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The First Catholic school was established
Mary and Michael Burge established the first Catholic School funded entirely by money collected from local catholic settlers. The school was located not far from where St Stephens Cathedral stands today. At the time there were fewer than 1000 settlers and about 1 quarter of them were roman catholic -
St Stephen's became a Cathedral
In 1859, with the appointment of Bishop James Quinn, Brisbane became a diocese and the church a cathedral. When the new cathedral was opened in 1874 this church became a school room. -
Bishop James Quinn
Bishop James Quinn, 5 priests and the 6 Irish sisters of mercy made their way to Brisbane aboard the Yara Yara. Bishop Quinn was surprised by the poverty of the largely Irish population. Mother Vincent Whity and the 6 sisters of mercy established our first Catholic secondary school - All Hallows. -
Catholic Schools being established
St James school for boys was established and staffed entirely by lay teachers. It was unique with both religious and lay student teachers receiving their training before and after school. It would almost be 100 years until a dedicated teachers training College was established - Macaulay College at the All Hallows campus. -
Archbishop James Chui
Following Archbishop Dunn's death in 1919. Archbishop James Chui could see the growing need for catholic schooling, he invested in large tracks of land around Brisbane. -
Poverty and Economic Challenges
The period from Great Depression in 1929 to the end of WWW saw Australia suffer the challenges of widespread poverty and unemployment. Catholic Education was affected by the lack of teachers growing class sizes and economic challenges but Catholic Education preserved through these hard times. -
Bishop John Cullinane
Government Health inspectors demanded three additional toilets to be installed at Our Lady of Mercy prep school. Goulburn's Bishop John Cullinane said that here was no money. He called a meeting of Catholic parents who voted to strike resulting in one thousand students descending on the local state school for enrollment. Political parties began to reconsider state aid to non state schools. -
The Federal Government provided grants to Catholic schools
Within 12 months, the federal government provided grants to Catholic schools. This was the first time in almost a hundred years that the Catholic schools had received government funding. Despite this, communities continue to meet the shortfalls of this funding. -
1960's to 1970's was a decade of strain for Catholic Education
1960's - 1970's was a decade of strain for Catholic education. Lay teachers were battling with stifling conditions and only equipped with only two years training. Before entering the classroom. -
A Time of Growth
It was a time of growth on the back of the divide between the Irish Catholic and the English Protestants. Laws were passed to provide free compulsory and secular education to children and to remove state funding for all religious schools. Despite the climate, by the end of the decade, there were over 35 Catholic schools established and fully funded by their communities. -
Macauley College opened its doors in 1973
Macaulay college would open its doors in 1973 to include lay teachers as Catholic schools have become more reliant on laid leadership and staff. Major social upheaval and the second Vatican Council saw new educational approaches which would see this decade closed with 43 thousands students enrolled and 113 schools across the archdiocese. The provision of schools from operating on a community funding model to a government supported model took 20 years. -
Catholic Taxpayers Association and was the beginning of Catholic Education
The Catholic taxpayers Association had lobbied for state aid since the 1930's and with the formation of the Queensland Federation of parents and friends. in 1962, a major shift in operations of schools and management of funding would continue to face change over the next decade with the Whitlam government policies. This funding resulted in equal pay with the state schoolteachers. The appointment of Archbishop Patrick O'Donnell to Brisbane saw the formation of an archdiocesan education Commision. -
31 new schools were established
After the appointment of Archbishop Francis Rush in 1973 over the next seven years, another 12 schools emerged alongside the Queensland Catholic Education Commission. A statewide body managing the funding and direction of Catholic Education. After 40 years as director of Catholic education, Father Bernard O'Shea was replaced by the first layer director Vince or Orc. He was at the helm as the booming eighties in Brisbane brought prosperity for Catholic education. 19 new schools were opened. -
Facilities and Venues were established
Many of the facilities and venues we use today were established including the current side of the Brisbane Catholic education office at Dutton Park. There was also Atunga for lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural studies Center in Anala and the Bernard O'Shea in service centre at Wilston. Through this prosperity, funding continued to be a challenge. -
State and Commonwealth Government Contributiongovern
The Howard Government devised the SES funding model in the 90s, a needs-based model both federal and state government provided recurrent and capital funds using needs based processes. Brisbane archdiocese and schools are funded by a combination of state and Commonwealth government contributions as well as fees from families and other sources. Our schools continue to be places of creativity and innovation with world-class facilities and and access to technology. -
Significent Growth
After significant growth from the Rudd government's 2007 promise of one-to-one technology and the 2008 economic stimulus building education revolution. A number of ecumenical schools have been established. During this time, the formation of north and south schools.
