Our Sacred Heart Bursaries honour great MSC people, including Br Dave Merrick MSC and Chris Topp.  

BR DAVE MERRICK 

Br Dave Merrick was appointed to the MSC staff at Chevalier College in July 1946 and spent almost 23 consecutive years at the College, until 1968, serving in a wide range of roles including managing the dining room, maintenance, and cooking. During this time, he was instrumental in introducing cycling to Chevalier College and in founding the Southern Highlands Cycling Club with Brian Ward. In 1968, he was transferred to Downlands College in Toowoomba for five years, where he cooked for 450 boys, the MSC community, and the teaching staff. In 1973, Br Merrick was appointed to the MSC scholasticate in Canberra for one year, where he was responsible for cooking for 35 MSC students and about 10 priests and brothers. 

He returned to Chevalier College in 1974 as cook and infirmarian, later joining the catering staff. After this period at Chevalier, Br Merrick worked at Monivae College and then at Daramalan College, where he lived for many years until illness took him to Kensington for increased medical care. 

Br Merrick’s approach to life is beautifully captured in an extract from his autobiography: 

“My theory is that ‘life is what you make it’ and many wonderful friends and neighbours help considerably. So ‘life is very much worth living’; what a great blessing a vocation in Religious life is to a person — so many graces, Mass and Holy Communion each day, and very many happy and grateful students, teachers and parents to share life with. One lad asked me what would I do if I had my life over again. I replied I would choose exactly the same.” 

CHRIS TOPP 

Chris Topp began as a teacher at Chevalier College in 1976. Over the next 40 years, he served in numerous roles from subject master to Deputy Principal before becoming the first past staff member to chair the College Board of Directors. When Chris succumbed to cancer in 2016, it was a profound loss for the thousands of people in the Chevalier and Southern Highlands communities whose lives he had touched. From staff to students, he was widely loved and admired.  Chris’s Esprit du Chevalier Medal citation listed the following accomplishments: 

• 35 years of exemplary service to Catholic MSC Education;  

• Outstanding leadership as the first lay Deputy Principal of Chevalier College;  

• Generous and selfless contributions to wider community initiatives in the Southern Highlands and beyond;  

• Transformational leadership in the role of Chairperson of the Chevalier College Board; Instrumental in the development of and participation in many of the long-lasting co-curricular activities of Chevalier College;  

• Everlasting positive impact on the lives of thousands of students. 

This Scholarship has been donated as part of the Brennan Bursary by David and Helen Brennan.  

David is a Chevalier Past Student from the Class of 1970, and his family’s connection with Chevalier dates back to its founding year in 1946, when his uncle Jim Brennan became the sixth student enrolled at the new College. Another uncle, Paul Brennan, joined Chevalier a few years later and, in 1953, achieved outstanding academic results in his Leaving Certificate, earning the prestigious Cooper Scholarship to Sydney University. Paul was later ordained as an MSC priest and taught at the College for a time. 

David studied agricultural science at Sydney University, specialising in animal science, and went on to build a career in both government and private industry in the field of animal nutrition. His wife, Helen, was a teacher who later trained as a librarian. The Brennans were blessed with three children: Shelley, a speech pathologist; Rory, a film and television editor; and Cecilia, a podiatrist. 

David and Helen have been supporting Indigenous-led initiatives and scholarship programs for some time, and David has actively employed Indigenous colleagues throughout his career. They see this bursary as an opportunity for Chevalier College to support Indigenous students in pursuing academic achievement and developing their leadership within their own cultural communities, as well as in broader society. This financial support will also augment the College’s commitment to meaningful cultural learning among staff and students. The Brennan Bursary is intended to support this for the next decade. 

This Scholarship is open to Indigenous students, either who already identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or who are prepared to self-identify in the future. Eligible applicants may already be attending secondary school—including Chevalier College—or may be intending to commence at the College in 2026 or beyond.  

Peter and Carolyn King (Peter being from the Chev Class of 1981) generously pledged to donate the equivalent of a full scholarship for six years. The idea for this Scholarship grew out of the 2021 Pledge for Chev campaign, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the College’s founding in 1946. As it happened, 2021 was also the 40th anniversary of the graduating Class of 1981! 

Peter and Carolyn are currently supporting a Year 10 student and will continue to do so throughout the student’s time at Chev. Peter has fond memories of his years as a boarder at Chev and wanted to give another student the opportunity to experience a Chev education. They chose to support a young man whose family circumstances meant that their assistance would ease pressure on the family, who have other challenges to navigate. 

Peter and Carolyn regularly visit the College and stay connected with how their support is making a tangible impact on our Chev community. They have allowed the College to share information about their contribution in the hope that other past students who are able may also consider supporting current Chev students in need. 

Fr Tyson Doneley msc OAM 

Fr Tyson Ignatius Doneley, a Catholic priest with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC), served as Rector of Chevalier College from 1960–65. 

Fr Doneley was an outstanding scholar, teacher, and sportsman, and he conveyed his values and standards to many students during his tenure at Chevalier College. His prowess as a cricketer and rugby player was exceptional and dated back to his education at St Joseph’s College in Sydney. The positive impact of his leadership and example on the College and its students in the 1960s was such that, beginning in 2012, an endowment was created by donations from his former students and family to establish a scholarship in his honour. That campaign was led by the late Hon. John Fahey AC. 

Fr Doneley was the first recipient of the Esprit du Chevalier Medal, created as the College’s highest public honour, and awarded at NSW Parliament House in 2014—the same occasion at which the first scholarship recipient was announced. 

Fr Doneley has the unique distinction of having educated three state premiers: Mike Ahern AO (QLD Premier 1987–89) at Downlands College, Toowoomba; John Fahey AC (NSW Premier 1992–95) at Chevalier College, Bowral; and Barry O’Farrell (NSW Premier 2011–14) at St John’s College, Darwin. 

He received the Order of Australia in 2012 in recognition of his long career with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. He was ordained in 1946 in Melbourne by Archbishop Mannix. In addition to serving as Rector (Headmaster and Community Superior) at Chevalier College and St John’s College, he was Director of Studies and Sportmaster at Downlands for extended periods. 

His MSC work also saw him undertake missionary, teaching and formation roles in Papua New Guinea, Japan, Fiji, India and Indonesia. He finally retired to Kensington in 2009 after an active career of more than 60 years. Fr Doneley passed away in 2015. 

This scholarship has been donated by a generous past student of Chevalier who chooses to remain anonymous. They have had a lifelong passion for the Performing Arts, and would love to see more students thrive in the performing arts program at Chevalier.