Anecdotes from the Archives

A Foundational Chronicle of St Mary’s College, 1928–1938

In 1989, Cecily MacFarlane, a teacher in the Junior School and eventually its Head, published her dissertation for her Bachelor of Education Degree. The completed work is printed in book form and was probably one of the first such published research documents about St Mary’s College. Its title is St. Mary’s College 1928-1938, and it is a rich source of information about the College during that period.

Browsing through the book, I am struck by Cecily’s reflections on religious mores and practices during the nominated period. Older alumni such as myself (although I was certainly not around in 1928-38!) will recall the Catholic life Cecily describes and will no doubt reflect on the significant societal and technological upheavals that have shaped Catholic life and school life over the decades.

Cecily writes that

Catholics were exhorted from the pulpit, and in the Catholic Press, to pray earnestly for the sinful, and give generously to the poor. It would have been rightly assumed that St Mary’s girls attended Confession and Mass with their families every [Saturday and] Sunday-they were trained in their faith at home, at church and at school.

…the nuns were powerful role models, and a decision to join the Presentation Order would have been greeted with pride by many Catholic families.

Children in the junior grades learnt to recite by heart the answers from the “Penny Catechism”. Questions such as “Who made the world?” and “What is mortal sin?” were answered according to Church doctrine and were tested frequently. [This I do remember!] The occasions when girls took part in their first Confession and Holy Communion were cause for reverence and celebration, and were the culmination of a lengthy and thorough teaching program undertaken by the nuns in Grade Two. White dresses, veils and solemn ritual provided the basis for lasting memories and lifetime practices. [So true!]

Cecily continues:

In the senior school, girls studied the Senior Catechism, learnt all the Masses and their appropriate Gospels, learnt about the lives of the various Saints, and continued to learn the rules and rituals of Catholicism in “Christian Doctrine” at Intermediate Level. The Leaving class studied “Apologetics”, Church history and Moral Issues.

In every grade, a visiting priest taught a religion lesson each week.

Having taught Religion at most levels over the years at the College, I am happy to report that great efforts are made to ensure lessons are relatable to the lives and interests of the students while still following the mandated curriculum. In the “olden days”, no mention was made of Aboriginal Spirituality or other faith traditions; however, today our students enjoy a rich exposure to these elements beyond the Catholic faith. We now learn to hold a healthy respect and admiration for other ways of worship, which can only help us become more informed and well-rounded people.

One other aspect has also changed for the better. In one of my secondary classes, Sister used to group us every Monday morning according to who had been with their family to Confession on Saturday and Mass on Sunday. As my Dad liked a beer (or two) on Saturday and a sleep-in on Sunday, I rarely made the saintly group of committed Catholics! This meant I tried to be a very good girl in all other areas to win Sister’s approval. But jokes aside, like so many other former St Mary’s girls, I have always been very grateful to the Presentation Sisters for my strong grounding in the Catholic faith.