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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe
St Patrick's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located on the waterfront in Shorncliffe, north of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia. Established by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1952, the college currently enrols approximately 1,400 students across eight grades (Years 5 to 12).

History

1800s

In 1862, John McConnel, a pastoralist and member of the Queensland Legislative Council, began construction on a house for his family on Park Parade. McConnel commissioned Benjamin Backhouse, another politician at the time, and his architectural firm to design the property; a single-story timber house facing the waterfront. By 1864, construction was complete. A number of other properties under McConnel's name during the 1870s were built, including the Seaview Hotel built on Kate Street (now Pier Avenue) and Holland House, a boarding home.

In 1879, Moses Ward, a land speculator and chairman of the Redcliffe and Sandgate Steam Ferry Company, purchased the property. Ward sold the property the following year to David Brown of the firm Thomas Brown and Sons located in inner-city Brisbane. The property was named “Morven” after Brown's homeland in Scotland and is still known by that name today. In 1886, architect F.D.G. Stanley renovated the property to a Georgian, two-story mansion and in 1891, further work was performed by the architectural firm Oakden, Addison and Kemp.

Due to the waterfront views the building provides and its lavish upgrade, Morven became a popular residence for Brisbane's wealthy, including the likes of Queensland Governor Henry Wylie Norman.

1900s

Morven during its years as a guesthouse, ca. 1932

In 1910, Edward Goddard Blume purchased Morven and in the following years it was run as a guesthouse by Blume's sister-in-law and her daughters. In 1943, Blume died and the property became derelict. Morven was commonly referred to as a 'haunted house' by locals and was in complete disuse until 1947 where the evangelical Christian movement known for their beach missions, Children's Special Service Mission, made use of the run-down property.

In 1951, the dilapidated Morven building was purchased by the parish priest of Sandgate, Father Patrick O’Rourke, in order to build a Catholic boys' school due to overcrowding at Sacred Heart, a local convent school. St Patrick’s College commenced on 29 January 1952 with Brother Coffey as the principal and 172 enrolled students.

On 22 October 1988, Tony Fitzgerald, an old boy of SPC, talked at a speech night at the school in his first public outing since his appointment as chair of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The speech focused on the youth and their role in the challenges the inquiry brought to light, saying "the solutions to the problems with which my inquiry is concerned lie with us collectively, with our attitudes and behaviour as a community".

More facilities were built over the decades to accommodate the growing student body, including a tuckshop in 1958, a swimming pool in 1972, and a middle school building for Years 5-6 in 1977 (called the Morrissey Building). In 1992, the school's main sporting fields were built on top of an old rubbish dump on Curlew Street in Sandgate, becoming known as Curlew Park.

2000s

Heritage listing of Morven

In 2004, the Christian Brother's stopped residing in the college after 52 years of living within Morven. It was declared a local heritage place that same year due to its historical and social significance. The building now contains offices for teachers and the administration office.

2010 stabbing of school student

On 15 February 2010, twelve-year-old Elliot Fletcher was stabbed in the school's bathroom by a thirteen-year-old classmate before dying upon arrival at hospital. Media reports claimed the alleged offender was a victim of bullying at the school who stabbed Elliot using a knife intended to "scare" his tormentors. After fleeing the school grounds, the attacker was found with minor wounds and taken to hospital by police; he was charged with murder the same day.

A Facebook memorial page was created following the tragedy, seeing hundreds of people paying tribute to Elliot. After a number of graphic images were put up in an effort to vandalise the tribute page, Queensland Police launched an investigation and, in the following months, the man responsible for the defacement was charged with child exploitation offenses.

Elliot's funeral was attended by thousands of mourners, including hundreds of fellow students who formed a guard of honour around the hearse to pay tribute.

Support for LGBTQ+ rights

In 2021, the school organised activities for celebrating IDAHOBIT which involved age-appropriate education surrounding LGBTQ+ issues. This garnered backlash from some in the Catholic community, a Catholic Weekly article penning that the education was "a dangerous institutionalised cave-in hidden beneath the title of pastoral care". A QNews article instead highlighted the "overwhelming response" on social media to their "inclusive approach" to the issue.

Sport

St Patrick's College is one of eight member schools of the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC) and participates in that association's sporting competitions for high school students and junior school students. The college has had success in AIC, winning four aggregate cross country championships (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), two First XI cricket premierships (2018, 2020) and two First XI football premierships (2013, 2015).

AIC premierships

St Patrick's College has won the following AIC premierships.

  • Australian Football – 2020
  • Basketball – 2015
  • Chess – 2020
  • Cricket (2) – 2018, 2020
  • Cross Country (4) – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
  • Golf – 2014
  • Rugby Union – 2018
  • Rugby League – 2021
  • Soccer (2) – 2013, 2015
  • Tennis – 2006
  • Volleyball – 2015

Non-AIC sports

College esports competitions started in 2022 with the college's participation in the Australian Esports League and Acer High Schools Cup's annual Rocket League competition. St Patrick's College earned a spot in the league's Hall of Fame after winning the Term 3 2022 Rocket League championship. There was also a separate AIC esports competition in Minecraft 5v5 Capture the Flag.

Culture

St Patrick's College offers a number of cultural programs, including:

  • Instrumental and Vocal Music – there are over 20 school ensembles ranging from percussion to jazz performing at the school and other events such as the QCMF.
  • Chess
  • Debating
  • Theatresports
  • Art Club
  • Film Crew (and Junior Film Crew)
  • School Musical
  • Senior Drama Production
  • Tech Crew
  • Dance Crew

The college stages biannual senior and junior musicals with another Catholic secondary school, St John Fisher College and in collaboration with local community theatre company Brisbane Junior Theatre. The most recent senior school musicals were High School Musical (2017), Grease (2019), The Addams Family (2021) and Shrek The Musical (2023). The college also stages biannual dramatic stage play productions, starting with The Ghost of Morven in 2022, an entirely original play based on local folktale about the college. The students of the college also help organise a yearly "Showcase" event where each house competes in a battle of stage performance.

House system

There are nine houses at St Patrick's College:

  • Coffey (blue) – named after Brother Coffey, the first principal of the college from 1952 to 1957
  • Kennedy (purple) – named after John J. Kennedy, principal of the college from 1995 to 1999
  • Mooney (green) – named after Brother Mooney, principal of the college from 1966 to 1971
  • O'Rourke (yellow) – named after Father Patrick O'Rourke, the school's founder
  • Quane (red) – named after Brother Quane, principal of the college from 1964 to 1965
  • Rice (orange) – named after Edmund Ignatius Rice, the catholic missionary who founded the Congregation of Christian Brothers
  • Ryan (white) – named after Brother Ryan, principal of the college from 1972 to 1977
  • Treacy (teal) – named after Brother Patrick Ambrose Treacy, a prominent Christian Brother in the congregation
  • Xavier (maroon) – named after St Francis Xavier, the patron saint of Roman Catholic missions

Notable alumni

Alumni of St Patrick’s College are called Old Boys and can join the St Patrick’s Old Boys' Association (SPCOBA). Some notable Old Boys are:

See also