Yesterday, the Dominican Sisters of Western Australia celebrated 125 years of their presence in Western Australia with a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael Morrissey, Bishop of Geraldton Diocese; and retired Bishop Justin Bianchini and Fr Tom Cassidy, Dominican priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. Daughters of St Dominic Guzman, whose calling was preaching the Gospel and proclaiming the Truth (Veritas) to the world, the Dominican Sisters have contributed significantly to the education of many generations at numerous schools.

In March 1899, a small group of Dominican Sisters travelled to Western Australia’s Goldfields, from New Zealand, after Bishop William Kelly, the newly appointed Bishop of Geraldton, invited them to establish a foundation in the recently formed Geraldton Diocese.

In addition to ministering in regional of WA, in 1941 the Dominican Sisters established their first school in Perth. In 1955 the Dominican Sister established a secondary school for girls that was named after the Dominican theologian, St Thomas Aquinas.

In 1989, the co-educational Chisholm Catholic College was formed from the amalgamation of St Thomas Aquinas College (Dominican Sisters) and St Mark’s College (Christian Brothers).

On the occasion of 125 years, Principals of 11 schools were invited to join the Sisters in their celebration and were presented with a plaque to acknowledge the contribution of the Sisters to their schools. Mr Rino Randazzo, our Acting Principal, and Ms Taniya Rodrigues, Deputy Principal – Community and Sister Chau were present.

We are indebted to the Dominican Sisters for providing solid foundation and traditions that have made Chisholm the outstanding educational institution it is today. We especially recognised Sr Mary Ryan, who is member of our School Advisory Council and Sister Chau Ho who is our Communications and Marketing Officer.

Community Relations Team