On Friday 27 October, staff at the College celebrated World Teachers’ Day. I thought it would be nice to acknowledge the teachers and other staff who continue to work at the College. Without them and the dedication that they have, MLMC would not be what it is today.
In its infancy, the first staff at Mount Lilydale were the Sisters of Mercy. Due to Australia’s multicultural immigration program after the Second World War there came a diversification of the Catholic population in Australia. Interestingly the Immigration Minister who had presided over this era was Arthur Calwell, whose sibling, Sister Mary Julian, actually taught at the College. As a result, the school started to see an influx of students with Italian, Maltese and Dutch backgrounds, increasing the number of students attending the College.
At the same time there was a steep decline in the number of Australians joining religious orders, creating a staffing crisis in Catholic schools. This significant issue pushed the ‘state aid’ debate into the limelight and the College began to see, for the first time, significant funding from State and Federal governments in the 1960s. This then made it possible to appoint more lay teachers to assist the Sisters at the College.
A few lay teachers had worked at the College, most notably Mrs Gwen Moriarty, but in the mid-1960s their numbers increased. Heather Caswell, a teacher during this time, remembers the number of Sisters available to teach was decreasing and more lay teachers were employed. She also recalls the Sisters looking after her children at the Convent while she taught. Her children — Jim (OC 1977), Sally (OC 1980), Elizabeth (OC 1981), Kathleen (OC 1984) and Bernadette (OC 1988) — were all educated at the College.
Other lay teachers in this era were Mrs Nancy Beatty, Mrs Kenwright, who taught Maths, Mrs Prescott, the Science teacher, and History teacher Mr George Fredrickson. Within 10 years there would be 36 lay teachers at the school. Now, in 2023, of a staff of more than 200 there are no Sisters of Mercy employed, just lay staff.
Of course, the teachers mentioned here are only a few of those that have served at the College over its 127 years. To all those staff, we say thank you!
Pictured above: staff photo from 1973.
1985 Middle School staff.
1998 staff photo.
