Last Monday a group of Newman College staff, including the Archives team, went up to New Norcia to see St Ildephonsus College, the oldest of Newman’s antecedent schools.
We were fortunate to have a private tour by Marist Brother Noel Hickey who, at 96, attended St Ildephonsus College as a young boy from McKenzie Street, Wembley, from 1937 to 1941, and returned as a Marist Brother and master in 1948.
Quite simply, the building is magnificent. It was built by the Benedictine monks in 1912, but it was the Marist Brothers who opened St Ildephonsus College in February 1913. A boarding school for boys from all over the State, its students were the sons of publicans, politicians, farmers, Broome pearlers, small town shopkeepers and high enterprise businessmen.
The Chapel, in the centre of the College, is jaw-droppingly beautiful and sits between two courtyards, allowing light to flood in through the tall, windows either side. The vast mural behind the altar, and the angels which adorn the walls, were painted by Spanish artist Lesmes Lopez; the angels’ faces said to be modelled on Sylvester ‘Vesty’ Byrne, a student there from 1913-1924.
The pews, magnificent staircases and other elaborate wooden elements were completed by Spanish woodcarver Juan Casellas. In the photos you’ll see one staircase used by the boys, and one by the Brothers.
Nearly 4000 students were educated at St Ildephonsus between 1913 and 1964. The Marists celebrated the 50th anniversary since the founding of the School in 1963 but, the next year, agreed to hand it back to the Benedictines who opened St Benedict's in 1965. Later on, it was Salvado (agricultural) College.
After our tour the Archives team headed to the Cemetery to pay our respects to young Vernon Clinch Nelson, who fell to his death from the third floor dormitory window in 1948, aged 12, and whose maternal grandparents lie in their own graves less than 50m away. See https://www.facebook.com/NewmanCollegeWA/posts/4157450094313127
Then we all headed home, having breathed in some of the amazing history and beauty of this place.
