Celebrating 150 Years of Catholic Education in the Townsville Diocese

Acknowledgement of Country:

We acknowledge with respect, the land, the skies, the waterways and the spiritual systems of the Traditional Owners of the lands within the Townsville Diocese. From Ingham in the North, to The Whitsundays in the South. From Palm Island in the East, to Mount Isa in the West, let us honour the wealth of diverse cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that have been part of this land for over 60,000 years. We pay our respects to the Elders with us and watching over us from the Dreaming, and commit ourselves to nurturing the strengths of our emerging leaders across the Diocese. We continue to walk humbly on this land towards reconciliation for we are one in land, one in spirit, one in faith united in God’s love.

Message from Bishop Tim Harris

150 years of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Townsville.

In 1873, 57 years before Townsville became a Diocese, Catholic Education was established in the region in both Townsville and Bowen. In those 150 years, tens of thousands of students have been educated within Catholic Schools in the Diocese with more than 13,000 currently in the Catholic Education system.

Our schools now boast children drawn from every part of our society. Yet for all their diversity, they form a community with a common purpose and shared mission. As Christ said that He had come “that they might have life, life to the full” (John 10:10), we seek to draw out our students’ gifts, address their challenges and enable them to experience fullness of life.

Our Catholic Schools are the jewel in the crown of the Catholic Church here in the Diocese and across Australia.

I would like to thank the students, their families and more than 2800 staff for their dedication and passion for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Townsville.

Most Rev. Tim Harris BISHOP

OF TOWNSVILLE

Message from Executive Director Jacqui Francis

Townsville Catholic Education is delighted to be celebrating 150 years of educating students within our Diocese. Townsville Catholic Education is celebrating 150 years of educating students within our Diocese. The first Catholic school within the Diocese of Townsville was founded in February 1873 by the sisters of St Joseph on The Strand in North Ward. In July the same year, the Sister of St Joseph travelled to Bowen and opened a second school in September 1873. We are so fortunate that these two schools, St Joseph’s Catholic School, The Strand and St Mary’s Catholic School, Bowen, continue to thrive in servicing the local community.

We give thanks to those who brought Catholic education to this Diocese, and we pray that their vision for faith will continue so that our Catholic teaching responds to the call of the church today.

As we celebrate this 150 year milestone of providing holistic education with Jesus Christ as its foundation, we can be proud of what has been achieved in the past and look forward to continuing to watch our Diocese thrive in the coming years.

Jacqui Francis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

God of time and eternity, as we celebrate one hundred and fifty years of Catholic Education in Townsville we offer you gratitude and praise.

We thank you, Lord Jesus, for sending St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart and the Sisters of Mercy to bring your love to our diocese.

May we follow their example of teaching so that we discover you, follow you, worship you and share you with others. Holy Spirit, guide us in bringing the joy of the Gospel to our school communities.

Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with love like Mary Help of Christians, so that we too, may be anchored in your love for us. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Pray with us

St Catherine McAuley, Pray with us

St Mary Help of Christians, Pray with us.

The growth of Catholic Education in the Townsville Diocese

St Joseph’s School, Giru 1945 – 1998

Bishop Ray Benjamin, Fourth Bishop of Townsville 1984 – 2000

Ryan Catholic College, Kirwan 1979 – present

Burdekin Catholic High School, Ayr 1974 – present

Mr John Nuss, Director 1974 – 1983

Ignatius Park College, Cranbrook 1969 – present Holy Spirit Catholic School, Cranbrook 1969 – present

Bishop Leonard Faulkner, Third Bishop of Townsville 1967 – 1983

Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mount Isa 1985 – present

St Kieran’s Catholic School, Mount Isa 1985 – present

Sr Mary McDonald, RSJ, PhD, Director 1985 – 1993

Marian Catholic School, Currajong 1988 – present

St Anthony’s

College,

1992 – present

1993 – 2006

Good Shepherd Catholic School, Rasmussen 1996 – present

Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers 1998 – present

Southern Cross Catholic College, Annandale 1998 – present

Catholic

Deeragun

Mr Mike Byrne, Director

St Joseph’s Catholic School, The Strand

1873 – PRESENT

St Joseph’s Catholic School, The Strand, in Townsville was the first school to be founded by the Sisters of St Joseph in North Queensland. Sisters Gertrude Wright and Magdalen Foley arrived in Townsville to serve as teachers on 27 February 1873, and classes began in the Church in March.

In 1875, Mother Mary of the Cross visited the school for the first time and taught classes during her visit. In June the following year, tenders were called for the construction of two dedicated school buildings at the St Joseph’s site. These buildings, an infant and primary school, are thought to have been completed later that year.

Mother Mary of the Cross returned to Townsville for the second time 1878 due to ongoing hardships and disagreements between the Sisters of St Joseph and the then parish priest. It was at this time that Mother Mary of the Cross decided to withdraw the Sisters of St Joseph from Townsville, closing the school. With the Josephites withdrawing from Townsville, the Sisters of Mercy replaced them in running the school with Mother Mary Benigna Desmond arriving early in 1879. Having been placed in charge

of re-establishing St Joseph’s Primary School, Mother Mary had a reputation for passion and industriousness, and the school re-opened shortly after her arrival.

In January 1892, severe flooding devastated the church and school grounds with the foundations of the church being washed away in the deluge. Irreparable damage meant the original church had to be demolished and mass was held in St Joseph’s Primary School until what is now known as the Sacred Heart Cathedral opened in 1902.

Bishop Timothy Harris with prep students 2023

Students at lunch break 1979

Over the past 150 years the school has continued to grow and the school grounds have transformed to now accommodate over 360 students from Prep to Year 6.

Students learning circa 1999

St Joseph’s Catholic School, The Strand circa 1881 Staff and students 2023

Students class photo circa 1952

St Joseph’s Catholic School and St Joseph’s Catholic Church circa 1924

Students ready for school 1958

St Mary’s Catholic School, Bowen

1873 – PRESENT

The Sisters of St Joseph arrived to establish a convent school in Bowen in July 1873. Living conditions were far better in Bowen than they had been in Townsville with a cottage provided to house the sisters.

Sister Gertrude Wright opened what was known as St Mary’s Convent School in September 1873, and the sisters continued to teach at the school until they were withdrawn in 1879.

In 1881, Sister Gertrude travelled to Bowen with Sister Mary Stanislaus and reopened the school. For a time, the group called themselves the “Sisters of the Holy Family” so as to continue operating under difficult circumstances for the Sisters of St Joseph in Queensland.

In January 1884, cyclone Simla destroyed St Mary’s school and for a time the Sisters taught lessons in the old Masonic Hall. The sisters were forced to close the school later that year and they returned south. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in Bowen in 1885 with the intention of reopening what was now known as St Mary’s Primary School. The initial group of sisters were accommodated in a private residence in Bowen as the convent and church were not yet fully rebuilt after being destroyed in 1884.

St Mary’s obtained its first dedicated school building in 1895 with the old Immigration Depot being relocated and converted into a classroom.

16 years later, the completion of a new church allowed the old church to serve as a new school building and the previous building to be converted into an extension of the convent to accommodate boarders. In 1923 new school buildings were completed, allowing for St Mary’s Convent to be renovated and relocated next to the church.

Former Immigration Depot building that served as second school ca. 1895

St Mary’s Catholic School, Bowen 2018

Centenary celebration book cover

Centenary celebration, 1985

Sister Leo teaching Italian to Year 4 students, 1990

St Mary’s Convent after completion of new wing for boarders 1962

In November 1937, Santa Barbara’s Infants’ School opened as part of the expanding St Mary’s Primary School site and 6 years later in 1943, Stella Maris Secondary School for Girls was established in the front room and side verandah of St Mary’s School.

