St Patrick's College, Ballarat


St Patrick's College, sometimes referred to as "St Pat's", "Paddy's" or "SPC", is an Australian school founded by the Christian Brothers in 1893. It is a Roman Catholic day and boarding school, located in central Ballarat, Victoria. It provides education for boys from Year 7 to Year 12, with an emphasis on academic and sporting programs. The school continues the tradition of the Christian Brothers in providing education for boys in Victoria and continuing the tradition of Edmund Ignatius Rice, who founded the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1802.

History

The college was originally called Holy Ghost College, which was started in 1888 and administered by the Holy Ghost Fathers. Also in 1888, St Alipius' Primary School was established by the Christian Brothers. However, after a promising start, the senior school closed due to the Holy Ghost Fathers' departure for France. The Bishop of Ballarat at the time, James Moore, contacted the Provincial of the Christian Brothers in Australia, Brother Patrick Ambrose Treacy, to take over the running of the school. The new college opened its doors on 24 January 1893, as St Patrick's College. Four Christian Brothers were on the initial staff, with the Brother J. L. Ryan as the founding headmaster.
In 1924 St Patrick's Christian Brother's boys' primary school was built in Drummond Street South. This school and St Alipius were operated by the Christian Brothers at St Patrick's College but both became parish schools in the 1980s. St Patrick's College now no longer has a junior school attached to it and students commence at Year 7 having completed their primary education elsewhere.
The school gradually grew in stature and size to become not only the largest Catholic school in Ballarat, but one of the leading Catholic schools in Victoria. The college, under the governance of the Christian Brothers, grew from its first enrolment of 36 students in 1893 to 168 in 1902. The school's academic record was first class even in its infancy, with the 1893 dux of the college, Sir Hugh Devine, becoming a world-famous surgeon. The school has grown immensely in the past 100 years, with over 1,000 boys enrolled.
The college, in 1933, completed the construction of the Brother's residence, a large imposing red-brick building, still dominating the facade of the school. A memorial chapel was constructed in 1954 and dedicated to the memory of St Patrick's Old Collegians who died during the First and Second World Wars. This large Romanesque chapel still holds pride of place at the front of the school and is the centre of the school's spirituality. The college has over 300 graduates who have been ordained priests, a record in Australia. Over 60 graduates have entered into religious life.
In 1966, the W.T. O'Malley Wing was completed in dedication to Brother William Theodore O'Malley, who was not only deputy headmaster of the college for 30 years, but taught there for over 40 years. He is remembered as one of the greatest brothers to grace St Patrick's College, with many Old Collegians dedicating their successes to his tuition. In 1976 the J.L. Kelty Resource Centre was opened. It is dedicated to Brother Justin Linus Kelty, a former headmaster, who led the college in the 1960s.
In 1979, the college completed the W.T. O'Malley Sports Centre, which was officially opened by former students and Brownlow Medal winners John James and Brian Gleeson.
In 2004, the college officially opened the W.J. Wilding Wing, which now houses the senior school. The building was named in honour of Brother William Wilding, a former headmaster of the college in the early 1980s who oversaw the completion of the Dr Spring Administration Wing.
Peter Casey succeeded L. B. Collins in 2002 in 2002, becoming the school's first lay headmaster. John S. Crowley became St. Patrick's second lay headmaster in 2015.

