This site is curated by the College archives team, who welcome your contributions. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Please call the College on (08) 8334 9300 or email archives@ignatius.sa.edu.au ;xNLx; ;xNLx;
Ignatius grew up in sixteenth century Europe. He was injured as a young man during the siege of Pamplona in 1521 and became bedridden.
In 1534, the first seven companions took vows and adopted the Spiritual Exercises. By early 1536, when they left Paris, they had been joined by three others. In 1540 The Company or Society of Jesus was ratified by Pope Paul III.
The Jesuits founded the first network of schools and colleges in Europe and the Americas, earning the description “the schoolmasters of Europe”.
Austrian priests, Fr Aloysius Kranewitter SJ and Fr Maximilian Klinkowstroem SJ arrived in South Australia in 1848. They were chaplains to a group of 146 Silesian immigrants escaping religious and political oppression.
In 1856, the Jesuits at Sevenhill established the first day and boarding school, Saint Aloysius College, South Australia, as well as a seminary for the training of diocesan priests and novices.
After joining the Jesuits in Austria in 1839, Fr Hinteroecker volunteered for a mission to the Aboriginal people of Central Australia and arrived at Sevenhill in 1866. With an international reputation in Natural History, he soon acquired expertise in South Australia's botany and zoology.
Jesuits from Sevenhill established the Northern Mission amongst the Aboriginal people around Darwin and the Daly River.
In 1894, plans commenced to build Saint Ignatius Boys School and Parish Hall on Queen Street, Norwood.
Fr Perrott was Headmaster from 1951–1953. He was approachable, compassionate and admired for his keen understanding of the realities of daily life, and inspired new parents to be involved in the education of their sons.
Fr Aloysius Dando SJ was Rector from 1951-53 and Norwood Parish Priest from 1948-53.
Classes in the Jesuit run school commenced on 13 February 1951 with five Jesuits on staff and 55 boys enrolled.
Fr Austin Kelly SJ was the Australian Provincial from 1950-56 and the founder of Saint Ignatius College, Norwood.
Fr Batchelor was a member of staff at various times between 1951 and 1998.
The first meetings of the Ladies Committee (later known as the Mothers Club) and the Fathers Club occurred in 1951.
IHS is an abbreviation for the Holy Name of Jesus and is the sacred monogram of the Jesuit Order. Today's College crest has been in use since 1998.
From the opening of Saint Ignatius' College in Norwood, to the development of the Athelstone campus in the 1960s, there have been many improvements in facilities and building programs.
The first College picnic was held at Belair National Park on Thursday 6 December 1951. The following year it was held at Long Gully on Saturday, 10 May 1952.
The College’s performing arts tradition began with the production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s "The Pirates of Penzance" staged in the College Hall. Casts were usually drawn from the Primary School boys.
Social Justice is a core value of the College and ripples throughout activities and daily life.
The first Mission Fete to raise funds for the Australian Jesuit Mission was held in December 1952.
The College has had a range of sporting and other co-curricular activities for boys and girls.
Fr Thomas Costelloe was Rector from 1954-59 and Norwood Parish Priest from 1953-59.
Fr Charles Dennett was a member of staff from 1954-89.
Fr Thomas Barden was Headmaster from 1954-61.
As numbers grew, students were selected for leadership positions. These included:1956–1964 Head Prefect and Prefects, 1965–1987 School Captain and Prefects, 1988–present School Captains and Senior Leaders, 1996-present Junior School House Leaders.
Click the button below for a list of sporting captains from 1956 to now, for the following sports.
Mrs McCusker was appointed the first lay teacher and was the first female teacher employed by the Jesuits in SA. She was on staff from 1957 – 1975.
The College has a robust academic tradition. From 1958 students with strong achievements were chosen to be Dux of the College.
The following staff have been recognised for 25 years’ service to the College.
With the growth of instrumental and choral music in the College, a biennial musical became a much-anticipated event.
Over the decades many students have entered religious life.
Fr Thomas Bourke was Rector of the College from 1960-66 and instrumental in the 1963 process of identifying a suitable site for the new Senior campus. Fr Bourke was head of the fundraising committee.
Richard Flynn was one of four lay teachers teaching alongside eleven Jesuit priests and scholastics at Saint Ignatius’, Norwood. He moved to the Senior School when it opened in 1967.He taught singing, French, science, religion and English. In 1965, Richard directed Macbeth, the first of the Shakespearean dramas.
Prior to Jesuit Carnivals, matches were played against teams from Saint Patrick’s College, East Melbourne and the first Sporting Exchanges occurred with Burke Hall, Kew.
The College has a proud history of drama productions with the Richard Flynn Decades 1961–1998 and other directors 1998–2020.
He was Prefect of Studies (Headmaster) 1962-64, member of staff 1965-75.
In 1956, Saint Ignatius first competed in the SA Amateur Athletics Association and had their first recorded involvement in the Catholic Boys School Association of SA (1958).
An Old Collegians Association was formed in 1964. The first committee members were: Peter Sweeney (President), Peter Green (Vice President), Peter McCarthy (Secretary), Terence Shanahan (Treasurer). In 1975 the Association was renamed the Old Ignatians’ Association.
Fr Thomas Bourke SJ launched a building fund to repay the loan on the property purchased and to fund the construction of new buildings on the Athelstone site.
At a cost of £59,500, 37 acres were purchased from Mrs Catherine Atkinson in Athelstone. Atkinson Oval is named in recognition of this.
He was Prefect of Studies 1965-66, and Rector 1967-72.
Jesuit education seeks to form excellence of character. Between 1965-1984, the "Prize for Excellence in Studies and all School Activities” was the most prestigious prize awarded for student endeavour.
Peter McCarthy (Class of '58) and Terry Shanahan (Class of '57) formed the first Old Collegian sporting club in 1966.
1966 was the final year of Year 3-12 classes at Norwood. Student numbers in 1966 totalled 436.
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