Page 26 - The Gonzaga Record 1985
P. 26
So it was clear that Sandford Grove would become vacant when the theologians
moved out to return to Milltown Park. The obvious next move would seem to be
that the school would move over to Sandford Grove. And this is, of course, what
happened. But it wasn't a foregone conclusion at all. The Rector of Gonzaga
College, Fr Charles O'Conor, SJ was by no means enamoured at the prospect. In
fact, he actually wrote to the Father Provincial expressing strong reservations. He
suggested that the necessary alterations to make St Joseph's fit to become a school
would be expensive. Secondly, that as the school got bigger, things would get very
crowded. It would appear that he had a sort of vague vision of a large building
stretching from the Community House over towards Park Drive.
But whatever his reservations, given the financial debt he was already in, these
were pipe dreams. St Joseph's was available and was part of the grounds, almost.
So on 1 June 1953 the carpenter and his merry men moved into St Joseph's to
make the alterations necessary to turn it into a school. It was a race against time to
have things ready by the 7 September. The Community, with the aid of a small
truck, moved desks, etc., into the classrooms: two rooms in the basement; two off
the hall ; and one upstairs. Tiles were laid in the basement; lino in the halls and
upper rooms; and an 800 gallon oil tank for heating in winter; it was all work under
pressure, but things were ready for the new school year on 7 September.
With the removal of the class-rooms to St Joseph's, the Community House and
those who lived in it had their first sense of space and elbow room. There were to be
many alterations to make the house available for a larger Jesuit community as the
years went by. So as we leave the Jesuits to work on their own living-space, let us
pay tribute to that pioneer Jesuit community that not only lived 'over the shop', but
actuall y in the shop during the first three years of Gonzaga College.
The School Hall, Library, and other developments
The removal of the school from the Community House to St Joseph's relieved
pressure on the li vin g space of the Jesuit Community. Rooms became available for
extra Jesuit teachers as the school expanded, until there was a full complement of
sin gle-stream classes. But the school still lacked some very basic requirements.
Let us enumerate just a few. There was no single room where the whole school
coul d be assembled: it could only be done outside, possibly in the rain! There was
no large room that could be used as a gymnasium for physical education. This was
actuall y done outside. There was no place where a play could be staged; where
exams of a ge neral nature could be held ; and finall y, no place where the boys could
be assembled fo r their own Mass. Milltown Park was still called on for religious
functions of the whole school.
Early in 1956 a decision was made to embark on a new building project. The
plans envisaged a large Hall ; a school Library; two new class-rooms, and extra
toi let faci lities.
One ought to pause here for a moment to salute a brave decision. It should be
patently clear from the hi story of the College so far that it was labouring under
great financial constra in ts. And with the comparatively low fee s that were charged,
an end to the burden of debt seemed to stretch away into an endless future. For the
new bui lding, the obvious thing to do was to put up a serviceable building that
would do the job, but would be as cheap as one could get away with. No one could
reasonably quarrel with th at. It could be argued that the decision about the new
18
moved out to return to Milltown Park. The obvious next move would seem to be
that the school would move over to Sandford Grove. And this is, of course, what
happened. But it wasn't a foregone conclusion at all. The Rector of Gonzaga
College, Fr Charles O'Conor, SJ was by no means enamoured at the prospect. In
fact, he actually wrote to the Father Provincial expressing strong reservations. He
suggested that the necessary alterations to make St Joseph's fit to become a school
would be expensive. Secondly, that as the school got bigger, things would get very
crowded. It would appear that he had a sort of vague vision of a large building
stretching from the Community House over towards Park Drive.
But whatever his reservations, given the financial debt he was already in, these
were pipe dreams. St Joseph's was available and was part of the grounds, almost.
So on 1 June 1953 the carpenter and his merry men moved into St Joseph's to
make the alterations necessary to turn it into a school. It was a race against time to
have things ready by the 7 September. The Community, with the aid of a small
truck, moved desks, etc., into the classrooms: two rooms in the basement; two off
the hall ; and one upstairs. Tiles were laid in the basement; lino in the halls and
upper rooms; and an 800 gallon oil tank for heating in winter; it was all work under
pressure, but things were ready for the new school year on 7 September.
With the removal of the class-rooms to St Joseph's, the Community House and
those who lived in it had their first sense of space and elbow room. There were to be
many alterations to make the house available for a larger Jesuit community as the
years went by. So as we leave the Jesuits to work on their own living-space, let us
pay tribute to that pioneer Jesuit community that not only lived 'over the shop', but
actuall y in the shop during the first three years of Gonzaga College.
The School Hall, Library, and other developments
The removal of the school from the Community House to St Joseph's relieved
pressure on the li vin g space of the Jesuit Community. Rooms became available for
extra Jesuit teachers as the school expanded, until there was a full complement of
sin gle-stream classes. But the school still lacked some very basic requirements.
Let us enumerate just a few. There was no single room where the whole school
coul d be assembled: it could only be done outside, possibly in the rain! There was
no large room that could be used as a gymnasium for physical education. This was
actuall y done outside. There was no place where a play could be staged; where
exams of a ge neral nature could be held ; and finall y, no place where the boys could
be assembled fo r their own Mass. Milltown Park was still called on for religious
functions of the whole school.
Early in 1956 a decision was made to embark on a new building project. The
plans envisaged a large Hall ; a school Library; two new class-rooms, and extra
toi let faci lities.
One ought to pause here for a moment to salute a brave decision. It should be
patently clear from the hi story of the College so far that it was labouring under
great financial constra in ts. And with the comparatively low fee s that were charged,
an end to the burden of debt seemed to stretch away into an endless future. For the
new bui lding, the obvious thing to do was to put up a serviceable building that
would do the job, but would be as cheap as one could get away with. No one could
reasonably quarrel with th at. It could be argued that the decision about the new
18
