MCEOBA
Archives
From a classroom in Eastwood to generations of Marist men.
The brothers who would found St. Kevin's
Twelve Marist Brothers photographed in Sydney. Brother Leopold Smith would go on to open the school at Eastwood 56 years later with three fellow brothers and 100 boys on the first day.
100 boys. 4 brothers. One school.
St. Kevin's Boys' School opened on 2 February 1937. The founding agreement with the Archbishop of Sydney required the Brothers to provide six classrooms, a playground, and a residence, all within a tight financial arrangement that saw them purchase a residence on the corner of Hill View Road and Church Street for £1405.
Wartime Eastwood
By 1940 the school was three years old and the world was at war. Br. Peter and student G. Kain photographed on campus, 1940–41, one of the earliest snapshots of life at the young school.
Eastwood from above — 80 years apart
These aerial surveys from the NSW Government show the same block of Eastwood, 77 years apart. The school campus visible along Church Street, grew from a single building with 100 boys in 1937 into one of the largest Catholic secondary schools in Sydney. The surrounding suburb changed dramatically too, with the quiet streets of wartime Eastwood giving way to a dense, mature urban neighbourhood.
A future Music Director of the Victorian Opera
Richard Gill OAM appears in the school's Solos and Duettists programme. He went on to become one of Australia's most celebrated conductors and music educators, leading the Victorian Opera and championing music education for children throughout his career.
NSW All Schools Rugby League Champions
Rugby league great Norm Provan presents the pennant to captain John McGilvray after Eastwood Marist Brothers won the NSW All Schools competition. Fellow rugby league great Keith Holman and principal Brother Aldred look on.
"Over 80 boys in our class. Each morning we sat in our seats, holding up our open exercise books, trembling with fear as Bro. Sylvester slowly worked his way down the aisle. In a particularly effective variation, if any boy had failed to do his homework, the entire row was sent out. This technique soon engendered a strong sense of row loyalty."— Bill Lloyd, Class of 1968
Concert & Prizegiving at Epping Theatre
The school still bore its original name Marist Brothers' St. Kevin's College, Eastwood. Annual concerts and prizegivings were held off campus at St. Alban's Hall, Epping. The old crest reads Respice Finem — Look to the End — still on the college crest today.
"About this time, I discovered the joys of migraine headaches. These agonizing episodes seemed to appear regularly, almost every Friday morning, right before the appearance of Mr Bramston."
PE teacher Mr Bramston received a booby-trapped parcel in November 1964. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the story the following morning. His response: "I don't believe the bomber had any malice in his actions. It was probably an end-of-the-year prank."
— Bill Lloyd, Class of 1968"I hit on the idea of constructing a balloon using about 30 dry-cleaning bags filled with coal gas from the science labs… We released it to the four winds that afternoon. I remember seeing a news item the following day that an unidentified flying object had been sighted over Parramatta."— Bill Lloyd, Class of 1968
The cost of a Marist education
The 1969 fees schedule: $17 per term for primary, up to $60 per term for senior secondary with a 50% reduction for a third child, and no charge for a fourth. Today the Old Boys Association provides bursaries to ensure no student has to leave Marist because of finances.
The reunion that started it all
At the school's 50th anniversary reunion, old boys organised by John Boys raised the first funds for a student bursary. The Deed of Settlement was executed on 25 July 1996, formalising what would grow into a trust distributing over $70,000 to students over the following 25 years.
A new chapter
The Old Boys Association was formally revived and the inaugural Kevin Torpey Engineering Scholarship was awarded. The archive you're reading is part of a living effort to connect every generation of Marist men past, present, and future.
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