Origins A Christian Brothers' school in Christchurch was first proposed in the 1880s. The third Catholic
Bishop of Christchurch,
Patrick Francis Lyons (Bishop 1944–1950) acquired land on Sockburn in West Christchurch and formally invited the Christian Brothers to provide the staff. There was no progress for several years. Eventually
Brother Marlow, the Provincial of the Christian Brothers, and
Edward Joyce, the fourth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (Bishop 1950–1964), agreed, and St Thomas of Canterbury College held its first classes on 6 February 1961 (
Waitangi Day – not a public holiday then).
Early days The initial roll was 99 students in Forms 1–3 (years 7–9). The foundation staff were Brothers James Ignatius McClintock (Principal), Ian T Mahon and Carroll. Brother Simon Germaine Coughlan joined them in 1962. The school expanded its area when eight acres was acquired on the other side of Middle Park Road to be used as sports fields. Later several smaller areas were acquired to extend the fields, provide better access to them from the school, provide changing sheds and to provide a site for a residence for the Brothers. In 1964
Edward Joyce, the Bishop of Christchurch, transferred the ownership of the school to the Christian Brothers. The college obtained scholastic success very early, especially when three students (
J.G. Cleary, P.M. Heffernan and K.F. Hosking (Cleary and Hosking were both in the
lower sixth form)) obtained
Junior National University Scholarships in 1967. The
New Zealand Herald commented that this was remarkable as St Thomas of Canterbury College was a new school and it was only the third year that it had an
upper sixth form).
2011 earthquake Except for minor damage, the college was spared by the
Christchurch earthquakes. As a result of the
22 February earthquake in 2011,
Catholic Cathedral College relocated to St Thomas of Canterbury College and "site shared". The reason for this was that although it was not significantly damaged, parts of Catholic Cathedral College were under the unstable 400-ton dome of the
Christchurch Catholic Cathedral. Because the dome was in imminent danger of collapse, the college had to move. St Thomas' restricted its own use of the school to the morning and Catholic Cathedral College took over the school in the afternoon. The dome was removed on 26 July and Catholic Cathedral College moved back to its own site on 1 August 2011.
Golden jubilee In spite of the threat of
earthquakes, the college celebrated its
Golden Jubilee or 50th anniversary on 6–9 October 2011. "Around three hundred people were present and they revelled in: sports, fire dances,
haka, tours,
hāngī, dancing, food, drink, rugby and spiritual celebrations." The events included a "50th Jubilee Celebration Day" to allow Old Boys to meet the pupils and see the school operating during a school day. An assembly included a
Pōwhiri,
Waiata and other songs, a
Samoan fire dance, a PowerPoint presentation of the history of the College, the presentation of a time capsule and the cutting of a Jubilee Cake. John Airey, the first student to arrive at the college on 6 February 1961 was presented to the assembly. This was followed by a
Hāngī. There were sporting competitions with
St Kevin's College to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of sporting exchanges between the two Colleges (they started in the school's first year). St Thomas's won the Rugby (54–0), but lost the Basketball (59–57) and the Football (4–0). A cricket match had to be cancelled because of rain. The 50th Celebration Dinner was held at the Showgate Room at
Riccarton Raceway Function Centre. Former staff members including Christian Brothers were present. All these events were timed not to clash with games of the
2011 Rugby World Cup. The Jubilee Mass was celebrated by
Bishop Barry Jones of Christchurch on Sunday 9 October in the St Thomas of Canterbury College hall.
Christian Brothers The last Christian Brother formally employed on the teaching staff of the college was in the early 2000s, but some brothers continued to teach at the college as volunteers including, in particular, Br William Hofbauer (Bill) Dowling who died in 2024. As proprietors of the college, the Christian Brothers continued to appoint their representatives to the board under the Private School Conditional Integration Act 1975. In 2019, after 58 years, the Christian Brothers transferred ownership of the college to the
Bishop of Christchurch. ==Principals==