St. Edmund's College, Canberra is a private, Catholic, day school for boys, located in Griffith, a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
The college was established in 1954 by the Christian Brothers as St Edmund's War Memorial College. It was opened to meet the demand for a Catholic Education school in the region and was the first Catholic Secondary Boys' College established in the ACT. St. Edmund's College practises in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice. The current Headmaster of the College is Mr. Daniel Lawler, the Deputy is Mr. Darren Leech, and Board Chair is Mr. Michael Cooney. The current director of Middle School is Ms. Patricia Doyle.
Students are placed into 'houses' for sporting and other events. The current houses and colours are: Clancy (Yellow), Treacy (Dark Blue), O'Brien (White), Haydon (Red), Mulrooney (Sky Blue), Rice (Green).
St Edmund's War Memorial College opened in 1954 as a Christian Brothers school in response to the needs of Catholic parents of the region. St. Edmund's was the first Catholic secondary boys college established in Canberra. The College has over 1,200 students currently enrolled, having started in 1954 with 330.
The St Edmund's College website lists the following people as headmasters of the school:
1954–1956: Br P. L. McCarthy1957–1959: Br E. C. Fields1960–1965: Br N. T. Landener1966–1969: Br J. B. Darmody1970–1978: Br G. D. Kerr1979–1988: Br R. J. Wallace1989–1994: Br J. P. O’Shea1995–2004: Mr C. J. Dwyer2005–2008: Dr C. X. Hayes2009–2014: Mr P. J. Fullagar2015–Present: Mr D. LawlerIn reflecting the spirit of charity of Edmund Rice, St Edmund's College established The Edmund Rice Foundation with the aim of giving financial assistance to disadvantaged families to diminish the burden of educating their children.
The College won the Waratah Shield more than any other school (14 times) and were the defending champions in 2005 when schools from the ACT (Canberra) were no longer invited/permitted to participate by the organisers, the New South Wales Rugby Union. The College has over 480 registered boys playing rugby union. St. Edmunds has a reputation for being one of the premier rugby schools in Australia, with Saia Faingaa being the latest alumnus to represent Australia. St Edmunds also have always had a brilliant record in the local competition (ACTJRU) with many Grand finals to their name across the different age groups.
The Most Reverend +Bishop Pat Power DCL - Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.BusinessJohn A. Bryant - President & CEO of the Kellogg's Corporation and Director of Macy's, Inc.AcademicAndrew John Robertson - Rhodes Scholar (1995)Politics and LawThe Honourable Terence Higgins AO - Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of The Australian Capital Territory (2003-2013)The Honourable Warren Snowdon MP - Federal Member for Lingiari (1987–Present)The Honourable John Barilaro MP - New South Wales Member for Monaro.The ArtsTommy Murphy - Award-winning play writer.Matthew Le Nevez - Television actor.Flip Simmons - Theatre actor and singer.Military & PoliceLieutenant General David Morrison AO - Former Chief of Army and 2016 Australian of the Year.John Lawler AM APM - Former Deputy Commissioner of The Australian Federal Police and Former Chairman of The Australian Crime Commission.SportGeorge Gregan - Former Australian Rugby Union player for the Wallabies and Brumbies. The most-capped rugby union international of all time.Matt Giteau - Former Australian Rugby Union player for the Wallabies and the Brumbies.Anthony Fainga'a - Australian Rugby Union player for the Wallabies and the Queensland Reds.Saia Fainga'a - Australian Rugby Union player for the Wallabies and the Queensland Reds.Vili Fainga'a - Rugby Union player for the Tonga national rugby union team and former Canberra Raiders and Melbourne Storm player.Colby Fainga'a - Australian Rugby Union player for the Brumbies.Robbie Coleman - Australian Rugby Union player for the Brumbies.David Furner - Former Rugby League player and Coach for the Canberra Raiders and NSW State of Origin team.Ricky Stuart - Former Australian Dual-Code Rugby player. Former coach of the Cronulla Sharks & New South Wales State of Origin team, Current Coach of the Canberra Raiders and winner of the 2016 Dally M Coach of the Year.Luke Priddis - Australian Rugby League player for the Kangaroos, Penrith Panthers and St George-Illawarra Dragons.Matt Pini - Former Australian Rugby Union player for the Wallabies and Italy.Tyrone Smith - Former Rugby Union player for the Brumbies and TongaMatt Henjak - Former Australian Rugby Union player for the Wallabies and the Western Force.Jordan Jackson Hope - Rugby Union player for the Canberra BrumbiesTom Palmer - Junior world champion cyclist.Alex Jesaulenko - Australian rules football player.Stephen Simmonds - Paralympic swimming medallist and disabled water ski world champion.