On the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, in September 1961, a new dormitory wing at St Mary’s School was opened. The old Immigration Depot building was later sold, and a house next door to St Mary’s Convent was acquired to serve as a music teaching area.

In July 1985, teaching commenced at a new school building on Poole Street. The Santa Barbara Infants’ School was converted into a Parish Centre and St Vincent de Paul Shop. The old St Mary’s School building facing Gordon Street was demolished allowing for playgrounds and sports areas.

In 2016 the school became known as St Mary’s Catholic School and now has over 200 students from Prep to grade 6.

The old school building being demolished, late 1985

1874

St Columba’s School, Charters Towers

1874 – 1998

In 1874, Father Denis Fouhy opened a school in St Columbcille’s Church, on the site of the Just-In-Time mine at Queenton. There, Miss Quirk taught forty-eight children in her first year. Expansion of the mine in 1877 caused the church building to be moved to Gill Street in Charters Towers, where it was renamed St Columba’s Church. Classes continued to be taught at the new location until a storm destroyed the church in September 1879. The people of Charters Towers built a new church on the site, using material from the original building, and classes were still being taught there when the Sisters of Mercy arrived to manage the school in 1882.

1880

St Patrick’s College, North Ward

1880 – PRESENT

Whereas Father Connolly had shown little concern for the welfare of the Sisters of St Joseph in Townsville, his successor, Father William Mason Walsh, went to considerable lengths to ensure that the Sisters of Mercy were adequately

catered for. Father Walsh arrived in Townsville in August 1878 and immediately set about improving conditions in the town’s convent. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in November 1878 and quickly cemented their position in the Townsville

The Sisters of Mercy

The Order of the Sisters of Mercy was established as a result of the charitable work undertaken by Mother Catherine McAuley and dates its founding to December 1831, when she took her vows and returned to the work she had begun at the House of Mercy in Dublin. The first sisters of the Order arrived in Australia on 7 January 1846, when Mother Ursula Frayne, three professed sisters,

three novices and an intending postulant arrived at Fremantle in Western Australia. The first six Sisters of Mercy arrived in Queensland with Bishop Quinn in 1859, and among them was Mother Mary Vincent Whitty.

community by reopening St Joseph’s Primary School. They opened a boarding school known as St Patrick’s on The Strand in 1880 and a girls’ high school in 1882. Construction on the expanding site culminated with

the completion of a grand convent in 1883. The Sisters of Mercy continued to live and teach at St Patrick’s Convent for more than a century.

The new St Columba’s School 1963

St Columba’s old infant

New Science Laboratory 1963

St Patrick’s Convent 1906

1890 St Francis Catholic School, Hughenden

1890 – PRESENT

Under the guidance of Father Henry Mouton, St Mary’s Church was completed in Hughenden on 8 December 1888 and Miss O’Brien and Nellie Tyrell opened a school there in 1890. Father Publius Cassar invited Mother Berchmans to send a contingent of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan to Hughenden in 1900. The Convent of St Francis Xavier was completed in October 1900, and four Sisters arrived to teach classes at St Mary’s Church in the same month. The Sisters of the Good Samaritan continued to manage St Francis School until 2003.

1888 St Mary’s School, West End

1888 – 1995

Now residing in the much larger St Patrick’s Convent, the Sisters of Mercy were able to expand their presence in the rapidly expanding port city of Townsville. With the completion of St Mary’s Church in West End on 7 October 1888 the Sisters in Townsville also had another location for a primary school. The Sisters journeyed daily from St Patrick’s Convent to St Mary’s Church in a donated buggy for almost thirty years until Mother Mary Bernadine Nugent founded St Mary’s Convent on the site in 1916. Classes were first taught in the space underneath the Sanctuary, and the Sisters of Mercy remained at the school until 1975.

1893 St Mary’s School, Charters Towers

1893 – 1998

By 1891 Charters Towers had grown to be the second-largest city in Queensland and St Columba’s Church School was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the region. St Mary’s Convent was built, at a cost of £4,000, with attached classrooms for high school students. The design of the convent was based upon St Patrick’s Convent in Townsville, and it was described as the grandest convent north of All Hallows in Brisbane. It was blessed and opened by Bishop Giovanni (John) Cani on 4 December 1892, and housed the Sisters of Mercy until the end of 1899, when they were replaced by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

The Convent of St Francis Xavier ca.

St Mary’s, West End 1924

St Mary’s Students studying 1956

Charters Towers St Mary’s College ca. 1956 Sports Day

The Sisters of the Good Samaritan

The Sisters of the Good Samaritan were the first order of religious women to be founded in Australia, and were commenced by Australia’s first Bishop, John Bede Polding, and Mother Scholastica Gibbons in 1857. Until 1899 they had confined their work to New South Wales. After witnessing a severe shortage of teachers in Charters Towers, Bishop Joseph Higgins immediately turned to procuring more sisters for the north. No reinforcements were available from Rockhampton or All Hallows, so he approached other orders for help. Aided by Cardinal Francis Moran, Bishop Higgins secured two Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, five Presentation Sisters and 11 Good Samaritan Sisters to bolster the ranks in Queensland. He immediately assigned the Good Samaritans to replace the Sisters of Mercy at the schools in and around Charters Towers.

1901 St Patrick’s School, Millchester

1901 – 1923

In 1898 a new church, St Joseph’s, was built in Millchester. The Sisters of Mercy travelled to provide religious instruction at the new church every Sunday morning, but establishing a day school at St Joseph’s Church was far beyond the means of the seven sisters residing in Charters Towers. In 1901, however, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan were sufficiently staffed to open a school on the site, calling it St Patrick’s. Continuing to live at St Mary’s, the sisters who taught at the school were driven by buggy to St Patrick’s. If the buggy was not available the sisters would have to catch the public bus to the Venus Battery and walk several miles to the school. Nevertheless, they continued their daily journey until 1915.

The Congregation of Christian Brothers

The Christian Brothers are a congregation of religious brothers founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice and dedicated to teaching disadvantaged youth. Rice opened his first school in Waterford, Ireland, in 1802 and took religious promises with seven others in 1808. The congregation was the first Irish congregation of men to be approved by a charter from Rome. The first three Christian Brothers arrived in Australia

from Ireland on 10 March 1843. They soon returned to Ireland, believing that life according to the Benedictine model desired by Bishop Polding was incompatible with the rules of their order. They were invited to return by the Archbishop of Melbourne, James Alipius Goold, and a contingent of brothers led by Brother Patrick Ambrose Treacy arrived in the colonies in 1868.

1902

Mount Carmel College, Charters Towers

1902 – 1998

In February 1900 Bishop Higgins wrote to the Christian Brothers Provincial, Brother Edmund Treacy, requesting the placement of brothers in Charters Towers. Father Walsh had already made arrangements for establishing a Christian Brothers College in Townsville, but after visiting Charters Towers and witnessing one sister managing more than 300 students the Bishop gave precedence to the mining city frequently called ‘The World’. The brothers agreed to the request, on the condition that the school and accommodation be built in advance. A day school simply called Christian Brothers’ College was opened by Brother Columban Ryan 1902, but it changed its name to Mount Carmel College in 1916 when it became a boarding school.

Bishop John Bede Polding 1794 – 1877

View looking west of Millchester Road ca. 1890

Edmund Ignatius Rice 1762 – 1844

1904

St Patrick’s Church School, South Townsville

1904 – 1973

In 1904 the Sisters of Mercy established another school, this time in South Townsville. Father William Mason Walsh was shrewd in his approach to providing Ross Island with its first Church in 1904. A wooden prefabricated church had been ordered for a parish west of Townsville but the priest was transferred, and interest in the project

had lapsed. Seeing an opportunity for expanding the Church’s presence in the town, Father Walsh paid the dues on the building and had it constructed on land in South Townsville. The Sisters of Mercy opened a school there in the same year. Mother Mary Bernadine and three sisters were the first to teach at St Patrick’s Church School.

