The splendid vision of a modem Xavier College is, to a significant extent, the result of the support of those that came before us. Although they are largely unheralded, we remember with gratitude a few of our major benefactors who, as thousands of students who have benefited will attest, have helped make Xavier what it is today.
All of Xavier owes its continuing vitality to the support and generosity of its benefactors. Patrick has been a particularly generous benefactor to the Foundation. He has donated funds which have been directed towards the provision of the Loftus-Hills Family Music Scholarships for four boys from Year 9 through to Year 12 to study Music at Xavier.
Matthew Cody left twenty-five percent of the residue of his Estate to the Society of Jesus. The income generated from this generous man's gift is used to ensure that at any one time at least 8 students, who otherwise would not attend the College, can receive the benefit of a Jesuit education at Xavier. The Matthew Cody Scholarships perpetuate Matthew's interest in the personal betterment of the worthy recipients and continues to be a gratefully accepted part of our educational system.
Eric Phillips maintained an ongoing interest in Xavier during his lifetime, and donated over $100,000 to the Foundation. His memory is perpetuated by the Eric Phillips Scholarship and in the First VIII Rowing Shell which carried his name.
In 1920, T M Burke purchased Studley Hall for £5,600 (equivalent to approximately $338,000 today) and presented the property to Archbishop Daniel Mannix, who in turn donated it to the Jesuits. Two years later he presented a new block of classrooms. Some years later, his wife donated the Chapel in memory of her brother. These magnificent gifts, more than any others, changed the make-up of Xavier forever. The Burke Hall Campus in Kew continues to proudly carry the Burke name.
Margaret Tutton and her brother John K Tutton (OX 1931) have contributed generously to the redevelopment of senior campus Science facilities and the new Learning Hubs completed in late 2019. Like her sister Betty, Margaret and John have generously supported the College through the Margaret Littledale Tutton and the John Kerr Tutton Trusts. In 2020, the Xavier College Foundation was given custody of the largest single bequest in its recent history – an amount of more than $14 million from the Margaret Littledale Tutton Trust which will provide the following Scholarships and Bursaries in perpetuity named in memory of her sister, brother and brother-in-law and herself:
Students have every reason to remember the man whose bequest allowed the construction of the classrooms, known as the Rigg Wing. Without Charles Rigg's generous bequest to offset building costs, increased fees may very well have precluded many from attending the College at all.
A love of Xavier and of music saw this very generous Old Xaverian bequeath the substantial gift of $100,000 in 1990. Income from this bequest is being used to fund scholarships for music studies and to maintain and upgrade instrumental equipment at the College. In the Music Department, this generous benefactor's name is remembered in Marron Hall, where a plaque and a photographic biography are located.
Eldon Hogan ensured that his lifelong loyalty and active participation in the life of the College continued not only in spirit, but be perpetuated by an extraordinarily generous benefaction of $4 million. Through the Eldon Hogan Trust and fellow Old Xaverian, trustee Peter Walsh funds were directed to the construction of the Performing Arts Centre, a Scholarship Fund, an Archives Centre and Exhibition Gallery and many other projects.
The Steinway & Sons grand piano, currently located in the Eldon Hogan Performing Arts Centre, is an outstanding reminder of the enduring bequests of the late John Kearney QC (OX 1939) and his wife Alison. John Kearney completed his studies at Xavier and went on to study law at the University of Melbourne. He was appointed a QC in 1964 aged 41, the youngest such appointment at the time. The upgrade of the Charles Street Gates was also the result of the joint generosity of Alison and John Kearney and Margaret Tutton, in memory of her brother John Kerr Tutton (OX 1931).
The Science facilities at the Senior Campus are named “The John & Betty Ryan Science Wing” to honour the late Betty Ryan’s great generosity to the College. In recent years, the College has been supported by Betty Ryan through the Jean Elizabeth (Betty) Ryan Trust for many projects including the new Learning Hubs completed at the end of 2019. Prior to her death, Betty also donated the eagle lectern in the Xavier College Memorial Chapel, in loving memory of her husband John.
The generous benefaction from John Crosbie allowed for the construction, not only of a three storey classroom block named in his honour in 1987, but also of the multi-purpose room named in memory of Fr James Hawkins SJ. The importance of the bequest of this wonderful Old Xaverian cannot be overstated.
Other benefactors have supported the College as well as students who otherwise might not have been able to access a Xavier education. Many of these students achieve highly and go on to serve the wider community
If you would like to stand with us and our generous benefactors, please call the Foundation Office on (03) 9815 4542
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