If you drive out the north side of Forbes along College Road, you come to a big old building on a rise above the Lachlan River. That's Red Bend Catholic College. It started in 1926 as a little Marist Brothers' school for boys in Johnson Street. These days it's a co-ed day and boarding school with somewhere around 850 to 960 students, depending on whose count you go by. In 2026 it marked 100 years of Marist education in Forbes, so this seemed a good time to put the whole story together.
The Diocese and the Brothers
To see why the Marists came to Forbes at all, you need to know a bit about the diocese. The Catholic Education Wilcannia-Forbes history says the Diocese of Wilcannia was set up in 1887 under Bishop John Dunne, and it covered the whole of the far west. Forbes and Parkes were added from the Bathurst diocese, and the diocese was renamed Wilcannia-Forbes. Wikipedia puts the renaming in 1917. Bishop William Hayden, formerly parish priest of Dulwich Hill, was consecrated its first bishop in Sydney on 8 September 1918.
Hayden wanted schools for boys, so he invited the Marist Brothers to Forbes in 1926 and to Broken Hill in 1928. The Marists are the teaching order founded in France by St Marcellin Champagnat. The college principal, Stephen Dwyer, said at the Brothers' farewell in 2020 that they had been in Australia since 1872.
Johnson Street – 1926
The Forbes Phoenix ran the college's own centenary history in 2026, and it goes back further than I expected. In 1921 Bishop Hayden told the St Laurence's parish administrator, Father Sexton, to buy a house in Johnson Street, opposite the parish church, as a home for the Brothers. Early in 1925 the next administrator, Father Thomas Fox, started building a boys' school on the block next door. Classes started on Monday 5 July 1926 with 59 day boys.
Boarding Begins – 1930
A day school on its own couldn't serve a diocese that size, where a lot of kids lived hundreds of miles from the nearest high school. In 1929 and 1930 Father Fox had a second storey and wide verandahs added to the Brothers' house, and the first boarders came in 1930. That's when the Marist Brothers' School became Marist Brothers' College. Boarding pushed the school more towards secondary work. By 1939 it had 166 students, 46 of them boarders.
The house system started back in the Johnson Street days, in 1943, with four houses: Basil, Denis, Loyola and Xavier. Wikipedia's college article says Basil was named for Br Basil Monchalin and Denis for a Br Denis.
The Red Bend Site on the Lachlan
Riverside becomes Red Bend
Thomas Fox didn't stay a parish priest for long. The diocese's history says he was born in Broken Hill in 1893, was consecrated second Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes in 1931, and held the job until he died in 1967. It also says the college at Red Bend was one of his favourite projects. According to the centenary history, in 1932 Bishop Fox bought a property called "Riverside", 83 acres along the Lachlan River, and that's the land that became Red Bend. Wikipedia's college article dates the purchase to 1939 instead and says the war stopped any building.
As for the name itself, I couldn't find any source that spells out why it's called Red Bend. The centenary history just says Riverside was "later to become Red Bend". The school sits right on a bend of the Lachlan, but I haven't found the origin of the "red" written down anywhere. If anyone from Forbes knows, I'd love to hear it.
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The new college building – 1952 to 1956
The foundation stone went in on Sunday 19 October 1952. The centenary history says that by 1955 "the imposing new College stood proudly upon its rise overlooking the Lachlan River". When classes started there in February 1956, there were 206 boarders and 120 day boys. Wikipedia, quoting the school's website, gives the first day of classes at Red Bend as 6 November 1955. A National Library catalogue entry for a school history, A Brief History of Red Bend Catholic College, Forbes: 1956–2006, counts from 1956.
The centenary history calls the twenty years after the move, roughly the late 1950s to 1975, a golden era. The college built more, strengthened its teaching, did well in sport and grew its cultural life.
The Sisters of Mercy and Coeducation
The other half of the Red Bend story is the Sisters of Mercy, the order Catherine McAuley founded in Dublin. The diocesan history says the first Sisters of Mercy in the diocese came to Broken Hill from Singleton in 1889. In Bishop Fox's early years, the various Mercy communities joined to form the Province of Wilcannia-Forbes, with their head house at Parkes. The Mercy Sisters ran Our Lady of Mercy College in Forbes and Our Lady of Mercy High School in Parkes.
Coeducation came in two steps. In 1975 girls were taken into Year 11 at Marist Brothers' College, and the first Sisters of Mercy joined the staff. Then in February 1977 the three Catholic secondary schools of the district came together on the Red Bend site: Our Lady of Mercy College in Forbes, Our Lady of Mercy High School in Parkes, and Marist Brothers' College. The new co-ed school for Years 7 to 12 was named Red Bend Catholic College. The college's own history says the crest stands for that merger, bringing the Mercy and Marist teaching traditions together. Girls' boarding started in 1981.
The Boarding School
Boarding has been part of the place since 1930, and it's still central. The college says its boarders, girls and boys from Years 7 to 12, come from country areas all over New South Wales and from other states. It offers weekly boarding as well as full boarding, and says plenty of boarders have parents who went there too. The college history page mentions 170 boarding places.
Buildings and Grounds
The main college building from the 1950s is still the centrepiece. The college history lists what's been added around it since 1977: the boarding residences, the swimming pool, the multi-purpose hall and performing arts centre, and the design and technology centre. The centenary history says the building kept going through the 2000s and 2010s as numbers grew and boarding changed.
