From the Archives

1940s

The 1940s opened with our country at war and, although Melbourne was not physically touched by its effects, measures were taken all over Australia and even here at Kilbreda. My mother, who started at Kilbreda in 1941, remembered windows being blacked out and trenches dug in the oval area and air raid drills being held. It was at this time, that a young Sr Canisius Larkin came to Kilbreda, whereupon she introduced general science teaching at Kilbreda. Very few of the sisters had a science background and from 1942, she taught science theory (whilst still studying at University herself) and the students went to St Bede’s once a week for practical sessions. Canisia remains our oldest living past staff member, having just turned 98.

The relationship with the newly opened St Bede’s was fostered in other ways too, with St Bede’s oval being put at the Sisters’ disposal for the sports carnival. By the end of 1941, “the Brothers of St Bede’s had secured a Chaplain who was willing to do us the great favour of celebrating a second Mass on Sundays in our Oratory. Rev. T. Daly was happy about the arrangement which gave the Church space six seats [pews] extra for parishioners.”1

In addition to Sr Canisius, others well-known to the Kilbreda community arrived at this time. With the departure of past pupils Mothers Winifride and Genevieve, came the equally musically gifted McDonald sisters, Mothers Madeleine and Andrew, and Paulinus, who, incidentally, was teaching music here until the 1990s. In 1943, Mothers Perpetua Corrigan (later Provincial) and Consuelo Metcalfe arrived at Kilbreda. Mother Consuelo was a fine teacher of French and Arithmetic and Sr Marie O’Kelly remembers rumours circulating that she was of noble descent and that her real name was Lady Josephine Metcalfe!

Boarder numbers increased and part of the colonnade balcony became a sleepout to house the extras. Following the death of the mother of two of the boarders, Nonie and Margaret Walsh, leaving them orphans, as their father had died earlier, the Sisters vowed that Kilbreda would be their home as long as they needed. When, in 1944, Matriculation was introduced in Victorian schools, Kilbreda’s students fared very well, with Mercy Black gaining a University Free Place in Arts and a Scholarship to Newman College. That same year, the decision was taken to sell 18 acres of the Convent Farm as “the two men managing the farm were no longer able to cope effectively with so much land. Fewer cows and much less land would suit better.”2

With student numbers on the increase into the 300s, the Hall was partitioned to make two classrooms and the stage of Kilbreda hall was converted into a suitable classroom for the preps.

On 20 March 1945, “Mother Vincent Brennan, pioneer and co-founder of our order in Victoria, member of the Mentone community for forty years, died peacefully, very gently. Past ??? of years of service, parishioners, a multitude assembled to honour the memory of her whom they had come to regard as a saint…”3  Past pupils honoured her memory by funding the installation of a sound system. A dish washing machine, the gift of the Matthiesson family was presented for use in the boarders’ servery.

In March 1948, Kilbreda achieved ‘A’ school status, which meant that Kilbreda was able to set its own syllabus and administer examinations internally for English Expression, English Literature, French, German, Italian, History, Music, Maths A and B and Arithmetic, up to Intermediate. Mother Mercedes arrived at Kilbreda in 1948, where she taught my mother, having come from St Patrick’s Mentone as my Dad’s teacher and later went to OLA when it opened in 1952 as founding Principal and there taught my aunt. Still later, she was a colleague of mine until 1991.

In 1949, Matric students attended evening lectures in Melbourne University. Later that year, on 1 September, a young Sr Maree Simm was professed as Sr Eilis at Malvern. Living at Mentone and teaching locally at Mordialloc, Cheltenham and Mentone, she was foundation Principal of Stella Maris Beaumaris, from 1956 to 1970. Later Principal at East Malvern and North Springvale, Maree completed further studies, before spending time at Kilbride and Killester and a year as Chaplain at the Alfred Hospital, before joining the Kilbreda staff in 1983. While living at Mordialloc, Maree played competition table tennis at Mornington on Friday nights. She came along to help me with the Kilbreda team at lunchtimes and assisted the team at regional finals in Dandenong and Victorian Championships at Albert Park a number of times. Maree performed various roles over 22 years here. She was Sacristan, home-room teacher and library assistant, before being given the daunting task of putting Kilbreda’s Archives in order in the early 1990s. A considerable collection had been gathered by Sr Kieran Mongan, but it required sorting, labelling and cataloguing, all of which Maree undertook in her usual no-nonsense manner. She enlisted the help of my mother and another past pupil, Claire Moore (née Sierakowski), in 1994 to help name and date the photograph collection and she soon found an ally in me, when she learned that I could print labels for her. Maree loved creating displays and was particularly proud of those she made for our Centenary celebrations in 2004, which are still in use today. Her significant contribution to the organisation of the collection facilitated the production of our College history, A View from the Tower. Maree decided that this job was to be her final undertaking and took a well-earned rest, retiring to Albert Park in 2005, where she enjoyed playing golf a few times a week on the nearby course. From 2011-16, she was a member of the community at Malvern, where she paid regular visits to the nearby pokies and finally moved to Mercy Place in Sandringham where we celebrated her 92nd birthday on April 4. Maree was a devoted Tigers fan and her celebrations of their 2017 Grand final win continued well into the New Year! She died peacefully at Sandringham on April 18 and I was honoured to be asked to be a pallbearer at her Requiem Mass at St Joseph’s, Malvern, last Friday, 26 April 2019. “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord”. 4

Notes

1 Kilbreda Convent Annals p63

2 Kilbreda Convent Annals p88

3 Kilbreda Convent Annals p94

4 Matthew 25:16-23

Damian Smith

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