Rostrevor College

List of Headmasters/Principals

Brother D.G. Purton (1923)

Brother J.F. O'Brien (1924–1926)

Brother M.P. Dwyer (1927)

Brother D.O. Joyce (1928–1933)

Brother I.L. Mackey (1933–1938)

Brother J.E. McElligott (1939–1941)

Brother P.L. Duffy (1942)

Brother C.A. Mogg (1943–1945, 1950–1955)

Brother S.L. Carroll (1946–1947)

Brother B.G. Rooney (1948–1949)

Brother J.L. Kelty (1956–1961)

Brother J.N. O'Sullivan (1962–1967)

Brother R.M. Morphett (1968–1970)

Brother W.G. Hall (1971–1973)

Brother J.V. Bourke (1974–1976)

Brother J.P. Marks (1977–1984)

Brother K.C. McMaster (1984–1987)

Brother T.X. Hann (1988 – June 1992)

Brother P.D. McGlaughlin (July 1992 – July 2002)

Mr J Croser (2003–2010)

Mr S Dash (2011–2016)

Mr D Messer (2017)

History

1923–1970s

Rostrevor College originated as an extension of Christian Brothers College, Adelaide (CBC Adelaide) which had, by 1922, outgrown its ability to house its boarding students on the Wakefield Street campus. In December 1922, the Christian Brothers purchased the Rostrevor Estate in Magill for a sum equivalent to $20,500. The previous owner of Rostrevor has been a nurseryman and as such, the original grounds incorporated extensive and well-kept gardens and orchards of oranges, lemons and stone fruits, as well as Rostrevor House, a coach house, caretakers' residence, stables, and a large lake providing on-site water supply.

Rostrevor is a village near Newry, County Down, Ireland, where Ross Thompson Reid was raised. Reid arrived in South Australia in 1839 as a child. He accumulated wealth and built a magnificent mansion which he named Rostrevor Hall.

Although the school is situated along the boundary of the suburb of Woodforde, the adjacent suburb of Rostrevor was named in honour of the original grounds on which the school is sited. Rostrevor Hall, now widely known as Rostrevor House, was constructed in two stages with the southern two-storey side completed in 1878, and the arches and northern side added in 1901.

The main residence, Rostrevor House, was the original accommodation provided to the boarders, the Christian Brothers, and some of the classes. From the time of taking possession in February 1923, a large new chapel, five classrooms and a chemistry laboratory were built before the college could be opened. By the end of the first term these facilities were ready and so after the May holidays, classes commenced at Rostrevor College on 29 May 1923.

Brother Purton was appointed Headmaster of the new college and he, along with three other Brothers, namely McMahon, O'Sullivan and Dean (the last would be replaced later that year by Br Coghlan), all of the boarders and all students in the Intermediate, Leaving and Leaving Honours classes transferred to Rostrevor. Some day scholars joined the junior grades and, from the beginning, there were classes from the very junior grades to Leaving Honours at Rostrevor. For many years after 1923, students from CBC Adelaide transferred to Rostrevor after Intermediate to study from Leaving and Leaving Honours, thus maintaining a close link between the two colleges; in fact, sports teams were drawn from both until the early 1940s, when Leaving and Leaving Honours classes were re-established at CBC Adelaide. From then on, the two colleges became separate and competing establishments. By the end of 1923, Rostrevor was well established as a school. Throughout the year more facilities, including the bungalow for more accommodation for the boarders and extra classrooms, had been built and Rostrevor was able to settle down to a period of consolidation.

1980s to present

During 1983, Rostrevor celebrated its Diamond Jubilee. The major project for these celebrations was the substantial renovation to the College Chapel. This saw the restoration of the building itself, beautification of its immediate surroundings, redecoration of the interior, new seating at the front of the chapel and a new pipe organ.

During the Jubilee Year, attempts were made to negotiate the retention of the Boarding School. Unfortunately, these efforts were not successful, and so the last group of boarders left at the end of 1983, thus temporarily ending an era in the history of Rostrevor and of the Catholic Church in South Australia. By the mid-1980s, enrolments increased to over 900 and formal management structures were established, with the appointment of Heads of Department responsible for Curriculum Development and the introduction of new Pastoral Care Arrangements. In 1987 the Rostrevor College Board was established, with Justice Kevin Duggan as first chairman. To ensure a sound financial base for future development, the Rostrevor Foundation was also established, with Creagh O'Connor as the first chairman.

The South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools set up a Task Force to examine the needs of Catholic Boarding Schools in South Australia, and asked Rostrevor to again admit boarders. This was agreed to, thus reversing the decision taken some ten years earlier.

Governance was ceded from the Christian Brothers to the newly organised Edmund Rice Education Australia in October 2007. The Christian Brothers community at Rostrevor, located close to the school, is the last remaining in the state. The last full time Christian Brother on staff retired in 2017, although several maintain a close association with and volunteer at the college.

Recent improvements to the school, include the construction in 2006 of the new 'Technology and ICT Discovery Centre', with displays of robotics and pneumatics, design and computing. The former 'Technology Centre' was upgraded at the same time, to now be the 'Skills Centre' includes the new Environmental Education Centre and Vocational Counselling facilities. 29 May 2018 marked the 95th anniversary of the college since 1923 classes officially commenced at Rostrevor College. Port Adelaide defender Jack Hombsch joined the celebration. The boys marked a 95 on one of the ovals while a high-tech drone hovered above the College grounds.

Coat of arms

The Rostrevor coat of arms, is an adaptation of the first coat of arms of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The present version has been the Rostrevor College coat of arms since its foundation except for the motto which was changed from "Signum Fidei" ("Sign of Faith") to "Palma Merenti" ("The reward to the one who earns it") in 1948.

The large red star signifies the virtue of Faith and the Cross above it symbolises Christ and the Christian Faith. The laurels (palms) of the crest are symbolic of practices from ancient times, in which early Christians who as martyrs gave their lives in fidelity to Christ and thus earned the 'palms of martyrdom', as well as being customary in ancient times to present a wreath of palms as a reward or an acknowledgement of effort and achievement.

Curriculum

Rostrevor College offers education in the nationally recognised South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). The curriculum includes a choice of more than 25 subjects in Year 12, and the option to study vocational courses from Year 10.

Notable alumni

Paul Blackwell, actor

Paul Cronin, actor

Paul Kelly, musician

Anthony LaPaglia, actor

Jonathan LaPaglia, physician and actor, host of Australian Survivor

Aldo Mignone, actor

John Noble, actor and theatre director

Xavier Samuel, actor

John Schumann AM, Lead Singer of Redgum, I Was Only 19

Murali K. Thalluri, film director, writer, and producer

Mark Leonard Winter, actor

Business

Andrew Pridham AO, investment banker; Chairman of Sydney Swans

Clergy

Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Brisbane

George Crennan, Catholic cleric

John Patrick O'Loughlin, Bishop of Darwin

Other

Michael David, Judge in the Supreme Court of South Australia

David David, renowned surgeon

Politics

Pat Galvin, Former Australian Politician, Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly