Presentation College, Windsor (PCW) was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, secondary,

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

for girls, located in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

, an inner

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. The school was founded in 1873, and closed in 2020. The brother school of PCW was the

Christian Brothers College, St Kilda St Mary's College (formerly Christian Brothers College, St Kilda, Presentation College, Windsor) is an independent Catholic co-educational secondary college, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded in 1878 and is both o ...

(CBC), located adjacent to PCW.

History

Presentation Convent, Windsor was established upon the arrival of seven

Presentation Sisters The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The sisters of the congregation use th ...

from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1873. Prior to their arrival, from 1839, the Church and colonial government debated the need for education to be provided by local church schools. The Victorian government wanted to alter the education legislation. It was said that the system of denominational schools was too great a burden on the economy of a young country and left many areas with no access to education. That was resolved following the election of James Wilberforce Stephen to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1870, representing St. Kilda. Appointed Attorney-General in 1872, he had responsibility for the proposed Education Bill, which provided for free, secular and compulsory education. After the passage of the bill, financial grants given to denominational schools were discontinued, making the continuation of Catholic schools staffed by lay people financially impossible. Father Corbett, Parish Priest at St Mary's, East St Kilda, acted quickly and sent a letter to the Presentation Convent in

. It opened in dramatic fashion: "Dear Reverend Mother. From the ends of the earth I write to you for help ..." Responding to the request in September 1873, Sister Mary Paul Mulquin, together with six

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, boarded the steamer, the

SS Great Britain SS ''Great Britain'' is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. The largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853, she was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western ...

, at Liverpool, arriving at

Sandridge Sandridge is a village and civil parish between the city centre of St Albans ( to the south-west) and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England, forming part of the contiguous built-up area of St Albans. History The original name was "Saundruag ...

(Port Melbourne) 21 December 1873. Presentation Convent Windsor became a reality on Christmas Day 1873. The school commenced in January 1874 with 33 enrolments. By 1883, the enrolment of pupils at Windsor Convent was 367, with 11 sisters and three lay teachers forming the staff.

Closure

On 29 July 2019, it was announced that Presentation College Windsor would close at the end of 2020, due to declining enrolments.

Lease of Campus to Edmund Rice Education Australia

After the closure of PCW, the Presentation Sisters opted to lease the campus to Edmund Rice Education Australia for use by Christian Brothers College (now St Mary's College) for a period of 5 years. In October 2023, Micheal Lee, acting principal of St Mary's College, released a letter to the community informing them that at the end of the lease period, St Mary's will not extend the lease and will instead continue all operations on the Edmund Rice Campus.

House system

The four

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

were formed in 1940 by the Principal at the time Mother Bertrand Rahilly, who was very interested in sport and wanted to encourage students to become more active. Within their House girls compete in the Music Festival, Athletics and Swimming as well as participating in other sports. Mother Bertrand introduced the names of the Houses and allocated the colours: * Nagle (yellow): After

Nano Nagle Honora "Nano" Nagle ( – 26 April 1784) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who served as a pioneer of Catholic education in Ireland despite legal prohibitions. She founded the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, co ...

, founder of the Presentation Sisters * Kostka (red): After

Stanislaus Kostka Stanisław Kostka, S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568) was a Polish novice in the Society of Jesus. He was born at Rostkowo, Przasnysz County, Poland, on 28 October 1550, and died in Rome during the night of 14–15 August 1568. He is sai ...

, renowned Jesuit who died young and came to symbolise youth * Xavier (blue): After

St Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

, Jesuit missionary and patron Saint of Australia * Loyola (green): After St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits

Notable alumni

Jana Wendt Jana Bohumila Wendt ( ; born 9 May 1956) is an Australian Gold Logie award-winning television journalist, reporter and writer. Early life Wendt was born in Melbourne to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949, as political refugees ...

, journalist * Katherine Bourke, judge *

Anna Burke Anna Elizabeth Burke (born 1 January 1966) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from October 2012 to August 2013, and was Acting Speaker from May to October 2012. A membe ...

, politician *

Sheila Florance Sheila Mary Florance (24 July 1916 – 12 October 1991) was an Australian actress known for her work in theatre, television and film. Born in Melbourne, she married an Englishman in 1934 and relocated to London. Her early career was based ...

, actress * Clare Oliver, health activist * Pia Miller, actress *

Lydia Schiavello Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, the Lydia ...

, television personality
Matilda Boseley
reporter for

7NEWS Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

and

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an Online newspaper, online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 201 ...

References

External links

Presentation College Website
{{Secondary schools in Victoria, state=collapsed Girls' schools in Victoria (state) Catholic secondary schools in Melbourne Presentation Sisters schools Educational institutions established in 1873 1873 establishments in Australia Educational institutions disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures in the City of Stonnington