St Edmund's College, Canberra 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 ...

primary and secondary school for boys, located in

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

, a suburb of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

(ACT),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The college was established in 1954 by the Christian Brothers as St Edmund's War Memorial College. It was opened to meet the demand for a Catholic education school in the region and was the first Catholic secondary boys' college established in the ACT. St Edmund's College practises in the tradition 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 ...

. The current principal of the college is Tim Cleary. Students are placed into

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 ...

for sporting and other events. The current houses and colours are: Clancy (yellow), Treacy (dark blue), O'Brien (white), Haydon (red), Mulrooney (sky blue) and Rice (green).

History

St Edmund's War Memorial College opened in 1954 as a Christian Brothers school in response to the needs of Catholic parents of the region. St Edmund's was the first Catholic secondary boys' college established in Canberra.

Headmasters / principals

The following individuals have served as headmasters or principals of the college:

Rugby union

The college has won the Waratah Shield more than any other school (14 times) and was the defending champion in 2005, when schools from the ACT were no longer invited/permitted to participate by the organisers, the

New South Wales Rugby Union The New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU), formerly known as the Southern Rugby Football Union (SRFU) between 1874 and 1892, is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It ...

. The college has over 480 registered boys playing

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

. St Edmund's College has a reputation for being one of the premier rugby schools in Australia, with

Saia Fainga'a Saia Fainga'a (born 2 February 1987) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer. Family and early life Saia Fainga'a was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, and started playing rugby union at the age of 11 or 12 at the Queanbeyan cl ...

being the latest alumnus to represent Australia. The college also have always had a brilliant record in the local competition ( ACTJRU) with many grand finals to their name across the different age groups.

Ancillary bodies

In reflecting the spirit of charity of Edmund Rice, St Edmund's College established the St Edmund's College Foundation with the aim of giving financial assistance to disadvantaged families to support children's education. The St Edmund's College Old Boys and Friends Association was established in 2015.

Notable alumni

Arts

* Matthew Le Nevez – television actor * Tommy Murphy – award-winning playwright * Flip Simmons – theatre actor and singer

Business

* John A. Bryant – President & CEO of the

Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...

and Director of Macy's, Inc

Military and police

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

David Morrison – former Chief of Army and 2016 Australian of the Year

Politics, public service, and law

John Barilaro Giovanni Domenic Barilaro (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales National Party, NSW National Party from 2016 to 2021. He was t ...

– Member for Monaro and

Deputy Premier of New South Wales The deputy premier of New South Wales is the second-most senior officer in the Government of New South Wales. The deputy premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1932, and the deputy premier is appointed by the governor on the advice o ...

* Terence Higgins – former Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ha ...

(2003–2013) * Warren Snowdon – former Member for Lingiari (2001–2022) and Member for

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

(1987–1996; 1998–2001)

Religion

* Most Rev. Patrick Power –

Auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...

Bishop Emeritus In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...

of Canberra and Goulburn

Sport

* Finlay Bealham – Irish

player for

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champio ...

and

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht B ...

* Robbie Coleman – rugby union footballer for the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

Anthony Fainga'a Anthony Fainga'a (born 2 February 1987) is an Australian former professional rugby union footballer. His usual position is centre. Family and early life Anthony Fainga'a was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, and started playing rugby lea ...

– rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Brumbies * Colby Fainga'a – rugby union footballer for the

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...

– rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Brumbies * Vili Fainga'a – rugby union footballer for the Tonga national rugby union team and former rugby league footballer for the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

and

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

* David Furner – former rugby league footballer and coach for the Canberra Raiders and NSW State of Origin team *

Matt Giteau Matthew James Giteau (born 29 September 1982) is an Australian rugby union professional player who plays for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR). Giteau plays as a Rugby union positions#Utility players, utility back. His usual posi ...

– former rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the Brumbies * Troy Gray – AFL Footballer *

George Gregan George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a former rugby union player who played as scrum-half. Born in Lusaka, Zambia, Gregan represented Australia at an international level, and is Australia's second most capped player. He played S ...

– former rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and Brumbies; the most-capped rugby union international of all time *

Matt Henjak Matt Henjak (born 25 November 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby union player. He played scrum-half for the Australian national team. Henjak, of Croatian ancestry, is the nephew of former rugby league half-back and former Brisban ...

– former rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...

Alex Jesaulenko Oleksandr Vasiliovych "Alex" Jesaulenko ( ; , ; born 2 August 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer and who played for the Carlton Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He also served as a ...

– Australian rules football player * Nate Osborne – head coach of

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...

's New Orleans Gold * Matt Pini – former rugby union footballer for the Wallabies and Italy * Luke Priddis – rugby league footballer for the Kangaroos,

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

and St George Illawarra Dragons * Stephen Simmonds – Paralympic swimming medallist and disabled water ski world champion * Tyrone Smith – former rugby union footballer for the Brumbies and Tonga *

Ricky Stuart Ricky John "Sticky" Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of Canberra in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980 ...

– former dual-code rugby player, coach of the Cronulla Sharks, NSW State of Origin team,

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

and

References

External links

St Edmund's College website

St Edmund's College Rugby website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Edmund's College, Canberra Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools in Australia Boys' schools in the Australian Capital Territory Catholic primary schools in the Australian Capital Territory Catholic secondary schools in the Australian Capital Territory Educational institutions established in 1954 1954 establishments in Australia Congregation of Christian Brothers primary schools in Australia