Aquinas the Catholic college for university students opens in 1950 at Samuel Way's North Adelaide 'Montefiore'
Aquinas College, founded by the Jesuit order, opened in 1950 as South Australia's Catholic university students residential college, at "Montefiore", the former North Adelaide home (at left) of chief justice Samuel Way – from a strong Protestant background.
Image courtesy Aquinas College
Founded by Jesuit order in 1950 and later under the care of the Marist Brothers, Aquinas College became South Australia’s Catholic residential college on Montefiore Hill, at Palmer Place, North Adelaide, for students attending Adelaide’s three main universities.
Aquinas College opened in “Montefiore”, formerly the home of South Australia’s chief justice Samuel Way who lived there from 1873 until 1916. The Adelaide Catholic disocese had been fortunate to buy the outstanding property overlooking the city of Adelaide in 1945. Aquinas College was started by the Catholic bishops of Adelaide and Port Pirie to cater for students from the country areas of South Australia at that stage attending Adelaide University. It was intended to function in much the same way as the nearby St Mark’shad served male Anglicans since 1925 and St Ann’s for females of any persuasion since 1947.
Jesuit priest Cornelius Finn SJ (Society of Jesus), the founding rector and previously dean of Newman College of Melbourne University, welcomed the first 19 Aquinas College students on March 8,1950. The college grew with the addition of the Beovich/Hannan building, Roche House, Finn House, Gleeson House, the building later housing Roma Mitchell House and the chapel, townhouses known as Marcellin House, and the MacKillop building. Originally a men’s college, Aquinas became co residential in 1975.
By 2020, the college offered 200 places for students attending Adelaide University, Flinders University and the University of South Australia. These included international and interstate students. A Jesuit community lived at the college until 2000, providing the rectors of the college. In 2006, the archbishop of Adelaide invited the Marist Brothers to set up a community and, from 2014, to provide the rector. The present Brothers’ House was bought by the college in 2007 and incorporated into the College campus.
The Aquinas rectors were:1950-51 Con Finn SJ, 1952-61 Michael Scott SJ, 1962-69 Bryan Buxton SJ, 1970-75 James McInerney SJ,
1975-83 Ian Howells SJ, 1983-86 Daven Day SJ, 1986-97 Theo Overberg SJ, 1997-2000 Michael Head SJ, 2001-04 John Shanahan, 2005-06 Sam Armstrong, 2006-11 professor Denis Ralph, 2011-13 Dr Colin MacMullin, 2014 (acting) John Furlong FMS (Marist Brothers of the Schools), 2015-17 Paul Gilchrist FMS, 2018-22 Michael Green FMS, 2022- Sean Brito-Babapulle.
