Green, White and Blue - Issue 69

Welcome to our Green, White and Blue newsletter

Welcome to our seventh and final 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!

Four SPC boys make AFL dreams come true

A huge congratulations to Old Collegian Sam Lalor (SPC 2019-22, PY2024) who was the No. 1 pick in this year's  AFL Draft, and will be wearing the yellow and black colours of the Richmond Football Club. We also congratulate SPC Year 12 students Ollie Hannaford, who was selected with pick 18 and is heading to the GWS Giants along with classmate Jack Ough, who was chosen at pick 36. Fellow classmate Harry Charleson had to wait a little longer, and was picked up at pick 9 in the AFL Rookie Draft by Carlton. We cannot wait to watch these young men in action during the 2025 AFL season. Congratulations Sam, Ollie, Jack & Harry!

New Demon Harry Sharp shows his speed

In other AFL news, it's great to see Old Collegian Harry Sharp (SPC 2016-19, PY2021) making his pre-season mark with his new AFL club, Melbourne, coming in first in a recent 2km time trial, finishing ahead of new teammates Kynan Brown and fellow Old Boy Tom McDonald (SPC 2010), who finished third. Go Harry!

Justin Quill (SPC 1990-91) inspires at Speech Night

It was fabulous to welcome back Old Collegian and prominent media lawyer Justin Quill (SPC 1990-91), pictured above, to our first College Speech Night since 2017 last night. Justin had an inspiring message to the students - work hard, be grateful, embrace opportunities, pursue your passion and be positive. We thank Justin for his incredibly inspiring speech. It's no wonder the former boarder was the winner of the 1991 SPC Purton Oratory Award and a member of the winning WT Doyle Debating Prize team. Thank you Justin!    

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Short

Our congratulations to Sam Short (SPC 2011-16) and his bride Taylah on their recent wedding.

Sharing in the festive spirit at our Old Boys' Lunch

We shared in the festive spirit at our Old Boys’ Christmas Lunch last Friday at the Golden City Hotel in Ballarat.

We were delighted to hear from GWV Rebels and 2024 League Grand Final coach David Loader (SPC 1982-85, PY1987), who was expertly interviewed by fellow College Legend and former Rebels coach Gerard “Fitzy” Fitzgerald (SPC 1973, PY1975).

David spoke about the rigours of the current football program, especially the draft process, which saw six Rebels drafted in the recent 2024 AFL Draft, including St Pat’s talents, Sam Lalor (SPC 2019-22, PY2024), Ollie Hannaford (SPC 2021-24), Jack Ough (SPC 2021-24), along with Jonty Faull, Rhys Unwin, and Harry Charleson (SPC 2017-24) in the rookie draft.

More than 30 Old Boys attended the lunch, with more than a dozen attending for the first time. 

Class of 2023 return for One-Year Reunion 

Our thanks to the many members of the Class of 2023 and their partners who returned last Tuesday evening for their One-Year Reunion at the College's OCA Pavilion.

It was a wonderful evening for them to catch up with former classmates, staff and to return to the College for their first time as Old Collegians!

We look forward to reconnecting with the Class of 2023 again on many more occasions in the future, continuing to foster those wonderful lifelong connections that are built at SPC.

Where are they now - Alex Fademi

We caught up with Alex Fademi (SPC 2018-22, PY2023) who sent a video from the UK when he was unable to make it back for the Class of 2023 One-Year Reunion recently. Alex thanked the Paddy boys who had kept in touch with him since his family relocated to the UK in 2022. He is currently taking a gap year and plans to travel before starting at one of the top universities in the UK, University of Nottingham, where he will be studying civil engineering on scholarship.  Alex's aspirations include becoming an ACS leader, and also making the men's volleyball team. We thank Alex for taking the time to reconnect with the College!

Cleo Cat cleans up for Bad Axes at Ballarat Cup

It was a super triumphant day at the Ballarat Cup on Saturday when the unbeaten Cleo Cat crossed the line for her fifth consecutive win for her syndicate, the Bad Axes.

The Bad Axes is made up of Old Collegians from the Class of 1985, including beloved 1985 College Captain Chris Nolan (SPC 1980-85) and fellow classmates Jeremy Sinicco, Chris Kavenagh, Anthony Costigan, Craig Sharp, Tony Melican, Michael Hutt, Tim Dunell, Brent Delahey, Brendon Dickinson, Terry Carmen, Paul Durbridge and Shane Meade.

