St Joseph's College Melbourne was a Roman Catholic secondary college which opened early in 1903 and closed at the end of 2010. It was part of the Association of Edmund Rice schools, founded and run in the tradition of the Christian Brothers. Between the years 2000 and 2009 it formally operated two campuses, a senior campus (VCE and VET) located in Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, Victoria and a junior campus (Years 7 – 10), in Brearley Parade, Pascoe Vale, Victoria. These two campuses were previously known as St. Joseph's College, North Melbourne and St. Joseph's College, Pascoe Vale respectively.
North
Throughout its life the school provided students, from a wide variety of cultural and economic backgrounds, with an opportunity to enter a range of careers. Many of its pupils went on to become respected members in their chosen fields which included the financial and business sectors, the medical profession, law and politics, industry, sporting and religious communities.
While the two campuses lacked the open playing fields of its wealthier cousins, students had access to a range of local facilities. The North Melbourne campus for example, close to the Melbourne City Centre, was within walking distance of world class universities, museums, libraries, historical and athletic venues. Likewise the Pascoe Vale campus was able to make use of several nearby ovals and both were close to excellent public transport links.
Sport
Sport was an important ingredient in the education of boys attending North. The school had its own football squad as early as 1906 when it played its first match against Christian Brothers College, St Kilda at Albert Park where it scored 2 points. As enrolments grew then so did the involvement in other sports, often in competition with other schools. Inter school athletics, handball and tennis competitions, such as those conducted by the Associated Catholic Secondary Schools organization, were held as early as 1914 when the College won the Athletics Championship for that year. Membership to organizations such as that and also the Combined Secondary Schools group, around 1920, was one of the key features of the schools early history.
The College was a founding member of the Associated Catholic Colleges, where it won competitions in various sports over the years. Their famous 70 meter long banners, North is Speed, Power, and a cheer squad, led by the Committee organizing War cries, or COW, where notable features of the annual competitions at the Olympic Park Stadium.
St Joseph's College students also became members of one of the schools sporting houses or teams. These built on the existing pastoral class groupings to generate team spirit during sporting carnivals with students wearing their team colors. These houses, later named after four early headmasters of the college, were:
Hogan McSweeney Geoghegan Kelly
College crest
At the time of amalgamation in 2000 a new logo was developed to represent the college. This logo was composed of pre-existing elements which were representative of the school's history and philosophy. Set on a traditional heraldic background, in the form of a shield, it features a rampant Gryphon protecting a smaller inner shield bearing a large shining star, a symbol used by the Christian Brothers, supported by smaller stars in the shape of the southern cross. The entire design sits above a ribbon which includes the words, "Luceat Lux Vestra". The symbol appeared on the newly designed College uniform, which included a blazer after a lapse of a number of years, and various College medallions. The logo was used extensively on College publications and documents including Cynosura, the annual school magazine.
Associated schools
Over its long 107-year history the college was associated with a number of schools at one time or another. These included many primary, or feeder schools, to which the college Old Boys Association offered scholarships up until the 1950s. The school also had connections with a number of higher secondary colleges such as St Kevin's and Parade, East Melbourne. Although not exhaustive this list includes most of those known.