Saint Augustine's College, known locally as "Saints", is a Catholic boys' high school in Parramatta Park,

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Queensland,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Saints houses boarders both from its own students and girls from Saint Monica's High School, also in Cairns.

History

In 1930 the Marist Brothers established the school for boys. Initially there were three Marist brothers and 96 students. During World War II, air raids on Australian towns by Japan and the fear of an invasion by the Japanese led to evacuations from northern Australian towns. In March 1942, the boarders (being most of the students) were evacuated to the guest house at

Lake Barrine Lake Barrine is a freshwater lake on the eastern parts of Atherton Tableland in the locality of Lake Barrine, in the Tablelands Region of Far North Queensland, Australia, close to Lake Eacham. The lake and surrounds are protected within th ...

Boarding school

Saint Augustine's offers a co-ed boarding catering for students from grades 7 to 12. The boarding community includes many students from the Far North Queensland region, along with many country students from outback Queensland and the Northern Territory. A significant number of students also board from as far away as Papua New Guinea, Gove and other islands off the coast of Australia.

Sport

The college is a member of the Cairns Interschool Senior Sport Association (CISSA) which sees a number of local schools compete in a number of different sports each Wednesday. CISSA runs during the first semester of the school year. Saint Augustine's has also been very successful in holding the Overall Boys' TCN Swimming Champion trophy for 40 years.

Rugby union

The school won all competitions in the 2014 Cairns Schoolboys Rugby Union competition.

Hockey

The college competed in the Melbourne Grammar School Hockey Tournament in 2022 winning the title undefeated. Team captain Cade Coghlan received player of the tournament in addition to being the top goal scorer.

School houses

Saint Augustine's has four houses. They are as follows: * Heavey (yellow) * Phealan (green) * Walter (red) * Reginald (blue) These houses compete against each other in many activities, including annual athletics and swimming carnivals, public speaking, and a competition on Champagnat Day. These events build up to a House Cup which is awarded at the end of each year. Former houses include: * Ambrose (black) * Gildas (white)

School facilities

*Performing arts hall (McLaughin Theatre) *Multi-purpose hall (Lennon Hall) *Swimming pool *Gym *Basketball courts *Cricket nets *INTAD centre *Music rooms *Seminar rooms *Computer rooms *Science Labs *Tennis courts *Chapel *Home Economics rooms *Media & technology *Kitchen *Boarding facilities *Medical centre *Library *Marist Brothers residence

Marist sexual misconduct

Brother Ross Francis Murrin, who taught at the school between 1979 and 1981, is under police investigation in relation to a charge of sexual misconduct while he was working at St Augustine's College according to a February 2009 Cairns Post report. Murrin is currently serving a jail sentence for sex crimes committed whilst at other schools. Brother Geoffery Sydney Veness, a one time principal of the college, pleaded guilty to offences against a male pupil at the school and was convicted and given a one-year suspended jail sentence in 2001. The suspended sentence proved quite controversial with the trial judge coming under regular scrutiny for allegedly being lenient in the sentencing of sex offenders including Veness. Brother Gregory James Carter pleaded guilty on 17 December 1997 to 15 counts of indecent treatment of a 15-year-old student who was a boarder in Year 10 at the college.

AMSA

The college hosted the Australian Marist Schools Association Basketball Carnival in April 2008. The college takes part in the annual AMSA Marist Cricket Carnival, and hosted the carnival in 2016.

Notable alumni

Brad Beven Bradley William Beven (born 18 September 1969) is a retired triathlete from Mirriwinni, Cairns Region, Queensland Australia. Hall of Fame In 2009 Beven was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. Personal life Brad Bev ...

triathlete *

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player for the

Gold Coast Suns 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 ...

* Frank Farina

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player for the Socceroos *

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Australian rules football player for the Gold Coast Suns * Nathan Jawai basketball player with the

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, Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves,

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, Perth Wildcats, and Levallois Metropolitans *

Rod Jensen Rod Frederick Jensen (born 19 January 1979), nicknamed 'Rocket' Rod Jensen, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Jensen had previously played for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup, in the United Kingdom for the ...

rugby league player for the Adelaide Rams, Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys, and Huddersfield Giants *

Jimmy Maher James Patrick Maher (born 27 February 1974) is an Australian former cricketer, who played One Day Internationals. He is "an attractive left-handed batsman with a clumping cover-drive". Maher competed in the Gladiator Team Sports Challenge i ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

player for

* Sam MichaelAustralian rules football player for the Brisbane Lions and Essendon Bombers * Nate Mylesrugby league player for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Sydney Roosters, Gold Coast Titans, Manly Sea Eagles, and Melbourne Storm *

Frank Reys Frank Reys (c.1931–1984) was an Aboriginal Australian jockey. He was the first, and the only Indigenous Australian jockey to win the prestigious Melbourne Cup when, in 1973, he rode to victory on Gala Supreme. Reys' career began in Northe ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

; 1973 Melbourne Cup winner *

James Segeyaro James Segeyaro (born 11 November 1990), also known by the nickname of "Chicko" is a Papua New Guinean-Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the FC Lézignan XIII in the Elite One Championship. He previously playe ...

rugby league player for North Queensland Cowboys, Penrith Panthers, Leeds Rhinos, and Cronulla Sharks * Karl Stefanovictelevision personality *

Peter Yagmoor Peter Yagmoor (born 20 October 1993) is a former Australian rules football player. Early life Yagmoor was born and raised in Cairns, his Lebanese and Indigenous Australian father moved there from Melbourne where he met his mother. He played h ...

Australian rules football player for the Collingwood Magpies

References

External links

St Augustine's College website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Augustine's College Boys' schools in Queensland Boarding schools in Queensland Schools in Cairns Educational institutions established in 1930 Association of Marist Schools of Australia Catholic secondary schools in Queensland 1930 establishments in Australia