Principal
On Wednesday morning, we gathered for the solemn ritual of Ash Wednesday. A ritual that marks the start of our Lenten journey as a Christian community to Easter Sunday. This is a hope-filled journey that is characterised by the three traditional pillars of Lent - prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three actions help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and remind us of the ultimate sacrifice that he made on behalf of all humankind. In our prayers on Wednesday, we sought God’s help to make this season a time when we make choices that bring us closer to God. To amend our lives in even the smallest of ways, finding time to pray is a choice that we can make that draws us nearer to God.
In the words of Pope Francis reflecting on Lent during his Ash Wednesday Mass:
‘It is a time to reconsider the path we are taking to find the route that leads us home and to rediscover our profound relationship with God, on whom everything depends.’
Many of you will be aware of Fr Peter Dillon’s use of the metaphor of the movie ‘The Field of Dreams’ and the very origins of the College 130 years ago. It is apt metaphor for another dimension of school life. Our field of dreams is not the cornfields of Ohio but the playing fields at The Flats. The Flats as we have known them in recent time were recommissioned in the 1950s by the then Headmaster Brother Maximus O’Connor. At that time, there were seven playing fields. The origins of The Flats goes back to our earliest days and the work of two hard working lay Brothers who were themselves brothers by birth. Brother Patrick (Macarius) Smith and Brother Nicholas (Joachim) Smith commenced at Nudgee in 1891 and 1892, respectively. As lay Brothers, they did not teach but they were men who completed the physical labour around the College. Our archivist Mr John Sayer captures the nature of this work here:
“In 1892 when Nicholas, now known as Brother Joachim, arrived, thick forest and scrub covered all the land at Nudgee. …. The zealous Brother Joachim, along with his brother, Brother Macarius and Brother Albert, set to work and cleared what we know today as the Flats of Nudgee. They sank wells, erected fences, cleared land, ploughed the land and very soon smiling fields of corn, pineapples and bananas soon replaced the wild impenetrable bush that greeted the first boarders at Nudgee. In the early days they even had to tie paper to trees in order to find their way back to the Mound of Nudgee – so dense was the scrub.”
Brothers Patrick and Nicholas served the College for 37 years until the late 1920s. Their outstanding contributions during our earliest, and perhaps hardest, years were acknowledged in the Golden Jubilee Year of 1941 when they were named as two of the Patriarchs of the College.
Of course, for generations of Nudgee College men those hardened and thinly grassed surfaces of The Flats have been the Field of Dreams. The current generation of Nudgee College men share the same dreams; about that catch, that shot, that try, that goal, that tackle. Dreams that become shared memories with teammates in the Blue and White.
It is significant that this Friday afternoon that we will host the blessing and recommissioning of The Flats Sporting Complex. Leading the ceremony is our Year 12 leaders, Dean of Identity Stephen Meara, Father John Gillen, staff who run and work in the various sporting programs. In attendance will also be key representatives from the Parent support group, the various consultants, builders, engineers and architects who assisted us during the redevelopment of the precinct. The rain over the last two months has been terrific for the fields that have been turfed but has delayed the last 10% of the project, which is the south-eastern corner that contains two junior cricket fields. Weather permitting our junior football team will be playing on them in early Term 2.
What now constitutes The Flats? 14 hectares of ovals, six cricket fields, ten full size multi-purpose ovals, 28 cricket practice pitches, cross country courses and an extensive dam with associated water treatment and recycling plant. The Flats contain the very best drainage and irrigation systems and are covered with magnificent turf. Every cent spent improved the complex for all boys who will play on those fields in the years to come. In due course, we will consider the soft scape, shade, parking, general catering facilities and more as we further develop the next stage of The Flats.
We are very excited about this redevelopment, what it means for our boys and the school community. We remain incredibly grateful that God’s blessings have enabled us to undertake this transformative project.
I share with you some recent drone footage of The Flats, our field of dreams!

Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal