Maribyrnong College, also known as Maribyrnong Secondary College, and formerly known as Maribyrnong High School, is a government-funded

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

that specialises in

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

, located in Maribyrnong in the inner western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. Students enrol based on local residence and/or in the selective sports academy. The school offers an accelerated learning program to prospective students who demonstrate academic ability. It is located on River Street, Maribyrnong (formerly

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

until this part of Maidstone was rezoned in the 1990s). Founded in 1958, as Maribyrnong High School, a state-of-the-art sports complex opened on 22 June 2010.

History

The college has a long history in the suburbs of Maidstone and Maribyrnong as it was established in 1958. The area has changed dramatically since the college first opened and it is now seen as an inner-city college as it is located from the

Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...

. Maribyrnong had a special place in terms of multicultural history among Melbourne's high schools. Being so close to the ''Maribyrnong Migrant Hostel'' (now closed) the school had an integration program for children from the hostel who were from all around the world, including many refugees.

Specialist Sport Program

In 2005 the school commenced its "Specialist Sport Program" with selective entry for talented sports students. Enrolments have grown: in 2007 there were 56 Specialist Sport students from a total school enrolment of 380; in 2010 there were 450 students involved in the sports program from a total school enrolment of 900. Several sports receive a major focus:

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

, basketball,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, swimming and tennis. The school has extensive partnerships with the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succe ...

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

and Victoria University.

Buildings and Facilities

Maribyrnong College has one campus that is divided into 5 building blocks. They are: the P block, the A block, the B block, the C block and the M block. The M block, the newest addition to the school, was completed in 2019 and sought to remove the relocatable classrooms once used. It serves as a

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (often abbreviated VCE) is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria. The VCE is the predominant choice for students ...

student centre, accompanying the VCE study hall. Several extra-curricular workshops and kitchen-hybrid rooms are used by the general school population. In total, the College boasts over 50 classroom environments, a 230-seat theatre and its 7000 square metre Sport Stadium with classrooms for Health and Physical Education.

Sports Stadium

The Sports Stadium which opened on 22 June 2010 includes two basketball-netball courts, six badminton courts, a sprint track and a full size gym. It was officially opened by the

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly ...

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

. The school is still adding extra features to the facility.

Transport

Tram 82 (Footscray - Moonee Ponds) stops right in front of the school on River Street. Bus services to

Highpoint Shopping Centre Highpoint Shopping Centre is a super regional shopping centre located in Maribyrnong, Victoria, in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Highpoint is Victoria's third largest shopping centre and the fifth largest in Australia, with an a ...

also provide close public transport to the school. The

Maribyrnong River The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Course The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near ...

is only a short walk from the college and the

Maribyrnong River Trail __NOTOC__ The Maribyrnong River Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Maribyrnong River through the north western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The path, sometimes along both sides of the river, ...

can be used by students to commute to school.

Notable alumni

* Rory Atkins, AFL footballer for the

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

Zak Butters Zak Butters (born 8 September 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by Port Adelaide with the 12th draft pick in the 2018 AFL d ...

, AFL footballer for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

Jack Bytel Jack Bytel (born 14 March 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by St Kilda with the 41st pick in the 2018 AFL draft. Early life Bytel was born ...

-AFL footballer for the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

Doug Chappel Doug Chappel is an Australian comedian who grew up in the working class suburbs of Footscray and Sunshine in Melbourne's Western Suburbs. Chappel is also known for his work in the community with homeless youth and troubled teenagers. Once ho ...

, comedian *

Tony Dodemaide Anthony Ian Christopher Dodemaide (born 5 October 1963) is an Australian former test cricketer. After a three-year stint as Chief Executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association in Perth, he became the current chief executive of Cricket ...

, cricketer for the Australian national team *

Kerry Greenwood Kerry Isabelle Greenwood (born 1954) is an Australian author and lawyer. She has written many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted as the popular tele ...

, author and lawyer * Mary Leunig, cartoonist, artist and activist *

Michael Leunig Michael Leunig (born 2 June 1945), typically referred to as Leunig (his signature on his cartoons), is an Australian cartoonist. His works include ''The Curly Pyjama Letters'', cartoon books ''The Essential Leunig'', ''The Wayward Leunig'', ' ...

, cartoonist *

Touk Miller Touk Miller (, rhymes with "Luke"; born 22 February 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). Miller plays as a midfielder and was drafted to the Suns as the 29th ...

, AFL footballer for the

Gold Coast Football Club The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...

, world-ranked professional tennis player who was runner-up 1998 US Open *

Luke Ryan Luke Ryan (born 6 February 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A versatile player Ryan is a Doig Medalist as well as an All-Australian. Early c ...

, AFL footballer for the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of ...

Joel Smith Joel Smith (born 3 May 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer. Beginning his career in 1995 as a bright young prospect for St Kilda, Smith was touted as the future of the club. Smith played in St Kilda’s 1996 AFL Ansett Australia ...

, AFL footballer for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

Kayne Turner Kayne Turner (born 31 December 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Turner participated in the Auskick program at Wodonga Showground ...

, AFL footballer for the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

* Guy Walker, cricketer for the

Melbourne Renegades The Melbourne Renegades are an Australian professional men's Twenty20 franchise cricket club based in Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria. They compete in the Australian Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash ...

, and AFL footballer for the

* Peter Wright, AFL footballer for the

Monique Conti Monique Conti (born 9 December 1999) is an Australian rules footballer and basketballer. Conti currently plays for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), having previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2018 to 2019, and ...

- AFLW player/basketballer * Georgia Patrikios-AFLW footballer * Buku Khamis- AFL Footballer * Emerson Jeka- AFL Footballer *

Ellie McKenzie Ellie McKenzie (born 17 October 2002) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club#AFL Women's team, Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Early life and junior football McKenzie grew up in the northern M ...

-AFLW Footballer * Jess Fitzgerald - AFLW Footballer *

Georgie Prespakis Georgie Prepasakis (born 13 March 2003) is an Australian rules footballer playing for Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Early life Prespakis is the daughter of Damien and Jody. Her mother is an Indigenous Australian from th ...

-AFLW footballer *

Aliesha Newman Aliesha Newman (born 16 September 1995) is an Australian rules footballer playing for Greater Western Sydney in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. She has previously played for Melbourne, Collingwood, and Sydney. Early life Newman was bor ...

-AFLW footballer * Libby Birch-AFLW player

References

External links

Maribyrnong College website
{{Authority control Public high schools in Melbourne Maribyrnong, Victoria 1958 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1958 Sports schools in Australia Buildings and structures in the City of Maribyrnong