Stuartholme School is an independentCatholic secondary day and boarding school for girls, located at 365 Birdwood Terrace, Toowong, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Established in 1920 by the Society of the Sacred Heart, the school caters for approximately 700 students from Years 5 to 12, including 150 boarders.[1] Year 5 commences in 2024 and Year 6 commences in 2025.[2]
In 1882 farmer Richard Wingfield Stuart purchased a 57-acre block of land on the slopes of Mount Coot-tha (then known as One Tree Hill) in Brisbane. He built a house on the property and called the farm and the house Stuartholme. On Good Friday 16 April 1897, the house was destroyed by fire, which was believed to be caused by a meteor or "comet".[6][8][9][10]
In 1914 Reverend Mother Janet Erskine Stuart, Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart, visited Brisbane to meet ArchbishopJames Duhig and thought it was a good idea to start a school in Brisbane.[7] The order of the Sacred Heart came to Stuartholme in 1917 because Duhig had invited them to run the school.[7]
In September 1917 Duhig purchased the land of the then-deceased Mr Stuart .[11]
Duhig laid the foundation stone of the school building on 25 May 1919. At that ceremony, Duhig revealed the coincidence that Richard Wingfield Stuart was the step-brother of Reverend Mother Janet Eskine Stuart. Although by then deceased, Reverend Mother Stuart was aware sisters from her order had been invited to Brisbane, but not that her step-brother's property would be the site of the new convent and school.[12][13]
Sketch of original building, 1925Side view of original school building (centre), 2021
In February 1920 the sisters of the Sacred Heart moved into the school.[14] On 1 August 1920 Stuartholme was officially opened by Apostolic DelegateBartolomeo Cattaneo assisted by Duhig, although the building was not yet completed.[15][16] In the first year the school was run on the verandas of the cottages. The nuns and pupils lived in the cottages and with five students initially enrolled. The number of pupils grew and between 1925 and 1940 there were 36 students attending Stuartholme.[6]
During World War II the school was used as the United States Army 42nd General Hospital, and the students did their studies at Canungra and Southport.[7][17][18]
In the 1960s and 1970s young women had stopped entering the religious life so Sacred Heart and other Catholic schools were staffed mainly by lay people.[citation needed] David Manning was the first lay principal, appointed in 1983,[19] who served until 2003. Daniel Crump is the current principal.[20]
In the past[clarification needed] ten years Stuartholme has had some significant changes including a lot of re-modelling, but the Sacred Heart education has remained a part of the school curriculum.[21]
On 17 May 2013 the school was listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register.[22]
Stuartholme students may compete in sporting competitions conducted by the Catholic Secondary Girls School Sports Association and the Independent Schools Association.[23]
^Butler, Jan (2006). "Member Schools". Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Archived from the original on 19 May 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
^"Queensland". AHISA Schools. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
^"Stuartholme School". Queensland Schools. Australian Boarding Schools Association. 2005. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
^ abcd"History". Stuartholme School. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
^"Fire at Toowong". The Telegraph. No. 7, 636. Queensland, Australia. 17 April 1897. p. 4. Retrieved 22 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"STRANGE OCCURRENCE". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LIII, no. 12, 261. Queensland, Australia. 30 April 1897. p. 5. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"THE ARCHBISHOP OF BRISBANE". The Catholic Press. No. 1135. New South Wales, Australia. 27 September 1917. p. 11. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"£40,000 CONVENT". The Daily Mail. No. 5173. Queensland, Australia. 26 May 1919. p. 5. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BRISBANE DAY BY DAY". The Catholic Press. No. 1223. New South Wales, Australia. 5 June 1919. p. 24. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Queensland". Advocate. Vol. LII, no. 2472. Victoria, Australia. 7 February 1920. p. 12. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"STUARTHOLME CONVENT". The Brisbane Courier. No. 19, 511. Queensland, Australia. 2 August 1920. p. 8. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"New Convent for Brisbane". The Catholic Press. No. 1285. New South Wales, Australia. 12 August 1920. p. 24. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
Nolan, Carolyn; Stuartholme Convent of the Sacred Heart (Brisbane, Qld.) (1995), Ribbons, beads and processions : the foundation of Stuartholme, Stuartholme Parents and Friends Association, ISBN978-0-7242-6568-8
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