Green, White and Blue - Issue 66

Welcome to our new-look Green, White and Blue

Welcome to our fourth edition of the "Green, White and Blue" e-newsletter for St Patrick's College Old Collegians for 2024. We welcome any new Old Collegians to our e-newsletter. The "Green, White and Blue" is produced twice a school term and is full of news for and about our Old Collegians. We hope you enjoy!

 Catching up at Old Boys’ Winter Warmers Lunch

There was plenty of chatter and good times at our Old Boys’ Winter Warmers Lunch last Friday at the Golden City Hotel in Ballarat. Nearly 40 Old Boys beat the winter chill and enjoyed a delicious meal in the good company of SPC friends.

Old Boy donates his prized Lakeathon trophy

We were thrilled to receive the donation of a trophy from Old Collegian Marcus Coppock (SPC 1967-71, PY1972) at our Old Boys' Winter Warmers Lunch last Friday. Marcus was awarded the trophy when he was a student for raising the most funds in the SPC Lakeathon as part of a huge fundraiser to rebuild the SPC Boatshed, which was completely destroyed by fire in the late 1960s. 

Robert Re lends leadership advice

Our College Heads of Faculty participated in a day of Leadership training with Old Collegian and Leadership expert Robert Re (SPC 1955-63), pictured above, last week. Thanks to Robert for his support!

Class of 1974 reminiscing half a decade on

We welcomed back nearly 50 members of the Class of 1974 for their 50-Year Reunion at the start of June in one of the biggest half-a-decade reunions in recent years.

Class of 1984 celebrates 40-year reunion

We welcomed members of the Class of 1984 back for their 40-Year Reunion in mid-May.

Nearly 40 guys gathered at the College’s OCA Pavilion to reflect on the past four decades since leaving SPC and we heard from “reliable sources” the guys had a wonderful night catching up, reconnecting and swapping phone numbers so they can keep in touch into the future.

What have our Old Boys been up to lately...

Award-winning Australian director Mark Molloy (SPC 1993), pictured above, will be back in Ballarat from his base in Los Angele, to be a judge at the Poto Film Fest in Ballarat in August. Mark has recently directed “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” for Netflix with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Eddie Murphy, Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Read more about Mark and our other Old Boys in the news by simply clicking on the button below. 

Catch up on The Shamrock magazine

Catch up with all the latest news at the College, including the first six months of a very busy 2024 at SPC, in the latest edition of The Shamrock magazine, which is now live.

Welcome back Denis!

We welcomed back former business manager Denis Bateman to the College recently. 

Denis, who was employed as our first lay business manager between 1990-2004, was thrilled to walk around the College and to see the growth and expansion which has taken place, including the construction of our new $20m Performing Arts Centre. Thank you Denis for visiting us!

Unveiling our Main Oval picket fence

The College’s Main Oval picket fence was officially unveiled during Term 2 in the culmination of a four-year million-dollar project to revamp SPC’s hallowed turf.

The huge project has involved the reconfiguration, reorientation and resurfacing of the Main Oval, with turf and drainage technology ensuring an unparalleled playing surface for future generations of talented footballers, cricketers, athletes and physical education students.

The picket fence, complete with hundreds of personalised plaques from current families, Old Collegians and their families, was on official show during the unveiling in a perfect pairing with an ACC Football match being played on the oval between SPC’s First XVIII Football team against Whitefriars College.

First XVIII football presentation with a difference

It's not every day former AFL stars present our First XVIII debutantes with their prized green, white and blue guernseys, but that's exactly what Old Collegian Nathan Brown (2002-07), pictured above, did during a visit to the College.

Nathan, who played 183 AFL games with the Collingwood and St Kilda football clubs, presented Year 11 student Tessie Liem, pictured above, with his No. 27 before the match against Whitefriars College. The presentation followed a special address from Brown to the First XVIII footballers, where he shared memories of his time playing for SPC and life lessons learnt at school. We thank Nathan for taking the time to visit the team and imparting such valuable advice to our boys!

From Cairo to Cape Town for this Old Boy

Old Collegian James Flynn (SPC 1977-78) recently completed the Tour d'Afrique, a 9400km bicycle ride from Cairo to Cape Town. 

The trip involved traversing 10 countries - Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (Sudan and Ethiopia were bypassed due to political instability). 

The total distance cycled was just over 9400km. There were many highlights, including the Pyramids and the temples and burial sites at Luxor, the Rift Valley, Mt Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park, Victoria Falls and the Namibian desert. Well done James!

Where are they now - Hugh (Paul) Bourke (SPC 1949-51, PY1953)

The College recently reconnected with Hugh (Paul) Bourke (SPC 1949-51, PY1953) who has retired now as a veterinarian and believes that his SPC education taught him a sense of order, discipline and respect.

Annual gathering full of reminiscing and laughs 

A three-day get-together at Port Campbell has become a highly-anticipated date on the calendar every year for a group of Old Boys from the Class of 1973.

Joe shares his life as a politician

We were delighted to welcome back Old Collegian and Ballarat MP Joe McCracken (SPC 2003-05) to the College during the term to chat to our Year 10 Legal Studies and Politics class. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn about the life of a politician and follows a visit by Ballarat MP Juliana Addison earlier this year. Thank you to Joe for visiting us! 

How times have changed!

This is how we transported the boats to rowing regattas nearly 60 years ago, and this is how we do it today!

It's always a treat to look over our College Annuals and College Archivist Halina Sztynda came across this great photo of "Betsy” the Bedford truck in the 1965 College Annual, loaded up with three rowing shells ready for the Scotch Mercantile Regatta in Melbourne. Imagine the drive along the old highway through the Pentland Hills, it's no wonder the annual describes it as a "hazardous trip". Nowadays, we transport numerous rowing shells in a much-more comfortable fashion, as our Co-Ordinator of Rowing David O'Doherty shares with this photo with the trailer loaded for this year's Scotch Mercantile regatta, now held at Nagambie Lakes. 

