St Stanislaus College (Bathurst)

This article is about the school in Bathurst, Australia. For the school in County Offaly, Ireland, see St Stanislaus College. For the school in Guyana, see St. Stanislaus College.

St Stanislaus' College
St Stanislaus' College crest. Source: www.stannies.com (St Stanislaus' College website) Nos Autem in Nomine Domini "But we (Trust) in the name of the Lord"
Location
Bathurst, New South Wales Australia
Coordinates
Information
Type	Independent, Single-sex, Day & Boarding
Denomination	Catholic, Vincentian
Established	1867
President	Vacant
Principal	Dr. Anne Wenham
Staff	49
Enrolment	596 (7–12)
Colour(s)	navy blue and white
Website	www.stannies.com

St Stanislaus' College is a Catholic day and boarding high school for boys, conducted by the Congregation of the Mission's priests and brothers. It is located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, a regional centre 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Sydney. The college is the oldest Catholic boys' boarding school in Australia, and currently caters for approximately 600 students from Years 7 to 12, including about 120 boarders.

St Stanislaus' College is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), and is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA).

History

St Stanislaus' College was established in 1867 with 14 boys, near the present St Michael and St John's Cathedral. Tuition occurred until 1873 in part of the Denominational School, which replaced the demolished St Michael's church, and the boarders lived nearby under the care of Michael McGirr; the first President was his cousin, Fr James McGirr.

The school came under the control of the Congregation of the Mission in 1889, following the arrival of the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers from Ireland. Their task was to run the College and St Charles' Seminary on the same site. The seminary was founded in 1875 and closed at the end of 1891.

In 1892, the College became a member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (GPS). However, travelling to Sydney for sports was difficult and membership was relinquished some years later.

In 1896, the College received much media attention when it became the site of the first x-ray for medical purposes in Australia. This x-ray was taken by Father Joseph Patrick Slattery on 21 September, and showed the location of gunshot in the shattered hand of an ex-student.

The main oval was opened with a game of cricket on St Patrick's Day 1932, a College team pitted against an Australian XI captained by Alan Kippax and including Don Bradman.

The College has mainly played Rugby Union although Rugby League was played for several years in the 1940s and 50s. The First XV won the Waratah Shield in 1974, 1980, 1981 and 1995.

The original part of the current building with its three towers was constructed in stages from 1872 to 1907. Other additions included the Gallagher Wing in the 1942, extension of the Chapel and Marble Hall completed 1954, John Hall Wing (1962) and Slattery Wing (opened by Robert Menzies in 1965). The olympic swimming pool was opened in 1971 and the Guthrie Library in 1976. The McMahon Wing was opened in 1985, completing the Quadrangle. In 1989 the "Brothers" Industrial Arts Complex was constructed. In 2005 a large Indoor Recreation Venue and Performing Arts Centre was built, overlooking No. 1 Oval. Most recently, in 2011, the Trade Training Centre near the Fitz Oval was completed.

The number of College Houses was increased from four to six in the 1980s. The Houses are under the patronage of St Vincent de Paul, St Charles Borromeo, St Francis Xavier, St John the Evangelist, St Justin de Jacobis and St Joseph.

Presidents and Heads of the College

The first President was Fr James McGirr (1867-1871), followed by Fr Joseph Horan (1871-1873), Dr McAuliffe (1873-1878), Fr Horan again (1878-1883), Fr Pierce Corcoran (1883), Dr Joseph P. Byrne (1884), Fr William Byrne (1885-1888). Vincentians continued in the role of President and Headmaster at the College from 1889 until the commencement of 1993, when it was decided to separate the two roles. Mr John Edwards was Headmaster between 1993 and 2012; and he was succeeded by the current Head, Dr Anne Wenham.

Presidents

Order	Name	Congregation	Term begin	Term end	Notes
						1	Fr James McGirr	Diocesan	1867	early 1871
2	Fr Joseph Horan	early 1871	early 1873
3	Rev. Dr John McAuliffe	1874	August 1878
4	Fr Joseph Horan	August 1878	early 1882
5	Fr Pierce Corcoran	1863	1883
6	Rev. Dr Joseph P. Byrne	1884	1884
7	Fr William Byrne	1885	1888
8	Fr J. Byrne CM	Congregation of the Mission	1889	1903
9	Fr M. J. O'Reilly CM		1903	1915
10	Fr J. M. Lowe CM		1915	1921
11	Fr J. T. Hall CM		1921	1927
12	Fr E. Gallagher CM		1927	1934
13	Fr F. D. King CM		1934	1940
14	Fr E. Gallagher CM		1941	1946
15	Fr M. Howard CM		1947	1953
16	Fr R. McDonnell CM		1954	1959
17	Fr J. O'Neill CM		1960	May 1961
18	Fr Joseph Keady CM		May 1961	1966
19	Fr J. A. Maloney CM		1967	1973
20	Fr Joseph Keady CM		1974	1979
21	Bro. Peter Dwyer CM		1980	1992
22	Fr Tom Finn CM		1993	1998
23	Fr Anthony Mannix CM		1999	2002
24	Fr Maurice Sullivan CM		2003	2004
25	Fr Doug Akehurst CM		2005	September 2015

