​​​History of Queen of Apostles Stafford

» Presentation of School History (incl photos)

​In 1957, Archbishop Duhig asked Fr Michael Carew to establish a parish in Stafford. The Archbishop already had land available on Sparkes Hill but the Brisbane City Council wanted the land to build a reservoir for the area. Archbishop Duhig then bought 4 acres 34.5 perches from the top of Mrs Frances Keong’s 45 acre property on Stafford Road.

In 1957, 255 people attended the first mass held in a candy striped tent pitched on the site of the school oval on 28th April 1957.

In 1960, construction commenced on a four class school block of timber on brick. This is now the current Year Three classroom block. It was ready for the 1961 school year but no teaching sisters could be found for the school.

Cardinal Gilroy had recently appealed to religious orders to send teachers to Asia and Papua New Guinea which had opened up to outside influence since World War II. The Sisters of Mercy, the Franciscans and Good Samaritan Sisters responded to his request leaving a shortage of staff in Brisbane during a period of rapid growth in schools.

Rescue came in the form of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, whose first arrivals to Sydney in 1952 had been head hunted by Archbishop Duhig for the parishes of Kalinga and Bowen Hills.

Archbishop Duhig visited the sisters at Kalinga and in a matter of days had secured their services for the school.

The American vice –consul and 350 people attended the blessing and opening of the school by Archbishop Duhig in January 1962.

190 students started in grades 1, 2 and 3 with three sisters, Sr Adria, Sr Bernadette and Sr Pius and one lay teacher Mrs Eileen Cameron who had taught at Padua when it opened in 1956.

In January 1963, the wing next to the assembly hall was opened so that there could be one each of grade 3 and 4 and two each of grades 1 and 2.

While there was room, pre-schoolers were accepted in 1963 and 1964. The rapid growth of the school population reached its peak in 1967 when there were over 700 children on the roll.

By then, in 1965 a third block of three classrooms had been built and in 1969 the first classes were taken at Chuter Street. In 1974, two demountables were erected on the playground behind the church to house the overflow. Today, Queen of Apostles has an enrolment of 520 students with 210 at the Early Years Campus and 310 at Thuruna Street with both girls and boys in all classes.

Queen of Apostles School is a systemic school of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. Our parish embraces the communities of Stafford, Stafford Heights and West Chermside. We educate boys and girls from Prep to Year 6. Our school is staffed by lay personnel who seek to work in co-operation with home and family.