St Patrick's Christian Brothers College Cadet UnitMackay army cadets originated in 1945 when a local private school, St Patrick's Christian Brothers College (CBC) formed a unit at the school. It was reported that both the students and the public were very supportive of the idea.  The unit commenced with Brother J.V. Riley as Commanding Officer and with Mr J.J. Higgins, a World War One vereran assisting. 

 The first annual camp was held at Parkhurst, outside Rockhampton, approximately 400 km  south of Mackay.  Subsequent camps were held at Sellheim (near Charters Towers), Kissing Point (Townsville), Greenbank (Brisbane) and many other military and non-military training areas in Queensland.  Very little information exists about the unit or it's activites in the years from 1950 - 1970.   However it is known that the unit was strongly supported by students, teachers and members of the public.

 The 1970's 

The unit was very active in the 1970's during a period of great social and economic change.  In 1973 the unit had a strength of 102 cadets, with a total of 50 recruits. Annual camp was held at Shoal Water Bay Training Area (SWBTA) for a period of 10 x days with a courses camp being held in Cairns. The highlight of 1973 was when the unit paraded the Duke of Edinborough's Banner on the occasion of the Battle of Britain Commemoration in Mackay.

 
By 1975, the unit had a strength of 121 cadets which was the largest of any cadet unit in the area and was commanded by Capt E.A. Neville. Highs and lows of the year included:

• Winning the Mackay RSL competition.
• Annual camp at SWBTA.
• Watermanship activities at Marian.
• The unit disbands.

Unfortunately, a change of government in 1975 saw the withdrawal of government support and funding for the Australian Cadet Services Scheme and the unit began to struggle.  

The decision to disband the unit was not easy to make, however the lack of public and government support combined with the enormous difficulties in acquiring enough suitable equipment and clothing meant that the disbandment of the unit (for the short term) was inevitable.

As a result of government policy, the unit which was disbanded at the end of 1975 remained hat way until 1977 when the cadet movement was reformed and once again financially supported by government. By 1979 the CBC Cadet Unit then under the command of Capt Ron Bassan embarked on a busy training year. Highlights included:

• 14 Adventure Trainees pass ATA course at SWBTA.
• Annual Camp at SWBTA.
• Ceremonial parade.
• Unit band reformed.

However for many the most gratifying moment of the year came when Capt Bassan wrote:
"The unit has a achieved a return to the standard which was characteristic of the legendary St. Patrick's CBC Cadet Unit of old"

The 1980's 

By 1980 the bitter disappointment that many experienced after disbandment of cadets in the mid 70's had eased and the unit was getting on with the job. Highlights of the year included:

St Patricks College unit numbers steadily declined. By the end of 1984 the unit had a strength of only 80 cadets. In 1986 the unit opened enlistments to students from other state and private schools and for the first time in the unit's history, female cadets were admitted.

In 1988, surviving units were offered a choice of support in either "full" or "limited" capacity by the Dept of Defence. St Patrick's and the Mackay State High School (MSHS) Cadet Unit applied for "full" support status.  The department's reply was that only 1 unit in Mackay would be granted "Full Support" status.

After much discussion it was decided that both the St Patricks College unit and the MSHS unit would close and a single new unit would be raised which would take enrolments from all schools in the region. The march toward integration had begun.