ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 831, 1 June 1910, Page 2

ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE

4 . SILVER JUBILEE. RETROSPECT OF ITS HISTORY. BY AN OLD BOY. To-day, Juno 1, )910, is the silver jubilee of St. Patrick's College, one of the principal educational institutions in the Wellington district. The event is to be celebrated quetly, the public celebration having • beon postponed until early in October next. One of the old boys has set himself the'task of embodying in on article a brief history of the college, and his little work will be widely read with interest, by old boys and new, parents and relatives. He states:— ' First Ceremony: £1200 Subscribed. "It was on the day preceding St. Patrick's Day, 1881—« beautiful afternoon—that Dr. Redwood blessed and laid the foundation stone of St. Patrick's College. The sight of its old grey walls is to some a very prosaic, one now. Its central tower and flanking walls form a familiar picture in the city's panorama to-day. To the small boy, the college means a sort of lighthorse football team; to the merchant a place for training clerks, so intimately has the college, with its scholastic successes and its athletic prowess, grown into the city's life. But in the early 'eighties the laying of the foundation of such a college was fraught with significance. It was the first religious ceremony at which tho three Bishops of New Zealand assisted. Representatives from all parts of the colony came to the nuinher of some six or seven thousand, and these gave practical proof of their sympathy with the cause by the £12110 placed on the foundation-stone. The college was built by Messrs. Jlurdock ami Sons, from plans prepared by .Mr. Thos. Turnbull. Within 18 months of the laying of the stone the handsome building was ready, and on June 1, 1685, the first pupils entered the.hall. Among them were Messrs. Bernard 31'llnhon, , of Reef ton, and Stan-islaus-Jlahoney, the present Rev.. Rector of St. Mary's Nelson. "Sublime Audacity of Faith." "To-day, as we halt by the 25th milestone to think on what then was, and what was to be, a thrill of pride must pulse through the Catholic generation of to-day at the thought of tho energy and the 'sublime audacity of faith' of the tnen and women of those times. "Few they were in number. Even now we Catholics are but a seventh of the people of New Zealand, but they. must have been strong with the old faith of the ages to give of their pence and pounds to help build a college for the tetter training of their Catholic youth. It was a venture that needed in.truth, "The fervid zeal, •The'henrts of live and steel, The hands that believe and build." Tho State hud aided r.on-Catholic schools, had given them lands wherein to build, and in some cases lordy acres as eimovrments; yet even in the face of all this, a beginning was made and a college built at a cost of some J20.000! The Groat College Roll. "Twenty-five years ago after all may not seem long to those whose years number four score and ten, but a college makes history in a very short time. It is human freighted, and e'er long its roll-call of those who were' and those who are creeps into length. During the last twenty-five years the names of no fewer than 1071 bovs are written on the college roll-call, and the interest of those now is the interest of the college. Some few there are:— "Against whose familiar name Tho asterisk of death is set," "Peace be to them, eternal peace and rest." Some few have sought the sunshine and tho storm of other lands, but most of that 1000 have settled in this, their own homeland. Raising Funds, "When, in the early 'eighties, Dr. Redwood just broached -his plan of erecting a Catholic boys' college in 'Wellington, he met with the unstinted co-operation of clergy and laity. But where was the wherewithal to come? An appeal for funds throughout New Zealand was the only means, and to raise the necessary funds tho late Ven. Archpriest Le Henna; des Chenais, S.M., and the Yen. Archdeacon Devoy, S.M., of Newtown, travelled the colony to solicit support. Their efforts and the efforts of fellowworkers were rewarded by the handsome suin of .£IO,OOO. To this the Marist Fathers added another .£SOOO. A site was chosen on the lower slopes of Mount Cook, and the land bought from Messrs. Johnson Bros., who contributed <£500 towards the fund. the First Preceptors. "But a staff! Priests in those days were all too scarce. An invitation to staff the college was sent by the Archbishop to the Father General of the Marists in Lyons. It was the old French Marist Fathers who had, far back in tho 'forties, planted the first seedings of Catholic faith in New Zealand. From their St. Mary's College, in Dunrialk, had come many of the priests then (in-tho 'sixties) labouring in New Zealand, and'again St. Mary's stretched out a helping hand. From former pupils and teachers of old St. Mary's, a staff of four was chosen. The Very Eev. Dr. Watters, S.M., was named and. appointed first. Hector of St. Patrick's, and with him were associated tho Rev. Father Dovoy, .S.M., the Rev. Father W. Goggan, and the late Rev. Father Carolan. "Within a year the college roll totalled 145. Years have little changed these numbers. The roll-call has usually been well over a hundicd, and even now, aftei the establishment of other Catholic colleges and secondary schools, and the advent of the State system of free places, the old school comes well up to the traditious of the 'eighties. There are at present S3 students in residence at the college, and some 35 day scholars. It is a glowing tribute to our people that they have thus appreciated the 'faith of the hearts that believe and build. . College Opened. "The college was formally opened on February 21, lS8!i, by His Eminence Cardinal Jloran. The Cardinal was accompanied by the Archbishop and the Bishops of Maitland, Dunedin, and Auckland. Writing of that event some years ago. His Eminence speaks of the college as 'n noble and substantial pile, carefully planned, and solidly constructed, comifiandiug a splendid view of the city and harbour, and one whose fortunes even then had prospered beyond tho expectation of the. most sanguine.' lie further speaks of it ns having won for itself a foremost nlace among. tho institutions of the higher education' of young men in New Zealand. And this from so high an' authority, is no slight praise; for we have been heavily handicapped in the race. But, despite the heavy odds ugainst us, the college has won itself a worthy place. A glance at the scroll of nnblic examinations gives ample proof of what Cardinal Moran had said years ago. During the first decade, tho college piloted 63 pupils through ■matriculation, the first to matriculate being Stanislaus Mahony and tho;, Philips ftf Greymouth. In the same period 42 passed the Civil Service. Since 1905 no fewer than 43 have matriculated, and 119 passed the Civil Service. Many of these have not set limits to their zeal by passing such examinations as the above, but have further reaped success in the higher fields of science, medicine, and the arts. "Athletics have ever, been a special study at the college. The- healthy mind is much, but it is not education without tho healthy body. St. Patrick's has 'played the game' in weather fair and foul, and has done much towards the fostering and upkeeping of a spirit of clean, healthy eport. in New Zealand. The Faculty. "During tho last twenty-five yearsdifferent rectors have steered the destinies of the college. To the first popular rector the Very Rev. Dr. Watlers." S.M., 8.4., succeeded the Rev. Thos. Bower, S M B.A. In 1901 tho Very Rev. Father Keogh, S.M., 8.A., took command. Some eighteen months ago Father Keogh. who had i= >!>-.'Xineiw .BiW it'old St.

