1940s

These photographs were taken in the 1940s.

The recollections of two students at the time:

"Margaret Anne Davies and Sister Ann Walsh spoke about their experiences of school life during World War Two. The boarders were sent to an institution in Maitland, as Mayfield was considered too dangerous for the students to be permitted to board there. The students continued to attend school at Mayfield, and were obliged to carry a ‘dilly-bag’ in case of an air-raid. Dilly-bags contained emergency and first-aid items. San Clemente had built an air-raid shelter below what is now a tennis court. If an air-raid were to occur the students would take their dilly bags and race down to the shelter."

There are more reminiscences of the war years in Alumni's stories as well as in the annual copies of The Dominican below.

 St Columbans Church 2017

 

San Clemente, Mayfield 1940
(The Dominican, 1940)

"Enthusiasm in the raising of funds for new Parish Church - St. Columban's. ... St Columban's opened on the Feast of our own St. Dominic"

1940

 

Students in 1940

1940 1

 

1940 Students at the front of the school

1940 Bernice Breese

 

1940 Bernice Breese - probably in Fairy Dell, which had benches and hedges for the comfort of families visiting boarders.

1940 Claire Finnegan June And Jan

 

1940 Claire Finnegan, June and Jan

 1941 Dominican

 

School notes 1941
(The Dominican, 1941)

"To the accompaniment of greetings from the Nuns and the barking of faithful Jock, San Clemente Boarders, old and new, arrived back on January 29th."

 

 1943 The Dominican

School notes 1943

(The Dominican, 1943)

"We returned to school this year with a greater sense of security than we had felt at the beginning of 1942, when the danger of Jap bombs scattered many of our schoolmates to safer regions, and kept on tenterhooks the sturdy folk who remained."

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Boarders 1944

Mary Lawrence (now Scott), Glory McCormack (now Bailey). 

Glory was head of the Boarders in 1950

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 1944 

Expansion of Activities
“The Home Science course begun this year at San Clemente is proving not only useful, but also most popular… Great enthusiasm is shown by the youthful cooks, who, in snow-white uniforms and caps, set about the creation of delicacies in a most businesslike manner…

The popularity of this course in the school curriculum suggests that a much larger field of activity will be necessary as soon as war restrictions are raised. It is gratifying to see the enthusiasm of the girls in matters pertaining to Housekeeping, the inborn instinct of the child to become proficient in that most important of all arts – the making and maintaining of a happy home, the dearest asset of true womanhood.”

(The Dominican, 1944)
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1945

"The creditable success of last year's Intermediates was most heartening and the newly-formed class of thirteen resolved to keep up the standard..."
(The Dominican, 1945)

The Intermediate Certificate was gained at the end of the 3rd Year of High School.

Left to right : Lorna Byrnes (now Morgan), Pat Eggleston, Fay Daniels (now Leis), Pat Clark

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This was taken in 1945, at the front of the school - the palm in the background is one of a pair that are still flourishing in 2017.

 


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1945 dance practice one Sunday afternoon

Mary Dooley, Colette Todhunter, Claire Donovan, Mary Lawrence, Loretta Barrett

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1946 2nd Year Home Science class with Miss Pauline Cheetham, Lay Teacher

Photo taken at the same time as the one below

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1946 - Home Science 1st Year

Back row: P Clarke, Thelma Withers, P Bowman, Miss Cheetham, M. Parkinson, L Queenan, P Irwin

Front row: Helena McNulty, F Daniels, L Byrnes, Patricia Eggleston

1946 1St Years Picnic Maure Campbell In 1St Year

  

Maure Campbell and the other 1st Year students at a school picnic

1946

 1946 2Nd Yrs Picnic

  

The 2nd Years at the picnic

1946

 1946 3Rd Years Picnic

  

The 3rd Years - the Intermediate Certificate class

1946

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1946 by the grotto

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1946 St Columbanus 5th class

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Bernadette Ferry, Ceclie Ryan, Minnie Abraham (Palmer), Irene Ward and Laurel Playford.

11 August 1946

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Child of Mary, 1947

These two photographs were given to the school by Marie Donnelly - she writes:
"I loved that day - being made a 'Child of Mary' with veil and blue cloak".

