Catholic education in Australia
Encyclopedia
Catholic Education in Australia refers to the education services provided by the Roman Catholic Church in Australia
within the Australian education system
. From 19th century foundations, the Catholic education system has grown to be the second biggest sector after government schools in Australia
, with more than 650 000 students and around 21 per cent of all secondary school enrolments. The Catholic Church has established primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Australia.
of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. The first schools in Australia were Christian schools established by the Church of England
in the early days of British settlement in the late 1700s. Free "charity schools" run by other denominations gradually came into existence later. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic, and at least half of them were born in Ireland. A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic. Some of the Irish convicts had been Transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland, so the authorities were suspicious of the minority religion for the first three decades of settlement. Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans. The first Catholic priest colonists arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800 - convicted for "complicity" in the Irish 1798 Rebellion. The Irish led Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and the priests permission to celebrate Mass was revoked. Priests were not officially permitted to travel to the colony until 1820.
The absence of a Catholic mission in Australia before 1818 reflected the legal disabilities of Catholics in Britain and the difficult position of Ireland within the British Empire
, but by 1833, there were around ten Catholic schools in the Australian colonies. The Church of England
lost its legal privileges in the Colony of New South Wales following the Church Act of 1836. Drafted by the Catholic attorney-general John Plunkett
, the act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists.
John Bede Polding, a Benedictine monk, was Sydney's first bishop (and then archbishop) from 1835 to 1877. Polding requested a community of nuns be sent to the colony and five Irish Sisters of Charity
arrived in 1838. While tensions arose between the English Benedictine hierarchy and the Irish Ignatian-tradition order from the start, the sisters set about pastoral care in a women's prison and began visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. In 1847, two sisters transferred to Hobart
and established a school. The sisters went on to establish hospitals in four of the eastern states.
At Polding's request, the Christian Brothers
arrived in Sydney in 1843 to assist in schools but the Irish-English divide proved problematic and the brothers returned to Ireland. In 1857, Polding founded an Australian order of nuns in the Benedictine tradition - the Sisters of the Good Samaritan
- to work in education and social work.
Establishing themselves first at Sevenhill, in the newly established colony of South Australia
in 1848, the Jesuits were the first religious order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland
and the Northern Territory
- Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east. The Australian gold rushes
saw a rapid increase in the population and propserity of the colonies. While the Austrian priests traverssed the Outback on horseback to found missions and schools, the Irish priests arrived in the east in 1860 and had by 1880 established the major schools of Xavier College
in Melbourne, St Aloysius' College and Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview
in Sydney - which each survive to the present.
In 1872, Victoria became the first Australian colony to pass an Education Act providing for free, secular public education. The other colonies followed over the following two decades. With the subsequent withdrawal of state aid for church schools around 1880, the Catholic Church, unlike other Australian churches, put great energy and resources into creating a comprehensive alternative system of education. It was largely staffed by nun
s, brothers and priests of religious orders, such as the Christian Brothers
(who had returned to Australia in 1868); the Sisters of Mercy
(who had arrived in Perth in 1846); Marist Brothers
, who came from France in 1872 and the Sisters of St Joseph
, founded in Australia by Mary MacKillop
and Fr Julian Tenison Woods
in 1867. MacKillop travelled throughout Australasia
and established schools, convents and charitable institutions but came into conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the order rather than central control from Adelaide by the Josephite order. MacKillop administered the Josephites as a national order at a time when Australia was divided among individually governed colonies. She is today the most revered of Australian Catholics, canonised by Benedict XVI in 2010. Catholic schools flourished in Australia and by 1900 there were 115 Christian Brothers teaching in Australia. By 1910 there were 5000 sisters from all orders teaching in schools.
Following the Second Vatican Council
of the 1960s, the church experienced huge changes but also began to suffer a decline in vocations to the religious life, leading to a priest shortage
. On the other hand, Catholic education under lay leadership has expanded, and about 20% of Australian school students attend a Catholic school. Australia's post-World War II multicultural immigration program has seen a diversification of the Catholic population of Australia away from its predominantly Irish roots - with Catholics arriving from nations like Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Vietnam and Sudan and changing the face of the student population undergoing Catholic education.
