St Edmund's College, Canberra
St Edmund's College, Canberra is an independent, Catholic, secondary and primary school for boys, located in Griffith, a suburb of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
The college was established in 1954 by the Christian Brothers as St Edmund's War Memorial College. It was opened to meet the demand for a Catholic education school in the region and was the first Catholic secondary boys' college established in the ACT. St Edmund's College practises in the tradition of Edmund Ignatius Rice. The current principal of the college is Joe Zavone.
Students are placed into houses for sporting and other events. The current houses and colours are: Clancy, Treacy, O'Brien, Haydon, Mulrooney and Rice.
The college song is "Edmund's to the Fore", and the college hymn is "Christ Be Our Light".
History
St Edmund's War Memorial College opened in 1954 as a Christian Brothers school in response to the needs of Catholic parents of the region. St. Edmund's was the first Catholic secondary boys' college established in Canberra.Headmasters / principals
The St Edmund's College website lists the following people as headmasters / principals of the College:- 1954–1956: P. L. McCarthy
- 1957–1959: E. C. Fields
- 1960–1965: N. T. Landener
- 1966–1969: J. B. Darmody
- 1970–1978: G. D. Kerr
- 1979–1988: R. J. Wallace
- 1989–1994: J. P. O’Shea
- 1995–2004: C. J. Dwyer
- 2005–2008: C. X. Hayes
- 2009–2014: P. J. Fullagar
- 2015–2017: D. Lawler
- 2018–Present: J. Zavone
Rugby union
Ancillary bodies
In reflecting the spirit of charity of Edmund Rice, St Edmund's College established the St Edmund's College Foundation with the aim of giving financial assistance to disadvantaged families to diminish the burden of educating their children and to provide them the opportunity of a quality education.The St Edmund's College Old Boys and Friends Association was established in 2015. Looking to take over where the original alumni group left off, the association is slightly different than the original alumni group, as it is focused on incorporating the college community as a whole. The association states that they would like to encourage all old boys and friends to remain involved in the college community, attend college activities or to just stay in touch or locate lost friends. The association is run by a committee consisting of a president, a treasurer and up to six other members in charge of the website, organising events, and more. It draws on community support from individuals and businesses, as well as ongoing support from the college.
Notable alumni
Business- John A. Bryant – President & CEO of the Kellogg's Corporation and Director of Macy's, Inc.
Politics and law
- John Barilaro – Member for Monaro and Deputy Premier of New South Wales
- Terence Higgins – former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
- Warren Snowdon – Member for Lingiari ; formerly the Member for Northern Territory
- Matthew Le Nevez – television actor
- Tommy Murphy – award-winning playwright
- Flip Simmons – theatre actor and singer
- John Lawler – former deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police and former chairman of the Australian Crime Commission
- Lieutenant General David Morrison – former Chief of Army and 2016 Australian of the Year
- Most Rev. Patrick Power – Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Canberra and Goulburn
- Finlay Bealham – Irish rugby union player for Ireland national rugby union team and Connacht Rugby
- Robbie Coleman – Australian rugby union footballer for the Brumbies
- Anthony Fainga'a – Australian rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Brumbies
- Colby Fainga'a – Australian rugby union footballer for the Melbourne Rebels
- Saia Fainga'a – Australian rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Brumbies
- Vili Fainga'a – rugby union footballer for the Tonga national rugby union team and former rugby league footballer for the Canberra Raiders and Melbourne Storm player
- David Furner – former professional rugby league footballer and coach for the Canberra Raiders and NSW State of Origin team
- Matt Giteau – former Australian rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Brumbies
- George Gregan – former Australian rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and Brumbies; the most-capped rugby union international of all time
- Matt Henjak – former Australian rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Western Force
- Alex Jesaulenko – Australian rules football player
- Nate Osborne – head coach of Major League Rugby's New Orleans Gold
- Matt Pini – former Australian rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and Italy
- Luke Priddis – Australian rugby league footballer for the Kangaroos, Penrith Panthers and St George-Illawarra Dragons
- Stephen Simmonds – Paralympic swimming medallist and disabled water ski world champion
- Tyrone Smith – former Australian rugby union footballer for the Brumbies and Tonga
- Ricky Stuart – former Australian dual-code rugby player, former coach of the Cronulla Sharks and NSW State of Origin team, current coach of the Canberra Raiders and winner of the 2016 Dally M Coach of the Year