No. 1351 - Hobart - St John Fisher College (1963)

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John Fisher College was a Catholic residential College for men attending the University of Tasmania. It is located at Dynnyrne above the main university campus at Upper Sandy Bay.

The College was established in 1963 by Archbishop Sir Guilford Young with the support of the Catholic Church and community. The idea of a Catholic residential college had first been conceived in 1944 by Archbishop Tweedy. The building’s foundation stone was laid by Apostolic Delegate M. de Furstenburg on 18 March 1962. The first stage of the College building was opened on 9 July 1963 by Archbishop Young. A new wing doubling accomodation was opened in 1968.

The building was designed by Tasmanian architect Rod Cooper and the complex contained student accommodation, academic staff quarters, a library, dining and recreational facilities as well as a chapel. The College was dedicated to Saint John Fisher (1469 – 1535) an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, theologian and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Fisher was executed by order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic Church's doctrine of papal supremacy.

The College’s first Dean was Father Kevin O’Sullivan SJ. Jesuit rectors include Fr. John Hamilton-Smith, Fr. Mac Larkin, Fr. Dan McLaughlan and Fr. Gregory Jordan. When the Jesuit Fathers left, Fr. Michael Lynch, a Salesian, became rector. The College was was handed over to the University of Tasmania in 2001.


The first stage of John Fisher College built in 1963. The chapel was located in the building on the right of the photograph. Source: buildingonfirmfoundations.wordpress.com

St John Fisher College Chapel. Source: Building on Firm Foundations


Sources:

Dooley, Lorraine.  Building on firm foundations : the Cooper family in Tasmania, stonemasons, builders and architects / Lorraine Dooley  Lorraine M Dooley Lenah Valley, Tas  2014

Southerwood, W. T.  Priceless heritage : the Tasmanian Catholic community 1772-2010 / by W. T. Southerwood  Stella Maris Books St. Leonards, Tas  2010

https://buildingonfirmfoundations.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/john-fisher-college-university-of-tasmania/


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