ACC History Timeline

Around 1906 the Procession was firmly established as an important official function and the custom was to have a gymkhana picnic sports day at its completion. The competition, open to all Catholic Colleges, country as well as metropolitan, was limited to athletics. All trophies, including the Archbishop’s Shield, were provided…

In the early years of the century an organisation called the Secondary Colleges Competition included eight teams for football and cricket from the following Catholic and non-Catholic colleges: C.B.C North Melbourne, CBC St Kilda, St Vincent’s College South Melbourne, Carlton College, Caulfield Grammar, Brighton Grammar, Assumption College Kilmore, and an…

To replace the Secondary Colleges Competition a group of six Brothers’ Colleges established the Secondary Teams Association on April 2, 1909, and started competing in 1910. The names of these Colleges remain unknown. At the time football and cricket were the only sports offered. It was not until 1914 that…

The Secondary Teams Association later emerged as the Metropolitan Catholic Colleges. It offered competition in football, cricket, and swimming. Thus was formed an association of Catholic boys’ colleges in the city of Melbourne as distinct from a Catholic country sporting organisation.

St Kevin’s College (formerly known as CBC Toorak) departs the ACC and joins the APS.

St Joseph’s Marist Brothers’ College, North Fitzroy, joins the ACC.

Salesian College, Chadstone, joins the ACC.

St John’s College, Braybrook, joins the ACC.

St Paul’s College, Altona North, joins the ACC.

St Joseph’s College leaves the ACC.

In 1979 St John’s College became a Junior Secondary College; Chisholm College was formed to cater for co-educational senior secondary classes. Both Colleges constituted one member in the ACC.

Salesian College moves from the ACC to the Eastern Independent Schools (EIS).

At the end of this second period, the Associated Catholic Colleges of Melbourne was comprised of the following eight members: Parade College Bundoora, Christian Brothers’ College St Kilda, St Joseph’s College North Melbourne (incorporating St Joseph’s College Pascoe Vale), De La Salle College Malvern, St Bede’s College Mentone, St Bernard’s…

The late 1980s saw a further broadening of the range of sports offered as part of the ACC and the introduction of junior competitions in a number of additional sports.

Chisholm College withdrew from the Association at the end of 1987, but St John’s Braybrook continued to compete in the Junior and Juvenile sections of the Athletics, Swimming and Cross-country competitions and the Year 10 competitions of the other sports.

St Joseph’s Pascoe Vale also withdrew from the Association in 1988 and Cathedral College, East Melbourne with Trinity College, Brunswick, both feeder Colleges for CBC North Melbourne, formed a combined squad to participate in the three major carnivals.

Increasing concern at the one-sided nature of many matches and competitions due to the ever-widening gap in enrolments between some Colleges led to the creation of the Division 1 and Division 2 competitions in some sports in 1990.

To cater better for younger students a series of one-day competitions was introduced in the second half of the 1990s for Year 7 and 8 students.

In 2000, Samaritan College (an amalgamation of Redden Preston and St Joseph’s North Fitzroy) joined as a full member of the ACC whilst Trinity College Brunswick and Simonds College West Melbourne both joined as Associate members which enabled competition in Carnivals and Rally Days, but not weekly fixtured competition.

2001 saw Trinity Brunswick withdrawing from ACC competition and the introduction of Debating and Music to extend the ACC program of activities.

At the end of 2004 John Morrison completed six years of service before passing the Executive Officer baton to Mr. Paddy McKenna. Given the consolidation and further development of ACC sport and the extension of ACC activities into the areas of Music, Debating and Student Leadership, ACC Principals decided to…

In early 2008, St. Paul’s College in Altona North opened a new co-educational campus in Point Cook to complement the boys campus and changed its name to Emmanuel College.

At the conclusion of 2008, Samaritan College closed, ending their involvement with the ACC. The property in Preston was purchased by Parade College and from 2009 set up as their second campus.

In late 2009, St. Joseph’s Melbourne closed its Junior Campus in Pascoe Vale.

St. Joseph’s Melbourne closed its Senior Campus at the end of 2010, ending a long and proud history of involvement in the ACC. The North Melbourne campus was eventually set up by EREA as an alternative educational setting.