Today one in five Australian students attend Catholic schools. As with other classes of non-government schools in Australia, Catholic schools receive funding from the Commonwealth Government. Church schools range from elite, high cost schools (which generally offer extensive bursary programs for low-income students) to low-fee local schools. Notable schools include the Jesuit colleges of St Aloysius, Loyola Senior High School, Mount Druitt
and Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney, Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide
and Xavier College in Melbourne; the Marist Brothers
St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, the Society of the Sacred Heart
's Rosebay Kincoppal School, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary's Loreto Kirribilli
, the Sisters of Mercy
's Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College
, the Christian Brothers
' St Edmund's College, Canberra
, St Kevin's College, Melbourne and Aquinas College, Perth
- however, the list and range of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Australia is long and diverse and extends throughout metropolitan, regional and remote Australia: see Catholic Schools in Australia.
and Kevin Rudd
, former Governor General Sir William Deane
, former Deputy Prime Minister leader Tim Fischer
, the first woman elected to lead an Australian state or territory, Rosemary Follett
and serving Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore
. Current parliamentarians include Bill Shorten
, Tony Abbott
, Barnaby Joyce
and Joe Hockey
. Prominent indigenous Australians include former Senator Aden Ridgeway
, Patrick Dodson
, Mick Dodson
and Kurtley Beale
. In the arts again, a large number of Catholic educated people have been prominent, from the father of Australian rock and roll, Johnny O'Keefe
, to contemporary musicians like Paul Kelly
and Ignatius Jones
. In film and television, Catholic educated Australians have included Mel Gibson
, David Wenham
, Julian Morrow
, Antonia Kidman
, Anh Do
, Santo Cilauro
and Tom Gleisner
. Contemporary Australian writers who have attended Catholic schools include Robert Hughes
, Morris West
, Nick Enright
, Justin Fleming
and Gerard Windsor
. Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Murray Gleeson
attended St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and his successor, Robert French
, the current Chief Justice, attended St. Louis School, Claremont, Western Australia
. As of August 2011, a full nine members of the 49 member New South Wales Supreme Court were ex-students of the Jesuit St Ignatius' College Riverview. Princess Michael of Kent
and businesswomen Ita Buttrose
, Gai Waterhouse
and Lucy Turnbull
all attended the Society of the Sacred Heart
's Kincoppal School.
have the primary responsibility for funding state government schools and also provide supplementary assistance to non-government schools, while the Australian Federal Government is the primary source of public funding for non-government schools (while also providing supplementary assistance to government schools). These public funds subsidise the fees paid by parents for the education of their children at Catholic schools, with the overall effect of reducing the numbers and therefore burden on public funding for government schools. Most non-government schools have some religious affiliation, with approximately two-thirds of their students enrolled in Catholic schools. In the final year of secondary schooling, students at both government and non-government schools sit for a government-endorsed certificate that is recognised by all Australian universities and vocational education and training institutions. Thus, Catholic schools may freely teach and encourage religious studies, values and community engagement but must adhere to the broader requirements of Australia's secular education system.
The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
through the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education is tasked with maintaining liaison with the Federal Government and other key national education bodies and complements and supports the work of the State and Territory Catholic Education Commissions. While some Catholic schools operate independently, the Catholic Education Office (CEO) is responsible for the leadership, efficient operation and management of the Catholic systemic schools which educate in parish primary and regional secondary schools in Australia and is charged with the implementation and management of the policies determined by the SACS Board and the allocation and administration of the funds provided by government and private sources to Catholic schools as well as the financial responsibilities for administration of salaries for staff members.
opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. These institutions had their origins in the 1800s, when religious orders and institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and nurses for Catholic hospitals.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
opened in Western Australia in December 1989, and now has over 9000 students on three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.
Roman Catholic Church in Australia
The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...
within the Australian education system
Education in Australia
Education in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. Each state or territory government provides funding and regulates the public and private schools within its governing area. The federal government helps fund the public universities, but is not involved in setting...
. From 19th century foundations, the Catholic education system has grown to be the second biggest sector after government schools in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with more than 650 000 students and around 21 per cent of all secondary school enrolments. The Catholic Church has established primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Australia.
Schools
History
The permanent presence of Catholicism in Australia came with the arrival of the First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. The first schools in Australia were Christian schools established by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in the early days of British settlement in the late 1700s. Free "charity schools" run by other denominations gradually came into existence later. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic, and at least half of them were born in Ireland. A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic. Some of the Irish convicts had been Transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland, so the authorities were suspicious of the minority religion for the first three decades of settlement. Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans. The first Catholic priest colonists arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800 - convicted for "complicity" in the Irish 1798 Rebellion. The Irish led Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and the priests permission to celebrate Mass was revoked. Priests were not officially permitted to travel to the colony until 1820.
