O'Connor Catholic College#Controversy

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{{Infobox school

| name = O'Connor Catholic College

| native_name =

| image = O'Connor_Catholic_College_Armidale_Logo.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| motto = The Fruit of the Spirit is Love

| motto_translation =

| location = Armidale, New South Wales

| country = Australia

| coordinates = {{coord|-30.5123|151.6797|type:edu_region:AU-NSW|display=title,inline|format=dms}}

| pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales

| pushpin_image =

| pushpin_mapsize = 240

| pushpin_map_alt =

| pushpin_map_caption = Location in New South Wales

| pushpin_label =

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| other_name =

| former_names = {{bulleted list|St Ursula’s College|De La Salle College|O'Connor Catholic High School}}

| type = Independent co-educational secondary day school

| denomination = Roman Catholic

| religious_affiliation =

| established = {{bulleted list|{{start date|1882}} {{small|(as St Ursula's College)}}|{{start date|1906}} {{small|(as De La Salle College)}}|{{start date and age|1975}}
{{nowrap|{{small|(as O'Connor Catholic High School)}}}} }}

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| oversight = Roman Catholic Diocese of Armidale

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| enrollment = 507{{cite web |title=O'Connor Catholic College, Armidale, NSW |url=https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/43653 |website=My School |publisher=Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority |access-date=12 July 2023}}

| enrollment_as_of = 2022

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O'Connor Catholic College, formerly O'Connor Catholic High School, is an independent Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. It was created by an amalgamation of St Ursula's College and De La Salle College. Administered by the Diocese of Armidale, O’Connor College occupies the site of the former De La Salle College and has, as its motto, a quote from St Paul's Letter to the Galatians, "The Fruit of the Spirit is Love".

History

The college was formed in 1975 with the amalgamation of two of Armidale's longest-established schools – St Ursula's College (established in 1882 by Sister Mary Cordula){{Citation|last=Kneipp|first=Mary|title=Rowland, Caroline Ann (1852–1921)|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rowland-caroline-ann-8285|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|place=Canberra|publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University|access-date=2021-06-08}} and De La Salle College (established in 1906).{{cite journal |first=C. |last=Moe |title=Hardly a soft landing: the first Australian foundation of the De La Salle Brothers - Armidale 1906 |journal=Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society |volume=28 |year=2007 |pages=67–73 }}

The college takes its name from Patrick O'Connor, Bishop of Armidale from 1904–1930 who contributed greatly to Catholic education in the Diocese during that time.

= Controversy =

In 2024, a counsellor at the school during the 1970s and 1980s, Allan Keith Huggins, was given a custodial sentence of 28 years for sexual abuse offences against teenage and pre-teenage boys.{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-18/allan-huggins-paedophile-catholic-school-counsellor-jailed/104489296 |title=Paedophile Allan Keith Huggins sentenced to 28 years in prison for child sexual offences |work=ABC News |location=Australia |date=18 October 2024 |access-date=12 May 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/paedophile-sentenced-to-28-years-in-prison-20241018-p5kjjg.html |title=Paedophile sentenced to 28 years in prison |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=18 October 2024 |access-date=12 May 2025 }}

Notable alumni

  • Lyall Munro Jnr, from the Aboriginal mission at Moree, attended De la Salle College in 1966 when, at the age of 14, he attained his instructor's badge in lifesaving.{{cite web | title=Assimilation in NSW 1952–1975: Items of Interest from NSW Aborigines Welfare Board's Magazine "Dawn"| website=The Koori History Website | url=http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1960s/dawn/dawn41.html | access-date=26 November 2022| others= Copy of an article in Dawn, January/March 1966.}}

See also

{{stack|{{portal|New South Wales|Schools|Catholicism}}}}

References