De La Salle College (Ashfield, Sydney)

This article is about De La Salle College Ashfield, Sydney. For Ashfield College in Dublin, Ireland, see Ashfield College.

De La Salle College Ashfield
Latin: Esto Vir ("To be the best man you can be" translated directly from Latin as "Be a man")[1]
Location
Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°53′3″S 151°7′31″E / 33.88417°S 151.12528°E / -33.88417; 151.12528Coordinates: 33°53′3″S 151°7′31″E / 33.88417°S 151.12528°E / -33.88417; 151.12528
Information
Type	Private, Single-sex, Secondary, Day school
Denomination	Roman Catholic, De La Salle Brothers
Established	1916
Chairman	Norm Towells
Principal	Michael Barrington
Vice principal	Nick Brien
Staff	~54[2]
Enrolment	~650 (7-12)[2]
Colour(s)	Blue & White
Website	www.dlsashfield.com.au

De La Salle College is a Catholic systemic, secondary, day school for boys', located in Ashfield, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1916 by the De La Salle Brothers and Vincentian Fathers, the college currently caters for approximately 650 Years 7 to 12 students^[2] from the inner-west Parishes of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The College is under the patronage of the Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell.

De La Salle College is one of 18 Lasallian Schools in Australia,^[3] and in the 1970s became the first Catholic High School in Australia to have a lay Headmaster.^[4]

The school is affiliated with the Catholic Secondary Schools Association NSW/ACT,^[5] and the Metropolitan Catholic Colleges Sports Association (MCC).^[6]

History

The foundation stone for the school was laid in 10 December 1916. Upon completion a year later, the school consisted of just three classrooms, and was located behind a boarding house that was to become a monastery for the six De La Salle Brothers who were given the task of educating Catholic boys of the Ashfield Parish.^[4]

De La Salle College students in the St Patrick's Day pageant, 1939

Despite the effects of the Great Depression, enrolments continued to increase, with 300 on the role in 1931. Through the efforts of Father Macken, a Provincial of the Vincentian Fathers, the College established a separate Primary school in 1934. Further, a "tech" was established in 1937 for boys who would not be going on to University or office job's. The two-stream system of "pros" and "techs" continued until 1955.^[4]

Lay staff were employed in 1956 as the number of Brothers had declined. The 1960s saw further change with the Wyndham scheme introduced in 1962 necessitating the addition of new subjects to the curriculum, and thus requiring more specialist rooms. With support from the Parish and the Old Boys' Union, the Principal of the time, Br. Peter, began to expand the College. The main building of the College was opened in 1966 during the celebration of its Golden Jubilee.^[4]

In 1972, Mr. Peter Donnan became the first lay Principal of the school, thus making the school the first Catholic High School in Australia administered by a lay Principal.^[4]

The College's primary section was closed in 1988.^[4]

Co-Curriculum

Sport

New College Hall in November 2009

De La Salle College is a member of the Metropolitan Catholic Colleges Sports Association (MCC),^[6] and competes in a range of sports including Athletics, Cricket, Cross Country, Basketball, Golf, Rugby League, Soccer, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Touch Football and Volleyball.^[7]

Through MCC, the college competes against schools such as Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham, LaSalle Catholic College, Bankstown, Marcellin College Randwick, Marist College Kogarah, Marist College Pagewood, St. Leo's Catholic College and Marist College North Shore.^[6] Sport has traditionally been an important part of college life, notwithstanding the school's own limited sporting facilities.

The college also excels in Debating and Public Speaking, through the Catholic Schools Debating Association and other Public Speaking Competitions.

