College History

For 100 years, the vision of Nano Nagle, the courage of St Rita and the devotion of the Presentation Sisters have guided the story of St Rita's College.

When the Presentation Sisters opened St Agatha's School in 1925, they cast hopeful eyes, as well as medals of St Joseph, across the fence at the adjoining property, trusting that St Joseph  would come to their aid in securing the land. In 1926, when owner Edward Blume subdivided his estate, Mothers Ursula Kennedy and Patrick Madden entered negotiations to purchase Stanley Hall, supported by Fr O’Connell from the parish. The cost for the property was beyond what the Sisters could borrow, and the bank required a guarantor. When all other efforts proved fruitless, Mother Ursula turned to the Martin brothers of Springsure/Emerald - Fred, Joe, Will and George - long loyal friends of the Presentation Sisters.  

The Sisters were particularly close to Fred Martin, father of Frank and Philomena, with Philomena herself joining the Presentation Congregation and taking the name ‘Sr Rita’. With the Martins' generosity, the Sisters secured the loan.  

On 26 September 1926, the new college, St Rita’s was blessed and began teaching in the former ballroom of Stanley Hall, which now houses our Heritage Room and Admissions team.  

The name St Rita's honours the deep devotion carried by our founding sisters, who had travelled from Wagga Wagga to Longreach in 1900 to establish the first Presentation Congregation in Queensland. This patroness - a model of womanhood in both her married and conventual life - ensured that a saintly woman's name from faraway Italy would be remembered proudly as that of their Alma Mater by thousands of Queensland women. 

Throughout the years the Sisters led St Rita’s there were many years of hardship, but they always prevailed with Nano Nagle’s inspiration “The best works meet with the greatest crosses”  

Over the decades, St Rita’s began to thrive under the hard work and dedication of our Presentations Sisters. They were teachers, music tutors, sports coaches, boarding supervisors, cleaners and gardeners. They did it all, to ensure their students would become women of action, not just words. Since our humble beginnings in 1926, we have grown to a community of over 1200 students, over 300 staff and proudly educate young women from Years 5-12.  

In 2026, our Centenary year, we celebrated and thanked our Presentation Sisters and our staff, past and present, for their extraordinary service, and celebrate with our alumnae and current students, giving thanks for the many blessings of our beautiful College community. 

Having celebrate our 100 years, we now look towards the future - a future captured in our vision of "amplifying our impact." Grounded in our Presentation heritage, we will continue to nurture confident, compassionate and courageous young women, equipping them to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We will embrace innovation, emerging technologies and dynamic learning environments, while remaining steadfast in our commitment to faith, service and justice. Above all, we will form young women who lead with compassion and act with purpose - ensuring the Presentation legacy we celebrate today is not only preserved but reimagined for generations to come. 

A special thank you to Sr Rita Cusack pbvm, (College Historian, Presentation Sister, Music Teacher and Past Pupil) for her research and investigations into our College History, and for her passionate advocacy in sharing the stories of our Founding Sisters.