From the Archives

1920s

Throughout the 1920s, our College was widely, and only known, as the Brigidine Convent, Mentone. Average enrolments during this period were in the high 70s.   The Coffee Palace building was eventually deemed too small to accommodate the boarders, day pupils and Brigidine Sisters, who, by this time, were teaching, not only here, but in local primary schools in Mentone, Mordialloc and Chelsea. Permission was sought from Ireland to extend the building, which resulted in the construction of St Benedict’s wing, the Colonnade, in 1927. The plan, a picture of which is included, was originally created on waxed linen and shows four news classrooms on the ground floor, while the first floor housed the boarders. The boarders slept in what are now Rooms 1 to 4 with basins and mirrors in the current Year 10 locker area. Fireplaces are shown on the plan to heat these rooms and students of the period, such as Geraldine Rush, nee Cotter, told of drying their wet shoes by the fire, while wearing slippers, brought in especially for the purpose. This act did come with a warning from Mother Agnes though, that, ‘slippers were never to be worn around the house or in public; they are strictly for the bedroom!’ 1

A weatherboard building which had been on that site, was repositioned to the end of the Colonnade, where the Atrium is now. This building contained a hall of sorts and was called St Joan’s. Up to the mid-twenties, it was the day girls’ lunch room. The uniform consisted of a black tunic for boarders, while day girls wore navy, and the occasional student wore the blazer of the Past Pupils’ Association.

Over the years, I have been lucky enough to meet and get to know many past pupils from this time, including my own dear grandmother, who was a pupil from 1924-27. To my knowledge, only one past pupil remains from this period, Mrs Mary Allen, nee Prendergast of Sandringham, whose father was a great supporter of the Brigidine Sisters. Another from the 20s, who was a classmate of my great aunt, was Nell Carr, the grandmother of staff member, Simone Ryan.

Mother Berchmans Foley, who was the Principal until 1926, was born at Charleville, Ireland and came to Australia in 1888. She was professed as a Brigidine Sister in 1891. As well as being Principal of Kilbreda, she was also Convent Superior in the 1930s and spent 25 years of her life in Mentone. She was remembered by past pupil Geraldine Fitzgerald, who credits Berchmans with not only giving her ‘a lifelong interest in literature, but she taught me how to think’ 2. A View from the Tower features a letter, written in her distinct hand, which was sent to my grandmother and her sister on the death of their mother, in July 1927. ‘You know, my dear children, you have my deepest sympathy and I fervently asked our divine Lord to give you the grace to be resigned to your heavy cross’. Berchmans, who was the sister of the Bishop of Ballarat and cousin of Archbishop Mannix, died at Mentone in 1942, and was buried at Cheltenham Pioneers’ Cemetery.

Notes:

1- From Hopes and Dreams, Geraldine Rush

2 -The Good Teacher, Geraldine O’Hehir

Damian Smith

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