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St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill

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For other schools of the same name, see Saint Joseph's College.

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St Joseph's College (SJC or Joeys) is a Roman Catholic, Secondary, day and boarding school for boys. It is located in Hunters Hill, a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Founded by the Marist Brothers in 1881, Joeys currently caters for approximately 1000 students from Years 7 to 12,[1] including over 750 boarders, making it the largest boarding school in Australia,[2] and one of the largest in the southern hemisphere.[3]

The College is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[4] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[5] the Association of Marist Schools of Australia (AMSA),[6] and is a founding member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS).[7]

In 2006, due to a steady decline in the number of religious teachers, Joeys saw the appointment of its first lay headmaster, Mr Ross Tarlinton.[8]

History

Foundation

St Joseph's College (SJC) can trace its origins back to the Marist Brothers' school founded in Harrington Street, Church Hill, which was attached to St Patrick's Catholic Church. The Headmaster, Rev. Br Emilian Pontet then sought out land to found a new school elsewhere. After inspecting several locations, Hunters Hill was chosen due to its proximity to the Marist Fathers' Monastery and Parish of Villa Maria.

On 29 July 1881, the Headmaster, Rev. Br Emilian Pontet, transferred the school from Harrington Street to Hunters Hill, founding St Joseph's College in a temporary wooden building with a student population of 55. Within six years of its founding, keen observers had taken notice. In 1887, James Francis Hogan wrote in The Irish in Australia that:

St. John's College, affiliated to the University of Sydney; St. Ignatius' College, Riverview, conducted by the Jesuit Fathers; and St. Joseph's College, Hunter Hill (sic), under the management of the Marist Fathers, are three educational institutions that reflect the highest credit on the Catholic population of the parent colony.[9]

Campus

College gates

The College opened in 1881 in a temporary wooden building, however, it has continued to expand its grounds and buildings since then. Some examples are the construction of the main building's southern wing in 1882–1884; the building of the central and northern wing in 1889–1894 and the building of the Chapel in 1938–1940. The College's main playing fields were bought in 1893.[10]

Today the College is situated on a 16 hectare campus overlooking the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, in suburban Hunter's Hill, six kilometres from the Sydney central business district.[2] The current facilities of the school include:

Accommodation

St Joseph's College Chapel, 1940

St Joseph's has approximately four buildings that are used for the purposes of accommodation. Three of these are for Years 10, 11 and 12 respectively. The College's main building, which has stood since the 1880s, contains dorms for the junior years, as well as all the College's refs (dining rooms), the infirmary, teachers lounge, a chapel and administration offices. The Year 12 Boarding Area was totally refurbished in early 2009, creating modern and comfortable accommodation for senior students.

The College operates kitchens and a laundry catering for all students, teachers and brothers.

Academic facilities

The College has a significant number of academic facilities, including a large four-storey building solely containing science laboratories and classrooms (which have recently been refurbished, a library and resource centre, a visual arts centre, a music centre, a hall and five computer labs, each with 20 plus computers. Stage one of a major refurbishment of the resource centre was completed early in 2009, creating a modern, up-to-date teaching and learning facility that provides students with high quality resources and technology for today's fast paced digital world.

Sporting facilities

Similar to other GPS schools, St Joseph's owns a large number of sporting facilities for use in both training and competition. The College owns and operates approximately 10 playing fields for cricket, rugby and soccer. Its main rugby field is often used by higher level teams for training purposes.

Joeys also owns a boat shed for its rowing club situated on nearby Tarban Creek, ten tennis courts, five basketball courts, a number of cricket nets, a swimming pool, two gymnasiums (for gymnastics and weightlifting respectively) and a cardio room.

Outdoor education facilities

In 1986 St Joseph's opened "Colo", an outdoor education centre for students. It provides education in various outdoor activities, culminating in extended expeditions in Year 9.

Collectable School Cigarette card featuring the Joeys colours & crest, c. 1910s

Organisation

Marist Brothers

As a Marist school, Marist brothers have their own accommodation on the school grounds and work to maintain its status, holding a number of self-appointed executive positions at the College. Saint Marcellin Champagnat was the founder of the Marist Brothers. In 2006, Mr Ross Tarlinton became the first lay headmaster of the College.

Boarding

St Josephs College

With a boarding population of over 750, SJC is the largest boarding school in Australia (in terms of student numbers). Joeys offers full boarding as well as weekly boarding options (where students go home on weekends). In recent times the College has also offered day-schooling, and students who do not board are known as 'day-boys'.

A number of dormitories ('dorms') and refectories ('refs') are located on the College grounds for boarders and day-boys alike. Dorms and refs are segregated by year, and students tend to receive larger, more private and more privileged accommodation as they advance through the years(i.e. students move from large dormitories to single rooms, and from the College's original accommodation facilities to newly built accommodation).

Curriculum

As a secondary school in New South Wales, the College teaches Year 7 to 12 students in accordance with the State Government's education curriculum, as determined by the Board of Studies. Year 10 students are prepared for the School Certificate, and at the end of Year 12, successful students are accredited with their Higher School Certificate (HSC).

Co-curriculum

St Joseph's College offers a variety of co-curricular activities, including Senior Orchestra, Chess and Debating. Joeys is also has the reputation of being a very strong sporting school.

Sport

St Joseph's official sporting calendar revolves around competition with the eight other GPS Schools. However, it regularly competes against Combined Associated Schools (CAS) during the lead-up to each season, and as a member of the GPS (in GPS vs CAS matches) at the end of each season. Such events, whilst unofficial, are still very competitive and are developing into significant events in their own right.

Joey's students at GPS athletics, 1939

GPS sports include:

Rugby union

St Joseph's has strong sporting traditions, particularly in rugby union where it has produced many famous grade, state schoolboy, Australian schoolboy, state and national (including Wallabies) representatives.[11] By 2007, St Joseph's had won 54 1st XV premierships since the AAGPS competition commenced in 1889, and had come second in many other years.[citation needed] In 2007 St Josephs 1st and 2nd XV finished undefeated.[citation needed]

Cricket

Cricket at St Joseph's remains the most popular summer sport.[citation needed] Stan McCabe is the College's most famous cricketer.

Notable alumni: 'Old Boys'

Alumni of St Joseph's College, Hunter's Hill are commonly referred to as Old Boys, and may elect to join the schools alumni association, the St Joseph's College Old Boys' Union (SJCOBU).[12] For a list of notable SJC Old Boys, see List of Old Boys of St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill.

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AnnualReport was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "St Joseph's College Hunters Hill". New South Wales. School Choice. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  3. ^ Boarding - St Joseph's College Accessed 3/7/2009
  4. ^ "AHISA Schools". New South Wales. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ABSA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Member School Links". About AMSA. Association of Marist Schools of Australia. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  7. ^ "AAGPS History". Info. Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  8. ^ Patty, Anna (2006-04-26). "Band of brothers makes way for a layman". National. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  9. ^ Hogan, James Francis, The Irish in Australia, 1887. Reproduced by Project Gutenberg (retrieved 15 June 2006).
  10. ^ "History". The College. St. Joseph's College. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  11. ^ Australian Schools Rugby
  12. ^ "Welcome to the SJC Old Boys' Union". Home. St Joseph's College Old Boys' Union. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.

Further reading

  • Naughtin, M. 1981. A Century of Striving: St Joseph's College, Hunter's Hill, 1881-1981. Macarthur Press, Sydney. ISBN 095955596X.

See also

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