The following is taken from the "APC Early History" published in July 2000. The extract records the development of State parent organisations in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The author is Margaret Slattery, AM, MBE, who was the Honorary Secretary of the APC from 1996 to 1990 and its first Executive Director.
Copies of the "APC Early History" may be obtained from the APC Secretariat.
Parents Associations in Australia
The early activities of State Parents and Friends Associations which came into being prior to 1962 laid the foundations for the formation of the APC.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Top)
When Mr Paul Donnelly and his family came from England to Western Australia in 1947 he brought with him an introduction to the Archbishop of Perth from the Archbishop of Southwark in England. Without doubt this would have helped influence the WA Bishops to consider the importance of the 1944 English Education Act and the advocacy of the Catholic Parents and Electors' Association in that country, Paul Donnelly having been one of the activists in that Association.
The Parents and Friends Federation of Western Australia (PFFWA) was formed in 1954 with an original membership of twenty Catholic school associations. From its commencement it received great support from Bishop Rafferty and particularly Archbishop Prendiville who recommended strongly that all Catholic School Parents and Friends Associations should belong to the PFFWA. He believed in justice for all parents in the financing of schooling and that in approaching governments "unity is strength". Bishop Goody of Bunbury was also a supporter of the Federation.
The first Federation Council elected Mr W A Mahoney as President, Mr R P Donnelly as Vice-President, and such other stalwarts as Messrs I Keogh, C A Parkinson, J Carmody, L A Noonan, J Williams and W J Roberts. These men provided a variety of talent, a high level of commitment, dedication and organisational ability.
Mr W A Mahoney, re-elected President annually from 1959 to 1969, was an outstanding President. He served a further seven years on the executive as the Immediate Past President. Father, later Monsignor J Bourke was appointed Chaplain and attended the monthly Council meetings. He contributed to the discussions, helped to draft documents and sometimes attended delegations with the Parents and Friends .
Mr Roberts, later resident in Queensland, retained his links with the PFFWA and became the first President of the Parents and Friends Federation of Catholic Schools of Queensland in 1960.
Once established, the Federation began making representations to members of the West Australian State Parliament. These achieved immediate, if minor, success. In 1955 they obtained from the Hawke Labor Government equal treatment of non-government schools in the matter of insurance for school children and in pound for pound subsidies on the purchase of such teaching aids as radios and projectors.
The Federation continued to work steadily on the organisations' aims, conducting regular interviews with politicians, pressing the parents' claims with like minded people in other states, and increasing affiliations of school parents' associations with PFFWA.
In March 1960 the PFFWA was received by Liberal Premier Brand and Deputy Premier Watts of the Country Party. The Federation asked these government leaders for subsidies for libraries, pianos, laboratory equipment, text books as well as assistance for boarding schools. In December 1960 subsidies for libraries and pianos were granted.
1961 saw Father K O'Sullivan, SJ, who wrote the pamphlet Equality in Education, speaking to the PFFWA encouraging them to take a more active political approach to obtain educational justice. He had just come from a tour of the eastern states of Australia, speaking to packed audiences on the subject. The PFFWA increased their effort and took every opportunity to publicise their cause, to influence public opinion, and to encourage associations to call on their local candidates. They used the technique of questioning politicians on their attitude to the PFFWA requests, at all times presenting accurate facts and figures on schooling funding to substantiate their claims.
In 1961 there was a TV Session on Equality in Education in Viewpoint on TVW. This was probably the first time the issue of 'state aid' was dealt with at any length on TV in any part of Australia.
The records of the PFFWA show a consistent pattern of approaching leaders of all political parties putting the case for educational justice for all non-government school parents at State level. On some of these delegations the PFFWA representatives were accompanied by representatives of other denominational schools. The PFFWA also moved into the Federal sphere. Records show an approach by Mr Donnelly and Monsignor Bourke to the Education Committee of the Federal ALP in March 1961, putting the parents' point of view and asking for a scholarship of $20 per child in fee-paying schools. Top
National Bishops' Statement
The Federation maintained close links with Archbishop Prendiville who always attended the Federation's Annual Conference. They were considerably heartened when in 1961 in addressing delegates at the 7th Annual Conference in Perth he said:
"Previously there had been no unanimity of opinion in all States on what we should ask for our schools short of total aid. In some places it was suggested that we should ask for pound for pound subsidy and in other places some other basis. Until unanimity could be reached little progress could be made."
