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History

St Patrick's College is a Catholic Integrated boys College situated on an attractive site near the sea at Kilbirnie, Wellington.
The College carries the name of St Patrick, the great saint of Ireland.

St Patrick’s College was founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood SM in 1885. It was one of the first fruits of the Society of Mary (Marists) and was first staffed by Irish Marist priests whose zeal, drive and enthusiasm caught the imagination of the Catholic population of New Zealand.

In 1931 the boarding section of the College was transferred to Silverstream in the Upper Hutt Valley to allow room for the expanding numbers of students on the then Cambridge Terrace site.

This decision gave rise to St Pat’s Town and St Pat’s Silverstream, the two St Patrick’s Colleges linked by their common name, history, and the many competitive and co-operative events in which they participate together.

In 1979 St Patrick’s College moved from its Cambridge Terrace site to new purpose-built facilities adjacent to Kilbirnie Park and Evans Bay. These facilities gave the College a new standard of accommodation that continues to be developed to ensure a learning environment that meets the needs of today and the future.