The Mandevillian, 1989, Vol4, No3

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MANDEVILIMN Registered by Australia Post Publication Number VBH 7636, Vol 4, No 3, October 1989

GIRLS' EDUCATION

The issue of career choice is particularly

pertinent at this time of the year when Year 10

AND GREAT

students are in the process of making subject

EXPECTATIONS

is no easy task to advise the girls, for subject

choices for their final two years of schooling. It

At the moment The Stables are in a

PRESERVING OUR

UNIQUE HERITAGE: THE STABLES

Photography classes will be moved out of the building and into reappointed premises

choice is a matter of the heart as well as of the

by Anne Hunt, Principal Since its beginnings almost four centuries ago, Loreto educational philosophy has emphasized the education of girls. The need to focus on girls' education is no less compelling in contemporary Australia than it was in Mary Ward's Reformation Europe. It is regrettably still

head. Each student must reflect deeply on her natural interests and talents, while at the same time keeping in mind the need to hold open a reasonable number of options. Our commitment is to assist each student so that

her choice is as well informed and as carefully c.onsidered as is possible.

transitional phase. In accordance with the provisions of the school's five year plan of reconstruction, Science, Ceramics, Art and

by Brad Allan

elsewhere. By the middle of next year, The Stables will have regained some sense of its

Around the year 1873 the horses of the

original architectural identity. The distinctly non-

Mandeville Hall estate ambled into their new

Victorian "improvements" of earlier years will be

premises: the structure that is still known as

removed and the exterior will faithfully reflect

"The Stables".

the spirit that moved its original creators.

In those days the estate extended well

Internally, The Stables will incorporate various

beyond the present confines of the school

Student Services functions as well as Careers

the case that deeply entrenched stereotypes

boundaries. From the central focus of

pervade our society and that such attitudes can

Mandeville Hall itself, the estate extended

exert a debilitating effect on girls' perceptions of

westwards to Orrong Road, southwards to

themselves and of the options available to them.

Malvern Road, eastwards to Clendon Road and

Yet the well-being and vitality of our society -

northwards in the direction of Toorak Road.

and Counselling.

and even more importantly, of our Church -

After days of working - and hunting - on the

demands that all young people be equipped

Mandeville Hall estate and adjoining estates, the

with a competence and confidence to realize

weary horses probably deserved to take their

their potential, to explore a wide range of career

ease in such salubrious surroundings as The

options, to aspire to high achievement and

Stables.

contribute to their capacity. The education, the challenges and the opportunities which we give to our young people - and particularly to our girls - are crucial. At Loreto, Mandeville Hall we seek to

develop in our girls a confidence in their ability and the competence to make conscious and well-informed decisions about their futures. An education that is sensitive towards and

The Stables probably saw their last horses

committed to the needs of girls necessarily

around tlie end of the Great War in 1918. By

demands careful and continual attention to

this linie a combination of factors - the

gender issues in the curriculum. Mathematics,

subdivision of the estate and the new fashion

the physical sciences and technology are

Whatever her choice, let her commitment to

MEI

and passion for motor cars - meant that the

particular areas of challenge in the education of

herself and to her future not be half-hearted.

girls, for it is there that girls' participation and

Loreto's vision of education is to produce young

achievement has, in the past, been very limited.

women who are open-hearted and open-

operations as a Catholic school for girls, The

The provision of more adequate science and

minded; women of courage and strength of

Stables have had various uses. Sisters of the

computer facilities in the current building

character who are confident and competent,

[BVM community used The Stables as spartan

program is therefore a vital aspect of our

committed to do great and worthy things and to

living quarters from the 1920s until the 1950s.

commitment to educate our students for a

do all things well. Let our school and our homes

Later, classrooms for various school subjects

modern and increasingly technological world.

be places of great expectations.

such as Craft, Science, Physics, Needlecraft, Ceramics and Photography were established in

days of the horse were gone at Mandeville Hall. Since 1924, when Mandeville Hall began

tt

The Stables. At one point the staffroom for the Senior School was located there. During these

