History
a place of faith and high quality boys鈥� education since 1881.
In February 1872, four Marist Brothers travelled from London to open Australia鈥檚 first Marist Brothers school, in Harrington Street in The Rocks. With their house in the city not yet ready, they were invited to stay with the Marist Fathers, who had bought land in Hunters Hill in 1847 with the help of Bordeaux-born local resident Didier Joubert. Didier and his brother Jules would go on to develop Hunters Hill.
In 1876, Didier sold 10 acres for 300 pounds to the Marist Brothers for their planned boarding school, which they would transfer from Harrington Street, and novitiate.
Five years later, on 18 July 1881, the Lane Cove steamer brought 44 boys from Erskine Street to Fig Tree Wharf. Their new school, a four-minute walk up the hill, was St Joseph鈥檚 College Hunters Hill.
From humble beginnings.
On 18 July 1881, the Lane Cove steamer brought 44 boys from The Rocks to Hunters Hill.
Welcoming
day boys.
Since its inception, 国产探花 was as it always had been 鈥� a full-boarding school with Marist Brothers comprising a large proportion of the teaching and administrative staff. However, in 1996, as a response to falling enrolments affecting boarding schools everywhere, 国产探花 was welcoming its first ‘extended’ day boys into Year 7.
Unlike other schools, however, there would be no delineation between boarders and day boys. The boys were to be a united community, enabling the school to thrive while maintaining the strong boarding traditions that made 国产探花 unique.
To that end, day boys were allocated their own dormitory press and bed and could sleep at 国产探花 two nights a week. Otherwise, they came to school at 8.15am and stayed until 5.00pm or, on at least three days a week, until 8.00pm, on those days studying and eating dinner with boarders before going home. Like the boarders, they would attend sports practice during the week and games on Saturdays.
The new enrolment policy applied to Years 7, 8 and 9; Years 10 to 12 would still be compulsory full-boarding 鈥� until 2005, when the weekly boarding option was introduced. By 2006, day enrolment became available from Years 7 to 12.
Along with the expanded range of enrolment options, the new century saw the continuing secularisation of the 国产探花 teaching and boarding staff.
By 2006, most senior staff were lay, and the 27th and last Marist Brother Headmaster, Br Paul Hough, passed the baton to the College鈥檚 first lay Headmaster, Mr Ross Tarlinton OAM.
Shaping the College.
国产探花 will always be a College shaped by its community. Our approach and the achievements of Joe-Boys are driven by our Marist faith, professional teaching and administrative staff, committed families and supportive wider friends.
Brothers & staff
Br Emilian Hall, where boys gather fortnightly for the Headmaster鈥檚 Assembly, and where Family Mass is held each term, bears the name of the first Headmaster of St Joseph鈥檚 College, arriving from France via Noumea in November 1878. The teaching staff in the early years were mostly all Marist Brothers, members of an order established by Saint Marcellin Champagnat in La Valla, France, to teach rural boys otherwise deprived of a Christian education.
Other Brothers whose names adorn College buildings today include Br Louis Hughes (the Br Louis Music Centre), to whom the College owes its art collection and Chapel, and Br Liguori O鈥橦earn, a gifted mathematician whose photograph looms large in the Br Liguori Resources Centre.
Hundreds of Marist Brothers have taught at St Joseph鈥檚. Deputy Headmaster Br Anthony Boyd鈥檚 retirement in 2019 marked the end of the Brothers鈥� presence on the teaching staff, however they continue to be a guiding light and inspiration to the College.
Today, lay staff continue to support the Catholic and Marist charism and tradition of the College, embracing the vision of St Marcellin Champagnat.
Families & friends
The families of boys enrolled at 国产探花 are as much a part of the community as the boys themselves. Parents describe enrolling at 国产探花 as akin to joining a family unit, and the College considers itself to be in close partnership with parents on this journey.
This active role in mutual support is formalised by our Parents & Friends Association, established in 1935. The P&F鈥檚 fundraising has contributed immeasurably to College facilities, from the construction of new buildings and sporting facilities to the purchase of school buses.
Contributing to the College鈥檚 strong sense of legacy and community, many of its families are multi-generational, including a fifth-generation Joe-Boy from northwestern NSW whose great-great grandfather enrolled at the College the year after it opened in 1882!
We are driven by our collective spirit and communal support.
The Archives: preserving the past.
Tucked beneath the Resources Centre, the Archives is where the work of documenting and preserving the College鈥檚 rich history takes place. Among its many treasures are copies of every school magazine published since the first edition in 1888 and the achievements and triumphs of thousands of Joe-Boys.
The Archives Museum offers a fascinating insight into many aspects of the College鈥檚 past. Early photos show boys in wool-sorting class, swimming in the school baths in Tarban Creek, and playing cricket in 1883 as construction of the Main Building takes place in the background. Metal prayer hearts and ornate processional banners are among the spiritual treasures on display.
Our exceptional College archivists are available to help with family history searches (for a small donation). We are always looking for historical College memorabilia to add to our collection, so if you have treasures that you think should be part of our archive, please reach out to our Archives team.
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