1910

1906

St Patrick’s Catholic School, Winton

1906 – PRESENT

In January 1906 the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Winton accompanied by Bishop James Duhig, the newly consecrated Bishop of Rockhampton. The Mother Superior, Mary Stanislaus Harding, was accompanied by Sisters Baptist Hochruder, Brendan Whelan and Vincent Collins. As they alighted from the train they were welcomed by Father John Fagan. Within days of their arrival they had opened St Patrick’s School in the little wooden church in Winton. Five years later they opened a boarding school with dedicated classrooms. The Sisters of Mercy continued to teach at the school until 1984.

St Joseph’s Catholic School, Cloncurry

1910 – PRESENT

In 1908 Bishop Duhig visited Mother Mary of the Cross and persuaded her to send sisters to open a school in Cloncurry. The Sisters of St Joseph were now to return to Queensland, almost 30 years after Bishop Quinn had ordered them to leave. A convent was built for the sisters on land donated by a parishioner, and in October 1909 four Sisters of St Joseph arrived in Cloncurry to teach at St Joseph’s Church, marking the order’s return to North Queensland. In a reversal

of the usual circumstances, the sisters raised money to have a new presbytery built for the parish priest, Father Edward O’Keeffe, who had been living in a rough boughshed beside the church when they arrived. The Sisters remained at the school until 1996.

The old St Patrick’s Church St Patrick’s Convent School building opened 1956

St Patrick’s Church in Winton between 1911 – 1938

The first students at Christian Brothers College 1902

Mt Carmel College ca. 1939

1911 Our Lady’s Mount College, North Ward

1911 – 1969

Father Walsh had invited the Christian Brothers to open a school in Townsville by 1900 but due to the dire need for teachers in Charters Towers the people of Townsville would have to wait until August 1910 for the brothers’ arrival. To provide a location for the new Christian Brothers high school, Father Walsh purchased the old Geological Survey Museum on Stanton Hill, and the Church spent £4,000 renovating the buildings. Unfortunately, Father Walsh did not live to see Brother Patrick Wilfrid Nolan open Our Lady’s Mount College on 22 January 1911. The Christian Brothers continued to be based at this location until the completion of Ignatius Park College in 1969.

1912

St Patrick’s School, Brandon

1912 – 1923

In 1911 there was significant competition between the communities of Brandon and Ayr over where a new convent for the Sisters of the Good Samaritan should be built. The fact that Father Jules Bucas had taken up residence at the newly

St Francis Catholic School, Ayr

1912 – PRESENT

From 1912 the Sisters of the Good Samaritan would travel from the convent in Brandon to St Francis’ Church in Ayr each day to teach classes. The school was very successful, but the difficulty and expense of travelling to and from Brandon soon became

built St Patrick’s Church may have contributed to Bishop Duhig’s decision that Brandon was the better location for a convent. It was a choice that caused no shortage of difficulties for the four sisters who arrived in September 1912. By 1917 the school at Ayr was bustling with students, while enrolments at Brandon had dwindled to 18. The school closed in 1923, a few years after the convent was moved to Ayr.

unmanageable. In 1920 Father Bucas’ successor, Father Thomas Grogan, finally arranged to have the convent in Brandon moved to Ayr. At various times over their 84 years in the community, the sisters helped to establish a girls’ boarding school, a co-educational primary school, a secondary school for girls and — with the Marist Brothers — a splitcampus regional primary school on the site.

The convent, school and church at Brandon

2019 before demolition

The Marist Brothers of the Schools

The Marist Brothers of the Schools, more generally known as the Marist Brothers, were originally a French Catholic Religious Institute of Brothers founded by Father Marcellin Champagnat in 1817. Like other religious orders that established schools in North Queensland, the Marist Brothers were primarily dedicated to educating the children of the poor. The first brothers arrived in Australia in 1872 and opened their first school at The Rocks in New South Wales. In 1951 Bishop Hugh Edward Ryan and Father Kevin Kelly wrote to the Marist Brothers Provincial, Brother Andrew inviting his order to open a school in Ayr. The Brothers arrived in the Burdekin in 1953, where they established their only school in North Queensland, Edmund Campion College.

1915 Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Ingham

1915 – PRESENT

Four Sisters of Mercy – Mary Aloysius, Mary Teresa, Mary Veronica and Mary Winifred – established Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in Ingham in 1915. Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School was opened the same year, with classes being taught in the old presbytery at St Patrick’s Church. The sisters also offered a boarding school, and the reception from the community was such that the number of students soon exceeded the space in the classroom. When this happened the sisters alternated between teaching in the classroom and under the shade of a tamarind tree on the school grounds. The Sisters of Mercy remained at the school until 2003.

1919

St Joseph’s School, Richmond

1915 – 1972

In 1912 Bishop Joseph Shiel replaced Bishop Duhig as Bishop of Rockhampton, and he was keen to build upon the success of the Sisters of St Joseph in Cloncurry. He decided to transfer three sisters who were currently teaching thirty-four children at Mt Chalmers, several kilometres southeast of Rockhampton, to a new convent he wanted to establish at Richmond. The people of Mt Chalmers opposed the decision with all of their might, and threatened to send their children to the local state school if the sisters were moved. Bishop Shiel relented, but only for a time. The school at Mt Chalmers eventually closed and, in May 1915, the Sisters of St Joseph arrived in Richmond to teach sixty students, with classes regularly held outside or in the space underneath the convent.

St Francis Xavier’s School, Railway Estate

1919 – 1976

St Francis Xavier’s School was established when the infants’ school building was moved from St Joseph’s School in North Ward to Railway Estate. The schoolroom was originally located at the rear of the first presbytery of St Joseph’s Church on The Strand. In 1918 it was shifted to Railway Estate in order to make way for the construction of the new St Joseph’s Church. The building was raised onto high blocks and opened as St Francis Xavier Church School on 26 January 1919. This building is now used as a Catholic church hall, and may be the earliest surviving school building in North Queensland and one of only two in which Mother Mary of the Cross taught.

St Marcellin Champagnat 1789 – 1840

Our Lady of Lourdes Convent, Ingham

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Ingham 2020

The old school building in 2014

1924

St Joseph’s Catholic School, Mundingburra

1924 – PRESENT

In 1924 the Sisters of St Joseph returned to Townsville and opened a new St Joseph’s Catholic School. This time the sisters would remain in Townsville for some 67 years. Their new school was originally located in Norris Street, Hermit Park but moved to its present site on Ross River Road, Mundingburra in 1936. From 1952, like all diocesan schools, St Joseph’s

Catholic School was a co-educational school from Years 1 to 4 and girls only from Years 5 to 7 with the boys in these upper grades attending St John Fisher's School operated by the Christian Brothers. When the sisters left in 1991, St Joseph’s was a fully co-educational primary school with a regular enrolment of approximately 340 students.

1925

St Catherine’s Catholic College, The Whitsundays

1925 – PRESENT

Since the building of a sugar mill there in 1890, the town of Proserpine had begun to grow significantly. By the 1920s the need for sisters to establish a permanent school in the area was becoming desperate. Father Walsh requested that the Sisters of Mercy establish a school in Proserpine, and Sisters Mercy Tarrant, Bernard Wood and Veronica Wall arrived there in 1925. Local fundraising provided the funds for a school to be built. It was a timber building on stilts, with a large central room and wide verandahs. Classes continued to be taught in this building for 35 years. In 2012, a new campus was established to cater for increasing student enrolments and subsequently secondary education was introduced in 2013.