The absence of a Catholic mission in Australia before 1818 reflected the legal disabilities of Catholics in Britain and the difficult position of Ireland within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, but by 1833, there were around ten Catholic schools in the Australian colonies. The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
lost its legal privileges in the Colony of New South Wales following the Church Act of 1836. Drafted by the Catholic attorney-general John Plunkett
John Plunkett
John Hubert Plunkett was Attorney-General of New South Wales and elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly.-Early life:...
, the act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists.
John Bede Polding, a Benedictine monk, was Sydney's first bishop (and then archbishop) from 1835 to 1877. Polding requested a community of nuns be sent to the colony and five Irish Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity of Australia
The Sisters of Charity of Australia is a congregation of Roman Catholic women religious who have served the people of Australia since 1838...
arrived in 1838. While tensions arose between the English Benedictine hierarchy and the Irish Ignatian-tradition order from the start, the sisters set about pastoral care in a women's prison and began visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. In 1847, two sisters transferred to Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and established a school. The sisters went on to establish hospitals in four of the eastern states.
At Polding's request, the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
arrived in Sydney in 1843 to assist in schools but the Irish-English divide proved problematic and the brothers returned to Ireland. In 1857, Polding founded an Australian order of nuns in the Benedictine tradition - the Sisters of the Good Samaritan
Sisters of the Good Samaritan
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan is a Roman Catholic Congregation of religious women commenced by , Australia’s first Catholic bishop, in Sydney in 1857. The congregation was the first religious congregation to be founded in Australia. The sisters form an apostolic institute...
- to work in education and social work.
Establishing themselves first at Sevenhill, in the newly established colony of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1848, the Jesuits were the first religious order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
- Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east. The Australian gold rushes
Australian gold rushes
The Australian gold rush started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Edward Hargraves called Ophir.Eight months later, gold was found in Victoria...
saw a rapid increase in the population and propserity of the colonies. While the Austrian priests traverssed the Outback on horseback to found missions and schools, the Irish priests arrived in the east in 1860 and had by 1880 established the major schools of Xavier College
Xavier College
Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in Melbourne, St Aloysius' College and Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview
Riverview, New South Wales
Riverview is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Riverview is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Lane Cove...
in Sydney - which each survive to the present.
In 1872, Victoria became the first Australian colony to pass an Education Act providing for free, secular public education. The other colonies followed over the following two decades. With the subsequent withdrawal of state aid for church schools around 1880, the Catholic Church, unlike other Australian churches, put great energy and resources into creating a comprehensive alternative system of education. It was largely staffed by nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s, brothers and priests of religious orders, such as the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
(who had returned to Australia in 1868); the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
(who had arrived in Perth in 1846); Marist Brothers
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...
, who came from France in 1872 and the Sisters of St Joseph
Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites , were founded in Penola, South Australia in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods....
, founded in Australia by Mary MacKillop
Mary MacKillop
Mary Helen MacKillop , also known as Saint Mary of the Cross, was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia with an emphasis on...
and Fr Julian Tenison Woods
Julian Tenison Woods
Julian Edmund Tenison Woods was an English Roman Catholic priest and geologist, active in Australia. With Saint Mary MacKillop, he helped to found the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart at Penola in 1866....
in 1867. MacKillop travelled throughout Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and established schools, convents and charitable institutions but came into conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the order rather than central control from Adelaide by the Josephite order. MacKillop administered the Josephites as a national order at a time when Australia was divided among individually governed colonies. She is today the most revered of Australian Catholics, canonised by Benedict XVI in 2010. Catholic schools flourished in Australia and by 1900 there were 115 Christian Brothers teaching in Australia. By 1910 there were 5000 sisters from all orders teaching in schools.
Following the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
of the 1960s, the church experienced huge changes but also began to suffer a decline in vocations to the religious life, leading to a priest shortage
Priest shortage
A priest shortage is the situation of a reduced number of priests in religions, especially the Roman Catholic Church.In 2008, 49,631 parishes in the world had no resident priest pastor. While the number of Catholics in the world nearly doubled between 1970 and 2008, growing from 653 Million to...