Most of the group were at Dowling Forest for the mare's fighting win, while Chris stayed in Melbourne and heard about the remarkable win from mum Mary.

Check out this wonderful story of SPC mateship, written by Old Collegian Darcy Cosgriff (SPC 2015-20) for Racing.com by clicking on the button below.  

Lock these dates in your diary for 2025

Make sure you pop these dates in your diary if you have a Class Reunion coming up next year!

Hosted by our Old Collegians' Association, we look forward to seeing as many Old Collegians back for their Class Reunion to renew friendships and reminisce about your school days at St Patrick's College.

We warmly welcome all Old Boys, including those who may have only been at SPC for a short time and may not have had the opportunity to finish your senior years.

We also encourage you to forward these dates onto any Old Boys who may be interested, and to ensure your contact details are up-to-date before we send out invitations via email in the new year. Look out for more details about these events in forthcoming editions of the Green, White and Blue. 

It is crucial we have your up-to-date contact details to keep you updated next year, so we urge you to update your contact details please by simply clicking on the button below.

Celebrating our history and outstanding alumni

St Patrick's College celebrated its rich history and outstanding alumni at the annual Celebration Dinner held in early November in the College's OCA Pavilion. The evening was a testament to the enduring legacy and remarkable achievements of our Old Collegians.

Three distinguished individuals were inducted as Legends of St Patrick's College:

•  Professor Tim Whitehead (SPC 1982-1987): An internationally renowned orthopaedic surgeon specialising in knee surgery and ACL reconstruction. Professor Whitehead's contributions to medical research and practice have earned him global recognition and numerous accolades.
• Peter Caine (SPC 1983-1988): A Specialist Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist with an illustrious career in elite winter sports. Peter has served as the Australian Team Physiotherapist at multiple Olympic Winter Games and World Championships.
• Paul Joseph McGinness (SPC 1910-1911): Posthumously honoured for his extraordinary life as a World War I hero, aviation pioneer, and co-founder of Qantas. His legacy continues to inspire generations.The Young Achiever Award was presented to Dr Liam Toohey (SPC 2003-2008), a distinguished physiotherapist and researcher whose work in sports injury epidemiology has garnered international attention. Barry Schuurs (SPC 1972-77), a retiring staff member, received the Facere Et Docere Award for his outstanding contributions to mathematics education and student success at St Patrick's College. 

Milestone birthday for Brownlow Medallist

Thanks to Tony Joyce (SPC 1954-60) for sending through this wonderful photo of College Legend and Brownlow Medallist Brian Gleeson (SPC 1947-52) celebrating his 90th birthday with his four children in Melbourne recently. Helping Brian blow out the birthday candles were Old Boys Tony and Bill Joyce (SPC 1961-63) and Ray Brady (SPC 1952-60).

Brian shared some of his fondest memories of his time at SPC a few years ago, which you can read by clicking on the button below.

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

Congratulations to Old Collegian Lachie Constable (SPC 2016-20, PY2021) for re-writing the record books in an amazing innings at the weekend in a performance that will live long in the minds of those who saw it! Click on the button below to find out more about Lachie's batting bonanza and other Old Boys who have been in the news recently.

Strong SPC links in recent Legacy junior awards

We were delighted to host the national final of the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award at the College’s Performing Arts Centre recently.

It was extremely fitting, given the close links which exist between Legacy and St Patrick’s College. Old Collegian and immediate past president of the Old Collegians’ Association Allan McKinnon (SPC 1966-69) was State Coordinator of the event.

Legacy was co-founded 101 years ago by another fellow Old Collegian, Frank Doolan, who attended SPC in 1908. 

Fifth Dooley brother celebrates 90th birthday

Family members gathered recently at Hilary Park in Woodford, Victoria, to celebrate the 90th birthday of William (Bill) Dooley (SPC 1949-1952, PY1953), pictured above.

Bill is the fifth Dooley brother to turn 90.  All five sons of Patrick Dooley (1879-1944) and Anne Byrne Dooley (1895-1983) of Glenburnie, Glendaruel have celebrated their 90th birthdays. The youngest three: Geoffrey, Brian and William (Bill) were boarders at SPC between 1946-1952. All three were boarders together in 1949.

