St Columba's College, Essendon


St Columba's College is an all-female Roman Catholic secondary school in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon.

History

After taking responsibility for St Monica's Parish Primary School in Moonee Ponds in 1896, Mother Ursula Bruton purchased the property at 139 Buckley Street to provide secondary education for the girls from St Monica's. She believed that this was needed so that young women could take their rightful place in society. Mother Ursula was the first Principal and named the school St Columba's.
Columba was an Irish saint and a great scholar, who lived in the sixth century. The College motto chosen was "Fidelis et Fortis" meaning "faithful and strong", and the shield with its crown and dove reflected the Sisters of Charity's crest and Columba's name. The first classes were held on 13 July 1897 for 47 students.
The initial educational program provided a broad and liberal education for young women and in 1900 presented its first candidates for matriculation.

Houses

The seven Houses and their associated colours are:
Prior to the current houses, the eight Houses and their associated colours were:
In establishing the Religious Sisters of Charity in 1815 Mary Aikenhead was committed to responding to the needs of the poor in Ireland and she confirmed this commitment by having her Sisters take an additional vow of service to the poor. Mary and her fellow Sisters became the first walking nuns breaking with a tradition of religious orders by moving out of their convents and going to the poor.
Mary Aikenhead believed in Divine Providence and the importance of the best education and training for new ministries. She went to York in England for her own training before being professed and when she decided to establish a hospital in Dublin, she sent some of her sisters to France for training as nurses.
In 1838 five Sisters of Charity arrived in Sydney from Ireland, the first religious sisters to arrive in Australia. Their arrival was the result of an invitation to Mary Aikenhead to send some sisters to work with the Catholic convicts. Their first Ministry was to female convicts in the Parramatta jails. They then extended their role to establishing schools in the Sydney district. The Sisters of Charity have remained in education on the East Coast of Australia since this time and have been involved in primary, secondary and tertiary institutes. Today the Sisters of Charity have four schools: St Vincent's College Potts Point; Mount St Michael's College Brisbane; CLC Eltham; and St Columba's College.

Notable alumnae