St. Brendan's College (SBC) is 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 ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

secondary day and

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: **Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where hor ...

school for boys, located in

Yeppoon, Queensland Yeppoon () is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of R ...

, Australia. The school was founded by the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

in 1940 and opened with a total of 59 students. The school describes itself as "Australia's Largest Country Boys Boarding School", and has educated several leading

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

players.

History

Groundbreaking for the school started on 8 October 1939 and presided by

Romuald Denis Hayes Romuald Denis Hayes (1892–1945) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia, from 2 January 1932 until his death on 25 October 1945. Educated for the priesthood at St. Patricks, Manly, and in Rome. in 1920 he joined the ...

, Bishop of Rockhampton. The school officially opened in February 1940 with 42 boarders and 17 day students. The first headmaster of St Brendan's was Brother Basil Gettons. The school's spiritual and academic policies are rooted in the traditions of

Edmund Ignatius Rice Edmund Ignatius Rice, Presentation Brothers, F.P.M., Congregation of Christian Brothers, C.F.C. (; 1 June 1762 – 29 August 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist who founded two religious institute, institutes of Religious brothe ...

and the school is a member of Edmund Rice Education Australia. The school is named after Saint Brendan the Navigator. St Ursula's College, Yeppoon, a separate Catholic all-girls day and boarding school located further into the centre of Yeppoon, has shared a close relationship with St Brendan's. Both schools share a relationship with a Catholic primary school in Yeppoon, Sacred Heart. The college song, ''Bordered by blue waters splendid'', details the rural surrounds of the school near Mary's Mount, as well as confirming strength in faith-based learning. In September 2022, the Christian Brothers Oceania Province announced it would withdraw from St Brendan's College at Yeppoon at the end of the 2023 academic year, ending 84 years of Christian Brothers affiliation. A farewell mass took place August 28, 2023.

House system

St. Brendan's College has four houses:

Headmasters

The Rector of St. Brendan's College has been a Christian Brother from the foundation of the college until the appointment of Simon Dash, the first

lay Lay or LAY may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France * Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Lay Dam, Alaba ...

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

, in 2003.

Student demographics and facilities

The school accepts students of all faiths and backgrounds. The school hosts the largest rodeo of the CRCA circuit. The rodeo is held annually over the Father's Day weekend (the first in September in Australia). The school also holds a

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

club and stud program. The school allows students to bring their own cattle to prepare for shows.

Associations

As one of the 27 Christian Brothers Colleges founded throughout Queensland, St. Brendan's College Old Boys continue to provide Officials, Coaches and Players to this uniquely Queensland Association of Brothers Old Boys Clubs. * Confraternity of Brothers Clubs (Rugby League) * Brothers Rugby Fraternity (Rugby Union)

AFL Team Achievements

Junior Male (Years 7-9)

* AFL North Queensland Schools Cup : Champions: 2022

Notable alumni

;Politics, public service and the law * Scott Buchholz – politician *

Bryan Jared Kramer Bryan Jared Kramer is a Papua New Guinea politician and Member of the 10th and 11th Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Formerly a member of the Pangu Party, he founded the Allegiance Party, of which he was the sole MP, in 2018. He ran nine candida ...

Member of Parliament, Papua New Guinea, since 2017 *

John Momis John Momis (born 3 March 1942) is a Bougainvillean politician who served as the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea between 2010 and 2020. Momis served as ...

President of the

Autonomous Region of Bougainville In developmental psychology and morality, moral, political, and bioethics, bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Auto ...

, 2010–present *

Henry ToRobert Sir Henry ToRobert (22 October 1942 – 18 October 2018) was a Papua New Guinean civil servant who was the first governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea. He also played a major role in developing the Credit Corporation (PNG) Ltd and was presid ...

– banker and

Papua New Guinean Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

civil servant ;Entertainment, media and the arts *

Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (March 30, 1950 – May 21, 2025) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district from 2009 until his death in 2025. A Democrat, he was first elected in 2008 ...

comedian * John Kasaipwalova – writer, activist * Shannon Molloyauthor and journalist ;Sport * Paul Bowman – rugby league footballer * Casey Conway – rugby league footballer and male model * Harry Grantrugby league footballer * Jake Granville – rugby league footballer * Tom Humble – rugby league footballer *

Ben Hunt Benjamin Hunt (born 27 March 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League and as a for the Queensland Maroons at State of Origin series, State of Origin leve ...

rugby league footballer *

Kurt Mann Kurt Mann (born 1 March 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League. A utility player, he has started games in the positions of and . He pr ...

– rugby league footballer * PJ Marshrugby league footballer *

Corey Oates Corey Oates (born 20 October 1994) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer and radio presenter. He played as er for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL). He currently co-hosts the KIIS 97.3 breakfast radio ...

rugby league footballer *

Julian O'Neill Brian Julian O'Neill (born 14 October 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Primarily a goal-kicking or , during his 14-year top-grade career he played with several clubs in both ...

rugby league footballer * Owen Pattierugby league footballer * Jonus Pearson – rugby league footballer * Jamie Simpson – rugby league footballer *

Matthew Scott Matthew or Matt Scott may refer to: Sports *Matthew Scott (footballer, born 1867) (1867–1897), English footballer for Sunderland *Matthew Scott (footballer, born 1872) (1872–?), Scottish footballer (Airdrieonians FC and Scotland) *Matthew Scott ...

rugby league footballer * Dave Taylorrugby league footballer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Brendan's College Catholic boarding schools in Australia Boarding schools in Queensland Boys' schools in Queensland Catholic secondary schools in Queensland Educational institutions established in 1939 1939 establishments in Australia Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools in Australia