Archives Corner

Mr Anthony Kelly

PHOTO: Construction the rear extension to the Angela building which now houses the College Principal and Assistant Principal's offices and the Staff tea room upstairs. 

The Things We Find

It may be dirty work for our College maintenance staff, but we are always keen to see what appears when plumbing or construction work is undertaken at O'Connor. Mr Terry McMillan needed to fix an urgent water leak last week and I was nearby when he pulled out an unused brick from the construction of the 1926 Angela Building. It is one of the rounded ornamental bricks used to decorate the front. In 6 years it will be 100 years old. 

Later in the day, Mrs Chapman came across a small piece of ornate tile or ceramic in the rubble following the plumbing works. As the first Catholic Chapel for Armidale (1848) was located very close to this place, anything that comes out of the ground is very special.

Construction of the new gym is continuing and this has caused me to reflect on previous work that has occurred at the College. With the new, the old is revealed and we have shared photos of some of the finds from under the ground near the gym in previous newsletters.

 Today was particularly exciting as we opened the Time Capsule from 1994 at the College today.  There were a few surprises and you can read about it in the section 'College News'.

 We hope you enjoy reflecting on the photos and look forward to bringing you more history treats in 2021.  

PHOTO: The construction of the Ursula Building which now houses the Maths, IT Department and the Examination Centre.

PHOTO:  An interior shot of the construction of the College De La Salle Chapel in 1956.