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:

• Jayden Paul Hayes (SPC 2007-12), pictured above
• Kevin Nolen (SPC 1971-73)
•  Dr John Richard McGoldrick (SPC 1936-43)
• Just before going to print, we also learnt of the passings of Denis Halliburton (SPC 1957-1969) and Barry McGennis (SPC 1945-52, PY1953). We will publish full tributes to Denis and Barry in our next edition of the GWB. Please click on the button below to read more about these much-missed members of our community. 

Caring for our community with SPC Care

Caring for our community is at the heart of St Patrick’s College. We care for the young men in our care on a daily basis, and this extends to others in our SPC community as well.

This is no more evident than when a student or their family, an Old Collegian and their families or a staff member, finds themselves battling challenging and tough times in their lives. 

SPC Care is our pastoral care program, which aims to support our community during these dark times. We hope to help brighten their day, lighten the load and let them know we care. SPC Care has helped more than 150 members of our SPC community to date this year alone.

Flanagan Art Prize returns; entries now open

Entries are now open for the St Patrick’s College Flanagan Art Prize, which returns as a major competition and exhibition in 2025.

Held annually since 2008 before pivoting to a residency in 2019, this highly regarded acquisitive art competition celebrates emerging and established artists across many contemporary art forms.

The 2025 competition sees the return of the major exhibition of shortlisted works and an acquisitive prize alongside increased prize values and categories, with a total of $18,000 on offer across six categories.

It also introduces the inaugural Young Flanagan Prize and Clontarf Academy Prize, allowing secondary school-aged students across Australia to showcase their creative talents.

Gerry Glennen (SPC 1963-67) receives award

Congratulations to Old Collegian Gerry Glennen (SPC 1963-67) who was made a Life Member of the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANZSLA) in October at the annual conference held in Sydney. There is the nomination, the presentation and the trophy.  The reference to The Commentator is to ANZSLA's on-line publication of articles relating to sports law.  

Trip inspires paintings on Cricket Walkabout story

The Class of 1975’s Pat Gleeson, Wayne Elliott, Gerard FitzGerald and Brian Brown paid a visit to the Johnny Mullagh Centre in Harrow in the West Wimmera a little while back.

The trip, organised by Pat (SPC 1974-75), was to inform his three mates Wayne “Pop” (SPC 1973-75), Gerard “Fitzy” (SPC 1963, PY1975) and Brian “Brownie” (SPC 1970-75) of the great Cricket Walkabout story.

Wayne was so intrigued by the story of Johnny Mullagh and the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England that on his return to Geelong he set to work in his studio and created two paintings. 

The larger of the two works was titled “Johnny Mullagh lounge room” and the second smaller one titled “Johnny Mullagh longest six”. 

Jay's debut novel a hit with readers

We heard from Jay Pelchen (SPC 2002-07) whose debut novel, The World That Was, has already sold 1200 copies in its first eight months and has been well received with a 4.14 rating on Goodreads. 

The World That Was is a time travel adventure that sees a young woman sent on a one-way journey back to medieval England to teach science and medicine to peasants in an effort to avert a future global calamity. The book is targeted at audiences aged 16+ and was an attempt to encourage younger folks to consider careers in STEM and expose young men to some of the dangers women face on a daily basis. 

His book is gaining great interest and we know this because we have the book in our school library! Jay is excited to report a classroom set has also been sent to a school in the US. Jay has also recently established a writers club for UN staff at Vienna HQ and his post outlining his writing approach on Reddit’s writing forum is the 26th highest post of all time. Well done Jay!

SPC students visit JXSH MVIR exhibition

Our 2025 Art Making and Exhibiting students attended their first exhibitions, Medieval to Metal and JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live, at the Ballarat Gallery last week. As part of the curriculum, students are required to view multiple exhibitions, observe how curators engage audiences and ensure the safe display and storage of artworks.  

JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live is the first and largest retrospective of works by the late Josh Muir (1991–2022), a Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta, and Barkindji artist born in Ballarat. Josh (SPC 2004-07, PY2009) passed away at the young age of 30 in 2022. Over a 12-year career, he became a prolific artist, celebrated for his contributions to First Peoples art and culture in Southeast Australia, as well as to contemporary art nationally and internationally. This retrospective honours the strength of his artistic practice and his lasting impact on the art world.