. On the other hand, Catholic education under lay leadership has expanded, and about 20% of Australian school students attend a Catholic school. Australia's post-World War II multicultural immigration program has seen a diversification of the Catholic population of Australia away from its predominantly Irish roots - with Catholics arriving from nations like Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Vietnam and Sudan and changing the face of the student population undergoing Catholic education.
Today one in five Australian students attend Catholic schools. As with other classes of non-government schools in Australia, Catholic schools receive funding from the Commonwealth Government. Church schools range from elite, high cost schools (which generally offer extensive bursary programs for low-income students) to low-fee local schools. Notable schools include the Jesuit colleges of St Aloysius, Loyola Senior High School, Mount Druitt
Loyola Senior High School, Mount Druitt
Loyola Senior High School is a Roman Catholic co-educational day school for students years 11-12 located in Mount Druitt, New South Wales, Australia. An Ignatian school in the tradition of St Ignatius of Loyola, it is situated in Sydney's Western Suburbs in a seven hectare lightly wooded,...
and Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney, Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide
Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide
The College has two campuses, the Junior school and Early Childhood Centre in Norwood and the Senior campus in Athelstone.Saint Ignatius' College is part of the international network of Jesuit schools which began in Messina, Sicily in 1548...
and Xavier College in Melbourne; the Marist Brothers
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...
St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, the Society of the Sacred Heart
Society of the Sacred Heart
The Society of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in France by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. It has presence in 45 countries. Membership to the Society is restricted to women only. Its members do many works, but focus on education, particularly girls'...
's Rosebay Kincoppal School, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary's Loreto Kirribilli
Loreto Kirribilli
Loreto Kirribilli is a Roman Catholic, day school for girls, located in Kirribilli, a Lower North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
's Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College
Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College
Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College is a Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for girls, located in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
' St Edmund's College, Canberra
St Edmund's College, Canberra
St Edmund's College, is a private, Catholic, day school for boys, located in Griffith, a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.The college was established in 1954 by the Christian Brothers as St Edmund's War Memorial College...
, St Kevin's College, Melbourne and Aquinas College, Perth
Aquinas College, Perth
Aquinas College is a Catholic independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Salter Point, Western Australia. Its sister school is Santa Maria Ladies College located in Attadale...
- however, the list and range of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Australia is long and diverse and extends throughout metropolitan, regional and remote Australia: see Catholic Schools in Australia.
Alumni
Among the millions of Australians who have attended Catholic schools, a great many have been prominent in public life. In recent years these have included prime ministers Paul KeatingPaul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
and Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
, former Governor General Sir William Deane
William Deane
Sir William Patrick Deane, AC, KBE, QC , Australian judge and the 22nd Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:William Deane was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He was educated at Catholic schools including St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in...
, former Deputy Prime Minister leader Tim Fischer
Tim Fischer
Timothy Andrew Fischer, AC , is a former Australian politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 before retiring from Cabinet in 1999...
, the first woman elected to lead an Australian state or territory, Rosemary Follett
Rosemary Follett
Rosemary Follett AO , Australian politician, was the first Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. She was the first woman to become head of government in an Australian state or territory....
and serving Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore
Clover Moore
Clover Moore , is an Australian politician, the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney and an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Sydney. Moore is the first publicly elected female Lord Mayor of Sydney. Prior to the 2007 NSW state election, she...
. Current parliamentarians include Bill Shorten
Bill Shorten
William Richard "Bill" Shorten is an Australian politician, the Member for Maribyrnong in the Australian Parliament, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services. He was the Parliamentary Secretary for Disability and Children's Services in the Rudd/Gillard Government...
, Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
, Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
and Joe Hockey
Joe Hockey
Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey , is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996....
. Prominent indigenous Australians include former Senator Aden Ridgeway
Aden Ridgeway
Aden Derek Ridgeway , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian Senate for New South Wales, from 1999 to 2005, representing the Australian Democrats. During his term he was the only Aboriginal member of the Australian Parliament.-Early history:Ridgeway was born in Macksville, New South...
, Patrick Dodson
Patrick Dodson
Patrick Dodson is a Yawuru man from Broome, Western Australia, he is a former Chairman of the "Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation", a former Commissioner into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and former Roman Catholic priest. He was the winner of the 2008 Sydney Peace Prize...
