60th Anniversary - Stories From the Past 60 Years

Girls from St Pius X moved to Sea Street Campus to join the boys at St Paul’s College
In 1973 at the beginning of Term 3 the girls moved from the convent up the road to the Sea Street campus where the boys had been from 1965. I was in 3rd Form (Year 9).

In those days there were only three Terms of 13-14 weeks so it would have been after the August school holidays. Since 1965 the boys had been at St Paul’s College - from 5th class until 4th form. Boys in kindergarten and up to 4th class had remained at St Joseph’s.

Although boys and girls in secondary school were now on the same campus it was a strange mix for a few years. It was called coinstructional education which meant girls and boys were taught together but not allowed to talk or socialise outside of class time. The library and office area were in the middle, the boy’s wing (now rooms 14-20) on one side and the girl’s wing (now rooms 7-12) on the other side. I spent much of my time in room 12 where Mrs Weingarth taught me English and History. What is now the staff room was the school hall. The canteen is still in the same place as it was in the 1970s.

Outside Room 12 on the last day of 4th Form in December 1974.

Outside the science labs on the last day of school, 1974.

Our teachers came with us and for the first time in five years (for me and my peers) we were sitting in classrooms with boys, and in some cases being taught (for the first time) by male teachers. In fact, we had only been taught by nuns up until a year or so before that.

Our first lay teacher (Mrs Sue Weingarth) had been a revelation, both in academic and social terms. Mrs Weingarth came to St Pius X (the then name of our high school) in 1971 and had been teaching us English and History. She was a young woman in her mid 20s who wore fabulous clothes and shoes and we young girls were big fans. The boys tried to give her a hard time when she first taught them but they were no match for her intelligence and discipline. In the end I’m sure they were won over as well. She opened up a whole new world of literature and history and set me on the path for teaching (though I didn’t realise that at the time).

Sister Kosta (Margaret Hogan) was our principal. Some other Mercy Sisters who taught us at the time were Sisters Joseph, Regis, Marcellan, Lucia, Perpetua, Cecilia, Berenice Kerr and Barbara Bolster. Lay staff included Mrs Anderburg, Miss Laverty, Mrs Chisholm and Mrs Cady.

We wore a navy box pleat tunic with a white blouse underneath - from kindergarten up until about 2nd Form. Then we had a new/modern uniform which was a beige shift with light blue piping around the collar, tie and sleeves. My mother was one of the women who designed and made the uniform for me and many of my friends. It also had a matching pale blue beret that was crocheted from nylon ribbon. Many years later I realised that the uniform was inspired by Mary Quant designs which were very fashionable in the 1970s amongst young society women. At the time I thought it was very drab and hated wearing it, but didn’t realise that we were actually quite fashionable. The beret was such a pain to wear (attached with bobby pins) but we had to have it on whenever we were to be seen in public. That meant from home, on the bus, whenever we were in town - and there were uniform prefects who monitored this and detentions were issued for infringements.

Therese Quinn’s uniform with our signatures from the last day of school. The uniform is now in the school archives.

There was another uniform - a blue shift with a yellow tie - that some of us wore briefly in 1974 that remained the girls uniform for some time after that.

Pauline Cain wearing the blue uniform.

Pauline Cain - Past student