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1845- The First Catholic school was Established
Lay couple, Mary and Michael Burke established the first catholic school on the site of the current Myer Centre in Elizabeth Street. The school was funded entirely by local catholic settlers. Since that time, catholic schooling has expanded its mission in the Archdiocese to teach over 74,000 students in over 150 schools.
Twenty of these schools are owned and conducted by religious congregations, 130 are conducted by the Archdiocese of Brisbane and most of these school are, or have parishes. -
1850- The first Catholic church was established
The 1000 catholic settlers had its first catholic church, St Stephen's. 10 years on St Stephen's was proclaimed the cathedral of the diocese.
Father James Quin was the first priest to ever say mass in the church even though the church was not completed then. They used sandstone bricks from the river at Goodna to build the church.
A small room connected to the church was used during the week as a school room by the Sisters of Mercy and St Stephens church soon became a full time school. -
1861- Journey to Brisbane
In 1861, Bishop James Quinn, five priest's and six Irish sisters of Mercy made their way to Brisbane aboard the Yarra Era. When they arrived, Bishop James Quinn was surprised by the poverty of the large Irish population and committed to raising the economic and social status of Catholics. He immediately saw the need for good education and schooling. During this time Mother Vincent Witty and the sisters of Mercy established our first catholic secondary school, All Hallows. -
1869- New school established
In 1869 the St James school for boys was established. The school was staffed entirely by lay teachers. It was a unique model with both religious and lay student teachers receiving their training before, and after school as well as working in classes during the day. It would be another 100 years until a dedicated teachers training college would be established at St James School for Boys. -
1870's- The divide
The 1870's was a time of growth. On the back of the divide between the Irish Catholic and English Protestants, came a push to keep state and church separate. Laws were passed to provide free and compulsory education to children and to remove state funding for all religious schools. By the end of the decade there were 35 catholic schools established and fully funded by their communities. It was around this time that St Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph arrived in Brisbane and began teaching. -
1870's- New arch Bishop and diosece
The first Arch Bishop of Brisbane was Robert dunne. He was appointed on the10th of May 1887. It was in this time that Brisbane became a dioceses, formally parting from NSW. This decade also showed technological and social advancements like electricity and Australian women now able to vote.
During WW1 the fight between protestants and catholic gained momentum. Catholic schools continued to be self funded and it would be half a decade before catholic schools could receive any government funding. -
1919- New Arch Bishop
In 1919, when the first Archbishop Robert Dunne died, a new Bishop, James Duhig saw a growing need for catholic schooling .He invested in large tracks of land around Brisbane and by 1930, had established 28 new schools.James Duhig created many new parishes and introduced many new religious communities. He was a visionary with a lively spirit. He very committed to making Brisbane a great place. In fifty years, he added over 400 major buildings including many different institutions to the diocese. -
1943-1948 - Time of Growth
In 1943 Father Bernard O'Shea was appointed diocesan inspector. The role changed in 1948 as diocesan director of catholic education. The numbers within the religious order began to decline and so an increase in Lay teachers began. Despite budget restrictions and continued funding by communities and parishes, 26 new schools were opened in the 15 years to 1960. -
1945- The great depression
The period from the great depression in 1929 to the end of world war two saw Australia suffer the challenges of widespread poverty and unemployment. Catholic education suffered from a lack of teachers, growing class sizes and economic challenges. Some schools during this time dropped their fees to help struggling families and miraculously no schools were closed. Inspired by Mary Mackillop's saying, "Never see a need without doing something about it" schools continued to teach during this time. -
1962- Major changes and Goulburn school strike
Major changes occurred nationwide in school funding after the Goulburn school strike in 1962. Inspectors demanded three additional toilets to be installed at Our Lady Of Mercy prep school which was a huge achievement, even though it doesn't sound like very much. Goulburn's Bishop, John Cullinane declared there was no money, so he called a meeting of Catholic parents who voted to strike and in result, 1000 students were allowed to be enrolled in the local state school's around Brisbane. -
1970's- Whitlam Government policies
The Whitlam government polices resulted in government funding and equal pay with the state school teachers. Archbishop Patrick Mary O'Donnell arrived in Brisbane.He was appointed Archbishop on the 17th of March 1949 in St Mary's Cathedral.His arrival saw the formation of a arch-diocesan educational commission which recommended a Catholic Education office. Despite the government funding, catholic schools continue to struggle as compulsory education to year ten was introduced to catholic schools. -
1972- Grants provided to Catholic schools
In 1972 political parties started to reconsider state aid to non-state schools and the federal government finally provided grants to catholic schools.This was the first time in almost 100 years that catholic schools had received government funding. Pools and construction in schools were built. Despite this, communities continued to meet the shortfalls of this funding and lay teacher were battling enrolment conditions. They were only equipped with two years training before entering the classroom. -
1973- Macauley Collage
Macauley college would open for lay teachers in 1973 as Catholic schools had become more reliant on leadership and staff. Major changes happened through out these years like introducing uniforms to schools and the second Vatican council saw a new educational approach. The end of this decade ended with 43 thousand students enrolled and 113 schools across the archdiocese. The running of schools operating from a community funding model to a government supporting model took almost twenty years. -
1973- First Australian born Archbishop
The first Australian born Arch bishop, Francis Rush was appointed in 1973, replacing Archbishop Patrick Mary O'Donnell. He was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane. Francis Rush’s greatest dream was to see St Stephen’s Cathedral restored to its true potential. This was finally achieved in 1989. He wished that the cathedral and its environment be opened up to everyone and it to be a place of welcome and prayer. Francis Rush died on the 21st of July 2001. He is remembered for his faith. -
2002- New Archbishop
Mark Benedict Coleridge was born on the 25th of September 1948, Melbourne, Victoria. He is the 7th Australian Catholic bishop. On the 2nd of April 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named Mark Coleridge the Archbishop of Brisbane and he was appointed on the 11th of May 2012.
On the 18th of May 1974, Archbishop, Mark Coleridge was made a priest at St Patrick's Cathedral.He worked as a priest there until moving to Rome.
He returned to Melbourne in 1992, where he spent three years learning about theology. -
2007-2008 - Kevin Rudd's promise
In 2007 Kevin Rudd made a speech promising one-to-one technology for all schools. This promise was a big commitment and it has revolutionised the way work at school and everyday life. We use the one-to-one laptops today at school and have the opportunity to work with laptops thanks to Kevin Rudd's promise. In 2008 he also promised a economic building education revolution. A number of schools through out the Arch-diocese have been established during this time and classrooms have been improved.
