Memories of Mount St. Catherine’s School

text and images provided by Joan Apps (nee Anstey)

I was a boarder at Mount St Catherine’s from 1960-1962. I recall these years as the happiest of my school life. The original school building was the beautiful house previously known as Bythorne

In my third and final year at the school, when I was twelve years old, I was given my own little room – the one you can see at the centre of the upstairs floor. The young boarders, about six of them, (one was only four years old!), slept in the large room to the left. There was a connecting door between our rooms and I was charged with keeping an eye on the “little ones”. The main dormitory was, of course, in the newer building connected to the back of the old house.

This is the class photo from 1961- it was the only official photo taken of my class during my three years at the school. I can remember the names of some of the students. I have listed them below. It’s a pity it isn’t a colour photo, as it would show the two uniforms – the boarders wearing Cabra rust and yellow, the day students in dark green. You can see that the uniform wasn’t strictly enforced with the day students!

Back row: 1?, 2?, 3 Pam Smith, 4 Christine Wheeler, 5?, 6?, 7 Joan Anstey (me), 8 Christine Gibson Boy standing on left?

Middle row: 1?, 2?, 3?, 4 Claire Sanderson, 5 Virginia Harris, 6 Cynthia Roberts, 7 Judith Gallagher Boy standing on right?

Front row: 1 Yvonne Newson, 2 Kathleen O’Shea, 3?, 4?, 5 Paula Gibson, 6?, 7 Marie Roberts, 8 Susan Shaw

Boys sitting on ground: 1?, 2 Lynton Laffey, 3? 4 Peter Coombs, 5?, 6?

Below is a photo of two nuns. The nun on the left was Sister Mary Dominica (Colette Brown) and the nun on the right was Mother Mary Concepta (Marie Kerin), the nun in charge of the school during my time there.

Originally from Ireland, Sister Dominica came to the school in 1961 and was in charge of the boarding school. She was an exceptional person – quite strict when necessary, but full of life and an inspiring teacher. I can remember many happy times with her – one example was the way she taught us Irish folk dances. We would sometimes do this activity after dinner in the evening in the quadrangle adjacent to the refectory. She once sent me a letter during the school holidays with a list of recommended children’s books. I really appreciated her interest in me and she turned me into a keen reader.

Here is another photo of Sister Dominica in the garden on the left side of the building. This was a very beautiful garden with large oak trees, a rosemary maze and a lily pond.

This last photo is of Sister Mary Gonzalvo (Monica Redden) and some students (all boarders).  Sister Gonzalvo was in charge of the boarding school when I arrived at the school in 1960.

Learn more about Mount St. Catherine’s here.

Do you have memories of Mount St. Catherine’s School as a student, parent or teacher, or as a local resident? Perhaps you can help with names for the Class Photo? Contact us at mldhsgateways@mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au or drop into the History Centre at the Coventry Library, 63 Mount Barker Road, Stirling.