Notable alumni

• Robert Anthony Antonia – Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle; Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow; Listed in Top 100 Researchers in England (ISI Highly Cited Researcher)^[8]
• Mike Bailey – TV Weatherman for the ABC and Radio Presenter; ALP candidate for the seat of North Sydney in the 2007 Federal Election (also attended De La Salle Bankstown)^[9]
• Paul Bevan – AFL player for Sydney Swans^{[citation needed]}
• Colin William Brooks – Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (ALP) for Bundoora^[10]
• Salvatore Coco – Actor^{[citation needed]}
• Pat Drummond – Singer songwriter^[11]
• Robbie Farah – NRL player for Wests Tigers^{[citation needed]}
• Warren Fellows – Convicted drug runner and associate of Neddy Smith^{[citation needed]}
• Michael Maher – Politician, sometime MLA for Drummoyne and MHR for Lowe^[12]
• Paul Pantano – Actor^{[citation needed]}
• Brother Kenneth William Ambrose Payne AO AM - Provincial Superior of the De La Salle Brothers of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea^[13]
• Mervyn John Phillips AO AM KGCSG – Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney; Recipient of the Centenary Medal 2003^[14]
• George Richard Rummery QC – Former Judge of District Court of New South Wales; Appointed Queen's Counsel^[15]
• John Sidoti - Member for Drummoyne (2011 – present)^[16]
• Kevin Waller – Former NSW State Coroner^{[citation needed]}
• Paul Whelan – Former NSW State Politician^[17]
• Justice Woodward – Judge of the Supreme Court^[18]

See also

• List of Non-Government schools in New South Wales
• Lasallian educational institutions

References

1. ^ "De La Salle College Ashfield". Schools & Colleges. Australian Government Directory. http://www.agd.com.au/directory.php?dirpage=search&act=search&cat=000071&keywords=&region_id=&state=&alpha_search=&page=15. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Annual Report to the Community 2006" (PDF). Plans/Reports. De La Salle College Ashfield. 2007. http://www.dlsashfield.com.au/Pages/PDF/AnnualReport2006DLSAshfield.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
3. ^ "Lasallian Schools in Australia". Lasallian Presence in Australia. International Lasallian Youth Gathering. 2007. http://www.ilyg08.org.au/ilyg/pages/default.asp?pid=105. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "A Brief History of the College" (PDF). History. De La Salle College Ashfield. 2007. http://www.dlsashfield.com.au/pages/Container.aspx?view=aboutHistory. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
5. ^ "About Us". Catholic Secondary Schools Association NSW/ACT. Catholic Secondary Schools Association. 2007. http://www.cssa.com.au/AboutUs/AboutUs.asp. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Teams". Metropolitan Catholic Colleges Sports Association. 2006. http://www.mccsport.com/teams.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
7. ^ "Sport". Features. De La Salle College Ashfield. 2007. http://www.dlsashfield.com.au/pages/Container.aspx?view=featSport. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
8. ^ Suzannah Pearce, ed (2006-11-17). "ANTONIA Robert Anthony". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. 
9. ^ "De La Salle centenary: 100 years of service to Catholic education". Feature Articles (The Catholic Weekly). 2006-04-09. http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=44&articleID=1818&class=Features&subclass=Feature%20articles. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
10. ^ "Brooks, Colin William". re-member. Parliament of Victoria. http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=1672. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
11. ^ "Pat Drummond". 30 Years In Music Retrospective. Shoestring Productions Pty Ltd. http://www.patdrummond.net/30yearretrospective/Alifeinmusic1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
12. ^ "Mr Ray Septimus MAHER (1911 - 1966)". Former Members. Parliament of New South Wales. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1fb6ebed995667c2ca256ea100825164/81a75104fd2421f1ca256cbb007eaa14?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
13. ^ Suzannah Pearce, ed (2006-11-17). "PAYNE (Ambrose) Kenneth William Ambrose, Brother". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. 
14. ^ Suzannah Pearce, ed (2006-11-17). "PHILLIPS (John) Mervyn John". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. 
15. ^ Suzannah Pearce, ed (2006-11-17). "RUMMERY George Richard". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. 
16. ^ "Mr (John) Anthony John Sidoti, MP". Members of Parliament. Parliament of New South Wales. 13 April 2011. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1f05a073cb5a49a2ca256e7c00184cda/9eff6699c5c47ddfca257860007f28a6?OpenDocument. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
17. ^ "The Hon. Paul Francis Patrick WHELAN (1943 - )". Former Members. Parliament of New South Wales. http://www.anzacatt.org.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1fb6ebed995667c2ca256ea100825164/18a98b8882caf6004a256745000165a3?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2007-10-23. ^{[dead link]}
18. ^ "De La Salle College Ashfield". New South Wales. School Choice. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070830214134/http://www.schoolchoice.com.au/find_a_school?cid=12346&pid=2702673. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 

External links

• De La Salle College Ashfield website
• Lasallian Schools