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| ST FINN BARRS INVERMAY |
The original St Finn Barr's school,
established by the Presentation Sisters in 1893 was at the corner of
Forster and Holbrook Street, Invermay. It was destroyed by a fire
which occurred shortly before 2 am on 25th March 1925.
The blaze was so intense, that according to newspaper accounts of the
time “every house on Trevallyn stood out as if in daytime.” This
was just one of many unexplained fires that occurred around this
time, including several houses and a furniture factory. Some 15
months after the St Finn Barr's fire, the drill hall being leased as
a temporary replacement, was damaged by another blaze. The
Examiner reported that local residents feared a “fire maniac”
was at large.
Funds were quickly raised for the new
school, at 247 - 251 Invermay Road, which was consecrated by Bishop
Dr W Barry in May 1927. The building, described by the Examiner as
“Romanesque”, and by the National Heritage data base as “Inter
War Free Classical Style” cost ₤7
000. Speakers complained “bitterly” that despite not making any
contribution to the building, the land upon which the school was
built was to be taxed by the state government “so that the mud
could be taken out of the Tamar.” The architect was “Mr Tandy”
and the builders “Messrs Munro and Quinn.”
The
Presentation Sisters continued to be involved in the operation of the
school until 1993.
(A very readable account of the
history of The Presentation Sisters in Australia can be found at
http://presentationsociety.org.au/about/our-history/
- its worth noting that this article mentions that the first school
established by the order in the southern hemisphere was in Richmond,
Tasmania in 1866.)
Additional details (particularly in
relation to the building's architecture), as well as a more
conventional photo can be found at
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=100199.
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