History

Rupertswood

Salesian College occupies the spacious grounds that include the superb Victorian mansion built by Sir William Clarke and named for his son Rupert in 1874. It is set in magnificent gardens and was an important centre of social life in Colonial Victoria.

Rupertswood was the home of Sir William Clarke's elite Battery of Horse Artillery, set up to protect Victoria against a perceived Russian invasion. One of its duties was to escort the Governor to the opening of Parliament. The Battery was revived in 1977 and is made up of Salesian College students.

Rupertswood also holds a place in the great sporting rivalry between Australia and England, as it was at Rupertswood that 'The Ashes' were created when the English touring side were the Clarke's guests in 1882.

The distinguished educational tradition of Salesian College began when the Salesians arrived in 1927. It was a boys' boarding school until the 1950s, when it first admitted day students, continuing to offer boarding, mainly to students from rural Victoria and southern NSW. Following Sunbury's growth in the 1980s, the Salesians and the Archdiocese of Melbourne agreed that from 1992 Rupertswood would also welcome girls. By 1997, Rupertswood had become fully co-educational and ceased all provision for student boarding.