Student abuse scandals

Between 1953 and 1983 a number of students who attended St Patrick's College made allegations that they were sexually assaulted. Some of these cases were litigated and the offenders found guilty. A Christian Brother who taught at St Patrick's College in the early 1970s was subsequently convicted of child sexual offences related to activities at the school.
In May 2015 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, a royal commission of inquiry initiated in 2013 by the Australian government and supported by all of its state governments, began an investigation into the response of Australian institutions, including the Catholic Church, to the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors, their families and their communities. The hearing heard from residents and former students of many Catholic institutions in Ballarat, including St Patrick's College, Ballarat; as well as members of the Ballarat community. Catholic clergy who were convicted of child sexual offences which took place within the geographical bounds of the Diocese of Ballarat were also invited to speak or make statements before the royal commission.
The royal commission's final report about Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat was released on 6 December. The commission found that:
"Many children, mainly boys, said they were sexually abused at St Alipius and/or St Patrick’s College." That most allegation at St Patrick's College were related to Ted Dowlan who sought there from 1973 to 1975. "A number of the survivors who gave evidence said they believed a number of their classmates from St Alipius and St Patrick's College had died by suicide or died prematurely", because of the abuse and that there was systematic minimisation and cover up of the abuse. The Commission found that the response to the abuse from the Christian Brothers was "grossly inadequate", and said brothers were regularly shifted to a new location after an allegation had been made. Among those was the case of Brother Gerald Leo Fitzgerald, who died in 1987 before any charges were laid against him. One previous student told the inquiry of a culture of depraved sexual abuse and brutality which existed inside the school during the 1970s.
St Patrick's College in Ballarat has stated it would remove Archbishop Little's name from a building which had been named in his honour and revoke his status as an inducted legend of the college. This was because of the royal commission finding that Archbishop Little led a culture of secrecy in the Melbourne archdiocese designed to hide complaints against several priests and protect the church's reputation from scandal.

Influences

The college has four houses, Ryan, Keniry, Nunan and Galvin, which are named after former headmasters of the college. They are:
Named in honour of J.L. Ryan – Headmaster from 1893–1894, who set the foundations of the college and led it during its formative years.
Named in honour of E.F. Keniry – Headmaster from 1912–1915 and 1920–1924, who ran the college throughout the first part of the war and was a driving force behind establishing the Old Collegians Association.
Named in honour of Paul Nunan – Headmaster from 1910–1912, Nunan put into effect the completion of the development plan and expanded the curriculum.
Named in honour of T.B. Galvin – Headmaster from 1925–1926, Galvin was not only a man of great wit but is remembered as an academic and a brother who had a large influence over the boys at the time.
The college promotes the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, basing itself on the four pillars of faith, excellence, tradition and joy. The patron of the college, Paul Bird, Bishop of Ballarat, presides over the major college Masses along with other priests.

Headmasters

  1. J. L. Ryan, CFC
  2. J. B. Nugent, CFC
  3. W. M. McCarthy, CFC
  4. J. G. Hughes, CFC
  5. J. B. Duggan, CFC
  6. J. T. Quinn, CFC
  7. F. S. Carroll, CFC
  8. W. M. McCarthy, CFC
  9. Paul Nunan, CFC
  10. E. F. Keniry, CFC
  11. J. S. Turpin, CFC
  12. E. F. Keniry, CFC
  13. T. B. Galvin, CFC
  14. J. C. McCann, CFC
  15. W. M. Reidy, CFC
  16. J. K. O'Neill, CFC
  17. D. G. Purton, CFC
  18. I. L Mackey, CFC
  19. J. D. Healy, CFC
  20. C. A. Mogg, CFC
  21. J. D. Healy, CFC
  22. J. H. Lynch, CFC
  23. V. I. Murphy, CFC
  24. J. L. Kelty, CFC
  25. P. B. Murphy, CFC
  26. Michael B. Stallard, CFC
  27. Ronald S. Stewart, CFC
  28. Paul J. Nangle, CFC
  29. J. P. O'Halloran, CFC
  30. William J. Wilding, CFC
  31. T. F. Kearney, CFC
  32. K. J. Buckley, CFC
  33. L. B. Collins, CFC
  34. Peter M. Casey
  35. John S. Crowley

    Notable alumni

;Arts and media
;Business:
;Law:
;Literature:
;Politics:
;Religion:
;Sport:
;Australian Football League – members of the Australian Football Hall of Fame
;Australian Football League – members of the Hall of Fame for each club
;Australian Football League – members of the Team of the Century for each club
;Australian Football League – players
;Carlton Football Club
;Adelaide Football Club
;Collingwood Football Club
;Essendon Football Club
;Fremantle Football Club
;Greater Western Sydney Giants
;Hawthorn Football Club
;Melbourne Football Club
;North Melbourne Football Club
;Port Adelaide Football Club
;Richmond Football Club
;St Kilda Football Club
;West Coast Eagles
;Australian Football League – Brownlow medallists
;Australian Football League – coaches
;Australian Football League – administrators
;Cricket
;Olympian