St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe | |
---|---|
Location | |
, Australia | |
Coordinates | 27°19′25.82″S153°4′57.48″E / 27.3238389°S 153.0826333°E |
Information | |
Type | Independent primary and secondary day school |
Motto | Latin: Certa Bonum Certamen (Fight the Good Fight) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Catholicism |
Denomination | Congregation of Christian Brothers |
Established | 1952 |
Trust | Edmund Rice Education Australia |
Principal | Chris Mayes [1] [2] |
Years offered | 5–12 |
Enrolment | 1,400 |
Campus | Suburban |
Colour(s) | Green and gold |
Affiliation | Associated Independent Colleges |
Website | stpatricks |
St Patrick's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located on the waterfront in Shorncliffe, north of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia. Established by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1952, the college currently enrols approximately 1,400 students across eight grades (Years 5 to 12). [3]
In 1862, John McConnel, a pastoralist and member of the Queensland Legislative Council, began construction on a house for his family on Park Parade. McConnel commissioned Benjamin Backhouse, another politician at the time, and his architectural firm to design the property; a single-story timber house facing the waterfront. By 1864, construction was complete. A number of other properties under McConnel's name during the 1870s were built, including the Seaview Hotel built on Kate Street (now Pier Avenue) and Holland House, a boarding home. [4]
In 1879, Moses Ward, a land speculator and chairman of the Redcliffe and Sandgate Steam Ferry Company, [5] purchased the property. Ward sold the property the following year to David Brown of the firm Thomas Brown and Sons located in inner-city Brisbane. [6] [7] The property was named “Morven” after Brown's homeland in Scotland and is still known by that name today. In 1886, architect F.D.G. Stanley renovated the property to a Georgian, two-story mansion and in 1891, further work was performed by the architectural firm Oakden, Addison and Kemp. [4]
Due to the waterfront views the building provides and its lavish [8] upgrade, Morven became a popular residence for Brisbane's wealthy, including the likes of Queensland Governor Henry Wylie Norman. [9]
In 1910, Edward Goddard Blume purchased Morven and in the following years it was run as a guesthouse by Blume's sister-in-law and her daughters. In 1943, Blume died and the property became derelict. Morven was commonly referred to as a 'haunted house' by locals and was in complete disuse until 1947 where the evangelical Christian movement known for their beach missions, Children's Special Service Mission, made use of the run-down property. [10]
In 1951, the dilapidated Morven building was purchased by the parish priest of Sandgate, Father Patrick O’Rourke, in order to build a Catholic boys' school due to overcrowding at Sacred Heart, a local convent school. St Patrick’s College commenced on 29 January 1952 with Brother Coffey as the principal and 172 enrolled students. [11]
On 22 October 1988, Tony Fitzgerald, an old boy of SPC, talked at a speech night at the school in his first public outing since his appointment as chair of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The speech focused on the youth and their role in the challenges the inquiry brought to light, saying "the solutions to the problems with which my inquiry is concerned lie with us collectively, with our attitudes and behaviour as a community". [12]
More facilities were built over the decades to accommodate the growing student body, including a tuckshop in 1958, a swimming pool in 1972, and a middle school building for Years 5-6 in 1977 (called the Morrissey Building). [10] In 1992, the school's main sporting fields were built on top of an old rubbish dump on Curlew Street in Sandgate, becoming known as Curlew Park. [13]
In 2004, the Christian Brother's stopped residing in the college after 52 years of living within Morven. [14] It was declared a local heritage place that same year due to its historical and social significance. [4] The building now contains offices for teachers and the administration office.
On 15 February 2010, twelve-year-old Elliot Fletcher was stabbed in the school's bathroom by a thirteen-year-old classmate before dying upon arrival at hospital. Media reports claimed the alleged offender was a victim of bullying at the school who stabbed Elliot using a knife intended to "scare" his tormentors. [15] After fleeing the school grounds, the attacker was found with minor wounds and taken to hospital by police; he was charged with murder the same day. [16]
A Facebook memorial page was created following the tragedy, seeing hundreds of people paying tribute to Elliot. After a number of graphic images were put up in an effort to vandalise the tribute page, Queensland Police launched an investigation and, in the following months, the man responsible for the defacement was charged with child exploitation offenses. [17]
Elliot's funeral was attended by thousands of mourners, including hundreds of fellow students who formed a guard of honour around the hearse to pay tribute. [18] [19]
In 2021, the school organised activities for celebrating IDAHOBIT which involved age-appropriate education surrounding LGBTQ+ issues. This garnered backlash from some in the Catholic community, a Catholic Weekly article penning that the education was "a dangerous institutionalised cave-in hidden beneath the title of pastoral care". [20] A QNews article instead highlighted the "overwhelming response" on social media to their "inclusive approach" to the issue. [21]
St Patrick's College is one of eight member schools of the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC) [22] and participates in that association's sporting competitions for high school students and junior school students. The college has had success in AIC, winning four aggregate cross country championships (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), two First XI cricket premierships (2018, 2020) and two First XI football premierships (2013, 2015).
