Our
Lady Help of Christians was established 80 years ago, in a time when
the locals took the train to shop at TC Beirne Emporium in the Valley.
It was still 20 years before Chermside was built and there were no
suburban shopping centres or supermarkets. You could shop though for
daily commodities at your corner store and of course daily deliveries of
bread and milk helped feed the families. The fresh warm
milk was dispensed straight into your jugs and came from Gill’s dairy on
Nudgee Rd at Northgate. Customers stored their milk in ice chests
cooled by slabs of ice. Hendra Cash n Carry would also deliver groceries
when needed and these arrived by bicycle. There were bakeries in
Burilda and School Streets which only operated Mon-Friday. There were
very few privately owned motor vehicles on the road in 1937.
Originally
called German Station, the name Hendra was chosen because of the
proximity to Eagle Farm Racecourse, and its links to the English racing
district. Racehorses in the streets were a common site, especially early
in the mornings when they were taken for training. In fact, most
streets had 3-4 racing stables interspersed between the houses.
In
1929, the Catholic Church bought an old rambling residence belonging to
the Bowmans on 3 acres of land which became a temporary church. It was
the whole block Manson, Derby, Burilda and Bowman. It was a magnificent
residence, but in very poor condition. It was so large, that by 1937 it
became used as a church and school as well as accommodation for the
Parish Priest and the housekeeper. It was used as a church and school
until 1946. Mass was said in part of the school, so school desks and
church seats had to be interchanged each weekend.
Two
of Brisbane’s leading citizens played an important role in the
establishment of the parish and school: TC Beirne and FJ Mc Donnell. The
parish priest of Hendra was invited to be the racing chaplain, a
tradition which still stands today. Monsignor Lynch, the first parish
priest, had a keen interest in racing and often offered great tips to
his churchgoers.
OLHC
School opened in 1937, with the sisters travelling each day from the
convent in Nundah. Sister Michael was Principal, assisted by Sisters
Olive, Owen and Phillip. Conditions were primitive, partitions dividing
up the classrooms, and buckets catching water when it rained. Long
wooden desks and stools seated 6 pupils each, and slates and sponges,
lead pencils, copybooks and inkwells were used.
Highlights
of the school year were feast days of St Patrick and St Joseph, as they
were declared holidays for the school. Religion lesson, followed by
Mass, and then cordial, cakes and lollies provided by Monsignor for the
whole school. Children then went home with no homework. The feast day of
the class teacher was another similar party day. The annual school
fancy dress ball and the school concert were other highlights. Reception
of First Holy Communion was a big event for those eligible, with
Confession in the week leading up, wearing of the black and white on the
day, and the big ‘after party’ with food provided by the parents. The
children then had to attend daily Mass for a week afterwards, wearing
their shiny medals.
Divisions
between the Catholics and Protestants were huge. It wasn’t uncommon to
be ‘ambushed’ by the kid from the state school who lived over the road
from OLHC, and held up for ransom of threepence payable on the next
school day. If no money, then a beating was in store. Sister Michael
used to send groups past his house to prevent young ones being attacked.
Jump
forward 20 years or so to the time in the fifties when Ms Ros was at
school. All the teachers were nuns and they were very strict. If you
didn’t do your homework, you would be sure to get the ‘cuts’ no matter
what your excuse. But they were good teachers and taught respect for
others. Class sizes varied, but were mostly multi-age classes. Grades 1
and 2 together, grades 3,4 and 5 in another room, 6 and 7 working
together and then grade 8, which was scholarship on its own because it
was such an important class. The scholarship exam wasn’t held at the
school, and the students had to be taken by bus to Eagle Junction State
School to sit for it. Numbers at the school were small, and everyone
knew everyone else, even their little brothers and sisters.
As
in earlier days, there was still a lot of fun to be had. St Patrick’s
Day especially was a concert, with the stage the verandah outside the
hall and the parents seated in the undercover area, which is now our
tuckshop. ‘When Irish Eyes are Smiling’, ‘McNamara’s Band’
and other Irish favourites were sung with gusto, and to get a part in
this production was quite a feat. There was also still a yearly Fancy
Dress Ball, and Ms Ros assures me she still has a photo of her in
costume. It was held at Cloudland Ballroom.
Sports
Day (or Athletics Carnival as we know it) was held on a Sunday at the
Parish Fete. Other local Josephite Schools like Nundah, Windsor and
Banyo joined in the competition. They challenged each other with age
races, relays, ball games, much as we still do today. The heroes and
heroines were always the ones who were the fastest runners. Similarly,
OLHC students were bussed to the other schools on their fete days to
compete.
For
a parish with such a long history, the Priests have been relatively few
in number. Monsignor Lynch was followed by Monsignor Roberts, Fr Peter
Gillam and Fr Jim Spence. Fr Gillam returned for a second stay for quite
a few years. He was followed by Fr Anthony Mellor, Fr Geoff Baron, Fr
Michael McCarthy (now Bishop of Rockhampton) and now Fr Paul
Chackanikunnel.
Faces
in the photos on the wall in the administration building indicate that
we have had teaching staff who stayed both short and long times.
Following the departure of the nuns, Mr Mike Lawlor was the first lay
principal, followed by Mr Dennis Carey, Mr Leo Dittman, Mr Gil Cook, Mr
Joe Miranda and Mrs Margaret Tomov, all of whom spent considerable time
leading this wonderful community, each leading it through stages of ups
and downs, growth and decline, often a reflection of the demographics of
this area.
Jump
to today, and you find a school that is contemporary, yet retains a
strong family focus. Links with the parish are strong with regular Mass
for the children and Sacramental Programme run by the parish. A stable
staff, highly experienced teachers, plan engaging curriculum experiences
for the classes in each of our 8 classrooms. With boys’ colleges taking
upper school enrolments, maintaining good numbers in the upper school
remains our most constant challenge. Demographics are changing again,
and the reputation of our school as offering excellent education in a
small school, family-friendly atmosphere is growing. Technology is the
way forward for the future, and we have established an environment where
children use computers and iPads as devices to assist in their
learning.
Highlights
of the school year are our presentations for our families like our
Easter Prayer Celebration, our Dance Showcase evening, the Fete, the
Christmas Concert, and of course our sports days. Unfortunately,
Brisbane Catholic Education don’t grant us holidays for St Patrick or
Joseph, or Mary MacKillop’s feast day, but we do
commemorate special days like these and Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, as
well as Community commemorations like Day for Daniel, and World
Teachers’ Day. We raise money for charities like our local St Vincent de
Paul, Caritas and the Missions, much as they did in earlier days.
The
building impetus provided by the government over the past couple of
years saw a rapid development of our facilities. The undercover area and
the Mary MacKillop learning centre were tremendous bonuses for our
small community. More recently the development of our nature play space
and Xavier Place have enriched our play and performance opportunities.
We now have an education facility that provides a contemporary learning
environment for the current students and those to come.