Accordingly at the meeting of the Bishops of Australia in Sydney this January the matter was discussed with the purpose of reaching a common agreement.
A resolution was made, proposed and agreed upon by the 24 Bishops of Australia under the chairmanship of the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney that aid should be asked for according to the following: 'Motion as passed at the Episcopal Conference Manly 26th January 1961."
While retaining the clear right to expect and demand the payment of the full cost of the secular education imparted in Independent Schools, we consider that the State Government, with the aid perhaps of a subsidy from the Commonwealth Government, should pay to the governing authorities of all Independent Schools at least $10 per annum for each Primary School child and a proportionately greater amount for each Secondary School pupil. The parents of these Australian children, as tax-payers, have a right to the immediate consideration of their just claims.'"
It was left to the discretion of each Bishop how he should implement the necessary action in his own diocese. What would be done in other states was not known, but in Western Australia, with the full approval of all their Bishops, the implementation was to be placed in the hands of the PFFWA, with confidence that they would carry out the work to the satisfaction of everybody.
The Episcopal Conference Statement uses the words 'Independent Schools'.
At that time, all non-government schools were called 'Independent Schools' as distinct from government schools. There were no Catholic systems of schools, all Catholic parish schools were conducted by Religious Orders.
Bishop Goody, Bishop of the Bunbury Diocese, not only endorsed Archbishop Prendiville's confidence in the PFFWA, but also provided further support in a pastoral letter in November 1961 to all Catholics throughout the Bunbury diocese:
"It should be made very clear that we who deplore the unfair attitude of the State in monopolizing all education funds for State schools, are not asking for subsidies for any school or church. We ask the State to pay equally for the education of all children. Freedom of choice and equality of benefits in education are civil rights of all Australians. We are not begging for a donation, soliciting a grant or asking for gracious aid; we are insisting on the right of equality for all citizens of Australia irrespective of their religious beliefs."
Towards a Federal Body (Top)
The PFFWA was very conscious of the political power which would be generated by a united Australia-wide non-government school parents' movement. Records show that as early as 1959 the PFFWA had discussions with Mrs Margaret Gartland of Victoria on this issue when she attended a PFFWA Council meeting. The Council seemed to favour the idea of a Federal body being formed, provided the State Federations retained their autonomy at local level.
The 1961 Report of the President of the PFFWA on its 1960 activities contains the following extract:
"Federations in other States -
It can now be reported that Parents and Friends' Federations have been established in five of the six Australian States - South Australia is the only State without a Federation. We are proud of the fact that the success of the Federation here has been partly responsible for the development of an Australia-wide movement. There are moves at the moment for an interstate conference and possibly the formation of an Australian Federation to press the claims of the parents of children in non-Government schools to share in the funds expended on education.
This development is most significant. It has long been obvious to your Council that, though Education is a State and not a Federal matter, no substantial benefits to non-government schools or to the parents of children attending them could be given by one State alone. There has been in some quarters here the feeling that we have not moved fast enough. Much as we sympathise, we realise we cannot move ahead of the rest of Australia. Only when the majority of States feel that something must be done can anything be done."
The contact with parents' organisations in other states and the movement towards uniting them is in no small part due to Mr W Mahoney and Mr P Donnelly who travelled on business to the eastern states and generously devoted some of their personal time to this endeavour. Monsignor Bourke also did his share of visiting and reporting back after his visits to the eastern states. Mr W Roberts who had moved to Queensland was also a regular correspondent as was Mrs Margaret Gartland who had moved to Victoria from Western Australia.
The PFFWA view at this stage was to hold an interstate meeting which would lead to the setting up of some form of national secretariat with rotation in various States.
By 1962 plans were well in hand for an interstate conference of State Federations in Canberra in November 1962. This date was chosen specifically to coincide with a Catholic Education Conference in Canberra.
Then the 'Goulburn Closure' occurred and a national parents' organisation was proposed. The meeting planned by the PFFWA to be held in Canberra was then abandoned.
The PFFWA was subsequently invited to attend a meeting in Goulburn on 25th/26th August 1962 to settle the form of the new national organisation proposed during the 'Goulburn Closure'. The PFFWA could not attend at such short notice and they asked Mr Cedric Gartland of Victoria to represent them at the meeting and sent him a tape recording of their views.
