Aloysiad 15-12 2006.indd - St Aloysius

from the archives...
Hello! My name is Kim Eberhard, and it has been
my privilege and honour to take over from Gerri
Nicholas, who retired as St Aloysius’ College
Archivist in August this year. I have spent the past few
months familiarising myself with the Archives collection,
which includes traditional ‘archival’ materials such as paper
records, photographs,
n e w s p a p e r
cuttings, and school
publications. The
wonderful thing about
‘School’ archives is that
they are also in part
a museum, containing
objects such as
uniforms, hats, items of
religious significance,
furniture, sporting
equipment, trophies,
shields etc etc... It is
these items which lend
a vibrant immediacy
St Aloysius Annual Report 1906.
Distributed to parents and friends
at the end of each year in
conjunction with speech day.
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879
to the collection, and
belie the stereotypical
‘dusty’ tag under which
so many heritage
collections suffer. We
have velvet Honour Caps, which were awarded for
excellence (sporting and academic) from the early 1900s
until approximately the 1960s. The variety of colours and
embellishments on these lovely items speaks volumes about
how much they were treasured – and that hasn’t faded in
nearly ninety years. We also have blazers with rich gold
and blue piping, or hand-embroidered pockets, still as vivid
as they were forty or fifty years ago. These items represent
the hopes and dreams of the boys who once wore them
and although society may have undergone many changes
since 1879, the essence of growing boys stays the
same – rushing, questioning, trying, idling (!), striving,
inventing... There are
hand made school
newsletters dating from
1915; invitations to
and programmes of a
wide variety of events
– sports, drama, music,
fetes, (some in Sydney
landmarks, past and
present); and of course
photographs which
give individuality to
generations of boys
and their teachers. We
also have a collection
of ever-expanding
Invitation to Annual Ball, held at
UNSW Round House 1964
biographical files
tracing the varied
careers of Old Aloysians, many of whom have made very
public contributions to Australian life as well as those who
prefer to seek fulfilment in quieter ways.
I invite you to pop in and visit the Archives. We are
located at No 5 Jeffrey Street, and open every Monday
and Tuesday. Alternatively, please feel free to contact me by
phone 9954 4454 or email kim.eberhard@staloysius.nsw.
edu.au if you’d like to chat about any aspect of the history
of St Aloysius’ College.
Ms Kim Eberhard
College Archivist
History of the Creative Arts at the
College
Recently we welcomed our new College Archivist, Kim
Eberhard. In the tradition of that very moving history of
Aloysians who died in war service by Gerri Nicholas,
we are beginning yet another history of our Old Boys .
Archivist Kim Eberhard (left) and Siobhan McHugh exploring some
of the collection of Gilbert and Sullivan programmes.
Current parent and writer/broadcaster, Siobhan
McHugh, is to be commissioned to write an account of the
creative arts at the College and beyond. This will embrace
music, the stage and the visual arts, tracing a thread
between school endeavours and subsequent professional
careers.
Siobhan is very much an oral historian and would be
keen to hear from any present Aloysian families, Old Boys
or, indeed, anyone who actively participated in creative
arts at the College (or knows someone) and could provide
her with some links, sources or materials to help in her
research. Good yarns also appreciated! She is happy to
be contacted by email (siobhan@mchugh.org) or phone
(02-9555 8002) if you can assist in any way.
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