Keane, Richard Valentine (1881–1946)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
13. CP 245: Sir Francis Anthony MEERE OBE, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 23 January 2014, retrieved 22 August 2015

External links

• Official website