Sunshine Christian Boys' College
31 King Edward Avenue, Albion

The Sunshine Christian Boys' College was an independent secondary school that was created by a group of local parents after the Marian Boys' College closed in 1959.

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The parents purchased the former home of George Morton Riley, an engineer working at McKays. Th house was located at 31 King Edward Avenue, Albion and described as having six rooms.

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The parents hired four teachers including the school Principal R.J. Connelly. He was the former Head Master of the Marian Boys' College.

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The college opened in February 1960 with eighty pupils from twelve nations including the United Kingdom, Holland, Lithuania, Germany, Malta, Romania, Poland, Australia, Ukraine, Hungary, Italy & Yugoslavia.

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To much fanfare, the official opening of the college occurred on the 10th April 1960 by Cr. Harry Dempster.

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Unfortunately the school had opened without official approval of the State's Health Department. The Health Department visited the college and issued the Principal a long list of requirements that the school needed to meet. The main issue was the one toilet for the use of over seventy students.

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The college operated until February 1964 when it closed due to financial difficulties.

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After the closure of the college, its assets including the buildings were sold off. A trust was then created with its vision to provide assistance for students in years 7 to 12. For many years this trust was administrated by the Sunshine Rotary Club and subsequently by the Sunshine Lions Club.

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The buildings were demolished in the late 1960's and replaced with a block of residential flats.

 

Ref: Harvester City, The making of multicultural Sunshine, 1939 - 1975, Olwen Ford

Photos: S&DHS