St John's College, University of Sydney

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St John's College, or the College of St John the Evangelist, is a residential College of the University of Sydney.

[edit] History

Founded on July 1st, 1858 with the proclamation of the St. John's College Act in the Parliament of New South Wales, it is the second-oldest university residential college in Australia. It is the oldest Catholic College in Australia, and was the first Catholic College in a non-Catholic university to be founded in the British Empire. It is now a co-educational community of 182 students. Its founder was the Archbishop of Sydney, Bede Polding. It began as a Benedictine foundation.

In 1887, James Francis Hogan wrote in The Irish in Australia, that St Ignatius' College, Riverview, St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and

St. John's College, affiliated to the University of Sydney...are three educational institutions that reflect the highest credit on the Catholic population of the parent colony.^[1]

The architect was William Wilkinson Wardell (1823-1899). After disagreement with the College Council, Wardell resigned in June 1860. Wardell's plans were retained under the supervision of Edmund T. Blacket, who had been architect for the first stage of St Paul's College at the University of Sydney in 1859. In 1918, Herbert Wardell, the son of William Wilkinson Wardell designed what is now known as the '38 wing, as work did not commence until 1938 due to a lack of funds. It was completed in 1939. The Freehill Tower was built with a donation of 15,000 pounds by Countess Freehill in 1937. The Menzies and Polding wings were added in the 1960s, increasing the accommodation from the original 76 students to 181 students.

The College is governed by the College Council which consists of the Rector, Dr David Daintree BA(UNE), MLitt(Cantab), PhD, JP, (since September 2002) and 18 College fellows.