Ignatius Park College (IPC/Iggy Park) is an independent Catholic secondary school for boys in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The school is affiliated with the Edmund Rice Education Australia network that operates under the direction of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The school was established in 1969 at its current location in Cranbrook, though it was built as a successor school to Our Lady's Mount, the former Catholic boys' secondary that was located in Stanton Hill. The college has a student population of ~1000 boys from Years 7 to 12.
House system
Like many other Australian schools, Ignatius Park College is built upon a system of houses. At Ignatius Park there are seven houses. These are: Baillie House, Carew House, Nolan House, Putney House, Reid House, Rice House and Treacy House. Every house has six years levels 7–12 with each house having one class per year level. At the start only 5 houses were present however over the years more have been introduced with the latest being the Putney House in 2014.
Some Houses have other names, such as: The Putney Silverbacks, The Nolan Lions, The Treacy Tigers and The Baillie Bears. Each house has quirks and many unique aspects that make them different, along with what event each house performs better in.
Baillie House The Baillie House was named after Br Leonard Loyal Baillie (1919–1984). The Baillie house colour is 'Blue' and their house motto is "Rip into It". Br Ballie was born in Mackay in 1919 and came from a large catholic family if eight boys. He spent three years as an apprentice tailor, before running away from home at 19 to go to Sydney to become a Christian Brother. Br Baillie began teaching in Balmain in 1944 and three years later was transferred to Our Lady's Mount on Stanton Hill in Townsville. After spending two years in Townsville, Br Baillie moved to Ingham to help establish Cardinal Gilroy Cllage but then returned as the 'Abbot' of St John Fisher, where he acted as both Principal and Superior of the community. Throughout the following years, Br Baillie taught in various locations including Brisbane and Papua New Guinea before retiring to Townsville. After battling some ill health, he passed away in 1984.
The ideals of the Baillie House are based on Br Baillie's spirit of developing and maintaining strong relationships, as well as understanding the importance of family, respecting others and working hard. Carew House The Carew House was named after Paddy Carew (1922–2002). The Carew House colour is 'Maroon', and their house motto is "Effort Every Time". The Carew House was founded in 2005 in the memory of Paddy Carew. Paddy Carew also has the Paddy Carew Shield which each year every house competes to win, the shield is the overall placements every house receives in every event along with academic achievement and behavior and effort students have in the classroom.
Paddy Carew was an Irishman and was a Golden Gloves Boxer in Ireland. Paddy left Dublin in 1944 to teach in London and migrated to Australia with his wife, Elieen in 1963 where they had five sons. Paddy started teaching at IPC in 1970, six months after the school opened and remained active at the school right up till his death in 2002. He is remembered as always looking out for the student who was battling (fighting) and was a much-loved member of the IPC community. He was a man of faith who appreciated sport, academia, family values, good times and, most of all people.
The objective of the Carew House is to follow the values and efforts of Paddy Carew and appreciate things and enjoy friendships. They believe that doing so will create an environment that Paddy and his family would be proud of. Nolan House The Nolan House was named after Br Patrick Wilfred Nolan (1877–1938). The Nolan house colour is 'Gold/Yellow' and their house motto is "Unleash the Fury".
Br Nolan was born in Ireland and worked some years before becoming a Christian Brother. he came to Australia in 1901 to teach in the first Christian Brother's School in Fremantle. It is remembered that Br Nolan was a careful and methodical teacher who was strict but kind and considerate. After ten years, he was appointed the first headmaster of Our Lady's Mount, Stanton Hill, Townsville.
He was later in charge of several schools in Queensland including St Laurence's, South Brisbane and Mount Carmel College, Charters Towers.
Putney House The Putney House named after Sir Bishop Micheal Putney (1946–2014). Sir Bishop Micheal Putney blessed Ignatius Park College grounds on March 16, 1969. In 2014 the year of his passing the Putney house was created in his honour, not just as the first old boy of the Christian brothers in Townsville to be appointed as a catholic priest. the Putney House colour is 'Silver' with their house motto "Patience, Presence, Passion". Bishop Putney also has a road in Townsville named after him.
Bishop Putney was ordained a priest in 1969 and worked in parishes in the Archdiocese if Brisbane, before furthering his studies in Rome. Bishop Putney became an Auxiliary Bishop in Brisbane in 1995 and was appointed the bishop of the Townsville Diocese in 2001. Bishop Putney formed relationships with a wide range of people in Townsville and these relationships were an example to the IPC community of the power that can come from relationships based on trust and mutual respect.
The motto of the Putney House "Patience, Presence, Passion", stems from the personal qualities Sir Bishop Micheal Putney was renowned for.
Reid House The Reid House was named after Br Douglas Herman Reid (1923–2000). The Reid house colour is 'Red' and their motto is "Do the little things well". The Reid House is one of the first five foundation houses in the IPC Pastoral system. Its namesake Br Douglas Herman Reid was born in South Townsville and was the first Principle of Ignatius Park College and an old boy of Our Lady's Mount. In addition to being he founding Principle, Br Reid was also a Superior and teacher of Senior Subjects. A hard-working and dedicated man, Douglas' determination to fulfill his role was inspirational.
