Villanova College (Australia)

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Coordinates: 27°29′45″S 153°3′5″E / 27.49583°S 153.05139°E / -27.49583; 153.05139
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Villanova College
Location
Map
Coorparoo
,
Queensland

Australia
Coordinates27°29′45″S 153°3′5″E / 27.49583°S 153.05139°E / -27.49583; 153.05139
Information
TypePrivate, day school
MottoVincit Veritas
(Truth Conquers)
DenominationRoman Catholic, Augustinians[1]
Patron saint(s)St Thomas of Villanova
Established1948
Sister schoolLoreto College, Coorparoo
PrincipalPaul Begg
Staff~81 (Full & part-time)
Grades5–12
GenderMale
Enrolment~1,500
Hours in school dayFrom 8:25am to 3:00pm
HousesAugustine, Rita, Monica, Thomas, Adeodatus, Ambrose, Nicholas, Alypius
Colour(s)Green and gold   
AffiliationAssociated Independent Colleges
Websitewww.vnc.qld.edu.au

Villanova College is a private, Roman Catholic school for boys located in Coorparoo, a southern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school has a non-selective enrolment policy for all years and caters for approximately 1,500 boys in three schools, Junior, Middle and Senior from year five to twelve. Established in 1948 by six Irish priests, led by Ben O'Donnell, who were from the Order of Saint Augustine in the suburb of Hamilton. [citation needed] In 1954, due to lack of prospects for growth in Hamilton, the college moved to its present site at Coorparoo. The college is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[2] The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) and the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC).

History[edit]

Whinstanes (1948–1953)[edit]

Whinstaines House (after which the suburb was named) was built by prominent society figure Alexander Brand Webster. After his death the house and remaining 9 acres of land were sold in 1925 to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart who established College Whinstanes, which opened as a junior boys boarding school. The school’s motto “Vincit Veritas” is the Webster motto was borrowed from a stained glass window in Whinstaines House with the Webster crest.[citation needed]

In 1948, archbishop James Duhig welcomed Ben O'Donnell with five other Irish Augustinians to Australia, and invited them to start a school in Brisbane. They subsequently established Villanova in the suburb of Whinstanes (now part of Hamilton). On 25 January 1948, the college was officially opened by the chancellor of the University of Queensland, William Forgan Smith, who raised the college flag in front of the main entrance and was blessed by Duhig.[3] In 1953 a decision was made to move the college due to lack of prospects for expansion in Whinstanes.

Coorparoo (1954–present)[edit]

Early in the 1880s, merchant Reuben Nicklin built a large house Langlands in Coorparoo. In 1886, Nicklin built another house Hatherton (now Queen Alexandra Home) at another site in Coorparoo and sold the Langlands house and its grounds.[4] (Nicklin and his wife died in the wreck of the RMS Quetta in 1890).[5] Thomas Connah and William Brookes bought a large block of land that included Nicklin's house. Connah resided in Nicklin's former residence. Connah became Queensland auditor-general and he sold Langlands to archbishop James Duhig in 1916. Langlands became the Good Samaritan Convent of Saint Scholastica until 1953, when Villanova College moved from Whinstanes to the Coorparoo property.[6]

Villanova College with Goold Hall left of picture

The school was officially opened on 22 November 1953 by Duhig. The building had been built at a cost of £50,000 and could accommodate 500 students.[7] In the 1960s/70s, a library, science laboratories, senior classrooms and a new primary block joined the existing buildings on the campus. During this period, the college saw additional co-curricular facilities including a swimming pool on campus and sporting fields at Tingalpa. During the 1970s/80s the college saw the foundation of the student council as well as the leadership role of all the boys in the senior class which led to the abolition of the prefect system. The election of captain and vice-captains of the school and houses by the senior class was started. The Goold gymnasium and assembly hall was built as well as more classrooms, new science laboratories, a technical drawing room and some art rooms.[citation needed]

The late eighties and nineties saw the governance of the college now entrusted to a college council composed of staff, parents, Augustinians, past students and friends of the college. It also saw new courses start in computing, and catering start at the college and the introduction of a campus-wide computer network as well as computers in classrooms. The 1990s saw the college split from the TAS competition and the foundation of the AIC Competition.[8]

In process of the college's new masterplan, the newest addition to the Villanova is the Saint Thomas of Villanova Learning Centre.

In 2006 the college inaugurated its three present schools:[citation needed]

  • junior school, consisting of years 5 and 6
  • middle school, incorporating years 7, 8 and 9
  • senior school, years 10, 11 and 12.

The most recent building in the college is Saint Thomas of Villanova Learning Centre (released in late 2020). The St Thomas of Villanova Learning Centre, with views of the Brisbane skyline, has been designed for twenty-first-century learning. It adds six classrooms to the senior precinct of the college along with an auditorium, facilities for the head of senior school and pastoral leaders, a common area and spacious breakout areas for individual and group learning. Levels one and two of the St Thomas of Villanova Learning Centre constitute the new junior school of the college. Twelve open-area classrooms with wide and varied breakout areas allow for cooperative teaching and learning.

