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Mary and Michael established the first Catholic School. the school was located near St Stevens Cathedral. Money was funded from the local Catholic people to build the school.
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The settlement had its first church St Stevens. Almost 10 years on St Stevens was proclaimed the cathedral of the diocese after formally separating from New South Wales to become Queensland.
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Bishop James Quinn 5 priests and the Irish sisters of mercy made there way to Brisbane aboard the Yarra Yarra. Bishop Quinn was surprised by the poverty of the largely Irish population and committed to raising the economic and social status, Catholics through education. Mother Vincent Witty and the sisters of mercy established our first catholic secondary school All Hallows.
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The St James College was established staffed entirely by lay teachers. It was a unique model with both religious and lay student teachers, receiving their training before and after school, working in classes apprentices during the day. It would be almost 100 years until a dedicated Teachers Training College was established, Macauley College at the All Hallows campus.
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It was a time of growth on the back of the divide between the Irish Catholic and the English Protestants, it became a push to keep church and state separate. Laws were passed to provide free compulsory and secular education to children and remove state funding for all religious schools.
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35 catholic schools were established and fully funded by communities. Catholic Education not only survived but flourished. It was around this time that Sir Mary of the Cross Mackillop and the sisters of St Joseph arrived in Brisbane within months. Despite the harshness and challenges of early European settlement they began teaching the turn of the century saw much transformation. The newly formed Federation of the Australian states.
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Archbishop Dunn died in 1919. Archbishop James Chui a visionary with an entrepreneurial spirit could see the growing need for Catholic schooling. He invested in large tracts of land around Brisbane.
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The period from the Great Depression in 1929 to the end of World War 2 saw Australia suffer the challenges of widespread poverty and unemployment. Catholic Education was affected by lack of teachers growing class sizes and economic challenges but Catholic Education preserved through these hard times
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The role renamed in 1948 director of Catholic education he would become instrumental in leading us through the transformation of Catholic education in Brisbane.
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Catholic education continued to struggle with the demands of its mission throughout the post-war boom the numbers within religious orders began to decline and so an increase in the employment of lay staff began. Despite the budget restrictions and continued funding by communities and parishes. 26 new schools were opened in the 15 years to 1960. Major changes occurred nationwide in school funding after the Goulburn school strike in 1962.
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Government health inspectors demanded three additional toilets to be installed at our lady of Mercy prep school. Goldman's Bishop John Cullinane said that there was no money. he called a meeting of Catholic parents who voted to strike resulting one thousand students descending on the local for enrollment.
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The Federal government provided grants to Catholic Schools. This was the first time in almost a hundred years the Catholic schools had received Government funding. Despite this communities continue to meet the shortfalls of this funding.
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1960-1970 was a decade of strain for Catholic education. Lay teachers were battling with stifling conditions and only equipped with 2 years training before entering the classroom.
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Macaulay College would open its doors in 1973 to include lay teachers as Catholic schools have become more relient on laid leadership and staff. Major social upheaval and the Second Vatican Council saw new educational approaches which would see this decade closed with 43,000 students enrolled and 113 schools across the archdiocese. The provision of schools from operating on a community funding model to a government supported model took twenty years.
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Today we are commited to providing quality Catholic education and to ensure a share of government funding for all of our schools in Queensland.
