Bishop Charles Lawrence Riley CBE VD MA LLB ThD (1888-1971) was the founding father of St Mary’s.
He was born on 10 October 1888, son of the first Archbishop of Perth. He graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Law, Master of Arts and a Doctorate of Theology. In 1912 he became a Deacon, then in 1914 he was ordained a Priest, serving in the Parish of Stoke-on-Trent in England.
Later that year he returned to Perth and was inducted as Rector of North Perth. In 1918-1919 he was Chaplain to the 10th Light Horse Regiment serving in France and the Middle East. After returning to Australia he moved to St Mary’s Church of England Church in West Perth, and on 14 September 1921 founded the school. He was Acting Principal and Chairman of the first Board of Governors. He was also a Governor of Hale School.
After nine years of devoted service to St Mary’s school and the Diosese, he was appointed Archdeacon of Northam from 1930-1938. This was greatly felt by the girls with the following report in the Almerta of 1930:
'Though we tried to rejoice at his promotion to a wider sphere of service, it was with regret, perhaps too selfish, that the school said “Good-bye” to the Rev. and Mrs Riley, upon his being appointed to the Archdeaconry of Northam. It is to be feared that, both as a school and individually, we had come to depend too much upon him, and had taken his ready assistance too much for granted. This assistance was always there to be given - whether in a small matter, such as mending a broken desk, or in larger and more vital matters, such as helping us to face and conquer some of the knotty problems that come into everyone’s life. Now that he who was our general encyclopaedia and helper has gone, we appreciate his almost paternal influence more than ever… '
In 1933 Charles Riley was made a Canon of St George’s Cathedral and from 1938-1957 he was Bishop of Bendigo in Victoria. From 1942 - 1947 he was Chaplain General to the Australian Military Forces, serving in the Middle East and New Guinea/Borneo. He was awarded the CBE for “Untiring efforts for spiritual welfare of A.I.F.” Bishop Riley’s war time photo albums were recently discovered in the school archive collection, and have been copied onto disks for future reference and research.
After retiring in 1957, to Waterman’s Bay, he retained his interest and continued his support for St Mary’s. He was often a guest speaker at the school and was President of the appeal launched in 1964 to raise money for the school's move to Karrinyup.
Bishop Riley died in 1971, aged 83 years. He was survived by three of his four children. His daughters Molly and Joan are Old Girls of St Mary’s and his son, Canon Lawrence William Riley, was Honorary Chaplain and Board Member of St Mary’s.
 |