St Colman’s Church School

St Colman’s School, Home Hill 2020

Blessing of convent in Belgian Gardens

St Catherine’s Catholic College, The Whitsundays 2020

1927

St Colman’s Catholic School, Home Hill

1927 – PRESENT

The Mercy Sisters led by Mother Benedicta opened the first school in Home Hill in 1927. She and her colleagues resided in St Brigid’s Convent and taught classes at St Colman’s Church. A formal school building was completed in the 1930s, and it was later improved with the addition of verandahs and partitions to separate classrooms. In 1986 Sister Alexis was the only remaining sister at St Colman’s School, and she retired at the end of that year.

1928

St Columba’s School, Belgian Gardens

1928 – 1975

Bishop Shiel travelled north from Rockhampton to attend the opening of a new Sisters of Mercy convent school at Belgian Gardens in 1928. From its opening until improvements were made in 1940, classes at St Columba’s School were held underneath the church. The new school building was completed just in time to be commandeered for military purposes during the Second World War. After the closure of the school the original building was relocated in 1975 and became a PCYC building in Belgian Gardens.

St Peter’s Catholic School, Halifax

1927 – PRESENT

St Peter’s Catholic School was originally called St Theresa’s Convent School, and was first opened by the Sisters of Mercy in 1927. In its early days, boys boarded in the large convent adjacent to the school. On 8 June 1969 the existing school building was blessed and opened by Bishop Leonard Anthony Faulkner. The building was erected on the original site of St Peter’s Church which, in the early days, served as church and school. The school became St Peter’s School in 1969, and the Sisters of Mercy left the parish in 1976.

1930 Bishop Terence McGuire

1930 – 1938

First Bishop of Townsville

Terence McGuire, born in Moree, New South Wales spent his early life at Gladstone in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales. He studied for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Manly, New South Wales and in Rome, where he was ordained on 19 March 1904. Initially he was appointed a professor at St Patrick’s College, Manly. He then served as a priest and later as a Monsignor in a number of parishes in the Lismore Diocese until his consecration as the First Bishop of Townsville on 25 May 1930. Bishop McGuire was a scholar and as such strongly believed in the education of Catholic children. While he was dedicated to all the education institutions in the Diocese one of his major achievements was the establishment of St Teresa’s Agricultural College for boys at Abergowrie on 22 July 1933. He believed in the need to foster vocations through the education of boys in their Catholic faith and to prepare boys to work on the land. Bishop McGuire left Townsville to become the Bishop of the Canberra Goulburn Dioceses on 18 September 1938. He died on 4 July 1957 in Sydney.

Halifax Convent and Boarders ca. 1960s St Peter’s Catholic School, Halifax 2020

New school building 1969

Our Lady of Victories Church School,

Fantome Island

1931 – 1973

In 1931 a contingent of Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians arrived on Fantome Island to serve and tend to the sick at the local hospital established there in 1928. In 1939 the island also became home to a leprosarium. The community almost entirely consisted of First Nations Peoples who were being treated and quarantined on the island. A rudimentary Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church was built on the site by 1934, and a new Church of Mary Immaculate was completed around 1947. The sisters began teaching the children on the island for an hour each morning, but were teaching classes in both the morning and afternoon by August 1940. There were around six children at the little school. In 1945 sisters from the Order of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary took charge of the leprosarium, which was closed in 1973.

1934 St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie

1934 – PRESENT

St Teresa’s College was originally established by Bishop Terence McGuire as an agricultural college in 1934. The bishop believed that a college in North Queensland was needed to equip boys for work in agriculture, and wanted the Christian Brothers to operate a school where farming practices and bookkeeping were taught alongside conventional subjects. The college’s isolation was accentuated by the fact that the road from Ingham was little more than a bush track for the last seven miles and what road there was would regularly be cut by floodwaters during the wet season. The college initially struggled to become financially viable, but a renewal program began in the 1960s. Today the school is no longer an agricultural college, but retains an important focus on rural and Indigenous education.

1932

St Joseph’s Catholic School, Mount Isa

1932 – PRESENT

The Sisters of St Joseph arrived to open St Joseph's School in Mount Isa in 1932. After humble beginnings the school became well established in Railway Avenue and remained there until the Catholic schools in Mount Isa were restructured in 1984. The school moved to its present site on Twenty-Third Avenue in 1985. The new location

was formerly San Jose College, a Secondary School for girls also under the administration of the Sisters of St Joseph. Since the establishment of the present St Joseph’s Catholic School, the association with the Sisters of St Joseph continued with the Principal being a Josephite, until 1999 when the first lay principal was appointed.

St Joseph’s Catholic School, Mount Isa 2020

The Sisters of St Joseph Convent, Mount Isa ca. 1932

St Joseph’s Convent, Mount Isa

Fantome Island Mission 1936

New Church of Mary Immaculate 1947

St Michael’s Catholic School, Palm Island

1934 – PRESENT

A temporary Catholic School was first established on Palm Island by the Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians in 1934 with ninety-seven students. The building of a formal school was started not long after and St Michael's School was officially opened in 1938. Two sisters taught at St Michael’s until 1945 when they

withdrew and were replaced with the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. In 1969, the Casement site was needed to accommodate the air strip and surrounds, so that the island could be serviced by a commercial airline. At that time, the school –consisting of five classrooms – was relocated to where it now stands.

St Margaret Mary’s College, Hyde Park

1936 – PRESENT

In 1936, the first Sisters of the Good Samaritan arrived in Townsville to administer the new St Margaret Mary’s Primary School. Bishop McGuire had purchased the estate in Hyde Park known as Woodlands from the Cummins family and this home was used as the convent, which the sisters named Saint Philomena’s. Owing to the growing Catholic population of Hermit Park and Mundingburra, the parish priest, Monsignor Vince Vandeleur, organised the establishment of a girls’ secondary college with help from the principal of St Margaret Mary’s Primary School, Mother James. Sisters Mary de Lourdes and Mary Mechtilde were assigned to the new college, and on 22 February 1963, St Margaret Mary’s College was officially opened by Bishop Ryan.

St Michael’s Church, Palm Island

St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie 1938

Founding brothers at St Teresa’s College

St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie 2020

St Anne’s Mission 1937

St Michael’s Catholic School, Palm Island 2016

Singing Group with Rita Breen & Naree Seaniger 1868

St Margaret Mary’s College 1970 St Margaret Mary’s College, Hyde Park 2018

St Margaret Mary’s College 1963

St Margaret Mary’s College 60th Anniversary

St John Bosco Catholic School, Collinsville

1936 – PRESENT

The first Sisters of Mercy led by Mother Benedicta arrived in Collinsville in August 1936 to find the school not yet finished or furnished. Nevertheless, the school opened on 22 August with an enrolment of seventyfive pupils. The building had no roof, and there were no desks or blackboards, but the sisters made the best of the circumstances. Mother Benedicta and Sister Attracta taught the upper grades, while the younger grades took their lessons with Sister Scholastica on the verandah of the convent.

1938

Bishop Hugh Ryan

1938 – 1967

Second Bishop of Townsville

1937

Santa Barbara’s Infant School, Bowen

1937 – 1985

On 14 November 1937 the Sisters of Mercy in Bowen opened a new infants’ school named Santa Barbara’s. The new building was designed by Mr C. D. Lynch, built by Mr J. M. Lowcock, and cost more than £2,000. It was opened by Bishop McGuire in November 1937. Sister Mary Teresa Donoghue was the first principal of the school, which was equipped for the Montessori educational system which had been taken up by the Sisters of Mercy in Townsville.

Hugh Edward Ryan was born on 25 April 1888 in Kyabram, Victoria. He was educated at Assumption College, Kilmore and at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill, New South Wales. He studied for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Manly and at Urban College, Rome, where he was ordained on 17 June 1916. He then served in a number of parishes in the Diocese of Sandhurst in Victoria including five years at Mooroopna from 1933 to 1938. He was appointed the second Bishop of Townsville on 13 July 1938 and consecrated Bishop on 18 October 1938 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo, Victoria. He was enthroned at Townsville on 27 November 1938 by Archbishop Duhig of Brisbane. During his time in the Diocese he facilitated and supported the construction of many parish funded schools and set up a number of institutions which have underpinned the development of education in the Diocese including the Townsville Parents and Friends Association. He also established the Diocesan Development Fund in 1963.

