Our
Lady Help of Christians was established over 80 years ago. 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.
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 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.
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), Fr Paul
Chackanikunnel and now Fr Neville Yun.
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 7 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. We also commemorate special days like 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 a master plan and vision to provide for those to come.