The PFFWA strongly emphasised that:
* the word 'Parents' was to be included in the title of any organisation
* the present consultative liaison between the States was to be preserved;
* the decision making power was to be preserved in the constituent organisations, not separately in a federal body; and
* the cost factor would render a federal secretariat impracticable.
The PFFWA subsequently sent Mr Mahoney, Mr Donnelly and Mr James as delegates to the October 1962 Melbourne Conference where the Australian Parents Council for the Advancement of Education was formally constituted. The PFFWA was one of the foundation members.
In 1958 Cedric and Margaret Gartland and their family moved to Melbourne from Perth, after being closely associated with the new PFFWA. They came at a time when Victorian Catholics were becoming aware of a growing crisis in their schools.
Correspondence in the Catholic papers canvassed the idea of political action to obtain educational justice in Victoria and eventually led to the formation of the Parents and Friends Federation of Victoria (PFFV), later known as the Victorian Parents Council. Executive members of the well established Catholic Parish Schools' Association were involved in its formation. These groups established contact with the Gartlands and, in November 1958, met in Melbourne at the invitation of the Catholic Parish Schools' Association.
A Provisional Committee was formed, consisting of Mr Cedric Gartland, Mr Terry Roche and Mr John McKenna, to prepare a draft constitution. On 19 December 1958 the Archbishop of Melbourne gave his approval for the formation of the Parents and Friends' Federation in the Archdiocese. The inaugural meeting was held on 17th August 1959. At this meeting Mr Terry Roche was elected President, Mr John McKenna, Secretary and Mr Cedric Gartland, Treasurer.
In August of the previous year, the Victorian Federation of Catholic Mothers Clubs (VFCMC) was founded. Its membership was open only to mothers and was not well geared to political action. The VFCMC became a close support group for the activities of the PFFV and helped organise their large political meetings.
The political climate in which the PFFV commenced was far from encouraging. There was a general reluctance of politicians to express support for government funding for non-government schooling for fear of defeat at the next poll. The Liberal Party had no specific policy on the issue. The Premier of Victoria, Sir Henry Bolte, during an early interview with representatives of the PFFV, described the issue as a "hot potato" and "political dynamite" (J. McKenna - The Struggle for Educational Justice - July 1972).
Following the split in the ALP in 1955 and the emergence of the DLP, the ALP at its Victorian Conference reverted to the old policy of 'no state aid'.
The PFFV had few resources and no office but was supported by dedicated volunteers who allowed meetings to be held in their homes, did the necessary typing, telephoning, roneoing, folding and posting of documents, mostly free of charge to the organisation. The Gartlands were at the forefront of the voluntary work.
The new executive formed about forty electoral committees which later became branches of the organisation. These became the State-wide base for future activities.
The PFFV embarked on a programme of deputations to members of the two State houses of Parliament. Visits were made by members of these electoral committees from within the electorates of the members. The objectives were to inform the politicians about the situation in the schools and to attempt to win a commitment to the cause of justice in education funding. This was followed by a deputation to Sir Henry Bolte, who undertook to discuss the matter with his fellow Premiers at the 1960 Premiers' Conference. Afterwards, Sir Henry stated he was still unable to hold out any hope of assistance.
The first major 'Education Justice Campaign' was launched at a meeting of 700 people at the Cathedral Hall, Fitzroy, on 18 April 1961. The principal objectives of this campaign were:
* to inform candidates for election and politicians generally of the existing situation in Catholic schools; and
* to attempt to get candidates to commit themselves publicly or in writing on the use of government funds to assist non-government school children.
Guides containing statistics and information on how to go about the campaign were prepared for use by supporters. No commitment to 'state aid' resulted, but the activity firmly established the position of the PFFV. Large meetings with election candidates on the platform were held at several centres.
On 25 October 1961, a deputation from the PFFV was received by Sir Henry Bolte and Mr J. Bloomfield, the Minister for Education. They were asked for per capita grants of £10 per child for primary pupils and £20 per child for secondary pupils. Both appeared sympathetic but stated quite firmly that no funds could be made available.