4-« hur

phases of usage various unsympathetic alterations and additions were made to the

building, but fortunately much of the original

As a first step in the rejuvenation of The Stables, the commanding yet graceful tower,

structure survives intact.

which had suffered considerably from weathering, has been restored to a sound

OUR DREAMTIME IMAGE by Sr. Robyn Reynolds and Wenten Rubuntja For us to ponder and wonder at: the

Dreamtime image of the Cross... At the time of the Loreto Pilgrimage during the 1988 Bicentennial year, some of the Alice

Everyone is pleased about the painting and

replace rotted sections and gaps in the

be housed at Loreto, Mandeville Hall and to be

structure were sealed. In addition, the tower has

held sacred there.

HNIE3222:'25;*Willi

The painting is about all the people gathered

[Migijc;Mg"lillill

around tlie Cross of Jesus; it is about the

centrality of Jesus in the life and culture of the

As indicated earlier, much more remains to

Australia - and from "all over"

Louvre windows in both levels niust be

The main feature is the Cross, formed in the traditonally used to carry food and water. Jesus

present to the students and staff from Loreto,

is our Bread of Life and our Living Water. The

Mandeville Hall in memory of this historic

Cross brings us life. At each of the four points

encounter.

of the Cross is "Altyerre", our Dreaming. These

removed.

Downstairs, the clear glass side-lights on both

sides of the main door are wildly out of character. The original fan-light above the door has been removed at some point in the past and unfortunately replaced by a grey timber panel.

four smaller circles represent the law and

All of these items and others will be properly attended to as the work program proceeds. The past, like the future, is in our hands. We

since then. However, when I mentioned that I

ceremonies that we must follow, like those

would be travelling soon to Melbourne and

belonging to the Witchetty Grub, the Kangaroo,

visiting the "700 girls" along the way, some of

the Honey Ant, the Caterpillar. Knowledge of

the women from Amoongana talked about the painting again. But it was Wenten Rubuntja, traditional elder, "Keeper of the Dreaming" and

the Creation Dreamtime stories, understanding of the law and proper respect for ritual has to

renowned Arrernte artist, who announced

These are the dotted straight lines into the

"Yenge nhenhe mpwareme", i am the one to

Cross's centre. Within the framework of the

The Cross in the painting is the particular

be doing this". And so it was.

Cross, the law can be held secure and "it can

pectoral cross worn by the first Catholic Bishop

"

be passed on straight .

Arrernte Christian art. While the painting is deeply personal, it is as well an important statement by and for the Church of the Northern Territory and for Australia.

God with us now".

precious in its uniqueness as traditional

1.*1441

must exercise equal care with both.

be passed on from grandfather to father to son.

The central circle in the Cross represents God. Our law comes from God - "God gave us the Dreaming". The law also leads to God. Proper following of the law, now grasped with a New Meaning, finds rest in the "Tabernacle". "God is here, God has always been here, this is

value, powerful in its spiritual significance and

from the Wattvl Heritage selection. be done, particularly in relation to glasswork.

the visit talked about getting a painting made to

What a magnificent painting we now have! it

from the Dulux Heritage range and Smoke Ash

various "skin" groups, in and around Central

shape of two coolamans. The coolaman was

is stunning in its artistic merit, rich in cultural

been repainted by Mr. Rob Lewis in characteristic Uctorian colours: Indian Red

Arrernte people. These people are from the

Springs Aboriginal people who were involved in

No more, apparently, had been thought of it

condition. limberwork was specially run to

we are all proud of it. We are delighted it is to

534

of the Northern Territory, Bishop Gzell. In Aboriginal culture, it is understood that secret

knowledge, law, ceremonial songs and rites, can only be passed on by the proper authority. It

was only right, then, that the most sacred knowledge of God's Word, the story of Jesus, was given by the proper man of authority, Bishop Gzell.


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