St James College is an independentCatholic secondary day school for boys and girls, located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. St James College, informally known as Jimmies, was established in 1868 with only 12 students and is the oldest Catholic boys' school in Queensland. In 1893, the Congregation of Christian Brothers agreed to take over the school following major economic depression, the government's refusal to pay staff wages and inconsistent student enrolment. As of 2021[update], the co-educational school had an enrolment of approximately 520 students from Year 7 to Year 12. The school principal is Anne Rebgetz.
History
Jerome William Long (1834–1891) was the first lay Principal to lead St James between 1871 and 1877, and again in 1880–90, he is accredited with being the first teacher to hold a Class 2, Division 1 certificate in Queensland. Long was honoured by the college, which named Long House after him.[citation needed]
In 1994, the college began to accept enrolment from girls in years 8 and 11, making it a co-educational institution. In 1994, its name was changed to St. James Prac.; it was then reverted to St. James College in 2001. In 2002, its first female principal was appointed. The college has also been known as Edmund Rice College, St James's, and St James Practical College. The college constructed a new library and science complex, named the Joseph Canali Centre completed in 2015 when the college began accepting enrolments for grade 7. In 2013 enrolment stood at approximately 480 students.[citation needed]
The following individuals have served as principals or headmasters of St James' College:
Ordinal
Officeholder
Term start
Term end
Time in office
1
Mr Long
1868
1869
0–1 years
2
J. Horan
1870
1870
0 years
3
J. W. Long
1871
1881
9–10 years
4
J. J. Dempsey
1882
1882
0 years
5
F. Carton
1883
1884
0–1 years
6
T. O'Leary
1885
1892
6–7 years
7
W. J. Hogan
1893
1898
4–5 years
8
J. C. Ryan
1899
1902
2–3 years
9
W. M. Reidy
1903
1903
0 years
10
J. C. Fenwick
1904
1909
4–5 years
11
M. W. Grace
1910
1911
0–1 years
12
F. P. Bowler
1912
1913
0–1 years
13
T. F. Hogan
1914
1918
3–4 years
14
M. I. Hickey
1919
1922
2–3 years
15
J. F. Murphy
1923
1923
0 years
16
W. B. Redmond
1924
1924
0 years
(13)
T. F. Hogan
1925
1925
0 years
17
J. H. Crowley
1926
1926
0 years
18
C. L. Maloney
1927
1927
0 years
19
J. F. Redmond
1928
1928
0 years
20
P. W. Nolan
1929
1929
0 years
21
A. B. Awylward
1930
1930
0 years
22
T. I. Dowd
1931
1931
0 years
23
F. P. Doonan
1932
1933
0–1 years
24
P. D. Grealy
1934
1937
2–3 years
25
H. I. Jackson
1938
1940
1–2 years
26
B. A. Duffy
1941
1941
0 years
27
P. D. Grealy
1942
1944
1–2 years
28
W. E. O'Donnell
1945
1946
0–1 years
29
O. V. Wynne
1947
1949
1–2 years
30
T. I. Hennessy
1950
1953
2–3 years
31
H. W. Dowd
1954
1955
0–1 years
32
L. L. Bailee
1956
1961
4–5 years
33
F. M. Harding
1962
1967
4–5 years
34
N. C. Langan
1968
1973
4–5 years
35
B. W. Steele
1974
1979
4–5 years
36
W. F. Tynan
1980
1986
5–6 years
37
B. J. Sullivan
1987
1991
3–4 years
38
L. V. Larkin
1992
1993
0–1 years
39
L. W. Quinn
1994
1995
0–1 years
40
P. R. Conn
1996
1997
0–1 years
41
M. J. Sanderson
1998
2001
2–3 years
42
K. P. Tuite
2002
2008
5–6 years
43
G. Crooks
2009
2018
8–9 years
44
Anne Rebgetz
2019
incumbent
5–6 years
House system
There are four houses at St James College, Carey, Hogan, Long and Mary Rice. With the exception of Mary Rice, all were the original houses of St James; Mary Rice was added in recent[when?] years.[1]
Current houses
Carey House is named after Tom Carey, an old boy of the college.[1] (House colour: blue)
Hogan House is named after Br Hogan, the first Christian Brother principal of the college. (House colour: gold)
Long House is named after Jerome William Long, the first lay principal. (House colour: white)
Mary Rice House is named after Mary Rice, the daughter of Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers. (House colour: maroon)
Sports
St James College offers a basketball program that is fully inclusive to all levels of ability for both boys and girls. The Jimmies Basketball Program is accessible to all students regardless of their financial circumstances and focuses on development of the individual.[2] In October 2013, St James College won the 2013 Queensland State Basketball Championship and was crowned the "Best Basketball School in Queensland". The team will now travel to Melbourne in December to represent Queensland in the Australian Schools Basketball Championship.[3]
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(July 2021)
Graham Quirk – politician, offices include former Lord Mayor of Brisbane
John Mickel – politician. He was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and the Labor member for Logan. He completed his education at St Laurence's College, Brisbane.
Robert Anderson – Australian Aboriginal elder and former union official. Anderson, often referred to as Uncle Bob, is known for his long association with the Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia where he was state organiser from 1951 to 1978. He is also an honorary member of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. As a Ngugi elder from Mulgumpin in Quandamooka, Anderson has also served in various roles with an array of indigenous organisations, working in the fields of reconciliation, native title, social justice, youth welfare and cultural identity. In the 1960s, Anderson was a member of the Queensland Council for Advancement for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. In 1999, he was appointed chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Board, a role he retired from in 2003
Ross Henrick – Australia Rugby League footballer. He completed his education at Northgate SHS and Banyo SHS.
Ciaron O'Reilly – Australian anti-war campaigner, peace protester, social justice campaigner and Catholic Worker
Bishop Ken Howell – Catholic priest, Bishop and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.