The Reid House drew its spirit from Br Reid, emphasising participation and a holistic approach to life at Ignatius Park College. The successes of the House are attributed to this spirit of hard work and effort.
Rice House The Rice House was named after Edmund Rice (1762–1844) who was the founder of the Christian Brothers. The Rice house colour is 'Green' and their house motto is "Have a Dig". The Rice House is named for the founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers who established Ignatius Park College. The Rice house was one of the five foundational houses at IPC. All boys are supported and encouraged to do their best in all aspects of school life. Participating in classrooms, stage performance and sports. It is a point that result does not matter only effort. The ideals of the House are based on the 'old fashioned' values of being polite and well-mannered with a strong work ethic. Those in the Rice House have a responsibility like the rest of school to uphold the reputation of the college.
Treacy House The Treacy House was named after Br Patrick Ambrose Treacy (1834–1912). The Treacy House colour is White and their motto is "Respect All, Fear None".
Br Patrick Treacy was the leader of a team of Brothers who came out to Australia from Ireland in 1868. Br Treacy joined the Brothers and taught first in Wexford, specializing in Mathematics and Navigation. As a Superior, he was appointed to lead the band of brothers who opened the Melbourne mission in 1868. In 1871, Br Treacy opened the Mother House of the Australian Foundation at Victoria Parade, Melbourne.
He opened the first brothers' school in Queensland, established first in Elizabeth Street, Brisbane and then moving to a site on Gregory Terrace, to become St Joseph's College. In 1876, Br Treacy established the brothers in Dunedin, New Zealand. Br Treacy died at St Joseph's Gregory Terrace in 1912 and is buried in the brothers' plot in Nudgee Cemetery. That the Brothers' Australian venture went on to be an outstanding success, is no small measure due to the untiring efforts if Brother Patrick Ambrose Treacy.
Facilities Ignatius Park College has over 40 pianos and 20 guitars, with the combined music room worth around $100,000. It has around ten computer labs for student use. The Edmund Rice Hall is used for assemblies, special events and community use. Ignatius Park is one of a handful of schools in Queensland with a 50-metre Olympic swimming pool.
Over the last years starting in 2024, Ignatius Park College has updated many classrooms, rebuilt state of the art science labs, rebuild the area known as the quad as well as plans to continue development. (09/06/2026) Big Ben Big Ben is a section of the college where smaller assemblies are held. Typically, one year level. It is a large open room with rows of chairs that are staggered upwards. The room is air conditioned, with a large projector, white board, sound system and a lectern including a microphone for any and all presentations. Additionally there is the rice house trophy cabinet with several awards and the banners listing the current seniors for each house. Gym Ignatius Park has a gym located in the John Fisher Building, available for senior training classes and is often used by many different people across grades when open for full school use during breaks. Containing many well-maintained exercise equipment, it has anything needed for proper exercise. The IPC sports teams use the area for training in the mornings and afternoons as well. Pool Ignatius Park college is one of a few schools that have a 50-meter-long swimming pool. There are diving pads on one side and a grandstand, benches and a smaller shaded area for viewing. It is used for swim classes, and the swimming carnival. Hire of the pool can be arranged by emailing the college . After decades of service the Pool is currently under renovation to fix tiling in 2026. Learning Resource Centre (LRC) The Waterford Place Learning Resource Centre is the replacement to the old library. It opened in 2022 to the entire school, it boasts two stories with many rooms, and purposes. Contained within the LRC is Mount Sion is a large auditorium, two conference rooms, a green screen room, the IT department, the library, two printers, many areas for study, board games for student uses, a large deck outside and a small cafe area with a fridge and is also a space for Lego building. The LRC is also where the proud IPC Chess team plays their games with two electronic machines dedicated to chess, the LRC is tech free Monday to Thursday.
Within the LRC is the IT department, where students can take their laptops to be repaired, have software installed, loan out laptops or chargers. It is a small room covered in equipment. The It personnel are responsible for the software and hardware around the college as well as the wifi, any watching programs and website bans.
More information can be found at Learning Resource Centre | Ignatius Park College.
The Edmund Rice Hall The Edmund Rice Hall is fully air conditioned where full college assemblies are held along with multiple events. It is a large, very open, area with a stage at the front and two very large projectors, projecting onto banners for visible use. It has a full basketball court that can turn into a volleyball court as well. Entrances on all sides allow easy access in and out, as well into the two hall classrooms that overlook the area. Kitchen facilities include a cold room, dishwasher and service area. The kitchen is not licensed for food preparation. As such, all food must be prepared and provided by an external catering company. High-quality audiovisual facilities, including stereo sound and two large rear projection screens (4-metre wide) with projector.