Our Archives


St Mary’s College Archives was set up in 1999 on the eve of the College’s 150th Jubilee in 2000.

They comprise a collection of historical records including photographs, rolls for the 1930s onwards, programmes for musical concerts and productions, uniforms, early magazines and the documentation required to be kept under the Public Records Act 2005.

St Mary's College Archivist: Olivia Quigan

St Mary's College Archives Assistant: Trisha Nally

They can be reached on, E:archives@stmw.school.nz.

Scroll down to learn about Olivia and Trisha.

Note, the Archives team is run on a voluntary basis so they may take longer than normal to respond.

The College is always keen to add to the various collections. 

Can you help, do you have any information you wish to share with the College, photo and information are most welcome.

If you wish to learn more about the history of the College, you may like to purchase the histories of the College. They are available from the College.

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“Girls in Bonnets.  The Life and Times of the Young Women who Founded St Mary’s College 1850 – 1860”  By Margaret Deere
Published in 2010.
Price $15

OUT OF PUBLICATION

“Mercy Comes to Wellington.  A History of St Mary’s College”
Sister M. de Porres
Published in 2000.
Price $25, inclusive of GST.

This is provided to you as a soft copy only.

Olivia Quigan, St Mary's College Archivist

I was a student at St Mary's from 2006 - to 2010. I am really excited to be joining the school
again to manage the archives, taking over from the esteemed Mrs Deere, who has been at
the school for many years and a great part of my time here.


I was Head Librarian during my final year, which was also the School's 160th Jubilee. We
celebrated by sharing many aspects of the school's past - from uniforms to photos of old
students and buildings. I look forward to helping ensure we are able to stay connected to
the long history of the school.


After leaving college, I studied at Victoria University, gaining a Bachelor of Science and a
Master of Conservation Biology. I currently work as a Policy Adviser in the Public Sector.
I both play and coach netball, enjoy reading and get out into Wellington's hills for birdwatching walks in my spare time.

Trisha Nally - St Mary's College Archives Assistant

Attended St Mary's from 1965-1969, when most of the teachers were nuns and the
buildings were very different to the school today. I helped organise class reunions over the
decades, involving quite a lot of detective work to find all the people from our class, a
challenge, especially in pre-internet/social media days. We all have strong memories of
teachers, classmates, activities, uniforms, subjects we loved, major events and more. I'm
interested in history and people's stories and am looking forward to contributing to the
work on the archives at St Mary's.