House system[edit]

Villanova College has four houses which compete in inter-house athletics, cross-country and swimming, as well as many other school based activities.[citation needed]

Name Colour Name origin
Heavey green   Named after bishop John Heavey.
Goold yellow   Named after James Goold.
Crane red   Named after Martin Crane.
Murray blue   Named after James Murray.

Rectors and principals[edit]

There have been 8 Augustinian rectors at Villanova College in its history. The traditional job of the rector was to lead the college but this changed after the retirement of Michael Morahan in 2009.[citation needed] Now Villanova College has a lay principal with the priests living in the priory at Villanova College looking after school Masses.[citation needed] The current chaplain of the college is Peter Wieneke.[9]

Rector Years Notes
Ben O'Donnell 1948–1958 Founding member and first rector of the college[10]
Louis Hanrahan 1959–1964 [10]
Kevin Burman 1965–1970 [10]
Donal Paul Dempsey 1971–1975 [10]
Laurence Mooney 1976–1986 [10]
Peter Weineke 1987–1994 [10]
Michael Morahan 1995–2009 Last Augustinian rector of the college[10]
Dennis Harvey 2010–2014 [11]
Mark Stower 2015–2021 [11]
Paul Begg 2022– [12]

Co-curriculum[edit]

Sport[edit]

The college is a foundation member of the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC). The college has sporting fields at Tingalpa, in Brisbane's east suburbs. The AIC sporting association is for all years from fives to open. It comprises 8 schools, Marist College Ashgrove, St Edmunds College, Ipswich, St Patrick's College, Iona College, Padua College, St Laurence's College and St. Peters Lutheran College. The sports played by the association are rugby union, soccer, cricket, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, chess, Water Polo, athletics and cross country.[citation needed]

AIC premierships[edit]

Villanova College has won the following AIC premierships.[13][failed verification][citation needed]

  • Basketball (9) – 2002, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Cricket (6) – 2001, 2002, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021
  • Rugby – 2010
  • Soccer (5) – 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2022
  • Tennis (5) – 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012
  • Volleyball (5) – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2022
  • AFL (1) – 2022
  • Rugby League -(1) 2023

Music[edit]

The college currently has over 30 main music ensembles including:[citation needed]

  • Symphony orchestras
  • String orchestras
  • Concert bands
  • Vocal ensembles
  • Guitar ensembles
  • Percussion ensembles
  • Sport/Spirit Drumlines
  • Jazz ensembles
  • Commercial (contemporary) ensembles
  • Irish ensembles
  • Chamber string, woodwind and brass ensembles

The college hosts Queensland's largest music festival for Catholic schools and colleges, Queensland Catholic Schools & College's Music Festival (QCMF).[14] Villanova is home to a music centre, known as the Augustine Centre. Within this centre is the Hanrahan Theatre, named after the second rector of the college, Fr John Hanrahan.[citation needed] Music at Villanova College is a true community enterprise, thanks to enthusiastic support from staff, students, parents, and the local and greater Brisbane communities. Considered an inclusive art, there is a place for all students in our music program, so long as they have the necessary desire and commitment to create music at the highest possible standard.

Cultural and spiritual[edit]

Villanova runs musical productions in conjunction with Loreto College every two years. Recent productions have been Crazy for You (2014), Guys and Dolls (2016), and most recently High School Musical (2022). Students of Chinese language studies have the opportunity to visit China every second year. The music department holds a music tour for all students in the college's senior ensembles every two years, the most recent tours being to the United States in 2013, Tasmania in 2015, New Zealand in 2017 as part of the Rhapsody Rotorua Music Festival, Sydney in 2019 with the Senior Percussion Ensemble and Villanova Conkestra, where students performed at world-class venues including the Sydney Opera House.[citation needed]

Notable incidents[edit]

Brick wall collapse[edit]

On 27 December 2016 an eight-metre high section of brick wall collapsed in the senior school's Veritas building. No students were injured, as the collapse occurred over the Christmas school holiday. Principal Mark Stower stated the timing of the collapse was "the grace of God."[15] The collapse occurred during a rectification project on the Veritas building to replace non-galvanised steel, of which was used in the original construction, with galvanised steel.[16]

Cor Unum Centre fire[edit]

On 27 September 2017 the Cor Unum Centre, located on Villanova Park, was destroyed after a fire engulfed the centre, causing irreversible damage to the facility and the grandstand connected to it.[17] The centre was demolished and replaced with a new grandstand in 2019.[citation needed]

Michael Endicott indecent treatment convictions[edit]

On 24 June 2010 Michael Ambrose Endicott, a former priest at the school, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court and plead guilty to two counts of indecent treatment of a child. On two separate occasions in 1977 and 1978, Endicott had photographed the same student naked. On one occasion, the student was taken out of class and into the bush land, where the student was photographed naked.[18] On the other occasion, the student was taken to the school's bell tower and was photographed naked. Endicott was given a one-year jail sentence which was wholly suspended.[18][19]

