St. Augustine's College, Yarraville

St. Augustine's College was an Australian Roman Catholic secondary college in Yarraville, Victoria. Also known as Christian Brothers' College, Yarraville, or more simply CBC Yarraville, the school for boys opened in 1942, closed in 1972, and was operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

St Augustine's College, Yarraville
Location
Yarraville
,
Victoria

Australia
Information
TypeBoys secondary
MottoLatin: Sursum Corda
(Lift up your Hearts)
Established1942
FounderChristian Brothers
StatusClosed
Closed1972
EnrolmentPeaked at around 500 in the early 1960s
Colour(s)purple, green, gold
AffiliationsCatholic Church, Congregation of Christian Brothers

Early history

The school owes its early beginnings to the opening of St. Augustine's primary school in 1895. This early school was operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph,[1] who, guided by the charism of Mary Mackillop, wished to help the poor of the area. At that time the wooden church building served a dual purpose as a school on weekdays, for nearly 200 pupils,[2] and a place of worship on Sundays. In 1896 the school was led by Sister Casimir and the nuns and their assistants taught mixed classes of boys and girls and it was not until much later that classes were strictly segregated.

By 1930 around 900 students were being taught in the Parish school and the need to build more classrooms was increasing.[3] In 1941 a separate girls school was opened within the parish complex[4] and the need to cater for the boys became obvious.

1940s – 1950s

The Christian Brothers arrived in 1942 to take charge of the classes for boys. They adopted a modified version of the existing Congregational crest used by the Brothers to identify themselves.

In 1946 the school enrolment stood at 240 boys in Grades 5 to 8, also known as Proficiency.[5] The following year the school added a First Year Intermediate class to its curriculum. The names of some of the early headmasters include Br. H. Boylan, Br. E. S. Crowle (1946–1952) and Br. R. McCartney.[6] A new residence was opened for the Brothers on Somerville Road in March 1949 but up until that time they travelled daily from the Brothers community at St. Joseph's North Melbourne by train to the Yarraville railway station.

Closure

The Christian Brothers' college closed in 1972, later to be reopened as an extension of St. Augustines Primary school. Following the withdrawal of the Brothers, the Avoca Street Campus was taken over by the Sisters of St Joseph who proceeded to operate the site as an extension of their Altona West school, Mount St. Joseph Girls' College. The handball courts and the ground floor class rooms of the other site were incorporated into the St Augustine's Primary School which had continued its operation on an adjoining site while the upstairs classrooms were incorporated into Mount St Joseph's campus.

Following a review by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1975 it was decided that the campus was superfluous to their needs and this led to the opening of Yarraville Catholic Girls College.

Recognition

The school was particularly recognised in the city of Melbourne for the strength of its sporting teams, and the sportsmen it produced. For example, six members of the 1954 VFL premiership team (the Footscray Bulldogs) were old boys of St. Augustine's, including Doug Reynolds and Ted Whitten.[7]

Notable alumni
  • Brian William Buckley – Musician, journalist and footballer[8]
  • Terence John Higgins – Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory
  • Doug Reynolds – Footscray Football Club player
  • Ted Whitten – Footscray Football Club player
  • Brian Barnett OAM – Was awarded the Order of Australia in 2013 for a lifetime of work with conservation and the environment, in particular Australian reptiles.
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References
  1. "SCHOOL CONCERT". The Independent. Footscray, Vic. 28 December 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Taig, C.M. (1985) St. Augustine's Yarraville, A history of Church and School. Quickset Press, Yarraville. Retrieved 14 December 2015 from http://www.staugustinesparish.org.au/files/history.pdf
  3. Taig, C.M. (1985) St. Augustine's Yarraville, A history of Church and School. Quickset Press, Yarraville. Retrieved 14 December 2015 from http://www.staugustinesparish.org.au/files/history.pdf
  4. St Augustine's Primary School – History (webpage) Retrieved on 26 November 2015 from http://www.sayarraville.catholic.edu.au/page/58/History
  5. "NEW SAINTS THIS YEAR". The Advocate. Melbourne. 8 January 1947. p. 26. Retrieved 26 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "New Superiors of Brothers' Schools". The Advocate. Melbourne. 24 January 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 26 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. St. Augustine's CBC Yarraville, Old Boys' Association – 40 Year Memories (Brothers Information Technology Services: Melbourne, 2004), p. 24.
  8. Amanda Buckley (2013) From journalism to politics to football, a man of many colours. Retrieved 26 November 2015 from http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/from-journalism-to-politics-to-football-a-man-of-many-colours-20130709-2pogm.html

Bibliography
  • St. Augustine's CBC Yarraville, Old Boys' Association – 40 Year Memories (Brothers Information Technology Services: Melbourne, 2004)
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