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In both photos, the students are:

Top from left: Clare Innes, Claire Renwick, Mary Dooley, Gloria McCormack, Mary Smith, Claire Donovan, Marie Donnelly

Bottom from left: Pauline Hall, Pat Irwin, Fay Daniel, Pat Clarke, Daphne Ryan, Loretta Stevenson, Beaulah Glover

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1947 in "Fairy Dell" with the school in the background.

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1947 A Grade Premiers, Mayfield Basketball

Back row: Ruth Simms, Anna Rutherford, Joan Gribble, Dawn Piper
Front row: Mary Smith, Pat Irwin, Barbara Hodges

1948 A Grade Netball

  

A Grade Premiers Mayfield

Basketball 1948

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C Grade Premiers Mayfield Basketball 1947

"This undefeated team displays Pennants and Cup"
(The Dominican, 1948)

Back row: Clare Renwick, Kathleen Lynch, Bernice Crouse, Glory McCormack
Front row: Pauline Hall, Betty Ann Beard, Colette Todhunter

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1948 Winners of Senior Swimming Cup

Jeanette McMurtrie, Mary Dooley, Anna Rutherford, Mary Smith, Margaret Egan, Betty Ann Beard.

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1948  Loretta Barrett, Barbara Date, Mary Lawrence.

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First Leaving Certificate Class, 1948

"San Clemente has now established its own Leaving Certificate Class."
(The Dominican, 1949)

The Leaving Certificate was gained after five years of High School, and was an external examination, taken at a venue in Union St.

(Sr. June Peck, pers. comm. 2017)

1948 3Rd Year Last Day Sr Maure Campbell

 

 

Sr Maure Campbell on her last day of 3rd Year

1948

 1948 Newspaper Advertisement

 

"San Clemente," Dominican Convent

A Registered Secondary School for Boarders and Day pupils

"The equipment is modern throughout"

Advertisement in the Newcastle and Maitland Catholic Sentinel, Dec 1, 1948

The rear wing of the school comprising music rooms and laundry with boarders' amenities above can be seen in this photograph. This wing was demolished to make way for the construction in the 1980s. 

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"The secondary school pupils of San Clemente, 1949."

There are 127 students in the photograph.
(The Dominican, 1949)

 

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Junior boarders, 1949

1949 4Th And 5Th Year Classes Sr Maura Campbell Top Left

 

Fourth and Fifth Years, 1949, all proudly wearing their Children of Mary medallions

 

Sister Maure Campbell is top left in the photograph, Anna Rutherford third from left.

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Fourth and Fifth Years, 1949

This was taken at the same time as the one above.

1949 Steps Small

 

1949

"Children of Mary"

 

1949 Steps 2 Small

  

1949

This was the year of severe Maitland floods: 

"Excitement always runs high at certain times during the school year, but this year we had something special to stir it - the Maitland Floods. Whilst they were on we received several members of Maitland's Leaving Class and so interesting were their tales of the flood that I think some of us were secretly hoping that the floods would come down to Mayfield also"

(Written by Anna Rutherford, student - photo above in the sports teams, from The Dominican,1950)
1949 Junior Seniors The Dominican 1949

 

"Junior Seniors at San Clemente" 

(The Dominican, 1949) 

This is all the information given. Perhaps these students are in 6th Class at St Columbanus, Boarding at San Clemente.

1949 Joans Confirmation Small

 

Day of Joan Stokes' Confirmation, 1949

Margaret Paisley, Dianne Paisley, Joan Stokes, Mary Lawrence.

1949 Jeanette Mcmurtrie And Anna Rutherford 5Th Year Prefect And C Of M Badges

 

1949

Jeanette McMurtrie And Anna Rutherford

5th Year Prefects with their prefect badges and Child of Mary medallions

1949 4Th Year Last Day Sr Maure Campbell

 

Last day of school, 1949

Sr Maure Campbell and other 4th Yr students

1949 4Th Year Last Day Sr Maure Campbell 2

 

Last day of school, 1949

Sr Maure Campbell and other 4th Yr students

 

 

Photos from the collection of Mrs Fuller, nee Helena McNulty, taken between 1946 and 1948.  Mrs Fuller's son Michael worked at San Clemente High School as the Religious Education Coordinator from 2004 to 2009.

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1948

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1948 : Sister Seraphina

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1948 : Mary Larsen, Patricia Eggleston, Pauline Hall

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1948

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1948 : Clare Jordan, Diane Paisley, Janice