Share your memories with us by emailing oca@stpats.vic.edu.au  

Obituaries

St Patrick's College honours those Old Boys who have sadly left us and recognises their contribution to the life of the College and to broader society in general. The College received news in recent times that these Old Collegians have passed away, including:

• Fr Barry Ryan (former College chaplain), pictured above
• Tyrone Holt (SPC 2018-20)
• Just before going to print, we also learnt of the passing last night of John Deany (SPC 1949-53) and we will publish a full tribute to John in our next edition of the GWB.
  
  We also extend our sincere condolences to:
• brothers David Maskell (SPC 1996-2001) and Greg Maskell (SPC 1992-97) and their families on the passing of their father Peter earlier this month.
• Gerard Torpy (SPC 1961-65) and his family on the recent passing of his wife Mary who fought a long battle with cancer.
• We also extend our condolences to Steve Moneghetti (SPC 1975-80) and Denis Moneghetti (SPC 1967-71, PY1972) and their families on the passing of their mother Wilma on 13 June, aged 93 years.
  Please click on the button below to read more about these much-missed members of our community. 

Celebrating The Feast of Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King was once one of the biggest days on the St Patrick’s College calendar.

Held on the last Sunday of October, thousands of the faithful assembled at the College to demonstrate their deep devotion to Christ the King.

The annual procession involved the Most Blessed Sacrament around the College oval, followed by a sermon and Benediction from the grandstand, which in its cream and green provided a grand High Altar.

Drawn up in military rank outside the Chapel, a guard of honour, formed from the College Cadet Unit, respendent in smart uniforms and presenting arms with fixed bayonets, made an impressive sight as officials entered the Chapel, later forming ranks before the High Altar and at the Blessing of the Benediction Service presented arms.

A long, colourful procession, headed by hundreds of St Patrick’s College boys, would then wind its way through the College grounds and around the oval, before taking up the position before the High Altar, often taking up to a hour to complete.

Groups from every Catholic school and religious organisation of the Ballarat district, with banners flying, would then give homage of body and mind to Christ our King. The Rosary would be repeated and alternate with hymns sung by processionalists and the attending crowd. 

OCA 2024 committee announced

We are delighted to announce Dr Charles Flynn (SPC 1971-72), pictured above, has been re-elected as president of the St Patrick’s College Old Collegians’ Association at its recent annual general meeting, held on 13 May.

It is Charlie’s third year in the president’s chair, and he is again joined by Chris Torpy (SPC 1989-94) as vice president. Will Rothe (SPC 2015-20) was reappointed as secretary and Kieran Murnane (SPC 1988-93) as treasurer.

The committee also includes the following Old Collegians: Mark Dunne (SPC 1987-92), Brendan Eckel (SPC 1969-75), Shane Hayes (SPC 1989-94), Ben Martin (SPC 2009-14), Allan McKinnon (SPC 1966-69), David McMahon (SPC 1989-94), Stephen McMahon (SPC (1986-91), Kevin Cummins (SPC 1990-95), Matt Sheehan (SPC 1988-93) and Tom O’Loughlin (SPC 2018-23). We also welcome Mick Ryan (SPC 1989-94) onto the committee.  

If you are an Old Collegian and are interested in joining the OCA committee, please email oca@stpats.vic.edu.au  

Architectural commendation for our new PAC

The College was thrilled to receive a Commendation in the Educational Architecture category at the 2024 Victorian Architecture Awards. Our Performing Arts Centre was among 228 submissions vying for recognition in the prestigious awards, with the jury describing it as a “refined yet robust response to a hard-working brief”.

Congratulations to all those who helped bring this project to life, including lead architect and Old Collegian Luke Jarvis (SPC 1993-98), Wardle, and Nicholson Construction. We love learning, performing and gathering in this new space! 

Day of music and creativity in our new PAC

It was wonderful to host Caulfield Grammar School and Ballarat Clarendon College at the College this week for an incredible day of music in our Performing Arts Centre. The day was filled with creativity, collaboration and outstanding performances as more than 120 students came together for the event, which involved workshops, rehearsals and two concerts. 

Handing over message stick

St Patrick's College shared a beautiful liturgy with pupils and staff at St Aloysius Primary School recently to celebrate the handing over of a message stick to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited.

The message stick is one of four travelling in each direction throughout the diocese to remind us of the connectedness of all schools from the Murray to the Sea.

Students shared in leading the liturgy, the theme of which was 'Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer', and our choir sang the Diocese's anniversary song, 'Together we build our place'.

First ACC Final for SPC senior soccer team

Super proud of the efforts of our senior soccer team who competed in its first ACC - Associated Catholic Colleges final last week. While we didn't bring home the trophy, our boys have had a remarkable season, scoring 43 goals in seven games! Well done SPC!

Fighting loss to for SPC First XVIII

In another first, St Patrick’s College also competed in its first football grand final in just the College's second year in the strong ACC competition. While the game started well for our Paddy boys at Windy Hill with a goal in the first couple of minutes, Parade College sadly ended up being too strong.

School of Rock simply spectacular

We're still buzzing from the presentation of our first major production, School of Rock, in our new Performing Arts Centre earlier this term. After months of rehearsals, our inspiring students wowed audiences with their talent, humour and energy during their four performances. Congratulations to all involved, including our students from Loreto College, Ballarat and Ballarat Clarendon College. The joy you brought to the stage was palpable. What a spectacular way to kick off an amazing year of performing arts at St Pat's!