The Marist Brothers Say Goodbye – 2020
At the end of 2020 the Marist Brothers left the college after 94 years. The Catholic Weekly covered the livestreamed farewell liturgy on 13 November 2020. Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green was there, along with the Marist Provincial, Br Peter Carroll, and the last two resident Brothers, Br Robert Hayes and Br Bernard McGrath. Br Carroll said the Brothers were sad to go but that Marists are used to "welcomes and farewells, comings and goings". "We do our bit and we move on," he said.
The school is still a Marist school in spirit and belongs to the Association of Marist Schools of Australia. Wikipedia's list of recent principals runs Br John Hillet from 2003 to 2012, Br Michael Flanagan from 2013, then Stephen Dwyer from 2019, the first lay principal.
Notable People
Two names stand out among the old students. Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes since 2014, went to the college. The diocese calls him "a former local Forbes boy". Chris Anderson, who played for and later coached the Australian rugby league team, also went to Red Bend, according to Wikipedia's Forbes article.
Red Bend Today
The motto is Per Angusta Ad Augusta. The college translates it as "Through Difficulties to Greatness", and Wikipedia has "Through Difficulty to Greatness". The colours are navy and sky blue, and the school song is Sub tuum praesidium. The houses have grown from the original four: Chisholm and McAuley came in 2014, then MacKillop and O'Connor in 2025.
For the centenary in 2026 there was a Centenary Mass, a lunch served by current students, tours of the campus for past students on Saturday 15 August, and a gala that night. That's according to the Forbes Phoenix.
Timeline
- 1887 – The Diocese of Wilcannia is set up under Bishop John Dunne.
- 1889 – The first Sisters of Mercy in the diocese arrive at Broken Hill from Singleton.
- 1917–18 – Forbes and Parkes join the renamed Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes. Bishop William Hayden is consecrated on 8 September 1918.
- 1921 – A house is bought in Johnson Street, opposite the parish church, for the Brothers.
- 1925 – Father Thomas Fox begins building the boys' school.
- 5 July 1926 – Classes begin with 59 day boys.
- 1930 – The first boarders arrive, and the school becomes Marist Brothers' College.
- 1931 – Thomas Fox becomes Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes.
- 1932 (or 1939) – The 83-acre Riverside property on the Lachlan is bought.
- 1939 – There are 166 students, including 46 boarders.
- 1943 – The houses Basil, Denis, Loyola and Xavier are set up.
- 19 October 1952 – The foundation stone is laid at Red Bend.
- Nov 1955 or Feb 1956 – Classes begin at Red Bend, with 206 boarders and 120 day students in 1956.
- 1975 – Girls are admitted to Year 11, and the first Sisters of Mercy join the staff.
- February 1977 – Red Bend Catholic College is formed from three schools.
- 1981 – Girls' boarding begins.
- 2014 – The Chisholm and McAuley houses are added. Columba Macbeth-Green becomes bishop.
- 2019 – Stephen Dwyer becomes the first lay principal.
- 13 November 2020 – The Marist Brothers are farewelled after 94 years.
- 2025 – The MacKillop and O'Connor houses are added.
- 2026 – The centenary of Marist education in Forbes.
Where the Sources Disagree
- When the river land was bought. The college's centenary history in the Forbes Phoenix says Bishop Fox bought the 83-acre Riverside property in 1932. Wikipedia says the bishop bought the site in 1939, and that the war then held up building.
- When classes moved to Red Bend. Wikipedia, citing the college website, says the first classes at Red Bend were held on 6 November 1955. The centenary history says classes started there in February 1956, and the NLA-listed school history covers 1956 to 2006.
- Who runs it. Wikipedia's opening line still says the college is run by the Marist Brothers. The Catholic Weekly reported that the Brothers finished up at the end of 2020, and Wikipedia's own principal list shows a lay principal from 2019.
- How many students. Wikipedia's text says about 960 students. Its infobox, citing My School, gives 880 for 2025. The college's history page says 850 students and 170 boarding places.
- Principals. Wikipedia's table has Br Michael Flanagan from 2013 to 2019 and Stephen Dwyer from 2019, so the two terms overlap in 2019. It also doesn't list anyone before 2003.
- The motto. The college translates it as "Through Difficulties to Greatness". Wikipedia has "Through Difficulty to Greatness".
- When the diocese was renamed. Wikipedia says Wilcannia became Wilcannia-Forbes in 1917. The diocese's own history says the first Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes was appointed two years after Bishop Dunne's death on Christmas Day 1916, and consecrated in September 1918.
My Earlier Posts
- Names Of Railway Stations In New South Wales – Including Aboriginal Names & Meanings (including Forbes)
- History Of Dubbo – New South Wales (another Central West town)
Sources
- Forbes Phoenix, 100 Years Of Marist Education In Forbes (2026): https://www.forbesphoenix.com.au/100-years-of-marist-education-in-forbes/
- Red Bend Catholic College, History: https://www.redbendcc.nsw.edu.au/history
- Red Bend Catholic College, Boarding: https://www.redbendcc.nsw.edu.au/boarding
- The Catholic Weekly, Red Bend farewells Marist brothers: https://catholicweekly.com.au/red-bend-farewells-marist-brothers/
- Catholic Education Wilcannia-Forbes, History Hub: https://www.wf.catholic.edu.au/catholic-identity/history-hub-2/
- Wikipedia, Red Bend Catholic College: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bend_Catholic_College
- Wikipedia, Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Wilcannia%E2%80%93Forbes
- Wikipedia, Forbes, New South Wales: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes,_New_South_Wales
- National Library of Australia catalogue, A Brief History of Red Bend Catholic College, Forbes: 1956–2006: https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3726218