, Mick Dodson
Mick Dodson
Professor Michael James "Mick" Dodson, AM is an indigenous Australian leader, a member of the Yawuru peoples in the Broome area of the southern Kimberley region of Western Australia. His brother is Patrick Dodson, also a noted Aboriginal leader.Following his parents' death, he boarded at Monivae...
and Kurtley Beale
Kurtley Beale
Kurtley Beale is an Australian representative rugby union player. His primary position is fullback.- Youth :Beale signed to the Waratahs while a 16 year old at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. Before leaving school Beale captained the Australian Schoolboys and regularly attended training...
. In the arts again, a large number of Catholic educated people have been prominent, from the father of Australian rock and roll, Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
, to contemporary musicians like Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
and Ignatius Jones
Ignatius Jones
Ignatius Jones is an Australian actor and former lead singer of punk cabaret band Jimmy And The Boys.With David Atkins, he was the creative force behind the Opening Ceremony of Shanghai 2010 World Expo and the Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games...
. In film and television, Catholic educated Australians have included Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, David Wenham
David Wenham
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
, Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
, Antonia Kidman
Antonia Kidman
Antonia Kidman is an Australian journalist and TV presenter, and the younger sister of actress Nicole Kidman. She has 5 children.-Early life and family:...
, Anh Do
Anh Do
Anh Do is a Vietnamese Australian author, actor and stand-up comedian.He has appeared on many Australian TV shows such as Thank God You're Here and Good News Week, and was runner-up on Dancing With The Stars in 2007. He studied a combined Business Law degree at the University of Technology, Sydney...
, Santo Cilauro
Santo Cilauro
Santo Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author, comedian and cameraman, a co-founder of The D-Generation...
and Tom Gleisner
Tom Gleisner
Tom Gleisner is an Australian director, producer, writer, comedian, occasional actor and author. He was educated at Xavier College in Melbourne, Australia.-Television, radio and film:...
. Contemporary Australian writers who have attended Catholic schools include Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes (critic)
Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, AO is an Australian-born art critic, writer and television documentary maker who has resided in New York since 1970.-Early life:...
, Morris West
Morris West
Morris Langlo West AO was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels The Devil's Advocate , The Shoes of the Fisherman , and The Clowns of God . His books were published in 27 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide...
, Nick Enright
Nick Enright
-Life:He was drama captain of St Ignatius' College, Riverview in 1964, where, like Gerard Windsor and Justin Fleming, he was taught by Melvyn Morrow. At that school, he won the 1sts Debating Premiership in both 1966 and 1967....
, Justin Fleming
Justin Fleming
Justin Fleming , born Sydney, Australia is a playwright and author. He has written for theatre, music theatre, television and cinema and his works have been produced and published in Australia, the US, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Poland and France...
and Gerard Windsor
Gerard Windsor
Gerard Charles Windsor is an Australian author and literary critic. He was dux of St Ignatius' College, Riverview in both 1961 and 1962, where, like Justin Fleming, he was taught by Melvyn Morrow. He trained as a Jesuit from the age of 18 to 24. He studied Arts at the Australian National...
. Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Murray Gleeson
Murray Gleeson
Anthony Murray Gleeson AC QC is a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.-Biography:Gleeson was born in Wingham, New South Wales, the eldest of four children...
attended St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and his successor, Robert French
Robert French
Robert Shenton French, AC is Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy....
, the current Chief Justice, attended St. Louis School, Claremont, Western Australia
St. Louis School, Claremont, Western Australia
St. Louis School was a Catholic boys’ school in Claremont, Western Australia, between 1938 and 1976.-History:St. Louis School was a Catholic boys’ school founded by the Jesuits – their only school in Western Australia. It opened on 23 May 1938 in Claremont in the western suburbs of Perth, on the...
. As of August 2011, a full nine members of the 49 member New South Wales Supreme Court were ex-students of the Jesuit St Ignatius' College Riverview. Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent is an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of King George V....
and businesswomen Ita Buttrose
Ita Buttrose
Ita Clare Buttrose, AO, OBE is an Australian journalist and businesswoman. She was the founding editor of Cleo, a high-circulation magazine aimed at women aged 20 to 40 that was ground-breakingly frank about sexuality , and later as the editor of the more sedate Australian Women's Weekly...
