ST MARY’S HERITAGE ICONS

CENTENARY FEATURE ST MARY’S ThEN AND NOW

ST MARY’S HERITAGE ICONS

OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS, THE EVOLUTION OF ST MARY’S ANGLICAN GIRLS’ SCHOOL HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED IN MANY WAYS. ARCHIVES FULL OF PHOTOS, KEEPSAKES, ALMERTA AND FIDELITER MAGAZINES, PLUS COUNTLESS OTHER PUBLICATIONS, INCLUDING OUR CENTENARY BOOK, A PLACE TO GROW, ATTEST TO THAT. HOWEVER, CURRENT STAFF AND STUDENTS INTERACT WITH SYMBOLS OF OUR SCHOOL’S EXTRAORDINARY PAST ON A DAILY BASIS, ALL OF WHICH HAVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE STORIES. IT IS OUR PLEASURE TO SHARE THE TALES BEHIND SOME OF ST MARY’S MOST TREASURED HERITAGE ICONS.

CHAPEL OF ST MARY

Consecrated in 1981, the School’s Diamond Jubilee year, the Chapel of St Mary seats 250 students and was designed by architect, John Lidbury, with innovative ideas from Reverend Joyce Polson, who was Deaconess at the time. The Chapel is the choice of many Old Girls for their weddings and children’s baptisms.

THE BELVEDERE

On the roof of Craigmore, the Belvedere proudly stood. Craigmore was an enormous home that boasted tennis courts, stables, a ballroom and extensive gardens. The property, which took up the entire corner block of Kings Park Road and Outram Street in West Perth, was leased by St Mary’s from 1959 until 1966, as the site for its junior school, boarding facilities, gym and sporting grounds. Craigmore was demolished in 1967, and the Belvedere was relocated to 143 Forrest Street in Peppermint Grove, where it became a tea house by the swimming pool. When that property was sold, the Belvedere was kindly donated to St Mary’s and reconstructed on the Karrinyup campus in 2001. It has become a favourite place for small groups of girls to gather during breaks.

The stained-glass windows in the School’s Chapel face east to capture the morning light. The windows in the north-east corner are from the original St Mary’s Church, West Perth. The window of St Mary was donated by boarders in memory of Mrs Margaret Rose Draper (Senior Resident Boarding House Mistress 1959-1966), and the window of St George was donated in memory of George Bacon Sweeting, a faithful vestryman to St Mary’s Church, West Perth. The window of St Mary and Child (pictured) honours the life and work of former Old Girl and Headmistress, Mrs Anne Symington. The window of St Mark was a gift from the Old Girls’ Association and is dedicated to the School’s founder, Bishop Charles Lawrence Riley. The lintel windows over the main doorway were commissioned in 1991 in memory of Mr Campbell Ernest Redenbach (member, Board of Governors 1959-1982, School Management Committee 1965).

THE EAGLE LECTERN

The Eagle Lectern was originally donated to St Mary’s Church, West Perth by Mr Richard Paul Vincent (Lord Mayor of Perth 1909-1911) in memory of his wife, Mrs Mina Elizabeth Vincent, and dedicated by Archbishop Owen Leaver Riley in 1911. When the Church was demolished in 1980, the lectern was sold. As part of the School’s 75th Anniversary celebrations in 1996, the Old Girls’ Association set out to locate and purchase the lectern, which they presented to the School in 1998. Old Girls who attended St Mary’s in West Perth will remember being asked to deliver bible readings from the ‘heights’ of the Eagle.

GATES

The main gates of St Mary’s were a gift to the School in 1974 from the Old Girls’ Association. In 1991, to mark the School’s 70th Anniversary and celebrate 21 years at Karrinyup, the Old Girls’ Association funded the building of the brick and iron front wall and south gates. Entering and exiting the School’s gates for the first and last time are significant milestones in the lives of all St Mary’s girls.

FAITH

The statue of Faith was presented to the School in 2006 by the Old Girls’ Association in recognition of their 80th birthday in 2005 and the School’s 85th birthday. Sculpted by Owen Davies, Faith stands on a stone that formed the base of the font from St Mary’s Church, West Perth. On top of the stone is a piece of marble that came from the altar reredos at St Mary’s Church, West Perth. Named after the school motto, ‘Fideliter’, Faith symbolises a 17-year-old girl who is ready to leave school and find her place in the world. She often finds herself in costume, most notably on the Year 12s final day, and Junior School students have enjoyed swinging on her arm.

FRANCES CRAIG WISHING WELL

The Frances Craig Wishing Well was named in honour of Mrs Frances Craig MBE (member, Board of Governors 1954–1958), who was instrumental in the improvement of the boarding houses at St Mary’s West Perth campus. Originally named ‘The Save the Children Fund Wishing Well’, it was located in the gardens of Kings Park, unveiled by HRH Princess Anne and dedicated to Mrs Frances Craig MBE in 1975. When it needed a new home and restoration work, Dr John Craig, son of Mrs Frances Craig MBE, facilitated the move of the wishing well to St Mary’s in 2011. Now it nestles amongst some of St Mary’s most beautiful trees and is a favourite lunchtime spot for students.