Our History
Time hasn't changed society's need for good men and what makes a good man - a gentleman - is timeless. That's what led the Christian Brothers to establish a Catholic school for boys in Fremantle during the Federation years in Western Australia.
Since its foundation, CBC Fremantle has strived to raise good young men with a strong sense of justice who are prepared to shape a better world. The College traces its roots back to 1882 when the Fremantle Catholic Boys' School was first opened in High Street in Edmund Hall, which is still standing on the school grounds. A former Fenian convict, an architect by profession, drew up the plans for the school and it was built from stone quarried on site. When the doors opened, 30 primary aged boys attended under the management of Mr Otto De Grancy.
A change in the colony's Education Act in 1895 meant that all financial support for church based schools was withdrawn. The recently arrived religious order of Christian Brothers was invited to take charge of the Parish School and to establish a High School for the education of boys in Fremantle.
In the year of Australia's Federation in January 1901, the first group of Brothers took over caring for what was then known as St Patrick's Boys' School. Thirty boys were enrolled but this number grew to 90 within four weeks.
Until 1913, Christian Brothers' College Fremantle was one of the half-a-dozen schools in WA preparing students for the public examinations of the University of Adelaide. The University of WA opened in Irwin Street in 1914 with two Brothers and two former CBC Fremantle students among the first graduates.
The community of the Christian Brothers has been an integral part of the College's life since 1901. For much of the College's history this community provided all of the staffing for the school and accepted responsibility for the wellbeing of students. For the past 20 years the College has been staffed predominantly by lay teachers.
In 2007, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) was established ushering in a new and exciting phase of governance for CBC Fremantle and more than 40 other Edmund Rice schools across Australia.
Today CBC Fremantle still operates on its original site and experiences a strong connection to the historic city in which it thrives. It has a special place in the city of Fremantle - renowned for the quality of its students, academic endeavour, sporting achievements and contributions to the community.