Mary's, D.undalk. resigned, and to him succeeded the present reAγ, tho Very Rev. Dr. Kennedy, S.M., B.A. Tho stall is composed exclusively of Marist fathers. "The college is not a source of revenue to the teaching Fathers, nor to the society to which they belong. St. Patrick's has merely meant the absorption of the time and life-energies of some eight or nine Marist Fathers. They have no other hope, no other ambition, but the training of the youth under their charge unto the perfection of Christian gentlemen, so'that they may one day be of .service to their country and ' their Faith. "Last year the study hall was furnished with. new single desks on the most approved plan of the Education Department, and a large stock of apparatus for a physical and chemical laboratory was imported. At present tho old museum hall serves the purpose of a laboratory, but it is hoped that enough money will l>3 secured for the jubilee celebration to enable the college authorities to build a special science hall. Already handsome donations have been made, amounting to well over ,£IOOO. Tho college Fathers are hopeful that this sum may soon be considerably augmented, and that they may meet with a generosity similar to twentyfive years ago, and thus be able to reduce materially the heavy debt of .£7OOO that has weighed on the college since its foundation. "To-day the college enters on its twentysixth year—a gallant ship, well captained and well manned, with sails full set to a favouring breeze. There are fewold boys and friends of old 'St. Pat's." who will not join in wishing to the college a future brighter even than its past has been—a 'prospers precede et regna.'"