History of the Junior School

The Christian Brothers College Junior School Campus was opened on October 6, 1963, during the principalship of Brother J.V. Bourke. It occurred during a tumultuous era for the College in which demands were made by the Adelaide City Council for the demolition of one of the original buildings of the Senior Campus to allow for the widening of Ackland Street (now known as Frome Street). Furthermore, Br Bourke oversaw development of the school ovals in the Adelaide parklands (officially opened in 1960 and upgraded again in 1962), the construction of six new classrooms at the Senior Campus in 1961-62 (which now houses the senior school administration area) and finally would initiate plans for Boathouse on the river Torrens (completed in October 1964) during his second term as Principal from 1961 to 1963.

The development of the Junior School campus on the corner of East Terrace and Wakefield Street is described in more detail in Brother R.B.Healy's Book, “The Christian Brothers of Wakefield Street 1978-1978” (Lutheran Publishing House, 1978, pp161-162).

In July 1961 Brother Bourke bought a house property called “Noke” in Wakefield Street”, near East Terrace. The price was £8,750. The following year an adjacent property, “Eothen” on the corner of Wakefield Street and East Terrace was put up for auction, and the College made the successful bid of £23,000. These two properties combined gave the site of the present Junior School, but the building itself had to wait till additions had been made at the Senior School ....

The College being served with notice to quit the old school block [by the Adelaide City Council for the purpose of widening Ackland Street, or now known as Frome Street] Brother Bourke had to move almost immediately into his next project. The houses “Eothen” and “Noke” were demolished, and Mr. Peters [architect for the previous job - the construction of a block of 6 classrooms which was later converted into the Senior School Administration building] went into action once more. The compensation paid by the City Council for the loss of land and a building on the western side enabled the College to embark on its second major building within twelve months. The foundation stone was laid in March 1963. ....

The Junior School cost £36,750 and was opened in 1963 by Bishop (as he was then) Gleeson. On an external wall is a piece of sculpture about two metres high in Sydney sandstone, the work of Voitre Marek. It represents a Madonna with her arm thrown protectively around the shoulders of a school-boy.

Further developments came in 1987 (commencing in January and completed by August) under the direction of Br J.P Marks (Principal) and Brother J.VMurray (Head of Junior School). Junior School now appeared more “complete” with the addition of a reception area/entrance, Headmaster's office, an interview room, a sick room, a secretary's office, a purpose-built library and associated work room on the first floor, and a large Art/Craft Room and a Nature Study Room above on the second floor. The new building was connected to the old structure with a change room and shower facilities. Furthermore, a Sportsmaster's office and storeroom were added to complete the renovations. The extensions were blessed by Monsignor Aitken and opened by Brother G.T.Faulkner on August 23, 1987.

Finally, in 1998, the Early Learning Centre was added to the south-east section of the campus under the leadership of Brother P.J.Cronin (Principal), Mr Tony Finamore (Head of Junior School) and Mrs Rebecca Maerschel (Early Learning Centre Manager). The new classroom was blessed by Fr Gavin Small and Fr Joe Grealy and officially opened on Thursday March 5, 1998.

For the first time, Christian Brothers College now offered classes from Reception through to Year 12

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