As we celebrate the opening of the redeveloped Sports Centre in the Dorothy Pizzey Centre, School Archivist, Ms Melissa Campbell walks us through the evolution of sport and sporting facilities at St Catherine’s School.

In the 1921 November Edition of the St Catherine’s Magazine, Mrs Cynthia Hunter (Taylor ‘22) wrote, “Fifty years ago it was thought unladylike and tomboyish to play any strenuous games such as hockey or basketball and people would have been horrified at the very thought of girls playing football. The present-day girl plays all these games, and none is worse for it.”

The first sporting teams to be created at St Catherine’s, Toorak were recorded in the 1920s School Magazine as Tennis, Hockey, Basketball and Running. In 1924 the first Baseball team was formed.

In 1956 the School Hall, now redeveloped as the Nicholas Library, opened to accommodate School assemblies, freeing up the Ballroom in Sherren House to become a gymnasium complete with vaulting horse.

The brochure, Building for the Future outlined the need for improved and more facilities at the School with student numbers increasing from 500 to 800 over 10 years. It was also a priority to provide extra-curricular opportunities. The Master Plan outlined new facilities including a modern library, hall, and gymnastics studio. There was also a need to provide both indoor and outdoor facilities due to inclement weather and to reduce the strain on the School’s present physical facilities.

Miss Pizzey wrote in the 1989 School Magazine, “1989 has been a year of celebration at St Catherine’s. About 10 years ago we devised our Master Plan for the School. We thought through our educational programme and built new facilities or refurbished old ones to allow us to enlarge our curriculum or strengthen it.”

The new Hall was designed as a flexible space to provide indoor playing spaces for sports, and small rooms for workshops and lectures. The original Gymnasium was retained while the Music School was extended. Two tennis courts were built at the rear of the Music School.

Former Deputy Principal Mrs Yvonne Taylor, wrote in the 1990 St Catherine’s Magazine, “[Our School] responded with enthusiasm when the Hall offered a whole new range of sports including Badminton, Table Tennis, indoor Soccer, and Hockey as part of the sporting program. Currently 100 girls are attending sessions for Basketball establishing the basis for future success. The St Catherine’s Hall has been in operation for over a year, and it has added a new dimension to life at School.”

St Catherine’s Hall was renamed the Dorothy Pizzey Centre upon Miss Pizzey’s retirement in 1997. The continuing development of Sport for St Catherine’s students has created an enduring participation in individual and team sports, fostering teamwork, sportsmanship, and a love for physical activity.