SAC Principals
130 Year Mosaic 2010,
St Aloysius College Archives
Sr Patricia Pak Poy
Principal: July 1970 – May 1976
Patricia Pak Poy moved from Darwin to Adelaide and was enrolled at St Aloysius College as a seven-year-old in 1942. She completed her entire schooling at the College. In 1952, her Leaving Honours year, Patricia was made a prefect of the College and captain of St Clare’s. Patricia went on to Adelaide University and completed her Bachelor of Arts in 1955.
Following her university studies, Patricia taught at SAC as a lay teacher for a year. In September 1957 she received the holy habit of the Order and in August 1962, taking the religious name of Sr Virginia, was admitted to Final Profession. In 1963 Sr Patricia was awarded the Diploma of Education.
Sr Patricia taught at SAC until 1969 when she travelled to the United States for a year’s study. This involved Union Theological (a Protestant seminary), Fordham University and Iona College. Sr Patricia also spent a month visiting several religious communities.
On her return to Adelaide, Sr Patricia took up the position of Principal of St Aloysius College which she held until mid-1976. General Studies had been introduced at the College and Sr Patricia made the integration of religion into the program a major focus.
In a move that anticipated the further growth in size and complexity of SAC, Sr Patricia established in 1975, an interim School Board that operated for three years. It was replaced by the first fully established School Board, a committee that in the years to follow, proved to be of immense assistance to the administration of the College and to the school community as a whole.
Following her tenure as Principal, Sr Patricia became heavily involved in the affairs of the Adelaide congregation and of the Sisters of Mercy in Australia. She also became an important part of the movement to ban the use of landmines and in 1991, formed the Australian Network of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Her work in this area was recognized in 1998 by the award of an Order of Australia and the Returned Services League Anzac Peace prize. In 2002 Sr Patricia was awarded the Human Rights Award from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (now known as the Australian Human Rights Commission).
Sr Patricia died on 24 February 2026, aged 90 years.
By Neville Stapleton
Archivist, St Aloysius College, 2020 (updated 2026)