Redfern
1886
- 1963
Redfern
is a suburb of the inner city of Sydney. A very built-up and working class
area it is perhaps most famous for its enthusiastic South Sydney rugby
league supporters.
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Map |
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1925 Redfern Community
Brothers Austin McGrath
- Aloysius Hannigan - Ignatius Barrett - Fr Williams - Evangelist Hanratty
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3rd Class 1929
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1948
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The
school was opened on January 18th, 1886, and was staffed by Brother Ignatius
Price, Brother Albert Hanley, and Brother Sylvester Harmey. The Brothers
had been invited to Redfern by Cardinal Moran of Sydney. He said of Redfern:
"I look upon Redfern as one of the most important school centres of the
diocese."
Despite his support, there was no permanent
residence for the Brothers until 1904 - in earlier years this had been
enough to make some congregations withdraw. Before then the Brothers addresses
had been several - click
here for details on these addresses.
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The
Redfern monastery. You can just see the school at the rear.
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What
you see now at
109 George St. |
| In
1904 the Brothers finally had a place to call home. It was located on the
corner of George and Turner Streets adjacent to the school. This was convenient
for the Brothers who taught at Redfern, but there was still a bit of a
walk for those teaching at Forest Lodge and Waterloo. The house was also
used as the Novitiate for a short while. The Brothers withdrew from the
monastery in 1964 and it was taken over the Salvation Army.
It
is now gone, the Redfern postoffice has built an extention on the site.
The school is now a medical centre for the local Aboriginal community. |
The school soon became well respected and
had students coming from distant suburbs. In public exams and scholarships
it ranked with the wealthier schools of the area.
The Brothers also gained a reputation as
excellent educators of the faith. They did not limit this to the classroom
but also established solidarities.
Many of the congregation's "famous Brothers"
taught at Redfern: Aloysius Hannigan, Joseph Tierney, Alphonsus Eviston,
and Cyril Boland to name a few. And as already |
