School evacuates to escape war – 70 year anniversary
In February 1942, St Anne’s School (now known The Cathedral School of St Anne & St James) was evacuated from Townsville to Ravenswood – partly to continue the girls’ education in the relative safety of this small inland town, but also to surrender their city buildings to the Army. St Anne’s dormitories in Stokes and Walker Streets became home to the WAAAF for the next three years.
Mrs Dorothy Murray (nee Smith) who was just 13 years old at the time remembers the evacuation and the troops taking over the city all too well. “We had to give the buildings up to the army and Ravenswood was a lot safer but I was young at the time and didn’t want to leave my family,” she said. 
For the Sisters, teachers and students who made the move to Ravenswood, the goal was to maintain ‘school as usual’, despite the remote location, makeshift accommodation, shortages of essential supplies and the awareness of the war continuing around them. The writings from these years are full of excitement, optimism, resilience and a real appreciation of everything they were able to achieve during this difficult period.
The initial move was seen by the girls as a grand adventure, although for the staff it was a gigantic logistical manoeuvre. Sister Frances organised and directed the movement from Townsville, while Sister Agnes went ahead to Ravenswood to take over buildings which could accommodate the furniture, bedding, school desks, pianos and all manner of equipment and supplies which were being dispatched by lorries from the school in town.
Meanwhile, the journey for staff and students was full of romance, risk and adventure as they were transported by steam train to Mingela, then on the backs of lorries for the rest of the trip to Ravenswood. Being February in North Queensland, of course it was wet, and as trucks got bogged the passengers had to hop down and push them out, but it didn’t dampen their high spirits. They sang and laughed along the bumpy track to their new home.
St Anne’s student Mrs Del Ward (nee Homer) who was six years old at the time of the evacuation fondly remembers the transport between Ravenswood and Mingela train station “Open trucks, rough roads and deep creeks with no bridges were certainly ignored and even a downpour of rain was of no consequence. We sang many joyful sounds such as Nursie, Nursie and You are my Sunshine.”
On Friday 13 February, in defiance of superstition, Sister Frances closed St Anne’s School in Townsville and officially opened St Anne’s, Ravenswood. Classes began in the Masonic Temple, School of Arts Hall and CWA Reading Rooms and dormitories were established in a disused Methodist Church and a hotel wing. Wilson’s House (later known as Feetham House) became the main school building, and a marquee out the back was a dining hall until a new building was erected using materials brought from a school house dismantled in Townsville.
St Anne’s quickly became part of the fabric of the Ravenswood community, and over the next few years, expanded into many other premises. The Railway Hotel (renamed Girton) housed classrooms and dormitory accommodation, and more girls were accommodated in Green Gables, the house next door. As numbers grew, the Army built a new dormitory (named Kendall House), and the RAAF provided a new classroom block for primary students.
Mrs Ward remembers the dormitory accommodation at the Railway Hotel very well “There were dormitories upstairs for most of the senior girls, classrooms were downstairs, the music room and laundry were in the basement and we even had four senior girls sleeping in the front bar!”
Throughout the years, the Ravenswood locals provided a warm welcome and ongoing support – cheerfully handing over their buildings for the school’s use, assisting with transport and supplies, and even helping to dig the air raid shelters. In turn, the school brought youth and life back to a town that had been almost abandoned after the gold mines closed, and the concerts, church services and sports days were enjoyed by the townsfolk as well as the school community.
This sentiment is well expressed in the poem “Memory of St Anne’s College at Ravenswood” written by former Ravenswood police officer, Arthur Grdon-Bianchi in 1946:
At last you’re back in Townsville, but as yet not settled down,
But we hope your thoughts oft wander to our good old homely town,
Where the people miss the children of St Anne’s more every day,
As they walk along past Girton, where you children used to play
As the war waged on in the Pacific, St Anne’s continued its mission of educating girls (and boys in early primary years) in a Christian environment with a balance of academic studies, arts and music, sports and community service. Traditions and ideals from the ‘old school’ continued, school spirit remained high, and those who were part of this grand adventure have many stories to tell.
The school returned to Townsville in August 1945 just in time for Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day. In 1958 the school then moved from the city site to its current location in Mundingburra.
Memory of St Anne’s College at Ravenswood – Written by Arthur Gordon Bianchi, 1946
At last you’re back in Townsville, but as yet not settled down,
But we hope your thoughts oft wander to our good old homely town,
Where the people miss the children of St Anne’s more every day,
As they walk along past Girton, where you children used to play.
I know you’ll all be thinking of the times you had up here,
For our town you may get homesick, and perhaps you’ll shed a tear,
When you think of little incidents that happened day by day,
After prep, and in the classrooms, and the jokes you oft did play.
You’ll remember well Green Gables, better known as Bunny House,
How the Sister watched those children as a cat does watch a mouse,
How she’d tuck them in quite cosy, in their little beds at night,
Then she’d go to prayers at Feetham, you could see her dim torch light.
Can you picture good old Christie, with lantern trimmed and bright,
He’d be standing on the doorstep, him, we’d call the “leading light”,
Now I bet he’s very lonely, and his days seem long and drear,
And his weeks will seem like ages, he’ll miss your laugh and cheer.
Can you picture Mr Bojack, how he’d swing his gleaming blade,
At the woodheap up at Feetham, as he works ‘neath figtree shade,
Can you hear his squeaking barrow, can you see his face go red?
As he staggers up the back way, with a loads of buns and bread.
And the cook they had at Feetham and he good old dog named Spot,
Can you see his sides go panting when the weather was so hot?
And the cats and little kittens, now, I wonder how they’ll fare,
With the cook house closed forever, and the mice are getting rare.
Can you picture Sister Frances? Can you picture Miss Appel?
How’d she’d keep you quiet at meal times with a tinkle of her bell,
Not a word till all were finished, then all chairs would scrape the floor,
Then a few words from the Sister, and you’d walk out through the door.
There were four girls at the College, and the thing they loved the best,
As they walked back down to Girton, as the sun sunk in the West,
Was to gaze upon that boiler, rusted now and out of use,
Where the goats oft run for shelter, when it’s raining like the duce.
That old boiler has a history, that those girls might like to know,
How the steam from that old boiler worked the engines long ago,
And that engines pulled the quarts from the bottom of the shaft,
And the miners filled those buckets, and they worked, and joked and laughed.
It’s a funny little picture that I’ve tried to paint in mind,
But a funny little bit of humour in these verses you may find,
I have worked around the College, I’ve seen things for myself,
If you think this up to putty, you can place it on the shelf.