Bishop Ryan retired as Bishop of Townsville on 14 September 1967 and lived at Villa Vincent until his death on 13 November 1977. Bishop Hugh Ryan 1938 – 1967

St John Bosco Catholic School, Collinsville 2020

Convent and school in Collinsville 1961

Santa Barbara’s Infant School 1937

Santa Barbara’s Infant School

1943 Stella Maris Convent High School, Bowen

1943 – 1971

On 2 February 1943 the Sisters of Mercy in Bowen opened a Secondary School for Girls in St Mary’s Convent. Calling the high school Stella Maris Convent High School, classes were conducted in the front room and side verandah of the convent. Mother Dympna taught fourteen students in the school’s first year. Unfortunately, the sisters could not maintain the resources required for the high school, and it closed in 1971.

1945

1949 Gilroy Santa Maria College, Ingham

1949 – PRESENT

In 1949 an American hospital building at Mundingburra was transported to Ingham and turned into a chapel, classrooms and accommodation for the Christian Brothers in what was to become Cardinal Gilroy College. Teaching commenced in the same year, and the school’s first principal was Brother Michael Cryan. The College today is

the result of a merger of two secondary Catholic schools, Gilroy College for boys and Santa Maria College for girls, which both opened in the district in 1949. The changes in secondary education and the abolition of the Scholarship year led to the amalgamation of the two schools onto the Gilroy site in 1973.

St Francis Xavier’s Secondary School, Ayr

1945 – 1973

In September 1944 work began on the establishment of a Catholic girls’ high school in Ayr. A committee was established to raise money for the new school, which was opened by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan on 12 February 1945. Sister Dolores Carrol was the first principal, and classes were initially held in rooms built under St Francis’ Primary School. Dedicated buildings for the high school were opened in April, and the

school was formally dedicated to St Francis Xavier. The sisters continued to operate the school until 1974, when it amalgamated with Edmund Campion College to become Burdekin Catholic High School.

St Joseph’s School, Giru

1945 – 1998

In 1944 Father Thomas Sweeney began work to establish a Catholic school in Giru. He purchased a building to serve as a convent and invited the Sisters of Mercy to open a school at St Joseph’s Church. The sisters arrived that year, but a shortage of materials delayed work on the proposed school until July 1945. When completed, the school first consisted of three rooms, one large and two small, built in under the convent. It was blessed and opened by Father Patrick O’Brien on 23 August 1945.

St Joseph’s School, Giru

Santa Maria College, Ingham

1949 Santa Maria Secondary School, Ingham

1949 – 1973

In 1949 the Sisters of Mercy established Santa Maria Secondary School within the Lourdes Convent School Complex in Ingham. To begin with the sisters taught five girls who were educated to junior standard. Mother Dympna was a pioneer of secondary education in Bowen and she served as the first principal at the secondary school in Ingham. In 1973 the school was relocated to the site of Gilroy College and it amalgamated with the boys’ school to become Gilroy Santa Maria College.

1951 Canossa Primary School, Trebonne

1951 – 2013

In 1949 Father David O’Meara invited the Canossian Sisters to open a school in Trebonne. A house was purchased to provide a convent for the sisters, and a former dance hall was purchased to be used as a school building. Mother Teresa Livio and Mother Josephine Palmery arrived in January 1951, and the remaining two sisters arrived in February. The school opened on 5 February 1951 with Mother Livio serving as the first principal. By the end of its first year forty-one students were enrolled at St Joseph’s School. In 1952 the school was renamed Canossa Primary School and remained open until the end of 2013.

St Helen’s School, Calen

1951 – 1960

St Helen’s School in Calen (part of the Townsville Diocese at the time) was opened in 1951, and for a decade the Sisters of Mercy ran the little school. Ultimately, however, St Helen’s School was too small to be viable. The school closed in 1960, but the sisters remained at the site, using it as a base of operations for the Calen and Kolijo Motor Mission. From the convent the sisters would venture out into the community to teach religious classes to children at local state schools, conduct home visits with both Catholics and non-Catholics, and lead scripture discussions for Young Christian Students meetings. Even after the closure of the Motor Mission in 1973 the Sisters continued their work in the community by returning each year to hold a religious education summer school at the old convent.

1952

St John Fisher’s War Memorial College, Currajong

1952 – 1987

In 1952 the Christian Brothers commenced teaching Years 5 to 8 at St John Fisher’s Primary School for boys with Brother L Baillie serving as principal. Years 1 to 4 remained co-educational in all of Townsville’s Catholic convent schools, but boys now attended St John Fisher’s or Our Lady’s Mount after Year 4. In 1988 the school became the site of the Marian School, which combined St Margaret Mary’s Primary School, Holy Family School and in 1995, St Mary’s School, West End.

Santa Maria College, Ingham Canossa Primary School, Trebonne

Calen Mission

St John Fisher’s War Memorial College 1952

1953

Edmund Campion College, East Ayr

1953 – 1973

Early in 1951 Bishop Ryan and Father Kelly invited the Marist Brothers to open a boys’ high school in Ayr. The order’s provincial, Brother Andrew, responded favourably and on 25 January 1953 a contingent of brothers were officially welcomed to the town. Because the new school had not been completed in time for their arrival, the brothers taught their first classes in St Francis’ Infants School building. They moved into the new Edmund Campion College on Gibson Street in time for the beginning of the second term that year. In 1974 the college amalgamated with St Francis Xavier’s Secondary School to become Burdekin Catholic High School.

1957

Monsignor Kevin J Hanley Kelly, PhD

TENURE DATES UNKNOWN

Director

Kevin J Hanley Kelly was born on 14 August 1888 in Rockhampton, Queensland. He was educated at the Christian Brothers College, Rockhampton and at Nudgee College, Brisbane. He began his priestly studies at St Columba’s College, Springwood, New South Wales and completed his studies at Propaganda College in Rome gaining a Doctorate in Theology and his Baccalaureate in Philosophy. He was ordained in Rome and returned to the Rockhampton Diocese soon after. Fr KJH Kelly served in Ingham from 1920 for ten years and then as Administrator at West End Parish after the establishment of the Townsville Diocese in 1930. In 1932 Fr Kelly moved to Ayr where he remained

1955

St Joseph’s School, Julia Creek

1955 – 1995

The Great Depression thwarted progress towards the building of a convent and school in Julia Creek until after it became a separate parish in 1937. In 1942 the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Julia Creek and, for a time, taught shorthand, typing, music and bookkeeping at the church. Work on a permanent school began in 1951 with Father Charles Devereaux raising money for a convent and petitioning Bishop Ryan and the Sisters of St Joseph to assign sisters to the township. Drought and economic hardship further delayed the establishment of the school but in 1955 St Joseph’s Convent School opened with 58 day students and 32 borders. The sisters of St Joseph continued to teach in Julia Creek for almost 40 years.

until his death. Apart from his priestly duties Fr Kelly was chaplain to the Australian Infantry Forces, Director of Catholic Action, in charge of the Young Christian Students organisation, a broadcaster on 4AY radio and, at one time, President of the Ayr Amateur Drama and Theatre Group. The date of Dr Kevin Kelly’s appointment as Director of Catholic Education is unknown but he was identified as the Director of Education for the Townsville Diocese in the meeting minutes of the Diocesan Council on 7 January 1965. He died in 1964 and his death was noted in the minutes which announced the appointment of Fr D Stewart into the role as Director of Education.

