The teams 'Goretti' and 'Savio', both named after saints, were planned to change to 'Mercy' and 'Crawley', which represented other parts of local history.

The Junee community did not take well to the news and took to social media to begin a petition to keep Goretti and Savio alive. 

One ex-student of St Joseph's, Paul Lawson, said it would be devastating if the name changes went ahead.

"Killing History by removing the sporting houses of Savio & Goretti and replacing them with new names is appalling, I can understand why so many ex students are upset," he said.

"Adding new names to the school is understandable, but Killing the history of Savio & Goretti shows no respect for any of the past students of the school."

The petition was a success after a letter was sent out on Monday by the Principal of the school, Jane Addison, stating she should have opened the choice to the Junee public.

"Obviously, some ex-students and parents did not share this view [changing names] and we regret not engaging the wider community in the decision making process," the letter read. 

Mrs Addison stated in the letter that the name change would no longer go ahead after taking on board community feedback.

"We have listened to all of the recent feedback and in consultation with our school parent council have made the decision not to change the house names of Savio and Goretti, continuing the legacy for many generations to come," the letter stated.

Mr Lawson said he the news came as a relief. 

"Living so far away I was glad that people such as Martin [who posted the petition] used social media to ensure everyone knew and had a chance to have their say," he said.

"I am relieved that the history will remain and common sense will prevail."

The proposed new names will not be completely erase however, with the letter indicating their use elsewhere in the school.

"In an effort to acknowledge and honour our local history as originally intended, we will be naming two of our new buildings after the Mercy Sisters and the Crawley family," the letter stated. 

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