On 17 April 2019 Endicott was convicted of three counts of indecent treatment with a child, after it was alleged by another former student that between 1975 and 1981, he was photographed naked on three separate occasions.[20] The former student had been first photographed on a school hiking trip, in which the then nine-year-old student had naked pictures taken of him by a creek. The former student then alleged he was abused similarly on two other occasions. Endicott was sentenced to 18 months in jail, with his sentence to be suspended after 6 months served in prison.[21] The conviction was later overturned in Endicott's favour, as at the time, Queensland law did not consider taking nude photographs of a child to be indecent dealing.[21][22] Villanova College has since posted an official apology.[23]

Notable alumni[edit]

See also: Category:People educated at Villanova College (Australia)

Villanova Old Boys Association Incorporated (VOBAI) is the association for all old boys of the college.[24]

Arts

  • James Moloney – author, best known for The Book of Lies, The Gracey Trilogy, and A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove.[25]

Politics

Michael Zullo, Current member of FC Utrecht and Former Australian Socceroos Player

Sport

Media and entertainment

Law

  • James S Douglas – Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, holder of degrees from The University of Queensland and Cambridge University[35]
  • Robert R Douglas – Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, former President of the Bar Association of Queensland, Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta[36]
  • Peter Lyons – former Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and former president of the Bar Association of Queensland[37]

Associated schools[edit]

Villanova's brother school is St. Augustine's College, Brookvale in Sydney.[38] Loreto College is the sister school of Villanova College.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "AN AUGUSTINIAN EDUCATION". Villanova College. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  2. ^ "AHISA Schools: New South Wales". Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
  3. ^ "Newspaper Article, 22 January 1948". Villanova College. 1948. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Classified Advertising". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XLI, no. 8, 753. Queensland, Australia. 3 February 1886. p. 7. Retrieved 18 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Nicklin, Don (1995). A family view of the Nicklins of Coorparoo. In Fisher, R and Shaw, B. (eds.) Brisbane: people, places and progress. Brisbane History Group.
  6. ^ "'Langlands' & chapel (former), Villa Nova College". Brisbane Heritage Register. Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Newspaper Article 21st of November 1953". Villanova College. 1953. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  8. ^ "Co-Curricular Program". Villanova College. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012.
  9. ^ "Pastoral Care Team". Villanova College. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Mission and History". Villanova College. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b "College Council". Villanova College. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  12. ^ Heslehurst, Brayden (16 November 2021). "Catholic schools around the state to welcome new principals in 2022". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  13. ^ "About Associated Independent Colleges". AIC. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  14. ^ "About QCMF". Queensland Catholic Schools & Colleges Music Festival. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  15. ^ Moore, Tony (10 January 2017). "'Grace of God': Massive brick wall collapses at Brisbane school during holidays". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  16. ^ Moore, Tony (15 January 2017). "Govt watchdog orders independent inquiry into Villanova College wall collapse". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  17. ^ Mitchell-Whittington, Amy (26 September 2017). "Clubhouse burns to the ground at boys' school in Brisbane's east". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b "This priest conducted pastoral care and religious education at a Catholic school". brokenrites.org.au. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Former Catholic priest jailed for taking nude photos of young boy". NewsComAu. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  20. ^ "Jurors warned alleged abuser 'is not on trial for being a Catholic priest'". www.abc.net.au. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Former priest's indecent dealing conviction overturned on appeal". www.abc.net.au. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  22. ^ Barnsley, Warren (17 April 2019). "Ex-priest's Queensland conviction thrown out". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Apology from the Order of St Augustine » Villanova College". Villanova College. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  24. ^ "Old Boys' Association". Villanova College. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  25. ^ a b c d e f Heslehurst, Brayden (6 October 2020). "Sports stars, chefs, politicians feature as Villanova College announce top alumni". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Nuttall, Gordon Richard". Queensland Parliament. 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Speech by Kerry Shine" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. 5 April 2001. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  28. ^ Condon, Matthew (30 May 2020). "How Drew Pavlou's University of Queensland protest enraged China and started a free speech battle". The Australian. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Villavoice November 2010 First XV Premiership 2010" (PDF). Villanova College. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2012.
  30. ^ "Villavoice July 2009 Who's in the News" (PDF). Villanova College. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2012.
  31. ^ "Villavoice November 2008 Chris Simpson" (PDF). Villanova College. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011.
  32. ^ "Andrew Sack – Talking up the Slack Player Profiles". Sportsasylum. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  33. ^ "Villavoice July 2009 Michael Zullo" (PDF). Villanova College. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2012.
  34. ^ "Chris Reason". Platinum Speakers and Entertainers. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011.
  35. ^ "The Honourable Justice James S Douglas". Supreme Court of Queensland Library. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.
  36. ^ "Judge Robert Ramsay Douglas". The Douglas Archives. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  37. ^ "The Honourable Justice Peter J Lyons". Supreme Court of Queensland Library. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013.
  38. ^ Davidson, John. "5 out of 6 record for Brookvale boys". Sport. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.

Sources[edit]

  • Arneil, Stan; Out Where the Dead Men Lie (The Augustinians in Australia 1838–1992), Augustinian Press Brookvale (1992); ISBN 0-949826-03-0

External links[edit]

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