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“Kilbreda College offers first class education covering a wide variety of subjects.”

A school friend of Marian Le Bas, Madeleine Bolch, recently donated a few items of interest to the archives. One of them, a Final Night program from 1976, reminds me of the annual speech nights we had at the end of each year which were an impetus for becoming involved in school activities for fear of being one of those who received nothing. There were seven items on the program, the first of which was a candlelight procession accompanied by the singing of carols. As was usual, the Principal, Sr Marietta, spoke, before Bishop Kelly presented the awards. Former staff member and 1976 College Captain, Joanne Johnston (King) gave her report and reminiscences and handed over the school banner. The Senior Elective Choir sang “Songs from the Shows” and a piano quartet presented “Overture to Don Giovanni” and the choir finished with a cantata.

The Day Students’ Prospectus outlines the uniform and most interestingly, the tuition fees: $60 per term! Those wishing to learn music paid an additional $33 and $7 for Music Theory. Among the general regulations, it states that day pupils were “not allowed to take out letters or attend to commissions for Boarders without permission from the Mistress of Discipline.”

The Kilbreda Chronicle, for Term 2 1971, contains many items of interest. “The Inter-House Singing Competition held on 9th July, Dr. Delaney’s Day… was won by Lourdes. The annual Kilbreda-St Bede’s debate is coming up on August 18th and we hope that all those in Forms III, IV, V and VI will support their school and that once again we will succeed in defeating those ‘little boys in blue’”. 

Among the letters to the editor, comes a fascinating suggestion from ‘Anticipating Student’. “Dear Editor, I would like to suggest that St Bede’s and Kilbreda Form 4’s, 5’s and 6’s have a folk-rock mass together followed by an informal get together one afternoon. It would be a chance for everybody to meet members of the opposite sex in an unusual way”. (I’m sure the same thing will be suggested by current students any day now!)

In a cute section entitled “Uniforms of the Future” the writer laments : “According to the maxim, no uniform could be found to suit everyone, so ‘they’ chose one which suited nobody:- the TUNIC”. What follows is interesting though: “At least we at Kilbreda have an attractive colour for our tunics rather than the usual grey or navy blue. Future generations of schoolgirls will look back in horror and shudder at this monstrosity. So, thinking of this, we have devised a few uniforms which girls might be wearing next century”. 

Kilbreda Kix, a section on jokes includes: “What do elves eat? – Peter’s Ice-Cream (the ‘elf food of a nation)”. There are a few ads of interest, too. One is for what sounds to be a very cool shop, Peephole, at “105 Mentone Parade, 93 8738 -For the latest gear!” Mountain Books has an ad, as do Tobin Brothers Funeral Directors, good old Reg Ritchie’s and W.F. Libbis, the great grandfather of Eve Libbis-Terrill in Y12 and Isla Morgan in Y8, a chemist in Balcombe Road “Qualified Hair Cosmetician and Beauty Cosmetician."

Damian Smith

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