Edmund Campion College 1953

St Joseph’s School, Julia Creek 1962

Director, Monsignor Kevin J Hanley Kelly

St Joseph’s School, Julia Creek 1962

1959

St Francis Xavier’s School, Victoria Estate, Ingham

1959 – 1970

On 7 June 1959 St Francis Xavier’s Church School was opened by Bishop Ryan at Victoria Estate. The land on which the church and school were built was a donation from the Gard family, and the bishop referred to the late Mr and Mrs Gard as founders of the school. Two Sisters of Mercy from Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in Ingham travelled daily to the new school, and the first classes were held in the old church hall on the site. A bus was obtained for the school, and Father David O’Meara would pick up students from the Four Mile and Broadmeadows area to take them to school each morning.

1961

Holy Family School, Currajong

1961 – 1987

Catholic primary schools continued to establish themselves in the developing suburbs of Townsville. In 1961 Holy Family School opened to provide an education to boys and girls in the new parish established in Currajong. Two Sisters of Mercy taught at the new school, and they were assisted by a lay teacher. In January, prospective enrolments were around 140 students. By the 1980s, however, it was becoming apparent that there was a need to consolidate the resources of Catholic primary schools in the area. Holy Family, along with St Margaret Mary’s Primary and St John Fisher’s were amalgamated into a new School named Marian, which opened in 1988.

Holy Family School, Currajong

1960

St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College, Mount Isa

1960 – 1984

In 1959 the Christian Brothers arrived in Mount Isa to establish a college in the town. A new school and a residence for the brothers was constructed on the same block of land as the Good Shepherd Church, and they were blessed and opened by Bishop Ryan in September 1959. Classes began at St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College in February 1960. In 1961 the school added another brother to the staff and opened a secondary department with Chemistry and Physics laboratories. In 1984 the Christian Brothers withdrew from Mount Isa and the school became the site of Mount Isa Catholic High School (currently Good Shepherd Catholic College), which combined the resources of St Kieran’s and San Jose College, which was run by the Sisters of St Joseph.

1962 St Mary’s, Parkside, Ayr

1962 – 1974

In 1954 a member of the Redemptorist Order approached Bishop Ryan about the possibility of founding a new religious order, the Confraternity of Christ the Priest. A church was built, and the Parkside Parish was established. In 1959 Father Whiting began work on opening a school in the parish and in 1962 he arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph of Lochinvar to open their first school in Queensland, St Mary’s. The sisters withdrew from the community in 1974, but the Sisters of the Good Samaritan opened St Francis’ Preschool on the site the following year.

St Francis Xavier’s School 1965

St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College, Mount Isa 1974

Convent at Parkside 1962

1964

Good Shepherd School, Mount Isa

1964 – 1984

In January 1964 Bishop Ryan blessed a new primary school in Corbould Street that had been opened by the Sisters of St Joseph. Teaching Years 1 to 3, there were 125 children enrolled at Good Shepherd School in its first year. With each passing year the sisters added another grade to the school’s repertoire. In 1976 the sisters reverted to teaching only Years 1 to 3, with students then moving on to other schools in the region. The sisters were all based at St Joseph’s Convent until the completion of San Jose Convent in 1972.

1967 Bishop Leonard Faulkner

1967 – 1983

Third Bishop of Townsville

Leonard Faulkner was born at Booleroo Centre, Flinders Ranges, South Australia on 5 December 1926. In 1942 he began his studies for the priesthood at St Francis Xavier’s Seminary, Rostrevor, South Australia and later at Propaganda College, Rome where he was ordained on 1 January 1950. On his return to Adelaide, Fr Leonard was appointed assistant priest at Woodville and in 1955 he became Diocesan Chaplain to the YCW, a position that continued to influence his work throughout his priestly life. During his early time

Monsignor Douglas James Stewart

1965

San Jose Secondary School, Mount Isa

1965 – 1984

An Irishman and parish stalwart, Michael Morgan, donated seven acres of land in the Happy Valley area. It was here that San Jose College for girls was built. It opened in 1965 with Years 8 and 9. The Sisters of St Joseph taught at the school and travelled from the convent at Church Street each day. San Jose School educated girls until 1985 when it merged with St Kieran’s School, the Christian Brothers School for boys on the Good Shepherd Church property at Mary Street. The new co-educational school was named Mount Isa Catholic High School.

1965 – 1974 Director

Douglas James Stewart was born on 26 July 1913 at Yeerongpilly, Brisbane. His education began with the Sisters of St Joseph Catholic School at Krambach, New South Wales then with the Presentation Sisters at Coraki, New South Wales. His high school education was with the De La Salle Brothers at Armidale, also in New South Wales. Doug Stewart studied for the priesthood at St Columba’s College, Springwood and St Patrick’s College in Manly. He was ordained a priest at St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane on 8 December 1936 by Archbishop James Duhig. After ordination Fr Stewart served in most

in Adelaide he was also the Administrator of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in 1957 and the Director of Vocations. He was appointed Bishop of Townsville on 28 November 1967. During his time in Townsville he led the Diocese through the changes brought about by Vatican II, he was passionately involved in ecumenical and interfaith issues, supporting migrants and refugees, advancing the role of Indigenous people in the Church and the Young Christian Workers movement.

parishes in the Townsville Diocese. During his time as a parish priest Monsignor Stewart served on almost every committee or organisation in the Diocese including being Chancellor, on St Paul’s College Council and the Senate of Priests, a member of the Council of the Townsville College of Advanced Education from 1972-1974 and the first editor of the Townsville Catholic News. Fr Stewart was identified as previously being the Inspector of Schools in the Townsville Diocese and Assistant Director from 1957 to 1965. He was appointed Director of Catholic Education on 7 January 1965 after Mons Kevin Kelly.

San Jose School, Mount Isa

Bishop Leonard Faulkner 1967 – 1983

1969

Ignatius Park College, Cranbrook

1969 – PRESENT

On the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of Our Lady’s Mount College Mr Joe Griffin, the president of the Old Boys Association, announced the proposal to purchase land where a new Christian Brothers College would be established. For several years St John Fisher’s had relieved the strain of enrolment numbers, but maintenance of the buildings was becoming unviable and space for additional facilities was strictly limited. The suburbs of Townsville were rapidly expanding to the west and the centrally located college was becoming increasingly difficult for student access and transportation. Our Lady's Mount was closed in June 1969 and Ignatius Park College was opened in the same year.

Holy Spirit Catholic School, Cranbrook

1969 – PRESENT

Holy Spirit Catholic School was opened in 1969 with a single class of Year One students. The Lynch family donated a parcel of land – which had served as a United States Army field hospital in the Second World War – to be used as the site for the new school. Parents and members of the parish community worked to clear the grounds and establish Holy Spirit School. Facing a shortage of available sisters and brothers, a group of dedicated community members, including Herb McLeod, Angelo Gabrielli and Father Martin Branagan organised for lay staff to run the school while sisters or brothers were found. The Sisters of Mercy became an integral part of the Holy Spirit School community, providing principals and some staffing between 1971 and 1989.

1974

Burdekin Catholic High School, Ayr

1974 – PRESENT

In 1974, rationalisation of Catholic schooling in the Burdekin resulted in Edmund Campion College becoming a secondary only, co-educational school catering for students from Year 8 to Year 12. This saw a name change to Burdekin Catholic High School. The school continued to be managed by the Marist Brothers until 2000.

