Sacred Heart College, Napier on
its present site in Convent Road was founded by The
Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions. In 1867 the school
for ‘Young Ladies’ that would eventually
become known as Sacred Heart College was blessed and
opened. It was the first Catholic school and hostel
established by the Sisters in New Zealand.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Amazingly, the original buildings withstood the earthquake
of 1931. During the 1990’s, the whole site was
re-planned, new buildings erected and existing ones
upgraded. The new Barbier and Marian blocks were blessed
and opened, and Ross and Dennehy blocks were updated
and rededicated. A full-sized gymnasium followed, named
after Sister Mary Rose Holderness. On June 30 2001 the
convent building, the chapel and a section of the hostel
were destroyed by fire. During 2009 a major technology
and social science upgrade was completed and the
buildings were opened by Bishop Peter Cullinane in
February 2010.
The boarding hostel, opened around 1867, was finally
closed on 1st April 2010.
The College is administered on behalf of the Sisters by
the Mission College Napier Trust Board. The Board of Trustees administers
government funds and governs the school.
For its first one hundred years the College was staffed
predominantly by the Sisters. Sister Mary Rose who completed
her term in 1998 was the last Mission Sister to be Principal.
The curent staff of the College continue to uphold the
missionary spirit of the Sisters in today’s modern
environment.
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TYPICAL
CLASSROOM
Of 1936 |
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