St Virgil’s College

St Virgil's College is a Roman Catholic, primary and secondary day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania. Established in 1911 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the College has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 680 students from Years 3 to 10, with 120 at the junior campus and 480 at the senior campus.

The College has been embroiled in allegations of child sexual abuse, with many former past students having private sessions with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The main perpetrator at the college was Brother Patrick Timothy Farrell, who taught at the college in the 1950s. Brother Farrell was the head of the junior dormitory where the sexual assaults took place. Brother Farrell is alleged to have sexually abused many students at the school. After repeated complaints, Brother Farrell was eventually forced out of Tasmania, but was allowed to continue at another Christian Brothers school in Canberra. It’s a pattern that emerged countless times during the Royal Commission’s examination of the Catholic Church in Australia.

We invite former victims of sexual and physical abuse by any member of the Christian Brothers at the School to contact us to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.