One of the earliest tales about Aquinas College took place on the very first day of the College’s operations. After the Archdiocese purchased Montefiore House in 1948 for the sum of 22 000 pounds, it was leased to the neighbouring St Mark’s College as overflow accommodation until Aquinas College officially opened its doors in 1951.
When the new Rector, Fr Cornelius Finn SJ, and the new Matron, Kathleen Brennan from Perth, unlocked the front door of Montefiore House to prepare for the arrival of the first Aquinas students in 1951, they were met with a disaster zone. Having departed at the end of the 1950 academic year, the previous tenants had failed to turn off the hot water, resulting in the overflow of the geyser and the collapse of the ceiling in the Montefiore entrance hall. Water had flooded everywhere, so, borrowing mops and buckets from the nurses at Calvary hospital, Fr Finn and Matron Brennan spent their first day on the job at Aquinas mopping the floor.
For the next 11 years, Matron Brennan was the one who made sure that the day-to-day practicalities of College life were managed: that the cleaners were cleaning, the beds were made, and the young gentlemen of Aquinas College were fed and cared for.
While only a few lines are devoted to her in the College’s history, there is no doubt that Matron Brennan played an important role in the College’s early development. A sharp-witted nurse from Ireland, she was renowned for her quick sense of humour, her pragmatism, and her capacity to get the job done. There is also evidence to suggest that she smoked a pack a day, and the College’s history book goes as far to assert that she eventually bankrupted the Student Club Canteen because she never paid the tab for her cigarettes.
Even though she was such a stalwart of Aquinas in the early days, until recently, there was no photographic record of Matron Brennan. While we knew well her contribution to making the College a home, no one had ever thought to include a photograph of her in the archives.
It was thanks to alumnus Henry D’Assumpcao recently sharing some of his early photographs that we finally caught sight of what Matron Brennan looked like. Henry sent through an early photograph of a Christmas lunch held at the College for students from Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia who weren’t able to go home for Christmas, around 1952. Students from Aquinas and Sacred Heart instead came to lunch at Aquinas, and we see Matron Kathleen Brennan sitting resplendent at the Christmas table, possibly still wearing her Christmas crown. Found at last, and now captured in a photograph for posterity!
If you have any photographs from the College’s early days, we would love to see them. Please contact Stephanie.hamra@aquinas.edu.au – you will be making a valuable contribution to our archives!
