History

The history of St Patrick’s School Macksville is closely linked with the growth of the Catholic Community in the Nambucca Valley.

In a letter dated 7 August 1917, Bishop John Carroll expressed his gratitude to the Superior General of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan that the Community of Sisters would make a foundation at Macksville in 1918. He stated that a suitable house for a convent had been obtained, and the Church would be used as a church school. The school was to serve children from Kindergarten to Year 6. He wrote that Macksville was the place to be pioneered and hoped that sixty children would be enrolled in the first week.

Catholic education has been part of the Valley since 1905. However, Macksville saw the opening of St Patrick’s School on 8 July 1918, when the Sisters of the Good Samaritan enrolled forty-six students. Infants were taught in Fr Colohan’s car shed and the older children in the old church. According to Good Samaritan archives, 

‘Fr Durkin, the Parish Priest, had ensured that everything was in readiness for the opening of the school. The school requisites were complete. The Sisters were provided with every book they needed, and great hopes of future success were entertained all. The children were very excited that the Sisters had finally commenced teaching at the school.’ 

The first school was built and opened in 1928. Students came from across Nambucca Valley and outlying areas.

The Good Samaritan Sisters continued teaching in the Parish for the next thirty-five years. On 29 January 1954, the Sisters of Mercy from Grafton began teaching at Macksville with hundred and fifty pupils. The school had been separated from the church, the new structure being built on the corner of what is now Wallace and Boundary Streets. In 1957, two hundred and fifty names were listed for enrolment from Kindergarten to Year 10. At the end of 1965, the high school extension was closed.

In 1975, St Patrick’s Church was built next to the school. In 1980 extensions to the school building for the new Junior school classrooms were completed.

The first lay Principal was appointed in 1991 after the Sisters of Mercy withdrew administration and full-time presence in 1990 but maintained a presence at St Patrick’s until 1998.

In 1994 extensions were planned for the old site of St Patrick’s School with an emphasis on providing an appropriate administration section for the school. At the same time, provision was made for wet areas and the re-carpeting of the primary classrooms.

In 2014, a building project commenced relocating St Patrick’s School to a new site 3.5 km south of the old site. The new school building project was completed at the end of 2015, and the new school opened on the new site at the beginning of 2016. 

The centenary of St Patrick’s Primary School was celebrated in March 2019. Two days of festivities were held to commemorate the occasion, with present and former staff, students and parents attending. Many events were held during the two-day celebration, including planting a Jacaranda Tree in honour of the Mercy Order, a Centenary Prayer Service, a time capsule, olden-day games, tours of the school, and memorabilia display in the library. Bishop Gregory Homeming celebrated the Centenary Mass, which concluded with a Centenary Dinner at the Macksville Ex-Services Club.

The school is strongly supported by the Nambucca Valley community and the surrounding communities.