St Columba's Catholic College
St Columba's Catholic College, formerly St Columba's High School, is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in the Blue Mountains region, on the border of Winmalee and Springwood, in New South Wales, Australia.
Established in 1979, the school is set in the grounds of the St Columba's property, which has extensive bushland surrounding the school. The property is a listed site on the Blue Mountains City Council local government heritage register.
Campus
Originally built as a Seminary in 1909, it was closed in 1977 and reopened as a high school in 1979. The monastic influence is seen in the neogothic sandstone architecture and the grounds with scattered grottos and shrines overlooking the [Greater Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains Area|Blue Mountains World Heritage National Park of Australia NSW].The St Columba's property is one of the largest landholdings in the Blue Mountains Local Government Area. Much of the property consists of natural bushland and is habitat for some threatened and endangered species.
Symbolism
- 'Columba' is a Latinisation of 'colum', which means dove. A dove is featured in the college crest.
- 'Iona Chapel' derives its name from the Island of Iona where Columba founded the monastery Iona Abbey.
- Much of the architecture features the Celtic Cross.
- The Feast Day of Columba on June 9 is celebrated annually by the college. Notable events include the teachers vs Year 12 basket/volleyball game.
- Students are organised into six houses: Henson, Chisholm, Gilroy, MacKillop, Lawrence, Bradman.
Telescope
A feature of note is a radio telescope dish salvaged from the Paul Wild Observatory at Culgoora, west of Narrabri in 1997. This is one of a heliograph array of 96 13.7-m dishes that circled the present location of the Compact Array. The heliograph array imaged the Sun at 80 and 160 MHz with several discoveries to its credit before decommission. The telescope, as of late 2023, has been dismantled and removed from the grounds.Principals
The following individuals have served as Principal:| Order | Officeholder | Term begin | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
| 1 | Anne Henson | 1979 | 1985 | years | Has a sporting house group named after her |
| 2 | Jim McCartan | 1986 | 1992 | years | |
| 3 | Geoff Hicks | 1992 | 1998 | years | |
| 4 | Alan Moran | 1998 | 2001 | years | Has a room named after him |
| 5 | Anne Wenham | 2001 | 2005 | years | |
| 6 | Delma Horan | 2005 | 2013 | years | |
| 7 | Paul Ryan | 2014 | 2021 | years | Served as principal during the 2013 Bushfires. |
| 8 | Phillip Scollard | 2022 | 2025 | 4 years |
Notable alumni
- Tom Eisenhuth, rugby league player
- Jenna Jones, Paralympian
- Emma Koster, netball player
- Claire Zorn, writer