College Closure & Demolition

St. Patrick's College was closed at the end of 1968. The decision was taken by the Catholic Archdiocese with a view to making space available for a range of Archdiocese facilities, all located centrally and in close proximity.

The process of bringing about that closure was controversial and took place between the years 1968 to 1971.There were many voices on both sides of the debate, with meetings being convened, letters written, architectural and other experts consulted, and so on. Even decades later, there were still articles being written in various magazines describing the issues surrounding the closure and the long history of the College.

A number of documents related to those discussions, meetings, media articles and letters, and later reviews have been collected. They are to be stored at Xavier College in the developing archive which records SPC events and retains SPC items of memorabilia. In due course, and when covid-19 restrictions allow, it is hoped that there will be an opportunity for that archive to be made available for public viewing in some format. In the meantime, the documentary history described above is also now available on this website. A brief description of each file is given below and, after that, there is a table of icons linking to each of those individual files which can be viewed online here or downloaded for later perusal.

These documents have been preserved by Frank Costigan, Paul Santamaria, MIchael Curtain and Tony Bahr for many years. SPOCA is appreciative of the efforts of this group of Patricians for their foresight in retaining what are valuable records. That value extends beyond the Patrician community and includes the people of the State of Victoria – the documents recall important events, particularly with respect to education in the State.

The College's Last Years – a list of documents

• A 1968 article in the Messenger magazine entitled "Death of a School"

• A 1968 collage of newspaper articles and pictures about the Closure

• The 1968 formal announcement of the Closure: a letter written by Fr. J. Drury SJ; a letter signed by Cardinal Knox and Fr Kelly (Australian Provincial of Society of Jesus); the format for a "Thanksgiving Mass"

• A 1969 document written by the National Trust of Victoria

• A 1969 Special Edition of the Trust Newsletter of the National Trust of Australia discussing the proposed demolition

• A 1969 letter written by Old Patrician Prof. Vincent Buckley tendering his apology for not attending the upcoming meeting of the St Patrick's College Building Preservation Committee (see next item)

• A 1970 letter from Cardinal Knox to Priests of Melbourne

• A 1970 meeting (transcript) called by the St Patrick's College Building Preservation Committee held in Wilson Hall, University of Melbourne

• A 1970 Opinion Piece written by then well-known media personality Ormsby Wilkins

• A 1970 letter from SPC Building Preservation C'tee (Costigan) to Priests of Melbourne (reply to Knox Letter)

• A 1990 article written by Max Nankervis in the autumn edition of the Heritage Australia magazine and entitled "An Incongruous Tower"

• A 2025 story of the last brick in the wall of the old school – "Two Old Patrician Mates"; with a follow-up on the rock's last resting place

Click on an icon in the table below and wait a few seconds for the selected file to appear in a new window. It can be read from there or downloaded to you device for later reading.