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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
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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
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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.