Ignatius Park College, Cranbrook

Ignatius Park School Assembly 1969

Holy Spirit Catholic School, Cranbrook 2020

Burdekin Catholic High School, Ayr 2020

Mr John Nuss

1974 – 1983 Director

John Nuss was born in Brisbane. John went to primary school at St Ita’s School, Dutton Park with the Ursuline Sisters. He attended St Laurence’s Christian Brothers College at South Brisbane. In 196263 John studied at Kelvin Grove Teachers College and his first teaching post was at Mt Gravatt State School from 1963 to 1967. John and Judy married in 1965 and they have six children. John moved to the Catholic School System in 1968 when he began teaching at St Laurence’s Primary and Secondary School. John was appointed to the Executive Officer position in the Townsville Education Office in 1972 and

Director, John Nuss

became the first Lay Director of Catholic Education in Australia in 1974. During these years John completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Education. As the first Director in the recently established Catholic Education Office, Mr John Nuss single handedly attended to a vast range of responsibilities including staffing, funding, teacher development, school rationalisation and new school construction. In 1984 Mr John Nuss returned to teaching at Ignatius Park College and retired in 2007 to extend his interests in cycling, gardening, bushwalking, grandchildren and Indigenous Orchids.

1984 Bishop Ray Benjamin

1984 – 2000

Fourth Bishop of Townsville

1979 Ryan Catholic College, Kirwan

1979 – PRESENT

Ryan Catholic College was Townsville’s first co-educational Catholic College for children from Preschool to Year 12. The school was named after Bishop Ryan and opened in January 1979 with 74 students in Years 1, 2, 3 and 8. Early newsletters called for parents’ help with tree planting, the first school fair, playground equipment and outdoor seating. It truly was a community effort in establishing the school. The first Principal was Barry Taylor, who led a staff of 5.

Raymond Benjamin was born in Rockhampton in 1925 and educated at Our Lady’s Infant School and at St Joseph’s College, Rockhampton. He studied for the priesthood at Pius XII Provincial Seminary at Banyo, Brisbane and was ordained on 25 July 1949 at St Joseph’s Cathedral, Rockhampton. Raymond Benjamin served in a number of parishes in the Rockhampton Diocese and then worked as assistant to the Director of Catholic Education for the Diocese. He later became the Administrator of St Joseph’s Cathedral and, after another term as Parish Priest of the Capricornia Coast, was made Vicar General of the Diocese of Rockhampton in 1978. During his time in Rockhampton he was very involved in the Overseas Students Association. Raymond Benjamin was appointed Bishop of Townsville on 11 February 1984 and consecrated Bishop on 9 May the same year. During his time in Townsville Bishop Raymond Benjamin faced the serious problem of the decline in priest numbers but he felt that, that led to a much greater focus on the laity in the Church. Bishop Raymond Benjamin implemented a wide ranging set of adult faith education courses with the Institute of Faith established during his time. He also devoted much of his life to the Aboriginal community. Bishop Raymond Benjamin said at his Golden Jubilee that, “In many ways the Aboriginals have become my family…from all over this diocese, Rocky and other parts of Australia.” He also gave devoted service to Catholic Education through his extensive involvement in the Catholic Colleges at James Cook University and to the schools of the Diocese.

Ryan Catholic Community School original classroom block

Ryan Catholic College, Kirwan 2020

Ryan Catholic College, Kirwan 2020

1985

Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mount Isa

1985 – PRESENT

Good Shepherd Catholic College was established as Mount Isa Catholic High School in 1985 from utilising buildings and resources from San Jose Secondary School for girls and St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College for boys. This took place as part of the rationalisation of parish facilities undertaken from 1984. San Jose had been operating since 1964 and St Kieran’s since 1960, and in the process of amalgamation, many of the characteristics of both schools were retained and extended to build a new identity for Mount Isa Catholic High School. In 2004 the school commenced its first senior class of Year 11 students who continued on to become the first Year 12 class to graduate in 2005. A period of major refurbishment and transformation took place between 2003 and 2005, culminating with a change of name to Good Shepherd Catholic College.

St Kieran’s Catholic School, Mount Isa

1985 – PRESENT

After the closure of St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College a new primary school took the name St Kieran’s in 1985. The establishment of the school was a result of the rationalisation of Mount Isa’s existing Catholic schools and the closure of St Kieran’s Christian Brothers College. A new St Kieran’s School was opened on Short Street, but this time as a primary school. Sisters of St Joseph operated the school and continued to teach in the region, serving at St Kieran’s until 1987.

Sr Mary McDonald, RSJ, PhD 1985 – 1993 Director

Mary McDonald was born in Ayr, North Queensland and later lived in Townsville. She was educated at St Mary’s College, Charters Towers. After leaving school Mary worked in a children’s library and entered the Good Samaritan’s Novitiate in 1955. Her early teaching years were in secondary schools in Sydney and later in primary schools. Sr Mary moved back to Queensland in the late 1960s as Principal of St James School, Coorparoo and later, at St Joseph’s School, Nambour. It was at Nambour that Sr Mary McDonald become actively involved in environmental issues and community environmental organisations. She became involved in the establishment of the Najara Centre for Spirituality and Ecology in 1977. In 1985 Sr Mary McDonald was appointed Director of the Townsville Catholic Education Office and she was the first woman in Australia to have such a role. In addition to the complex responsibilities as Director of Education, Sr Mary established the Gumburu Environmental Centre at Paluma. After nine years in Townsville Sister Mary returned to the Najara Centre where her many skills and remarkable educational background were put to good use. Sr Mary has been awarded Bachelor degrees in Arts and Education. She has Masters degrees in Theology, Education and Environmental Education and a Doctorate of Philosophy. In 1994 Sr Mary won the position of the Georgia Harkness International Scholar at Northwestern University Illinois and, in 2006, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Australian Catholic University.

Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mount Isa 2018

St Kieran’s Primary School, Mount Isa

St Kieran’s Catholic School, Mount Isa 2020

1988 Marian Catholic School, Currajong

1988 – PRESENT

In 1988, Marian Catholic School was formed by joining a number of innercity Catholic primary schools together. St John Fisher’s College, St Margaret Mary’s Primary School and Holy Family School were amalgamated into the new school at the time of opening. In 1995 St Mary’s School West End also folded into the Marian School.

1993

Mr Mike Byrne

1993 – 2006 Director

Mike Byrne was born in Yerongpilly, Brisbane. Mike’s family moved to Townsville where he attended St Joseph’s School, The Strand from Year 1 to Year 3. On their return to Brisbane in 1957 Mike attended St Laurence’s Christian Brothers College. After school he joined the Christian Brothers in 1968 and during that period of his life he taught at Gilroy College, Ingham and St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace. Looking for a change Mike spent three years teaching at Brisbane Boys’ College, a Presbyterian Methodist School. It was at this time Mike married Mary Duffy with whom he has four children. He returned to the Catholic Education system in 1975 as a Deputy Principal and Principal of St Margaret Mary’s College in Townsville. In 1981, Mike moved into the Catholic Education Office as a secondary consultant, regional administrator and then as Deputy Director. He was

appointed Director of Catholic Education in 1993. Mike has a Master of Educational Leadership, a Master of in Education, a Bachelor Degree in Economics, and a Certificate in Teaching. In 2006 Mike left Townsville to become Director of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC). During his years at QCEC, Mike served on a number of State and National Commissions, committees and boards.

Through that involvement, Mike was a leader in change for a number of significant and complex reforms to Education including; funding for Catholic schools, the move to Year 7 in high schools, the introduction of kindergarten on school sites, the Digital Education Revolution and the introduction of Prep in Queensland Schools. Mike is now retired and living in Brisbane.

1992 St Anthony’s Catholic College, Deeragun

1992 – PRESENT

St Anthony’s was established in 1992 as a Catholic co-educational primary school with an enrolment of ninety-one students from Preschool to Year 7. In 2005, Year 8 classes commenced on the nearby secondary campus and in 2009 the first Year 12 students graduated from the school. A member of Franciscan Schools Australia, the P-12 college maintains a connection to the various Franciscan communities.

