Community
18 October, 2024
Celebrating 175 years of Catholic education in Port Fairy
ST Patrick’s Primary School will this month celebrate 175 years of Catholic education in Port Fairy.
The Port Fairy school was opened on July 27,1849 – the second primary school established for children from Catholic families in the western region of Victoria (the first, in Portland, opened in March of that year).
Father Thomas Slattery was appointed by Bishop Gould to commission the school in response to the large number of Catholic families who had settled in the Belfast area as whalers, fishermen and farmers.
Owen Flannery was the first teacher, followed 14 months later by Stephen and Margaret Madden.
Lay teachers staffed the school until the arrival of the St Joseph of Cluny sisters in 1906.
The order of St Joseph of Cluny was recalled to France in 1912 when they handed over the responsibility for the school to the Good Samaritan sisters, who until recently, assisted the now lay teaching staff at St Patrick’s.
St Patrick’s still occupies its original site in William Street, however it has evolved and had many additions added since its establishment.
Originally a single building, a second building was added in 1855 to cope with increasing numbers and in 1869 a stone portion was added.
These early buildings did not survive the test of time, however, the original 1910 infant room (later to become a music room) still stands in the school grounds serving as the Hands-on-Learning Centre.
In 1960, the first stage of the current school structure was built, with the second stage added in 1979.
A third stage of refurbishment and extensions to these buildings was completed in 2000 and 2003.
A new physical education facility and adventure playground were added in 2004.
Six years later a new library, information technology room and meeting rooms were built.
In 2019 a two-roomed portable was put on the small oval to accommodate the growing school.
In 2022 the most recent development, consisting of five classrooms, a flexible learning space, four offices and a sensory room completed the beautiful contemporary school and goodbyes were said to the portable building.
With such a rich and colourful history, there will no doubt be many stories shared at the 175th anniversary celebrations over the weekend of October 26 and 27 (registrations required).
From 1.30pm on Saturday, October 26 the school will be open to past students, staff and families for tours.
This is an ideal opportunity to enjoy a look inside the buildings and reminisce with others.
At about 3pm visitors will be able to wander around the Port Fairy cemetery to find the graves of loved ones and those connected to the history of the school.
An official anniversary opening ceremony will be held at 4pm followed by refreshments.
An anniversary mass will be held in the school hall on Sunday, October 27 at 10.30am followed by a morning tea.
To register for any or all events call the school office on 5568 1371.
