Blackfriars Priory School

The Dominican Order established its presence in Australia in 1898 when five priests were entrusted with the Catholic parish of North Adelaide/Prospect in South Australia. The first superior of the community was Father Robert Spence OP, who later became Archbishop of Adelaide. From this foundation, Dominican communities were subsequently established in several Australian capital cities, later expanding into New Zealand. During the 1950s, the Australian Dominicans also undertook missionary work in the western Solomon Islands.^[4][5]

In the early 1950s, the Dominican Provincial, Father Mannes Cussen O.P., sought to expand the Order’s involvement in Catholic education. Having previously spent time with the Dominican school community in Newbridge, Ireland, Cussen advocated for the establishment of a Dominican school for boys in Adelaide, responding both to the Order’s educational mission and the growing demand for Catholic schooling following the population increase that occurred after the Second World War. Responsibility for identifying a suitable site was assigned to Father Jerome O’Rorke OP, then Prior of St Laurence’s Priory in North Adelaide.^[6]

The site ultimately selected was the Comonella estate at Prospect. The property had originally been constructed in 1880 as St Catharine’s by James Angas Johnson, who named it after his wife. In 1911, it was purchased by the Lewis family for £4,000 and renamed Comonella, after one of the family’s pastoral holdings. Following the death of John Lewis, a benefactor of the Dominican Order, ownership passed to his daughters Lena Lewis, Olive Kirchner and Margaret Lewis. Negotiations for the purchase of the property were completed by Father O’Rorke on behalf of the Dominicans in late 1951.^[7]

Preparations for the establishment of the new school began shortly thereafter. Renovation and construction works were undertaken with assistance from benefactors and volunteers from the Young Christian Workers (YCW) movement. Modifications included the construction of new classroom spaces, an external staircase, toilet facilities, and the conversion of former stables and outbuildings into teaching areas.^[8]

Blackfriars Priory School was formally blessed and opened on 25 January 1953 by Archbishop Matthew Beovich. The school commenced classes on 10 February 1953 with approximately 45 students enrolled across five classes, ranging from Grade 4 to First Year. The founding staff consisted of five Dominican priests and one lay brother, marking the beginning of Dominican secondary education at Blackfriars in Adelaide.^[9]