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A lay couple Mary and Michel Burke established the first catholic school funded entirely by collected from local catholic settlers. the school was located not far from where the St Stephens cathedral church stands today.
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The settlement had its first permanent church St Stephens 10 years on St Stephens was proclaimed the cathedral of the dioceses.
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Bishop James Quinn, five priests and six Irish sisters of mercy made there way to Brisbane aboard the Yarra Yarra. Mother vinvent Witty and the sisters of Mercy our first secondary school all Hallows.
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This and James school was established staffed entirely by lay teachers it was a unique model with both religious and lay student teachers receiving training before and after school and working in classes.
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It was a time of growth on the back of the divide between the Irish catholic and the English Protestants came a push to keep church and state separate. Laws were passed to provide free compulsory and secular education. By the end of the decade there were 35 catholic schools fully funded.
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The New archdiocese of Brisbane a new arch bishop Robert Done along with technology and Australian women now able to vote, the horrors and disruptions of WW1 and had big implications for catholic education. Catholic schools continued to be self funded and it would be another half centaury before catholic could access any Government funding.
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Following the death of Archbishop Dune. Archbishop James Chui a visionary spirit could see the growing need for catholic schooling. He invested large tracks of land around Brisbane and by 1930 they had established 28 new schools.
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After WW2 Australia suffered the challenges of wide spread poverty and unemployment. while there was a lack of teachers and class sizes and economic challenges but catholic education grew stronger through these hard times. 19 new schools were opened despite this period.
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After being told by Government inspectors that they had to install 3 new toilets at Our Lady Of Mercy prep school. Goldman's bishop John Cullinane said they had no money after calling a meeting with the catholic parents they voted to strike resulting with a thousand children to go to state school education. As a result for the first time the federal Government provided grants to catholic education.
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McCauley college opens its doors in 1973 to include lay teachers as catholic schools have become more reliant on laid leadership and staff. with 43 thousand students enrolled and 113 in schools across the archdiocese.