The PFFV immediately decided to organise a protest meeting and this was held on 13 November 1961, filling Richmond Town Hall to overflowing. The meeting passed the following resolution:
"This meeting records a strong protest at the continued disregard by all Australian Governments, Federal and State, of the fundamental right of the parent to choose the education of his child. It asks all political parties to make a fresh appraisal of the problems of non-government schools. It calls on the Federal Government to make increased funds available immediately, so that an adequate education will be available to every Australian child."
A further Resolution stated "we shall not rest" until our aims are achieved.
These Resolutions were circulated to all politicians, Federal and State, and the meeting and the issues discussed attracted great publicity.
The PFFV believed in the importance of well researched accurate information in their campaigns. In February 1962 the PFFV newsletter was launched carrying a New Year message from the President who said:
"It is my belief that the fight will really be won not in the heat of elections or the mass hysteria of press campaigns, but in the quiet consistent persuasiveness of our local efforts."
Mrs Margaret Gartland was editor, typist and producer of the PFFV Newsletter until 1989. She specialised in statistics, particularly the real costs of educating pupils in government schools.
QUEENSLAND (Top)
The Federation of Parents and Friends Associations of Catholic Schools in Queensland (FPFCSQ) came into being in 1960 and held its first Annual General Meeting in October 1961. Its first President was Mr W J Roberts formerly of Western Australia. The first Secretary of the FPFCSQ was Mr J J Woodward.
While actively seeking increased government funding for non-government school children, the Queensland parents were conscious that since 1914 a competitive scholarship system for some secondary school pupils had been available from the State Government. The ALP Conference in 1957 in Brisbane interpreted the 1951 ALP Federal Conference decision as meaning "help the scholar not the school". It agreed unanimously with the policy of aid "by way of bursaries, scholarships, exhibitions and benefits of a like nature, payable direct to students."
In the early sixties scholarships became non-competitive and were paid directly to the schools and became the first per pupil grants in Australia for non-government school children.
Discussion at the first meeting of the FPFCSQ and correspondence with the PFFWA showed a desire to explore the feasibility and the necessity of a national parents' organisation. This organisation was envisaged to be a medium for the exchange of ideas, but with the State federations having autonomy of action at the local level.
Early correspondence shows contact with the PFFWA whose President had written to Mr G F R Nicklin, Premier of Queensland in June 1962, congratulating him on his Government's action in making annual payments for children in non-government schools. The letter states "it constitutes a precedent which, it is hoped, will be followed by other State Governments in the near future."
Correspondence also shows the PFFV was circulating its Newsletters regularly to the FPFCSQ who also corresponded with the newly formed NSW Association for Educational Freedom (NSWAEF).
TASMANIA (Top)
On Sunday 22 November 1959, delegates representing seventeen Catholic schools met at St Patrick's College, Prospect,Tasmania, for the purpose of establishing a Federation of Parents and Friends Associations.
The meeting was opened by Mr W J Keegan who welcomed the 44 delegates present, Mr R D Haley was elected chairman of the meeting and Mr P J Doolan minute secretary.
A constitution was adopted and the following office bearers were elected:
Mr R D Haley, President; Mr W Phillips, Vice President; Mr A Shirley, Secretary and Mr T O'Rourke, Treasurer; Mrs P Finlay and Messrs D A Kearney, J B Polya, A J Bravo, P Lane, L J McConnon, P G Blizzard, R M Mooney elected members of the Council.
In February 1960, Archbishop Sir Guilford Young accepted the office of Patron. He appointed Father J Dolan, Chaplain to the Federation.
The Tasmanian parents made immediate approaches to political parties and had the full support of Archbishop Young who was held in high regard by all political parties in Tasmania.
The political climate at State level with regard to non-government schools was remarkably favourable. The Advocate of 30th April 1959, in summarising the views of the three Tasmanian political parties at this time on the issue of 'state aid' reported "All Political Parties agree in principle." It further reported:
"Leaders of the three political parties in Tasmania, in their policy speeches for the election on 2 May, gave detailed expression to their views on relationships between State finance and non-State schools. This, in itself, remarks an editorial in the Hobart Catholic weekly 'The Standard', is an historic event in Australian life. All parties have given formal recognition of the importance of the place of these schools in the community.Further, every party has promised to do something in the way of using State resources to assist non-State schools."