College Legend's wildlife photography on show

We would like to thank College Legend David Parer AO (SPC 1962-64) for gifting the College a beautiful set of his wildlife photography, captured during his extensive career filming wildlife in remote locations around the world, including Australia, the Galapagos, South America, Alaska, Antarctica and Papua New Guinea. 

The framed photographs were recently installed in the College's Art wing. David also gifted the College several publications, including the books, The Life and Art of William T Cooper, a natural history artist who was a good mate of David's, as well as the memoir of John Russell, entitled Antarctic Engineer. John was part of the 10-man team that helped build the Australian Antarctic base, Mawson Station, in 1954, and where David later spent the winters of 1970 & 1972 capturing the wildlife of this amazing southern continent. Thank you David!

Boys exemplifying the spirit of Laurie Larmer Cup

Earlier in the term, our Year 7 cohort swooped on the opportunity to participate in the Laurie Larmer Cup - a badminton competition which was facilitated by our Year 11 VM students. Congratulations to Year 7 students Elijah Thomas and Luke Siemensma who were the overall winners and to Keniry House for winning the House Competition.

The Laurie Larmer Cup was held for the first time last year as a senior interhouse football competition in salute to one of the College's greatest ever war heroes Laurie Larmer (SPC 1935-40). Laurie sadly passed away last year, aged 99 years. 

Brothers return to SPC for special luncheon

The College welcomed 18 Christian Brothers and other VIPS to the annual Ambrose Treacy Luncheon in commemoration of Br Treacy who led the first group of Christian Brothers to Melbourne on 18 November 1868.  The luncheon is usually held at Parade College, in Melbourne. The gentlemen enjoyed their tour and hospitality and were grateful to return to the College, some hadn’t been onsite since the 1950s.  

Students explore the US on 16-day adventure

Late last week we farewelled a group of lucky students and staff as they embarked on an extraordinary journey to the United States!

Whether exploring the world of international basketball or showcasing their talents in the performing arts, this 16-day adventure is set to create lifelong memories and broaden horizons. Safe travels to our travellers - may this be a journey filled with growth, learning, and unforgettable moments!

Huge congratulations to The Lion King Jr team

Hopefully our talented students have recovered from their recent The Lion King Jr performances. Huge congratulations to all involved, from the cast and crew to those who offered behind the scenes support.  Heartfelt thanks to our wonderful community for coming along and cheering on our performers from the audience. I'm sure you'll agree that the future of performing arts at SPC is bright!

SPC leaders attend ACC leadership launch

Our newly appointed College leaders, Hugo Johnston, Brendan Monaghan and Harrison Grant, together with our Deputy Principal - Community, Mr John Richards, and Head of Senior School, Mr Matt Miller, pictured above right, proudly represented SPC at the Associated Catholic Colleges Leadership Launch. The event, held at St Bernard's College Essendon, included a beautiful Mass and dinner that brought together student leaders from across the ACC network to reflect on the values of service, faith and leadership. We look forward to seeing our leaders embody these qualities in 2025 and beyond!

Clontarf Academy celebrate great year

The St Patrick’s Clontarf Academy recently came together with 130 guests - including Clontarf partners, families, staff, and students - to celebrate the incredible achievements of 2024 recently. It was extra special to share the night with families from near and far, including the Tiwi Islands, Tennant Creek, and Alice Springs.

Celebrating our graduating 2024 students

Our St Patrick's College Class of 2024 graduating students celebrated their Year 12 Valedictory at Ballarat's Mercure Hotel recently! As a special tradition, each student received their St Patrick's College Old Collegians Association tie - a symbol of their transition from students to alumni.

The evening was a beautiful testament to the hard work, dedication, and spirit of our young men. We celebrated their academic achievements, personal growth, and the lifelong connections they've forged during their time at the College. Congratulations, Paddy Boys! Your future is bright, and we can't wait to see the incredible paths you'll forge.

Wishing you a merry Christmas and happy 2025🎄

We hope you enjoyed the last - but certainly not least - curation of Old Collegian news for 2024. We wish you a safe and restful time with your family and friends and we look forward to sharing more with you in 2025. Don't forget if you have any ideas for the GWB, to please get in touch with us, our contact details are listed below.