Principal’s Message
Welcome to Bethany College Hurstville, a centre of quality Catholic education for girls from Year 7 to Year 12.
Bethany College had its beginnings in 1993 when the rich traditions of the Sisters of St Joseph and the Sisters of Charity were combined 
to meet the educational needs of girls in the St George area of Sydney, NSW.
At Bethany, we pride ourselves on having a warm and welcoming atmosphere where we strive for each girl to feel safe, happy, and confident. This in turn provides the best learning environment for each girl to grow. Bethany girls are encouraged to set goals to achieve their best in the classroom, in extracurricular activities, and in their relationships.
With a focus on collaboration and continual personal growth, Bethany girls have achieved outstanding HSC results with our College consistently ranked inside the top 100 schools across the State.
Students at the college enjoy wonderful facilities – including a collaborative library space, state-of-the-art facilities for visual arts, dance, music, drama, design subjects, a commercial kitchen, and multimedia equipment.
For parents considering applying for enrolment for their daughters, we look forward to answering your enrolment inquiries and welcoming you and your daughter into the Bethany College community.
At Bethany, we strive to have young girls develop into young women who are strong in faith, intellect, and character and who are inspired to achieve their personal best.
Ms. Robyn Rodwell
Principal
History
Bethany had its beginnings in 1993 when the rich traditions of the Sisters of St Joseph were established at St Joseph’s Rockdale as early as the 1920s and then moved to Kogarah in 1965 and the Sisters of Charity, established at St Mary’s Star of the Sea Hurstville in 1885, were combined to meet the educational needs of girls in the St George area.
The college’s original structure featured Years 7 and 8 at Kogarah and Years 9 through 12 at Hurstville.
In 2009, the college relocated the Year 7 and 8 campus to newly built facilities at Hurstville campus. In 2010 the major redevelopment of facilities on the Hurstville Campus was completed, with all new buildings occupied by staff and students from the beginning of the 2011 school year. The past decade has seen Years 7 to 12 enjoy the benefits of a singular campus at Hurstville.
Bethany is proud of its heritage and of those nuns who pioneered Catholic education in the St George area. The educational vision of these women, with the message of the Gospel, provides a foundation for the faith of our students to grow and develop as they journey through life.
Bethany College continues a tradition of quality education for girls, exemplified in the college motto, that as a community we are called to:
“Act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God”
Our Purpose
At Bethany, guided by our college motto – to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God – we seek to equip, nurture and empower young women, strong in:
- Intellect: Young women with the skills to respond critically and creatively to the challenges that arise in an increasingly complex world.
- Faith: Young women who will continue to meet the world with a sense of justice, humility and love that is always rooted in the college motto, to: act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with God.
- Character: Confident, resilient young women who are critically engaged in their world, motivated to be agents of change.
Our Values
To act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God, means as a member of a community of learners, inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, we are called to:
- Act with justice for the benefit of each person locally and globally
- Love and accept myself and others as God loves us, and
- Walk my journey with honesty, courage and integrity, striving for wholeness, trusting in God’s providence, care and guidance.
Read our extended Purpose and Values
Our Vision
In order to realise our mission, to live out our values and realise our purpose, we believe that:
Together, we grow
On December 18, 1850, Michael Gannon purchased 1905 acres from the estate of Captain John Townson whose grant of crown land “took in the whole of the present suburbs of Hurstville and Carlton reaching almost to Kogarah Bay”.
Michael Gannon transferred the ownership of two acres of his land to the Most Reverend John Bede Polding on November 24 1855 as a site for a Catholic church; because there were few Catholics then living in the district with no buildings erected.
Almost thirty years had passed before a meeting of Catholics, under the chairmanship of Rev. Placid Quirk, decided to build on this land a temporary church with the name ‘St Michael’.
The foundation stones of the church and the convent for the Sisters of Charity who were to teach there, were laid on May 2 1885 by Archbishop Moran. The buildings were blessed and opened in October of the following year by the Archbishop.
The coming of the railway to Hurstville increased the population, and soon a larger church was needed. This building, which accommodates up to 400 people, was opened on 16 May 1909 and remains the present parish church. The Presbytery was built in 1914.
The current church of St Michael’s, after alterations and additions to the old building, was blessed on 18th June of the jubilee year 2000. The new administration block in the presbytery was built in 2007.
Some of the priests fondly remembered are Fr Arthur Mahr (1965-1993), Fr Thomas Dunlea (1955-1970), Fr Ron Harden (1970-2005), Fr Mani Malana (2005- 2013), and Bishop Rev David Cremin (1974-2010). At present Rev Fr Janusz Bieniek is our Parish Priest.
According to the latest census, of the 4000 Catholics in the Hurstville area, almost 850 attend the weekend Masses. Major ethnic groups after Australians came to our Church were Italians, Chinese, Filipinos, Croatians, Indonesians, and South Americans.
Attached to the Church is our local primary (and feeder) school, St Mary’s Star of the Sea. We give a strong focus to the faith formation and Sacramental celebrations of the children and supporting young families. St Michael’s is a very vibrant and active parish. Supporting and caring for each other, and accepting and respecting our diversity draws the community together in Christ. At present, there are over 200 parishioners who are directly involved in various church ministries and parish activities. The parish heartily welcomes all newcomers, all those who are interested to know about the faith, as well as those who have been away to come and join the parish family.