Presentation College, Windsor

Presentation College
Presentation College
Location
	Windsor, Victoria; Australia
Coordinates	37°51′27″S 144°59′41″E / 37.85750°S 144.99472°E
Information
Type	Independent, day school
Motto	Latin: Omnia Cum Deo; (Everything for God)
Denomination	Roman Catholic; Presentation Sisters;
Established	1873
Closed	2020
Principal	Filina Virgato (at closure)
Years	7–12
Gender	Girls
Enrolment	153 (at closure)
Colour(s)	Navy blue and green
Website	Official website, via Web Archive.

Presentation College, Windsor (PCW) was an independent Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for girls, located in Windsor, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded in 1873. The brother school of PCW was the Christian Brothers College, St Kilda (CBC), located adjacent to PCW.

History

Presentation Convent, Windsor was established upon the arrival of seven Presentation Sisters from Ireland in 1873. Prior to their arrival, from 1839, the Church and colonial government debated the need for education to be provided by local church schools.

The Victorian government wanted to alter the education legislation. It was said that the system of denominational schools was too great a burden on the economy of a young country and left many areas with no access to education. That was resolved following the election of James Wilberforce Stephen to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1870, representing St. Kilda. Appointed Attorney-General in 1872, he had responsibility for the proposed Education Bill, which provided for free, secular and compulsory education.^[1] After the passage of the bill, financial grants given to denominational schools were discontinued, making the continuation of Catholic schools staffed by lay people financially impossible.

Father Corbett, Parish Priest at St Mary's, East St Kilda, acted quickly and sent a letter to the Presentation Convent in Ireland. It opened in dramatic fashion: "Dear Reverend Mother. From the ends of the earth I write to you for help ..." Responding to the request in September 1873, Sister Mary Paul Mulquin, together with six sisters from Limerick, boarded the steamer, the SS Great Britain, at Liverpool, arriving at Sandridge (Port Melbourne) 21 December 1873.^[2]

Presentation Convent Windsor became a reality on Christmas Day 1873. The school commenced in January 1874 with 33 enrolments. By 1883, the enrolment of pupils at Windsor Convent was 367, with 11 sisters and three lay teachers forming the staff.^[3]

Closure

On 29 July 2019, it was announced that Presentation College Windsor would close at the end of 2020, due to declining enrolments.^[4]

Lease of Campus to Edmund Rice Education Australia

After the closure of PCW, the Presentation Sisters opted to lease the campus to Edmund Rice Education Australia for use by Christian Brothers College (now St Mary's College) for a period of 5 years. In October 2023, Micheal Lee, acting principal of St Mary's College, released a letter to the community informing them that at the end of the lease period, St Mary's will not extend the lease and will instead continue all operations on the Edmund Rice Campus.^[5]

House system

The four houses were formed in 1940 by the Principal at the time Mother Bertrand Rahilly, who was very interested in sport and wanted to encourage students to become more active. Within their House girls compete in the Music Festival, Athletics and Swimming as well as participating in other sports.

Mother Bertrand introduced the names of the Houses and allocated the colours:

Nagle (yellow): After Nano Nagle, founder of the Presentation Sisters
Kostka (red): After Stanislaus Kostka, renowned Jesuit who died young and came to symbolise youth
Xavier (blue): After St Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary and patron Saint of Australia
Loyola (green): After St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits

Notable alumni

Jana Wendt, journalist
Katherine Bourke, judge
Anna Burke, politician
Sheila Florance, actress
Clare Oliver, health activist
Pia Miller, actress
Lydia Schiavello, television personality
Matilda Boseley, reporter for 7NEWS and Guardian Australia

References

^ Currey, C.H. "Stephen, John (1771–1833)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
^ "SS Great Britain : Brunel's ss Great Britain".
^ "Presentation College website". Retrieved 26 May 2009.
^ "Melbourne Catholic girls school Presentation College Windsor to close in 2020". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
^ Delibasic, Suzan (6 October 2023). "St Mary's College set to close Windsor Presentation campus". The Guardian Australia.

External links

Presentation College Website

[1] Currey, C.H. "Stephen, John (1771–1833)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[2] "SS Great Britain : Brunel's ss Great Britain".

[PCW-3] "Presentation College website". Retrieved 26 May 2009.

[4] "Melbourne Catholic girls school Presentation College Windsor to close in 2020". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.

[5] Delibasic, Suzan (6 October 2023). "St Mary's College set to close Windsor Presentation campus". The Guardian Australia.

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