 Contrary to the development of most schools, All Hallows' School, as the first Catholic secondary school in Queensland, sought to serve those less fortunate in colonial society while operating under the same legislative framework as the more affluent grammar schools.Serving poorer, often Irish, Roman Catholic, immigrant women in the area of Fortitude Valley, the school did not raise the required subscription for government aid and, in a time of bitter sectarianism within Queensland, the school maintained fierce independence in curriculum from what was seen by many within the Catholic community as attempts by a hostile secular government at interference.In 1863, with pupils and sisters growing in numbers, it was soon realised that a suitable place for a convent must be found.