School History
St. Joseph's School Renmark
Early in 1919, just as World War 1 ended, a small band of five sisters, led by Sister Pius as Community Leader, set out from Adelaide to begin the first Catholic School in the Riverland at Renmark. The Parish was still young, having been formed only five years previously. Although the first church, St. Columba’s, a small wood and iron building standing on the site of the present St. Therese Church, had been erected in 1895, it was only in 1914 that the Parish was officially established.
Through the zeal and enthusiasm of Parish Priest, Father Peter Conolly, and his small congregation, a residence for the Sisters had been provided in Twelfth Street, together with a School Hall in Ral Ral Avenue. The Hall foundation stone was laid on September 1st 1918 and the School was overflowing with 111 students when Bishop Norton officially blessed and opened it on March 30th 1919.
In 1941 a new school was built on the Twelfth Street site. Subsequent building programs in 1984, 1990, 1997, 2001 and in 2010 has seen the school completely transformed to its present structure. The Sisters of Saint Joseph maintained an active presence in the school until the first lay principal was appointed in 2001.
Patrons of our school are St. Joseph and St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
