St Mary's College, Toowoomba

Contents

St Mary's College, Toowoomba is an private Catholic senior primary and secondary school for boys, located in Newtown, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The college was established by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1899 and is a member of Edmund Rice Education Australia. In 2025, the school had an enrolment of 930 students from Years 5 to 12.[1]

Subjects

St Mary's College offers a wide range of subjects, including arts, drama, English, foreign languages (Japanese and Spanish), graphics, humanities, I.T.E, maths, music, P.E, religion, science, and wood tech and metal tech.

English is the most spoken language, although Dinka, German, Portuguese and Indonesian are spoken by more than 100 students. English, Japanese and Spanish are taught at the school.

Notable alumni

  • Sir Walter Campbell QC, DSO, MC, OBE – a former Governor of Queensland, jurist and barrister
  • Virgil Patrick Copas MSC – appointed Archbishop of Port Moresby in 1966
  • Joseph Anthony (Tony) Dietz – air vice-marshall; senior engineer officer in the Royal Australian Air Force
  • Ian “Ripper” Doyle – rugby league player; played for the Kangaroos
  • Frank Forde PC – politician; the 15th Prime Minister of Australia, serving only eight days in office in 1945
  • Peter Gill – rugby league player
  • Tom Gorman – rugby league player; captained the Kangaroos in 1929–30
  • Harold Hawkins GLM, ICD, CBE, AFC – air vice-marshal; appointed air advisor to Rhodesian High Commissioner and Chief of Air Staff – 1955
  • Graham Healy – local radio announcer and politician; Member for Toowoomba North 1992–2001
  • Michael Katsidis – boxer
  • Stathi Katsidis – jockey; multiple Brisbane premiership-winner
  • Vince Lester OAM – former politician; served for 30 years (1974–2004); former National Party minister
  • Ben Lowe – rugby league player[2]
  • Jaiman Lowe – rugby league player[3]
  • Ethan Lowe
  • Catherine McGregor AM – prominent transgender writer, activist, and former Australian Defence Force officer
  • Neil ‘Digger’ McGrowdie – jockey; won 1957 Melbourne Cup on ‘Straight Draw’
  • Cory Paix – rugby league player[4]
  • Jake Simpkin – rugby league player[5]
  • Johnathan Thurston – rugby league player; dual Dally M Medal winner (2005 & 2007); represented Queensland and the Kangaroos[6]
  • Ben Walker – rugby league player[7]
  • Chris Walker – rugby league player[7]
  • Shane Walker – rugby league player[7]

References

  1. 1."2025 Annual Report" (PDF). St Mary's College. Retrieved 28 August 2026
  2. 2."Ben Lowe: From bench-warmer to Origin prospect". National Rugby League. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  3. 3."Heroes to Legend: Jaiman Lowe". National Rugby League. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  4. 4."State reps named after Confraternity". Queensland Rugby League. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  5. 5."Toowoomba's Simpkin moves closer to NRL dream". The Morning Bulletin. 12 June 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  6. 6."Toowoomba's quiet achiever becomes the talk of the town". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  7. 7.[7.2][7.3]"Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Sporting Pulse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2008.