, Gai Waterhouse
Gai Waterhouse
Gai Waterhouse is a Scottish-born, Australian resident horse trainer, businesswoman and a former actress-Career:...
and Lucy Turnbull
Lucy Turnbull
Lucinda Mary "Lucy" Turnbull, née Hughes AO , a former Australian politician and former Lord Mayor of Sydney, is a prominent Australian business leader and company director. Turnbull was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney, between 2003 and 2004 and was Deputy Lord Mayor, between 1999 and 2003...
all attended the Society of the Sacred Heart
Society of the Sacred Heart
The Society of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in France by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. It has presence in 45 countries. Membership to the Society is restricted to women only. Its members do many works, but focus on education, particularly girls'...
's Kincoppal School.
Administration and funding
In Australia, the State and Territory GovernmentsStates and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
have the primary responsibility for funding state government schools and also provide supplementary assistance to non-government schools, while the Australian Federal Government is the primary source of public funding for non-government schools (while also providing supplementary assistance to government schools). These public funds subsidise the fees paid by parents for the education of their children at Catholic schools, with the overall effect of reducing the numbers and therefore burden on public funding for government schools. Most non-government schools have some religious affiliation, with approximately two-thirds of their students enrolled in Catholic schools. In the final year of secondary schooling, students at both government and non-government schools sit for a government-endorsed certificate that is recognised by all Australian universities and vocational education and training institutions. Thus, Catholic schools may freely teach and encourage religious studies, values and community engagement but must adhere to the broader requirements of Australia's secular education system.
The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is the national body of the Bishops of Australia. The President of the Conference is the Most Reverend Archbishop Philip Wilson, DD, D.Litt who was elected to a two-year term in 2006 and re-elected to subsequent two-year terms in 2008 and 2010...
through the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education is tasked with maintaining liaison with the Federal Government and other key national education bodies and complements and supports the work of the State and Territory Catholic Education Commissions. While some Catholic schools operate independently, the Catholic Education Office (CEO) is responsible for the leadership, efficient operation and management of the Catholic systemic schools which educate in parish primary and regional secondary schools in Australia and is charged with the implementation and management of the policies determined by the SACS Board and the allocation and administration of the funds provided by government and private sources to Catholic schools as well as the financial responsibilities for administration of salaries for staff members.
Ethos
While Catholic schools must adhere to the broad requirements of Australia's secular education system, they are free to provide a "Catholic" education ethos. The Catholic Education Office of Melbourne outlines this "ethos" as follows:Universities
The Australian Catholic UniversityAustralian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...
opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. These institutions had their origins in the 1800s, when religious orders and institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and nurses for Catholic hospitals.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
University of Notre Dame Australia
The University of Notre Dame Australia is a private Roman Catholic university established in 1989 in the Western Australian port city of Fremantle, . While the University of Notre Dame Australia has "strong collegial links" with the American University of Notre Dame located in Notre Dame, Indiana,...
opened in Western Australia in December 1989, and now has over 9000 students on three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.
See also
- Public and private education in AustraliaPublic and private education in AustraliaSchools in Australia can be classified according to sources of funding and administrative structures. There are two broad categories of school in Australia: Public schools and Private schools, the latter of which can be further subdivided into Catholic schools and Independent...
- Education in AustraliaEducation in AustraliaEducation in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. Each state or territory government provides funding and regulates the public and private schools within its governing area. The federal government helps fund the public universities, but is not involved in setting...
- Anglican education in AustraliaAnglican education in AustraliaAnglican education in Australia refers to the education services provided by the Anglican Church of Australia within the Australian education system. Since the late 18th century, the Anglican Church has been an important provider of education services within Australia...
- Christianity in AustraliaChristianity in AustraliaChristianity is the largest religion listed by Australians in the national census. In the 2006 Census, 63.9% of Australians were listed as Christian. Australia has no official state religion and the Australian Constitution protects freedom of religion. The presence of Christianity in Australia...
- Catholic Social Services AustraliaCatholic Social Services AustraliaCatholic Social Services Australia is a welfare organisation that advances the social service ministry of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia. It is the Catholic Church's peak body for social services in Australia and has 70 member organisations in metropolitan, regional and remote Australia...
- Catholic Health AustraliaCatholic Health AustraliaCatholic Health Australia operates 75 hospitals and 550 residential and community aged care services and comprises Australia's largest non-government not-for-profit grouping of health and aged care services...
- List of Catholic schools in New South Wales