At this time Mr Reece was Premier of the Tasmanian Labor Government and transport subsidies to parents of children in non-State schools were being paid. Textbook hire, access to government stores and to the Schools Library Service were promises in the future, as were the Liberal Party's promises to allow government-trained teachers to have the choice of teaching in government or non-government schools and to participate in the State Teachers Superannuation Fund.
The newly formed Democratic Labor Party (DLP) said that in the long-term all schooling should be free. In the short term, in addition to the promises of other parties, there should be interest-free long term loans for school buildings. Despite these comforting words and good intentions Tasmanian parents realised there was a long way to go to obtain equitable funding for non-government school children.
Early records of the APC, the PFFWA and the PFFV especially 1961 and 1962 indicated a clear wish to join with non-government school parents from other states in a national organisation. Distance, cost of travel and accommodation and lack of funds held them back. These factors were a continual problem for the APC in its early years.
NEW SOUTH WALES (Top)
In 1962 in Goulburn NSW, a momentous event gave impetus to the formation the Australian Parents Council. This event, known as the Goulburn 'Closure' received nation-wide media coverage on the unjust treatment of Catholic and other parents who chose other than State schools for their children. It was a watershed for the 'state aid' issue amongst politicians of all political persuasions. The details are contained in the section titled The Goulburn 'Closure'.
Prior to the happenings in Goulburn, in other areas of NSW, Catholic parents were coming together to discuss how best to obtain a return of a fair share of their taxes which they paid for all schooling.
In Wagga in 1959, a group of Catholic laymen with the encouragement and help of Bishop Francis Henschke, set up a committee to look at all aspects of Catholic schooling in that city. They researched all aspects of government aid for schooling both in Australia and in overseas countries. Material from the United States Council for Educational Freedom had a great influence on their thinking. This was supplied by Mr Lawrie and Mrs Kathleen Woolf of Sydney, recently returned from the U.S. The committee soon proposed that it should undertake political action to secure equity in the distribution of government funds for schooling.
With Bishop Henschke's encouragement, Parents and Friends Associations were set up in schools in the Wagga Diocese during the early 1960s. Some of the men prominent in this Association were Messrs John Hewitt, Brian Allen, Ray Storrier, Brian Gallagher and Alan Taylor, who was to become the first President of the yet to be formed Australian Parents Council.
In the Newcastle/Maitland area a group of Catholic laymen under the leadership of Mr Peter Murray formed the Hunter Valley Federation.
On the South Coast of NSW various small groups came together for the same purpose: Dr Bill Feneley, Mr John O'Driscoll and Mr Gino Fogliati from the Bulli/Thirroul area, Mr Brian O'Neill of Nowra and Messrs David Nelson, Alan Hogan and Vince Tobin of Wollongong.
They produced the Illawarra Education Journal, a forerunner of the AEF Journal, which was so influential when the NSWAEF was formed in August 1962, almost simultaneously with the APC.
Dr Bill Feneley, with seven children in local Catholic schools, was incensed to learn that the only government assistance available for his children was 'one-third of a pint of milk per day'. His enthusiasm and drive and his gift for enthusing others to the cause were instrumental in organising a sound financial gift system from hundreds of supporters which helped fund the commencement of the yet to be formed state and national parents' bodies.
These three groups - Wagga, Hunter Valley and Illawarra were ready additional springboards for action in NSW when the Goulburn 'closure' of Catholic schools took place and the whole matter of the struggle for educational justice took on state and national dimensions.
These NSW groups formed the nucleus of the NSWAEF which in November 1974 became the NSW Parents Council (NSWPC). Its setting up on 25th August 1962 was authorised by a provisional Committee of eighteen persons appointed at the Goulburn meeting of 25th August 1962 which in turn had been authorised by the momentous Lilac Time Hall meeting of July 1962. These Goulburn meetings are described in more detail in the next sections.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA (Top)
In 1967, a group of concerned parents from Catholic schools in SA met to form a group to lobby the state government to provide funding grants to Catholic schools. At that time, SA was the only state that did not provide government aid to our schools. Their lobbying was successful and from this fruitful beginning the Federation has grown and flourished.
It continues to be an active voice for parents and families with children in Catholic schools, representing the views, thoughts and needs of all parents in state and national education forums. The Federation also proudly supports and promotes the tireless work of parents as partners in school communities. Click here to download and read the "Potted History"
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