In 1857, Archbishop Polding founded the first Australian order of nuns, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict. The sisters had been looking for a home to look after the growing number of orphaned and neglected children, and in 1880 they heard of a good-sized estate at Manly, then unoccupied and in disrepair. It proved an ideal spot and in 1881 was blessed as the Star of the Sea Convent and the Good Samaritan Sisters moved in and set up a school for them.[1]
The sisters taught the usual school subjects up to the age of 14, then trained the girls in skills that would enable them to earn a living – mostly sewing and laundry. In 1886, the Parramatta orphanage, owned by the government but run by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, was closed and the Sisters at Manly took in additional charges. In the very early years the Sisters also conducted a small day school for neighbourhood children and a boarding school ‘for high class ladies’ on the site.[1]
In 1910, the orphans were moved to other more rural sites due to the development of Manly, principally to what is now Mater Dei Special School in Camden, and the Sisters took over the running of St Mary's school in Whistler Street.[1]
In 1930, the original house was demolished and the present-day Convent and single-storey school were built and the College re-opened the following year with an intake of thirty-three pupils from Kindergarten to Intermediate Certificate, and was a co-educational primary school and a girls’ high school. The primary school was gradually phased out and by 1944, Stella Maris was purely a high school for girls.[1]
The last Good Samaritan Principal left the school at the end of 1995, and in 1997 the Convent was handed over for College use.
Since then there have been a number of extensions and developments to accommodate the approximately nine hundred and fifty students who study there today.
In 2004, new buildings were opened comprising a theatre, dance studio, drama studio, fitness centre, music practice rooms, and new classrooms.[citation needed] In 2012, the new Benedict Campus opened on Pittwater Road, and in 2018 the Scholastica building comprising Science laboratories, a new library and staff work space was opened.[citation needed]
Da Vinci Decathlon, Maths Olympiad and other external competitions
Drama Ensembles
Debating
Duke of Edinburgh International Award
Music bands, choirs, ensembles at every skill level
Spectra Science Club, Art Club, Book Club and a range of other clubs
Alpha Youth Group, Writers' Group
Diverse team and individual sports at all levels of representation from inter-school to National and International
Social Justice
The College supports the charitable works of the Good Samaritan Sisters in Kiribati, the Bacalod Kinder School in the Philippines, Mater Dei School in Narellan, the Melbourne Women's Shelter and Santa Teresa Mission in Central Australia. Students raise funds, donations in kind or volunteer for LifeLine, Bear Cottage, the Northern Beaches Women's Shelter, Pink Hope (a charity started by a former Stella student about breast cancer education and fundraising), St Kieran's GIFT Cook Off, Legacy, St Vincent de Paul Society, Mike Pawley's Happy Days Village school in Cambodia, an SCR Group clothing collection and Caritas Australia's Project Compassion.[5][better source needed]
House system
Prior to 2013 students belonged to one of four Houses: Rosaria (Green), Carmel (Blue), Fatima (red) and Lourdes (yellow). The Houses were so-named as a reference to the fervent Marian devotion of the Sisters. As the student body grew in number, the decision was made that from 2014 the number of Houses would be increased, making the Houses more manageable for the student House Captains. Stella Maris College now has eight houses, each named after women who have made a significant contribution to the College or to Australian society in general:[6]
House name
House colour
Chisholm
White
In honour of Caroline Chisholm, 19th century advocate of female immigrant welfare.
In honour of Sr Colette Egan, longest serving Sister at the College.
Shinnick
Red
In honour of Sr Sabina Shinnick, first Principal of Stella Maris College from 1931 to 1934.
Wood
Pink
In honour of Dr Fiona Wood AM, inventor of spray on skin for burns victims and 2005 Australian of the Year.
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (April 2022)
Marian Baird AO, Sydney University Professor of Gender & Employment Relations[7][8]
^"2019 Newsletter Issue 28"(PDF). Stella Maris College Manly. Stella Maris College. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
