The original St Michael’s Church was built on the river side of Church Street. In 1859, a wing was added to the western side of the church and was known as St Joseph’s. Used for the education of Primary School girls, it was the beginning of St Joseph’s School.

Catholic Education commenced on the Johnston Street site in 1874 when Sisters of the Presentation order opened the original ‘stable school’. This school was situated in the area at the rear of the present presbytery.

By the 1880s facilities were strained. Father V G Dunne, saw the necessity for another school to cope with the increasing number of pupils. On January 25, 1886, the St Joseph’s School, also known as the St Joseph’s Hall opened under the direction of Sisters Aloysius, Mary Alogue, and Mary Alphonsus of the Presentation Order. Such was the need, the building was enlarged in 1914.

The building currently in use replaced that school and was opened by Bishop F A Henschke in 1942. It operated as a Catholic Primary School until 1971, with boys and girls in the Infant Grades and girls from Years Three through to Six. The Infant Section continued for a number of years before closing as well.

As in the 1800s, the need for Catholic Educational facilities in the Wagga Wagga Diocese stretched the available resources and St Joseph’s Primary School re-opened in 1995 with two classes, Kindergarten and a composite Year One/Two. The school has now progressed to a single-stream K-6 primary school.

In January 2008 the majority of our school was destroyed by fire. Over the next two years, the school was rebuilt and is now a modern and well-equipped building with state-of-the-art technology. Two new covered open learning areas were built and expanded upon over our newly concreted play area in early 2010. Our new 21st century library was completed in March 2011 with the support of Building for the Education Revolution funding. With the generosity of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and the support of our bishop, Bishop Gerard Hanna, our playground area has expanded in 2011 to include the use of two tennis courts. The tennis courts have been newly asphalted and fenced and are used by our students for a variety of sports and play.