We were delighted to receive a donation of more than a century old College Annuals recently.
The four College Annuals dated back to 1905, 1906, 1909 and 1914-15. Whilst a little on the musty side, the annuals were in otherwise good condition and showcase a very different life at SPC over 100 years ago.
Some fascinating history tidbits in the 1905 College Annual include –
- St Patrick’s College was home to 130 boarders and no day students in 1905. Boarders came from Ballarat while most others travelled from much further afield. This included the towns of Fish Creek, Rupanyup, Heywood, Pannoobamawn, Minyip, Crowlands, Benalla and Terang, just to name a few, along with the metropolitan likes of Kew in Melbourne, and interstate, Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales, and even further away, including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Ireland.
- Boarding fees for boys under the age of 14 years cost nine pound and nine pence per term – equivalent to around $17 per term today.
- The Matriculation Class consisted of 14 students.
- The College Annual was compiled by current students, with editors of the 1905 College Annual consisting of B Nash, M McKenna and J Dowling.
- Students embarked on Chest-Expanding Class, Gymnastic Tableaux, Wand Exercise and Club Exercises.
- SPC excelled in sport from an early time.
- Students were taken by horse and cart for a special College Picnic to Beale’s Reservoir on the outskirts of Ballarat, to celebrate SPC’s triumph in cricket over two rival Colleges.
- Some of the advertisements at the rear of the College Annual, showcasing the beautiful artwork and businesses, many of which no longer exist in Ballarat.