Heads of College

Order	Name	Term begin	Term end	Notes
					1	Mr John F. Edwards	1993	2012
2	Dr Anne Wenham	2013	present

Echoes from St Stanislaus'

Since the coming of the Vincentians in 1889, the College's annual publication, "Echoes from St Stanislaus' College", have been published nearly every year. There were gaps of several years during World War One and Two. In 1989 "A Century of Echoes" was published, edited by Theo Barker.

Child sexual abuse

During 2007 former priests, chaplains and teachers came under investigation over alleged child sexual abuse that up to 40 boys were allegedly sexually abused at the school from the 1960s through to the early 1990s.

At least four people associated with St Stanislaus' College have faced legal proceedings due to alleged sexual abuse. One, Brian Spillane, an ordained priest, was initially charged with 33 counts in 2008, including six counts of sexual intercourse with pupils from St Stanislaus' College. In 2009 this was extended to 146 offences. Although many of these cases are still ongoing, Spillane was convicted in November 2010 of nine counts of indecent assault against three girls aged between eight and seventeen while he was based in both Bathurst and Sydney, for which he was sentenced to nine years in custody in 2012. Kevin Phillips, another ordained priest, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross indecency with a child under the age of 18, resulting in concurrent sentences of 9 months under the first three charges, and an additional 9 months for the fourth. John Gaven, a Vincentian Brother, was charged with 28 sex offences; and in March 2013 was found guilty on six sexual assault charges against former students.

Along with Spillane, Phillips and Gaven, one other man has been charged with sexual abuse cases related to the school: with five counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault.

Notable alumni

Years at St Stanislaus' College in brackets.

Academic

• Pat Moran: (1930—1933) – Statistician who made significant contributions to probability theory and its application to population and evolutionary genetics

Clergy

• Rev Fr Patrick Dwyer: (c.1867—c.1874) – Bishop of Maitland, 1909–31.
• Rev Fr Chris Middleton SJ: (????—1976) – Principal of St Aloysius College, Sydney, 2003–14.
• Patrick O'Regan: (c.1970—c.1982) - Bishop of Sale
• Father Joseph Patrick Slattery, C.M., (1866-1931) physicist, radiologist, Catholic priest, pioneer in the field of radiography in Australia

Entertainment and the arts

• Mark Corcoran: – ABC TV foreign correspondent
• John O'Grady: (c.1920s) – Writer with works including the comic novel They're a Weird Mob.
• Damien Parer: (c.1930) – Australian war photographer
• Bill Peach: (c. 1940s) – ABC television journalist and host of This Day Tonight

Medicine

• James Fitzpatrick: (????—1991) – Paediatrician; awarded Young Australian of the Year in 2001.

Military

• Leslie Jones: (c.1900s) – RAAF Pilot, aeronautical engineer
• Peter McIntosh – Major, Royal Australian Engineers – Army, Conspicuous Service Medal
• Ray Parer: (c.1910s) – RAAF Pilot, aviator and adventurer

Politics and the law

• Francis Clarke: (c.1870s) – Member for Macleay (NSW Colonial Parliament) and later inaugural Member for Cowper (Federal Parliament)
• Justice Williams Collins – Former Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
• Paddy Crick: (c.1870s) – Politician, solicitor and newspaper proprietor
• Jim Curran: (c.1940s) – Member for Castlereagh (NSW Parliament)
• J. J. Dalton: (c. 1870s) – Irish Nationalist Member of the UK Parliament, 1890–92
• Tony Kelly: (c.1970s) – Former Minister in the Rees and Keneally governments
• William Patrick Kelly: (c.1880s) – Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales
• Greg McGirr: (c.1890s) – Member for Yass, Cootamundra, and later Sydney
• James McGirr: (c.1900s) 28th Premier of New South Wales
• Richard Meagher: (c.1880s) – Politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (also attended St Aloysius' College)

Sport

• Mick Clifford: (1927—1933) – Rugby international
• Herbert Daly: (1899) – Rugby international
• James Grant: (1981—1982) – Rugby international
• Tim Lane: (1976—1977) – Rugby international
• James McLaren: (1984—1990) – Scottish dual-code international rugby league and rugby union
• Beau Robinson: (2001—2004) – Rugby Super 15 Reds (Super Rugby Champion 2011)
• Marty Roebuck: (1977—1982) – Rugby international
• Peter Toohey: (1966–1971) – Australian Test cricketer
• Jim White: (1899—1903) – Rugby international

See also

• List of non-government schools in New South Wales
• List of boarding schools

External links

• Official website