History of St Paul's
St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly was formerly known as Christian Brothers College, Manly and was originally situated in Raglan Street, Manly. Following a request in 1924 by Father John McDonald for the establishment of a Christian Brothers community, the school opened on 29th January 1929 to 123 pupils. The first community comprised Br. T. Bourke (Superior) and Brothers Costello, O’Connor and Gygar, their work being to bring a Catholic education to boys of the parish, ensuring no child “would be excluded from the school because of the inability or unwillingness of his parents or guardians to pay school fees”. By 1933, numbers had risen to 250, with football, cricket, swimming, athletics and boxing and wrestling tournaments a feature of school life along with annual concerts, and pupils were passing the Intermediate and Leaving Certificates.
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In 1945, as a result of World War II, the Army Cadet Corps was formed and played a prominent part in school life until it was disbanded in 1962. The drum and bugle band marched the school in at special assemblies and played regularly at local Anzac services, whilst the senior and junior school choirs sang weekly at Mass and Benediction in Manly.
In March, 1964 His Eminence Cardinal Gilroy told the Brothers he wanted them to put their secondary school in the grounds of the St. Patrick’s Estate, where the present College sits, whilst he continued to reside in the adjoining Residence. The foundation Principal of the Secondary College was Br. W. Simmons, himself a former pupil of Christian Brothers, Raglan Street (1933-1937) and later to become Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Sydney. The new school was built and fully resourced at a cost of Pounds125,000 and was opened and blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Gilroy, Archbishop of Sydney, and indeed, during 1970, Year 12 classes were held in the dining-room of the Cardinal’s Residence.
During the latter part of the 1970’s under the supervision of the Principal, Br. P. Lennox, major College extensions were undertaken, including the construction of six classrooms and art and craft rooms, two science laboratories, a library, theatrette, audio-visual room and large geography room.
In 1982 the Christian Brothers withdrew and the first lay Principal, Mr. Brian Mayne, was appointed. For the first time, the College was fully staffed by lay people employed by the Archdiocese of Sydney. In 1986 the Diocese of Broken Bay was formed and presently St Paul’s as well as the Parish of Manly forms part of this Diocese.
In 2004 the College marked its seventy-fifth anniversary with celebrations including Masses at both St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney and Mary Immaculate & St Athanasius, Manly, and an Anniversary Dinner for 375 past and present staff and students at Manly-Pacific Hotel.
In June 2005, following lengthy negotiations between the College Principal, Mr. A. Martin and the Catholic Schools Office, the College administration and a large portion of the staff moved into the magnificently restored Cardinal’s Residence, thus freeing up much needed space for additional classrooms in the school premises.
The College Crest presents us with an everyday reminder of our culture and history. The motto Prima Primum means “First things first” and the Irish Cross is a reminder that the Christian Brothers Congregation was founded by an Irishman – Br. Edmund Ignatius Rice. The star is a symbol of the Catholic Faith and the College colours are red and black, red long having been a traditional sign of zeal, effort, energy, fire and determination in the face of adversity. These emblems are set on a shield background indicating that life is a challenge to be met daily – the staff and students of St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly are ready to meet that challenge.
