It is recorded somewhere that on our very first day of classes, 8 August 1904, that there were only three students. Thanks to one of those, my second cousin Vera Ryan, we have photos of Kilbreda’s early days. Vera died at the tender age of 27 and played the organ at St Brigid’s, Mordialloc. Her father, Tom Ryan kept the railway gates at Warrigal Road for many years in the days when they were opened manually and traffic was minimal. She marked herself with a cross for posterity.

Eileen Dempsey, another second cousin, was only seven when the Brigidine Convent opened its doors that day. Her father, Tom Dempsey was a well-known local horse trainer with stables where the service station is now on Balcombe Road. Eileen was still living when I came to Kilbreda to teach 35 years ago. She was very much with it, dying two years later at 96. It has always been a regret of mine that I did not know that photos of the early days existed. Had I known, I would probably have asked her to name the students as her mind was as sharp as ever!

The third girl on that day was Marian Nunan, whose father made religious furniture. She was distantly related to the Ryan family including our beloved Sr Angela, Margaret Underwood and current staff member, Dave McKail.

By the end of that first year, other students had arrived, possibly in the first few days and probably on the second or third. One of those was Mary McGuffie, daughter of James and Mary McGuffie of Aspendale, who had helped the sisters in the purchase of the Coffee Palace.

Another was the famous Annette Kellermann, who is one of a handful of people credited as inventing synchronised swimming. The only past pupil ever to have appeared on ‘This is Your Life’, she  was also spruiking healthy nutrition and lifestyle long before it was trendy. She was immortalised on film in the 1950s in ‘Million Dollar Mermaid’ starring Esther Williams. She also has a star on Hollywood’s ‘Walk of Fame‘ . Her classmate at Simpsons’ School, the forerunner of MGGS, lamented that she was saddened that Annette was leaving her old school to go to the newly opened Brigidine Convent.

Theresa (Dolly) Sheedy, was among that group too. A gifted musician, she became the first Mentone past pupil to enter as a Brigidine sister, becoming Mother Genevieve in 1918. Her father, John Sheedy, was formerly Mayor of Richmond where Theresa was born and ran the Town Hall Hotel there until the family’s move to Mentone. Once here, he threw himself into many local endeavours, but somehow found the time to play lawn bowls. He was a player of great skill, winning competitions at local, state and national level for thirty years. The huge sideboard, which once graced our entrance, but is now in the Conference Room, was the trophy he received on winning the Australian Championship in 1900.

Damian Smith
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