Principal 1959

Br Joseph Raymond O'Keane was appointed Principal in 1959.

Born in Ballarat where his parents were hoteliers, he brought new ideas and ways which ruffled a few feathers. In his first report he stressed the sacrifices of Catholic parents in an education system which thanks to the Government remained secular, also he emphasised the role of the Matriculation class stating that students and parents should not simply treat it as a class where they obtained entry to university. He lamented that Geelong had very few boys in the Matriculation class, only 18 where smaller communities had three times that number. "Though we all know Geelong should have its own University College or branch, let us not use its absence as an excuse for neglecting the higher education of our boys".

Br O'Keane gave notice that pressure on resources would lead him to weed out middle and senior students who did not approach their studies 'with sufficient seriousness of purpose'. He also rallied against the imitation of 'weird hair' and dress styles being protrayed in the media and those who treated the school uniform as optional.

In 1961 Br O'Keane was happy to report that despite post war materials shortages, a new block of 12 classrooms was due to be completed. This was a project he had launched a building appeal for, and called on the help of the Old Collegians to help raise funds for the much needed facilities.

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