Dublin ‘trailblazer’ who founded Sisters of Mercy inspires Mackay’s newest Catholic school

See behind the scenes of the Catherine McAuley College build as the Diocese of Rockhampton community blesses the site ready to welcome students by 2022.

Construction is ahead of schedule on Mackay’s newest high school as a tight-knit team prepares to welcome four classrooms of Year 7 students through the historic doors.

And with an official blessing of the site from Father Don White on Wednesday, it is anticipated Catherine McAuley College — located at the former Sugar Research Institute building on Nebo Rd — will be ready for furniture come December.

Catholic Education Diocese of Rockhampton’s Michael McCusker said the diocese’s first high school to open in 20 years was an exciting opportunity to add a new chapter onto the building’s scientific research roots.

“The continuation now as an educational environment is really a special connection,” the assistant director for northern region schools said.

Inaugural principal Jim Ford (front) speaking at the blessing of the Catherine McAuley College building site. Friar Don White (right) conducted the blessing ceremony. Picture: Heidi Petith

Mr McCusker said 2022 enrolment numbers were looking “very healthy” with former Mercy College principal Jim Ford steering the interviews as McAuley College’s inaugural leader.

Catholic Education Diocese of Rockhampton director Leesa Jeffcoat said Woollam Constructions was making “significant progress” on the build with the school’s opening adding to the legacy of 200 years of Catholic education in Australia.

Work is well under way on the Catherine McAuley College being built at the former Sugar Research Institute building along Nebo Rd in Mackay. Picture: Heidi Petith

The administration and reception area inside the college. Picture: Heidi Petith

Miss Jeffcoat said the college’s namesake was a “remarkable woman” and the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy.

“Catherine (McAuley) built (a home) in a very well-to-do area in Dublin into which she invited the poor, the uneducated, the sick, the aged, the homeless and the vulnerable,” Miss Jeffcoat said,

“Catherine understood that nurturing in children a love of good, a love of others and a lifelong love of learning was the best gift that they could be given.

“I saw the naming of the college as tangible and ongoing recognition of venerable Catherine McAuley and the work of the Sisters of Mercy who had followed in her footsteps.”

Sisters of Mercy (back from left): Denise Hinton of South Mackay, Joanne Molloy of Rockhampton, Kerry-Ann Sullivan of North Mackay, and (front from left): Marise Casey of North Mackay, Lila Galvin of North Mackay, and Margaret Graves of North Mackay at the blessing of the Catherine McAuley College building site. Picture: Heidi Petith

As well as paying homage to Catherine, the school’s modern additions pay tribute to the site’s heritage listing.

Bold Architects and Interiors Mackay architect Stewart Bagley said he felt mixed emotions while inspecting his designs come to life.

Catholic Education Diocese of Rockhampton assistant director for northern region schools Michael McCusker, inaugural principal Jim Ford and Bold Architects and Interiors Mackay architect Stewart Bagley at the blessing of the Catherine McAuley College building site along Nebo Rd in Mackay. Picture: Heidi Petith

Mr Bagley said his favourite spot was the foyer that brought cohesion between the dominant highway-facing main entrance that was traditionally the focus and the new three-storey classrooms at the rear.

The foyer area inside the Catherine McAuley College. Picture: Heidi Petith

“It’s a play on the old and the new,” Mr Bagley said.

And if you look closely as the build progresses, Mr Bagley has intertwined sugar crystals in various aspects of the design including a verandah wrapping that will create a 3D illusion.

Read more about the design here.