History of Rosebank College
Rosebank College is closely associated with the early history of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of Saint Benedict. This Australian Institute was founded by Archbishop Polding in 1857, to care for destitute women in colonial Sydney. Polding trained the first Sisters in the Benedictine way of life which he had experienced at Downside Abbey, England, but adapted his rule to meet the practical needs of the colony. From their first convent in Pitt Street, a site now occupied by Central Railway Station, the Sisters set out to instruct children in schools, often walking many miles each day.
In nearly all of the early convents the Sisters taught in primary schools and set up high schools and boarding colleges. These provided a broad cultural education leading to university matriculation, which in the days before secondary education, was compulsory in government schools. Polding had been Prefect of Studies at the famous Downside Abbey and the Sisters received from the Benedictine monks from Lyndhurst College at Glebe (1853-77), invaluable professional guidance in teacher training.
The estate of Rosebank was originally acquired to serve as a Novitiate for the growing community of young Sisters at the Pitt Street Convent, where the noise of the bustling city was becoming more and more intrusive. In those days Rosebank was surrounded by bushland. The estate received its name from the beautiful hedge of roses surrounding it. The Sisters acquired the estate in 1868. The Novitiate, together with its chapel and the primary school, served the local community. The primary school replaced the school at Albina Villa on Parramatta Road, Concord which the Sisters began in 1867. Some of the Sisters buried here in the cemetery were novices at Rosebank and one, Sister Aloysius Cassidy, was a past pupil.
In 1877 the Novices returned to Pitt Street where a new convent was built and Rosebank became a Catholic Boarding School for girls. Father John Dwyer, OSB, who had taught at Lyndhurst College Glebe until 1877, was the chaplain, and took an extraordinary interest in the intellectual, physical and spiritual wellbeing of the students.
After his death in 1886 the Queens Road end of the present three-storey structure was built with money left by him (£2,000) and donations. The memorial stone to Dean Dwyer dating from 1886 was incorporated in the 1986 extension to the College. In 1893, Rosebank assumed the name of a College and the memoirs from this time until 1911, testify to the great reputation it enjoyed throughout NSW and beyond, as a place of broad education.
The person who stood out during this period was Mother Berchmans McLaughlin who was Principal (1893-1898). She left Rosebank to become the first Australian born Superior General of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan (1898-1916). In the words of Sister Clare Slattery, she was a woman who “in another milieu would have been in the advance guard of the feminist movement” (Wheeling Years).
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In Rosebank’s early years, its students came to the attention of the wider community. As early as 1880, Marcella Kenny was the first girl from a Catholic College to pass the University of Oxford Junior Examination, in the very first year that this particular examination was open to girls.
Rosebank grew to full strength, however in 1944 it closed to serve as a juniorate for five years. While still retaining registration as a secondary school, Rosebank entered another stage of its history when it reopened as a boarding and day College in 1951, offering cultural and vocational subjects to complement its academic courses.
Gradually the College grew and offered the Leaving Certificate. In 1966, in the process of regionalisation in Sydney and the phasing in of the Wyndham Scheme, it reverted to a Form 4 (Year 10) School. The boarding school closed in 1971 but the day school continued to expand. In 1986 it returned to a full secondary school with the introduction of coeducation in Years 11 and 12. Buildings were completed and opened in 1986, 1991, 1995 and 2022 and extensive landscaping has complimented the provision of fine facilities for the education of the students.
In 1981, Mr John Hawley was appointed the first lay Principal of the College. In 1988, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan established Rosebank College as an Incorporated Body and appointed a School Board to be responsible for the College. Mr Frank Hayes was the first Chairperson of the Board. Mr Justin Flaherty is the current Board Chair.
In 2001, Mr Hawley was invited to take an executive position at the Good Samaritan Congregational Offices. Mr Alan Moran held the position of College Principal until April 2005. In Term 3 2005, Mr Tom Galea was appointed as the Principal of Rosebank College.
Another exciting chapter in the history of Rosebank College was the extension of co-education. 2009 welcomed the addition of boys in Year 7, a new House system, student leadership Structure and College uniform. In 2012, the College celebrated 145 years of Catholic Education, the opening of Subiaco Hall (containing the Scholastica Research and Study Centre, the Trade Training Centre and new Visual Arts and Design Technology Centres) and our first year of full co-education (Year 7-12).
In 2014, the College named, blessed and officially opened three new and renovated buildings. These were Ottilien Hall, Montserrat Hall and Jamberoo Hall. This provided the College with an Auditorium, eighteen learning spaces, five Science labs, Music, Dance and Drama spaces, performance space and an undercroft play area, gymnasium and cafeteria.
In 2015, the College introduced a Vertical Home Room structure, including Middle School and Senior School divisions. Students from Years 7 - 9 and Years 10 - 12 share common Home Rooms. The College also farewelled the Sisters of the Good Samaritan as the staff of the Congregational Office moved to Glebe. In vacating the old Convent, work on Stage 4 of the building plan began. Named Downside Hall, this building houses our College administration, staff spaces and eight classrooms. In 2017 the College celebrated its 150th anniversary.
In 2018 we announced two new Houses, Adamson and Hayes, which were introduced and implemented in 2019. 2020 saw the redevelopment of the cemetery and chapel as the centre focal point of the College. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the College moved to remote learning during the middle of the year. Rosebank’s online learning platform enabled our students and staff to transition to at-home online learning with ease. After 16 years of leadership, Principal Tom Galea retired at the end of 2020 and in 2021, Ms Iris Nastasi became the College's first female lay principal.
In 2022, we proudly introduced the Manquehue Hall, a dedicated learning space for students. This exciting addition to the Rosebank campus honours the Manquehue Movement, a Benedictine education community based in Santiago, Chile. Unique among the global Benedictine network, the Manquehue are a lay community who operate co-educational schools, women’s refuges, retreat centres and outreach programs. In many ways, they share the same spirit and approach as our Good Samaritan family here at Rosebank. Designated with the letter Q, the Manquehue Building stands as a symbol of our international Benedictine connections and our shared commitment to faith, learning and service.
Completed in 2024, Birra Birra stands as a vibrant space of gathering, teaching and learning, honouring the rich heritage of the Wangal people, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan and the majestic fig tree that once graced this area for over 150 years. The name Birra Birra, meaning Fig Tree in the local Wangal language, was chosen to acknowledge both the land’s traditional custodians and the deep roots of Rosebank’s story.
When the fig tree sadly reached the end of its life, the College collaborated with students to reimagine the space in a way that would continue to nurture connection and reflection and so, Birra Birra was born.
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A central feature of this space are the Rosebank Story Poles, painted in April 2024 by Gomeroi artist Jodie Herden alongside Rosebank students. These artworks beautifully symbolise the many threads that make up the Rosebank community, weaving together culture, history and hope for the future.
In 2027, Rosebank College will celebrate 160 years of education and welcome our foundation Year 5 students, marking the beginning of Stage 3 and a new chapter in the College’s story. As we honour the generations who have shaped Rosebank, we look forward to extending our Good Samaritan and Benedictine tradition of faith, learning and belonging to a younger generation.