The Sisters of the Good Samaritan came to Campbelltown in 1887 at the direction of Bishop Bede Polding to open a convent and conduct St Patrick’s Convent/College. St Patrick’s College was located at what we now know as Old St John’s on the corner of Broughton and George Streets. St Patrick’s had been conducted since 1840 by lay teachers before the Sisters arrived.  The Old St John’s building was the original Catholic Church in Campbelltown built by Fr John Therry. St Patrick’s College Convent/College remained there until 1969. In 1888, the Sisters purchased our current school site. It was called St John’s Preparatory College ‘Westview’ -  ‘Westview’ being the name of the original farm and small cottages that stood on the property. The Sisters bought the land with the intent of establishing a boys’ boarding school for 5-12 year olds. The first boarders commenced in 1889. The Sisters converted the Westview cottages to a convent, a parlour, sleeping areas for boarders and classrooms, as well as private living areas for the Sisters. The ‘Westview’ cottages were demolished in 1956 and stood exactly where the buslines are today.

As St John’s Preparatory College “Westview” grew, a purpose built brick building was needed and this building is what we call today the Benedict Performing Arts Building. Its foundation was blessed on 22 December 1921 and the building was officially opened on the 3 August 1922 by Right Reverend Monsignor J. O’Gorman. The old Westview cottage still stood behind the new brick building and the corridor between the two buildings was known as ‘Windy Gully’ by the boys.  The current Drama Room was the St John’s Preparatory College ‘Westview’ chapel and the door near the projector screen leads to a little room that was the sacristy. Where the toilets are currently located was the shower block for the boys. The current dance and music rooms were once the dormitories where the boys slept and the nuns had their sleeping areas known as cells . The current counsellors' offices were rooms for music tuition and a parlour for the nuns to receive guests. The Sisters, such as Sr Claudia and Sr De Pazzi, became like second mothers to the boys. 

In 1954, construction began on a new section of the school which would join the 1922 building. This was completed in 1956. The extension is easy to spot—the 1922 building is built of very dark bricks, the extension bricks are a lighter reddish brown. This is where our music rooms are today. The new section contains the current administration and H block. The current school chapel was also built at this time.

In 1969 St John’s Preparatory College ‘Westview’ closed forever at the end of the school year. It was a combination of declining enrolments, changing attitudes towards boarding schools, as well as St Patrick’s Convent/College needing a new site as its enrolments were growing too fast for the Old St John’s site.

The History Club took part in the unveiling of two plaques to commemorate the centenary and Emily M read out the following:
' We would like to acknowledge the tireless work of the Sisters of Good Samaritan who conducted the St John’s Preparatory College ‘Westview’ on this site between 1889-1969. This building is a testament to their foresight and commitment to education and to the Campbelltown area.'

We wish to thank our College archivist, Jo Cavallin, for assisting the History Club and her drive and passion behind the commemoration. 

Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher