Marist College Kogarah is an independent Catholic College for boys from Years 7 to 12, located in Bexley, New South Wales, Australia.
The College was founded in 1909, and has a tradition based on the teachings of the French educator Saint Marcellin Champagnat. The school offers education to approximately 1200 students in the St George area of Sydney.
Marist College Kogarah was established in 1908 as the Kogarah Boys' School, a primary school for boys. The Marist Brothers agreed to establish the school after requests by Fr John O'Driscoll, parish priest of the new parish of Kogarah. During 1908 a hundred pupils were enrolled, it then being the only Catholic boys school in New South Wales south west of Newtown. As demand for secondary education grew in the region, junior secondary classes were added to the school in the late 1920s. By 1938 it was a full secondary school, presenting pupils for the Leaving Certificate. By the 1940s it was the largest Catholic School in Australia. In the 1960s, the school became part of the new Archdiocesan system of schools and this had important consequences for Kogarah. Parish schools were preferred for primary education and so in 1982 primary classes ended at Marist Brothers Kogarah. From 1984, senior girls were enrolled in Years 11 and 12. This was however short-lived due to the establishment of Bethany College in 1993.
School crest and motto
Over the years the school has had three crest designs. They all have in common a red cross dividing a shield into four fields. Above the shield is the school motto Finis Coronat Opus, meaning "The End Crowns the Work"; below is the school name. The redesigns were required after the school's name was altered. The crest's symbols were also rearranged after the first redesign. The fields contain the following symbols:
The Marist symbol.
The Southern Cross, the symbol of Australia
The Waratah, the symbol of New South Wales
An open book to symbolise learning.
The present School house system has been operating since 2000. As each new student begins at the school, he is allocated to a house and its colour. The school has four houses that have been named after people that have made a lasting impact on the school. Students are involved in House Competitions which include Sporting, Cultural and Academic events. The four houses are:
Cooper: Named after Alfred Cooper, a benefactor of the school.
Gonzaga: Named for the first Principal of the school, Brother Gonzaga Brown.
Gilroy : Named for Cardinal Gilroy of Sydney, who was enrolled in the school on the first day of lessons in 1909.
Lindwall : Named for Ray Lindwall, a first-grade St George rugby league footballer and cricketer who represented for Australia at Test level.
Subjects offered for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) include English Standard, English Advanced, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, General Mathematics, Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1, Mathematics Extension 2, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Engineering Studies, Studies of Religion 1, Studies of Religion 2, Geography,Modern History, Ancient History, History Extension, Economics, Business Studies, Italian Beginners, Italian Continuers, Music 1, Music 2, Visual Arts, PDHPE, Industrial Technology, Design and Technology, Information Processes and Technology, and Software Design and Development.
???? – 1956: Brother Michael
1957 – 1959(+?) Brother Lawrence
???? – 1987: Brother John O'Brien
1988 – 1992: Brother Patrick Foley
1992 – 1996: Mr. Peter McNamara
1996 – 2000: Mr. Brian Roberts
2001 – 2007: Mr Patrick O'Connor
2007 – 2008: Mr. Damian Millar
2009 – Present: Mr. John Riordan
Academic
Glyn Davis – Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne; awarded the Order of Australia (AC) for services to Public Administration in 2002
Peter O'Halloran OAM – Mathematician; Professor at the University of Canberra; Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1983
Clergy
Brother Kelvin Canavan – Notable educator; awarded Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for services to education in 1997
Norman Thomas Gilroy – First Australian Cardinal; Australian of the Year 1971
Bishop Edward Kelly – Former Bishop of Toowoomba
Monsignor John Slowey – Director of the Sydney Catholic Education Office; co-founder of the Australian Catholic University
Entertainment, media and the arts
Warren Fahey AM – Australian Folklorist, founder of Folkways Music and Larrikin Records, former Deputy managing director Festival Mushroom Group.
Dan Ginnane – Broadcaster on Triple M Radio and ESPN Television
John Hargreaves – Actor; only actor to receive the Byron Kennedy Award
Chris Holland- former College Vice-Captain, now a member of Australian band Operator Please
Geoff Plummer- (1954–2006) founding member, drummer and singer of multiple platinum record winning 1970s fifties revival band "Ol'55" who made numerous appearances of Countdown.
Paul Merciadez- Member of Justice Dance Crew who won Australia's Got Talent in 2010.
Artie Rocke- Contestant, Australia's Biggest Loser – 1st series, 2006
Christopher 'Kris' Halteh- Cast member on dramality series The Shire.
Military
Kerry Marin (R.A.N) – Sub-lieutenant on HMAS Voyager which was sunk in a collision with the flagship of the Navy HMAS Melbourne (killed)
Politics, public service and the law
John Ajaka – Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Kevin Greene – Former Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Gavin Bell – chief executive officer/Managing Partner of Freehills; an Australian–based international commercial law firm
Sport
Michael Beattie – St. George Dragons captain
Peter Armstrong – St. George Dragons Hooker (1957–1964)
Jim Bailey – Olympian (Melbourne 1956) – Athletics
George Carstairs – St. George Dragons (1921–29) and Australian representative (1921–22)
Keith Galloway – current Rugby League player for the Wests Tigers and formerly with the Cronulla Sharks
Ray Lindwall – Cricketer; considered one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time
Daryl Millard – current Rugby League player for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and Canterbury Bulldogs
Kerry O'Keeffe – Australian cricketer and commentator.
Jason Stevens – Rugby League player for the Cronulla Sharks, Australian Kangaroo's and NSW Blues
Robert Stone – Rugby League player for the St. George Dragons and NSW Blues
Robert Windle – Olympic gold edallist in the 1500 m freestyle (Tokyo 1964) – Swimming
George Ndaira – current Rugby League player for the Newcastle Knights (formerly with the St. George Illawarra Dragons and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Michael Korkidas – former Rugby League player for the Sydney Roosters. Currently playing in the English Super League.
Josh Reynolds – Professional Rugby League player for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Blagoj Janev – Professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings.
Frank Farrell, Former Rugby League who played for Newtown Jets, N.S.W. and Australia.
Warren Saunders – Former NSW and St George. cricket captain
Annie La Fleur (née Burgess) – Olympic Silver Medallist, Women's Basketball, Sydney 2000
