By The Numbers.

An oft asked question raised by alumni relates to the number of students who were in the 1954 founding intake.

We colloquially refer to that group as the '54 ORIGINALS.

The three main feeder Catholic Primary schools that made up the bulk of the student body were:-

• St Aloysuis Primary School, Shenton Park, run by the Sisters of Mercy

• St Joseph's Primary School, Subiaco, run variously by the Sisters of Mercy and Brigidine Nuns

• Our Lady of Victories Primary School, Wembley, run by the Brigidine Nuns.

  
  

  In his Inaugural SJC 1954 Report the Australian Marist Provincial, Brother Placidus Redden noted, amongst other matters relating to St Joseph's, that the total student complement was 132.

  That number grew by an additional 76+ the following year continuing to grow apace over subsequent years.

  By the late 1950's the student body was fast approaching 600, making St Joseph's Subiaco the third largest Catholic boy's school in the Perth Metropolitan area.

• Brother Redden listed the term fees at SJC as being 4 pounds plus 10 shillings to cover sport and a further 10 shillings for those taking science subjects. When one considers the average take home salary in post war Australia, 5 pounds per term was a fair whack for parents to pay for their son or in many cases their sons to attend the College, It should also be remembered that the Federal Government's student payment support that all private schools currently receive was not in place until the 1960's, so our parents carried the load to educate us back in those days. Their donations/fund raising efforts financially helped build / maintain / expand the facilities we enjoyed. This included the building and stocking of a dedicated library in the 1960's.