1. Origins of the school building

2. A Brigidine Convent

3. Principals

4. Kilbreda's core values and symbols

5. Notable pupils

6. Kilbreda's sister schools

7. See also

8. References

9. External links

Kilbreda College is a Roman Catholic independent girls secondary college located in Mentone, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1904 by the Brigidine Sisters and is governed by Kildare Ministries. In 2004 Kilbreda celebrated its centenary.

Origins of the school building

The original façade of the building was built by the Royal Coffee Palace Company Limited. It was opened in November 1887 and was known as the Mentone Coffee Palace. The Coffee Palace was the social centre of the town, situated on the corners of Mentone Parade, Florence Street and Como Parade. It is also near Mentone station (formerly known as Balcombe Road Station until 1884) and is surrounded by the local shops.

In the 1890s due to competition with Mentone Hotel and the Depression, the Coffee Palace could no longer be run. In 1894 it fell into the hands of the Mercantile Bank of Australia, and the name of the building was changed to Como House.

After this the Coffee Palace was only used occasionally for varying purposes.

The Brigidine Sisters bought the Coffee Palace in mid-July 1904 for £2,050, considering the actual cost of the building and furniture, excluding land, was £25,500.

A Brigidine Convent

On 7 August 1904 the Brigidine Convent School was officially opened and blessed by Archbishop Thomas Carr, and classes began the next day.

On opening, the school had 3 pupils enrolled in the Convent School and 25 pupils enrolled in St. Patrick's Parish Primary which was located in the Church. The school also began taking boarders in 1905. Boarders and students of primary school age have been phased out since, the final primary class being in 1978.

In the 1930s the school's name was changed to Kilbreda College, the name coming from the Gaelic Cill – church or community and Breda – Brigid. Therefore, Kilbreda means Church or Community of Saint Brigid.

Principals

• Mother Margaret Mary Murphy (1904–1915)
• Mother Berchmans Foley (1916–1926)
• Mother Margaret Mary Bourke (1927–1965)
• Sister Barbara Mathews (1966–1971)
• Sister Pius Kennedy (1972–1973)
• Sister Marietta Rea (1974–1978)
• Sister Rosemarie Joyce (1979–1980)
• Sister Catherine Kelly (1984)
• Sister Mary Dalton (1985–1995)
• Mrs Carmel Smart (1995)
• Sister Angela Ryan (1981-1983/1996-1999)
• Sister Helen Toohey (1999–2006)
• Ms Mary Stack (2007–2015)
• Mrs Teresa Lincoln & Ms Nicole Mangelsdorf (2016–2018)
• Ms Nicole Mangelsdorf (2019-)

Kilbreda's core values and symbols

Most Brigidine schools follow the same core values, motto and school symbols.

The Brigidine Schools' symbols are:

• Brigid's Cross -The kind of cross St. Brigid used when teaching about the Catholic faith. It is made from woven reeds.
• The Oak Tree – St. Brigid's monastery in Tullow, is called Kildare. Kildare meaning 'the church of the oak'. Many Brigidine schools grow an oak tree from an acorn taken from one of the oak trees in Tullow.
• The Lamp of Learning – represents the light of Christian faith
• School Badge – was designed by the Irish College of Heraldry. The large cross of diamonds is taken from the badge of Bishop Daniel Delany, the Bishop who founded the Brigidine Sisters in 1807. The middle diamond contains an image of the lamp of learning, and the image of St. Brigid's cross is contained in the top section.

Notable pupils

• The Honorable Marilyn Warren AC – Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Former Lieutenant Governor of Victoria
• Bridie Kean – Wheelchair basketball player. Bronze medalist at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. Silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London
• Vikki Petraitis – Author of crime novels
• Catherine Arlove -Three time Olympian who competed at the 2008 Beijing, 2004 Athens and 2000 Sydney Olympics in Judo.
• Tania Luiz – Olympian who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Badminton
• Maggie Fitzgibbon – Actress and singer

Kilbreda's sister schools

Kilbreda College, Mentone is one of ten schools governed by Kildare Ministries. The other nine are:

• St. Joseph's College, Echuca, Victoria (1886)
• Marian College, Ararat, Victoria (1889)
• Brigidine College, Indooroopilly, Queensland (1929)
• Brigidine College, St. Ives, New South Wales (1954)
• Killester College, Springvale, Victoria (1955)
• Clonard College, Geelong West, Victoria (1956)
• Marian College, Sunshine West, Victoria (1958)
• Kildare College, Holden Hill, South Australia (1966)
• Star of the Sea College, Brighton, Victoria (1883)

See also

• St. Brigid
• List of schools in Victoria
• Victorian Certificate of Education
• Vocational Education and Training
• Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning

References

1. Margaret Underwood, 2004, A View from the Tower Kilbreda 1904–2004, Kilbreda College, Melbourne
2. Kilbreda College, online, http://www.kilbreda.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 5 February 2007
3. The Brigidine Sisters, online, http://www.brigidine.org.au. Retrieved 12 February 2007

External links

• Kilbreda College website

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