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Aquinas College is a Catholic independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Salter Point, Perth, Western Australia. Its sister school is Santa Maria Ladies College located in Attadale, Perth. The college was founded in 1938 as the child-school of Christian Brothers' College (CBC Perth) and is a member of the Public Schools Association and The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia.〔Massam, p. 1〕 CBC Perth was founded in 1894, located in the centre of Perth, it was one of the first boarding schools in Western Australia. In 1937, it was decided that a more suitable location was needed to cater for boarding students, Aquinas opened in the following year. The college is located on a campus, with of water frontage on the Canning River. The campus consists of a high school for years 7–12 and a junior school for years 4–6, sporting grounds, and boarding facilities for 210 students. == Early days == Catholic secondary education for boys' was a marginal concern in the small rural society of the former Swan River Colony.〔Massam, p.21〕 Bishop Matthew Gibney and the prosperous Catholic families who had lobbied for the Congregation of Christian Brothers to be invited to Perth wanted to convert the previously haphazard arrangements for boys schooling into a secure arrangement.〔 In 1893, Bishop Gibney met with Brother Treacy, the provincial of the Christian Brothers in Australia in Adelaide and successfully persuaded him to establish a community in Perth. Gibney had petitioned the brothers regularly ever since they had opened a boys school in Melbourne in 1871.〔Massam, p.29〕 Christian Brothers' College (CBC Perth) opened on 31 January 1894.〔Massam, p.9 & 22〕 From the earliest days, the Christian Brothers received and acknowledged crucial support from members of the Catholic community. In order to raise funds, the Brothers sent a young member of the community Brother Regis Hughes, on two extensive journeys in 1896 and 1897 to let Catholics know of the Brothers' work and need to money. The first journey in January 1896 ended with Hughes returning ill from sunstroke, returning to the college until April to recover, between April and October 1896, Hughes toured the South West of Western Australia and the goldfields, records note that the "people subscribed freely" and the journey raised ₤2,000.〔Massam, P.32〕 The college's beginnings on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Victoria Avenue were small, classes began with two teachers and five students on Monday morning, numbers swelled to twenty-five by the following morning. Lessons were conducted in small buildings set on land adjoining government house.〔Massam, p.22〕 The opening ceremony on 1 February 1894 reflected both the fragility of the venture and that time, effort and dogged sacrifice would make it succeed.〔Massam, p.22〕 The opening brought together a crowd of well-wishers; The Premier of Western Australia, Lord Mayor of Perth, Catholic and Protestant members of the parliament, the headmaster of the High School (now Hale School), as well as mothers and fathers of potential students to mark the new venture. The headmaster, Brother Anthony O'Brien warned parents not to expect too much too soon and urged the Catholic community to give students and teachers time to prove themselves〔Massam, p.22〕 The need to establish a legitimate presence as a secondary school both within the church and the broader Western Australian community dominated the opening decade of CBC Perth.〔Massam, P.23〕 Br. Michael Paul Nunan was headmaster at CBC Perth for a total of twenty-one years over three appointments, such a long period in office was unusual among the headmasters of the college, a steady rotation of men through the headmasters' job was linked to the Christian Brothers' philosophy of individual anonymity in the service of the church.〔Massam, p.36〕 His enthusiastic and engaging personality, and strength in public relations, playing a key role in the establishment of the Public Schools Association in 1905. The personal friendship between Br Nunan and Mr. PC Anderson, the principal of Scotch College, not only fostered an amicable rivalry between the two schools but also consolidated the Catholics perception that they had a legitimate place within the small group of colleges in Perth.〔Massam, p.37〕 His policy of enrolling a substantial number of Jewish and non-Catholic students without requiring them to attend Catholic instruction classes, raised some eyebrows in Catholic circles. However, shaky finances and his energy for the success of the educational enterprise, were strong counter arguments.〔Massam, p.38〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Aquinas College」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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