St Patrick's College has won the following AIC premierships. [23] [24]
College esports competitions started in 2022 with the college's participation in the Australian Esports League and Acer High Schools Cup's annual Rocket League competition. [26] St Patrick's College earned a spot in the league's Hall of Fame after winning the Term 3 2022 Rocket League championship. [27] There was also a separate AIC esports competition in Minecraft 5v5 Capture the Flag. [28]
St Patrick's College offers a number of cultural programs, including: [29]
The college stages biannual senior and junior musicals with another Catholic secondary school, St John Fisher College and in collaboration with local community theatre company Brisbane Junior Theatre. The most recent senior school musicals were High School Musical (2017), Grease (2019), The Addams Family (2021) and Shrek The Musical (2023). [31] [32] The college also stages biannual dramatic stage play productions, starting with The Ghost of Morven in 2022, an entirely original play based on local folktale about the college. [33] The students of the college also help organise a yearly "Showcase" event where each house competes in a battle of stage performance. [34]
There are nine houses at St Patrick's College: [35]
Alumni of St Patrick’s College are called Old Boys and can join the St Patrick’s Old Boys' Association (SPCOBA). [36] Some notable Old Boys are:
The Shorncliffe railway line is an 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) suburban railway line situated north of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Queensland Rail Citytrain network.
Sandgate railway station is located on the Shorncliffe line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Sandgate.
Sandgate is a northern coastal suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Sandgate had a population of 4,926 people.
Albion is an inner north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Albion had a population of 3,446 people.
Nundah is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It contains the neighbourhood of Toombul. In the 2016 census, Nundah had a population of 12,141 people.
Villanova College is a private, Roman Catholic school for boys located in Coorparoo, a southern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school has a non-selective enrolment policy for all years and caters for approximately 1,500 boys in three schools, Junior, Middle and Senior from year five to twelve. Established in 1948 by six Irish priests, led by Ben O'Donnell, who were from the Order of Saint Augustine in the suburb of Hamilton. In 1954, due to lack of prospects for growth in Hamilton, the college moved to its present site at Coorparoo. The college is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) and the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC).
Boondall is a northern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Boondall had a population of 9,603 people.
Marist College Ashgrove is an independent Roman Catholic day and boarding primary and secondary school for boys, located in the northern Brisbane suburb of Ashgrove, in Queensland, Australia. The college caters for students from Year 5 to Year 12.
Iona College is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex day school for boys, located in the Brisbane suburb of Lindum Queensland, Australia. Iona is operated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a religious order that was founded in 1816 by Saint Eugene de Mazenod.
Shorncliffe is a coastal north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is on the shore of Bramble Bay, part of Moreton Bay. In the 2016 census, Shorncliffe had a population of 1,870 people. The suburb attracts visitors to its historic Shorncliffe pier, and Lovers Walk, a walking path along the coastline between Shorncliffe and neighbouring Sandgate.
The Associated Independent Colleges, or AIC, is a group of independent secondary schools in south-east Queensland, Australia. With the exception of St Peters Lutheran College, AIC schools are all-boys schools.
St Laurence's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary school for boys, located in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1915. the school is a member of Edmund Rice Education Australia. As of 2021, the college had an enrolment of over 1913 students from Year 5 to Year 12. St Laurence's is affiliated with the Associated Independent Colleges sporting association.
Northgate is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Northgate had a population of 4,568 people.
Nudgee is a north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Nudgee had a population of 4,377 people.
St. Brendan's College is an independent Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1940 and opened with a total of 59 students. The school describes itself as "Australia's Largest Country Boys Boarding School", and has educated several leading National Rugby League players.
St Edmund's College is an independent Catholic secondary day school for boys', located in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1892 and is conducted in the tradition of Edmund Ignatius Rice.
Sacred Heart College, also known as Marist Brothers Rosalie, was a Catholic boys' college located in Paddington, an inner western suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The college had been a high school for students in grades 8 to 12, but was closed at the end of 2008. Some of the school buildings were heritage-listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 2008.
St Joseph's Nudgee College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Boondall, a northern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Jayson Bukuya is a Fiji former international rugby league footballer who played as a lock or second-row forward for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL.
John Arthur Fihelly was a public servant, politician and rugby union player in Queensland, Australia. He was the Treasurer of Queensland. He represented Australia as a professional rugby league footballer and a founder of the Queensland Rugby League.