Marian Catholic School, Currajong 2020

St Anthony’s Catholic College, Deeragun 2018

1996

Good Shepherd Catholic School, Rasmussen

1996 – PRESENT

Good Shepherd Catholic School was constructed on land purchased in 1993, well before much of the residential development of the area. The original plan was to establish a two-stream school on the site, but population growth in the area along with increasing demand for places within the school led to the revised plan to accommodate a threestream school. Good Shepherd opened its doors in January 1996 with an enrolment of eighty-one students in Year levels from Preschool to Year 3.

Southern Cross Catholic School, Annandale

1998 – PRESENT

Southern Cross Catholic School opened on 26 January 1998, with 70 students from Preschool to Year 4. The school consisted of four buildings staffed by four teachers and one teacher aide. By 2001 Southern Cross Catholic School had expanded to include Years 5, 6 and 7, with 271 students enrolled. In 2015 the school expanded and became Southern Cross Catholic College offering education offerings from Prep to Year 12, with the first Year 12 cohort graduating in 2019.

1998

Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers

1998 – PRESENT

In 1998, the three Catholic schools in Charters Towers amalgamated to form a single P-12 college, Columba Catholic College. The three schools forming Columba Catholic College were St Columba’s School, St Mary’s School and Mount Carmel College. The school currently maintains two campuses, a primary school on the site of St Mary’s Convent and a secondary school on the site of Mount Carmel College.

Good Shepherd Catholic School, Rasmussen 2020

Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers 2018

Southern Cross Catholic School 1998

Southern Cross Catholic College, Annandale 2020

2001

Bishop Michael Ernest Putney

2001 – 2014

Fifth Bishop of Townsville

Michael Putney was born in Gladstone, Queensland on 20 June 1946. He was educated at St Joseph’s School, The Strand, and Our Lady’s Mount, Townsville and St Columban’s College Albion Heights, Brisbane. He studied for the priesthood at Pius XII Provincial Seminary, Banyo, Queensland and was ordained on 28 June 1969. Fr Michael served in a number of parishes in the Brisbane Archdiocese until he began teaching at Pius XII Seminary and then served as Rector of the Seminary from 1980-95. He undertook postgraduate studies at Gregorian University, Rome and the Catholic University of Leuven. He also lectured at the Australian Catholic University, University of Queensland and Gregorian University in Rome. He was a member of several Australian episcopal committees and at a global level was a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Fr Michael was consecrated a Bishop on 27 July 1995 at St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane and he served as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Brisbane Archdiocese until he was inducted as the Fifth Bishop of Townsville on 27 March 2001 at Holy Trinity Church, Mundingburra. One of the many things he developed in the Townsville Diocese was the Graduate Diploma of Religious Education, at James Cook University. In addition to his focus on adult education, Bishop Michael Putney was deeply committed to Catholic Education visiting every school in the Diocese at least once each year. He passed away in Townsville on 28 March 2014.

Dr Cathy Day AO

2006 – 2018

Executive Director

Cathy Day was born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales and attended schools all over Australia and Papua New Guinea until she entered high school at Scone in New South Wales.

Cathy graduated from the Townsville College of Advanced Education in 1975 and taught for 24 years in Catholic schools in the Diocese including St Joseph’s School, Mount Isa, and as Principal at Holy Spirit School, Cranbrook and Ryan Catholic College, Kirwan. Cathy holds a Bachelor of Education, a Master of Educational Administration and a PhD in Educational Administration from James Cook University. She also holds a Graduate Diploma of Arts (Christian Leadership). Dr Day joined the Townsville Catholic Education Office as Assistant Director of School Services in 2000 and became Director in 2006 and then Executive Director. Under Dr Day’s Directorship the Catholic Education Office developed a world first Christian Meditation program for all schools in the Diocese. In 2002 Dr Day was awarded the Townsville Corporate Business Woman of the Year and in 2003 received a Churchill Scholarship to study initiatives in rural/ remote and Aboriginal Education in Canada. During her time as Director and Executive Director, Dr  Day served on the Bishop’s Advisory Council, the Queensland Catholic Education Commission and the Diocesan Finance Council. In retirement she continues to be involved in Christian Meditation internationally and is also a Director on the Edmund Rice Education Australia National Board.

2011

2014 Bishop Timothy James Harris

2014 – PRESENT

Sixth Bishop of Townsville

St

Clare’s Catholic School, Burdell

2011 – PRESENT

St Clare’s Catholic School was opened in 2011 with eleven classrooms, two multipurpose rooms, tuckshop, sports room and student amenities. The school catered for 177 students. Under the foundation principal, Kath Tarttelin, the school has expanded to cater for enrolments exceeding 700 students from Prep to Year 6 in the Northern Beaches corridor.

Timothy James Harris was born on 29 October 1962 in Brisbane, Queensland. He attended Nundah Convent School, Virginia State School and St Joseph’s College, Nudgee. After leaving school he worked in the Bank of New South Wales for five years in Public Relations. He studied at Pius XII Seminary, Brisbane and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology.

Timothy Harris was ordained to the priesthood on 18 November 1992 at St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane. He served in a number of parishes in the Brisbane Archdiocese and was appointed Dean of the Western Deanery, South Coast Deanery, Chair of the Taskforce for Pastoral Planning, Member of the Personnel Board, Clergy Appointment Advisory Board and a member of the Priests’ Council. He was also twice appointed Vicar Forane for the Archdiocese of Brisbane. With this wealth of pastoral experience behind him Fr Timothy Harris was appointed Bishop of the Townsville Diocese on 8 February 2017 and consecrated Bishop on 3 May 2017 in Townsville. As a relatively new Bishop of Townsville, Bishop Tim has made education a major focus of his work by visiting all schools in the diocese every year and has begun to know the teaching staff of Diocesan schools. Bishop Tim said, “I have got to know many of our teachers and I am convinced that [they] genuinely love what they do and passionately assist their students in that learning endeavour. I thank God for our Catholic schools and I thank all stakeholders for the role they play in keeping our schools strong.”

St Clare’s blessing and opening 2011

St Clare’s Catholic School, Burdell 2020

Announcement of St Clare’s 2008 St Clare’s Catholic School, Burdell 2018

2018

St Benedict’s Catholic School, Shaw

2018 – PRESENT

St Benedict’s Catholic School is the newest Catholic school to be opened in the Townsville Diocese. Planning for the school commenced when the Townsville Catholic Education Office faced waiting lists for prep places in other local Catholic primary schools. The school has been awarded a 6 Star environmental sustainability rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. Under the foundation Principal, Penny Collins, the school has expanded since opening to cater for over 500 students across P-6.

Ms Jacqui Francis 2018 – PRESENT Executive Director

Jacqui Francis joined the Townsville community in 2013 to take up a senior leadership role with Townsville Catholic Education and in April 2018 commenced in the role of Executive Director. Before living in Townsville Jacqui spent 20 years living in Sydney. Prior to that she grew up in the Gippsland region of Victoria where she was educated at the local Catholic primary and secondary schools. Jacqui commenced her career as a primary school teacher and worked in state schools in Victoria. She went on to hold middle and senior leadership roles in the Commonwealth and New South Wales public sectors and has applied her skills within various industries including policing and public safety, rail transport and road infrastructure. Jacqui’s

work has provided opportunities to work in international, national, state and regional settings on projects which have addressed human resource development, organisational capacity building, leadership development, governance and improvement of organisational performance. Jacqui has a Master of Business Administration (International Business), a Bachelor of Education (School Librarianship) and a Diploma of Teaching (Primary). She is currently completing a Master of Theological Studies through Australian Catholic University.

St Benedict’s Catholic School, Shaw 2016 – Opening and Blessing

St Benedict’s Catholic School, Shaw 2017 –Official Bless of the Site Ceremony

St Benedict’s Catholic School, Shaw 2020