The Goulburn School Strike was a protest action in July 1962 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia.
The protesters were families of students attending St Brigid's Primary School - a school run by the local Catholic church. Children enrolled at the school were all withdrawn and enrolled at local state schools in the town, placing pressure on the resources available at those schools. The immediate aim of the protest was to secure government assistance to construct a new toilet block at St Brigid's to meet government health requirements. The protests arose in a background of heated political debate about "state aid" to Catholic schools and accusations of sectarianism. The strike, in effect a lockout, generated hostility in Goulburn and across Australia.
The action and the political aftermath saw both major parties in Australia commit to providing support to Catholic and other religious schools on a "needs" basis, a step away from the earlier philosophy of "free, secular and compulsory". The "state aid" model has persisted, despite some moves for reform, since that date.
Background
Catholic education in Australia started in the early 19th century and by 1833 there were at least 10 Catholic schools operating in Australia. These schools were funded by a mix of charity, fees and, until the 1860s, some government support.
By the 1850s there was strong pressure from the community in each of the Australian colonies for education to be placed on "free, secular and compulsory" basis. The first colony to provide public education was Victoria (Australia) with the passing of the Education Act in 1872. As well as providing for public education, the Act removed government funding for non-government schools, including Catholic schools. By 1893, all of the Australian colonies had legislated to remove government funding from Catholic schools. After the introduction of free, secular education, the Catholic hierarchy and laypeople decided to continue to offer Catholic education. With no funding, Catholic schools relied on religious brothers and sisters for teachers.
Most Catholics in Australia were of Irish background and relations between those Australians of Irish Catholic descent and the mainly Protestant establishment were often fraught. Sectarianism in Australia made the subject of state aid for Catholic schools too politically risky for governments and the Catholic hierarchy to entertain until the middle of the 20th century.
After the Second World War, an increase in student numbers and a decline in religious brothers and sisters saw many Catholic schools in crisis. Classes with over 70 students were held in inadequate facilities. With direct state aid to Catholic schools not permitted, both state and federal governments provided some limited assistance mainly in the way of bursaries paid direct to families and in teacher training. Direct aid to schools for teacher salaries or facilities was unacceptable.
Lead up
Goulburn had a large and growing Catholic population and this was placing pressure on the Catholic schools in the town. The crisis came to a head in 1962 at St Brigid's Primary School which by this time had 84 students in one kindergarten classroom. Inspectors from the New South Wales Department of Education determined that in order to continue to operate, the school needed to install three additional toilets, to cater for the number of children enrolled. The school and the families of the children enrolled claimed to be unable to afford the cost of the additional toilets and with the support of the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn John Cullinane decided to take a stand on the matter.
In a speech on St Patrick's Day (17 March) of 1962, Bishop Cullinane stated, in front of Laurie Tullythe local Member of Parliament and government memberthat St Brigid's may need to close. The local Catholics were refused a meeting with Ernest Wetherell, the New South Wales Minister for Education, to discuss the matter. The NSW government was advised that if it wished the school to stay open it could pay to have its requirements met. Local parents, paying taxes to support education, supported the Bishop's stand. Bishop Cullinane then invited the minister to a public meeting in Goulburn to debate the matter. While the minister did not attend, 700 locals did and voted 500 to 120 to close not just St Brigid's but all six Catholic schools in Goulburn; the 2000 students of those schools were to be instructed to seek enrolment at government schools.