Our School

St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Molong was established in 1881 with the arrival of the Sisters of St Joseph, a congregation founded by St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Fr. Tenison Woods. Miss Minnie McNiven donated a brick cottage and an allotment of land in Edward street to the Sisters of St Joseph. This cottage became the original site of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School. The sisters were accommodated in the Court House Hotel in a few rooms allotted by the Durack family. 

The first church was built in 1877. The church was also used for the school after the Edward street premises was vacated in the early 1880s. A second school building was built in 1889-1890. At this time the ‘old church’ was vacated as a school. 

When the new church was completed in 1918, the old church was transformed into two classrooms. In the 1930s the secondary department of St Joseph’s was opened and run by the Sisters. During the 40s and 50s lower primary classes were housed in one room, Kinder Year one and two in the second room of the ‘old church’. The school became Primary only again in 1963 when the secondary department was closed. 

In 1952 there was an urgent need for new classrooms. The state school had relocated to its current site in 1948 and the old state school site was unused. Dean Eviston applied and was granted a lease of two five-year periods. This was diagonally opposite the current school site. This site was used as a school and hall by the Catholic community during the 50s. 

The convent was used as the school office, staff room and store room until the new multi-purpose building was built in 1986.  This building represents an end to a great era of the Sisters of St Joseph teaching at St Joseph’s, Molong. Within two years Mr Christopher Derwin was appointed principal of St Joseph’s. Mr Derwin was to be the school’s first lay Principal. An extension was made to this building in 1994, due to the growth of the school. There was a bigger staff room, two new offices, a resource room and a new Library. 

Two new classrooms, a toilet block, canteen and sports room were built in the year 2000. In 2009 a new school hall was built as part of the BER Project. The school has five classrooms and to this day, the ‘Old Church’ continues to be used as an Infants room. 

School Motto

Learning Understanding Peace