St Joseph's School

Catholic Education was first established in Bunbury by the Sisters of Mercy in 1898. Their tradition of faith and service was continued when St Mary’s opened in South Bunbury in 1904, and again when the Marist Brothers opened a college for boys in 1954. In 1972 a School Board was formed to review the provision of Catholic Education in Bunbury and to plan for future needs. The following year the Marist College became the co-educational Bunbury Catholic College.

In 1978 the junior school, which had been established at St Thomas’ in Carey Park, was amalgamated with St Mary’s, catering for all the junior primary children in Catholic schools in Bunbury. St Joseph’s, in the centre of town, was the site for middle and upper primary children. The Sisters of Mercy were, by then, ready to move into other areas of service in Bunbury. So the central town site, focused on the old convent, was sold and the present St Joseph’s building was commenced on the boundary of Glen Padden on four hectares of land made available through the generous donation of Deacon Michael and Phyllis Flynn.

The school moved out from town in 1982. In 1985 separate School Boards were formed for secondary and primary schools and over a transitional period, St Mary’s and St Joseph’s developed the resources to accept enrolments for Pre-Primary to year 7 children on each site. At the end of 1992 Bunbury Catholic Primary School ceased to exist and St Mary’s and St Joseph’s became fully independent primary schools.