"And Galong! No place in the whole country has a clearer or a closer association with our early southern Catholic history. Taken up in 1830 by Edward Ryan - convict once but made a magistrate in 1854 - it was the largest sheep station in the district stretching beyond Wallendbeen to Cootamundra; embracing, so twas said all the land which Edward Ryan could see from the top of Mt. Bobbora. Known as Ballyryan Estate, its homestead "Galong House" later "Galong Castle" was noted for its hospitality to rich and poor alike. It was a port of call and a haven of rest to the early priests on their journeys in the days when accommodation was the scarcest thing in the land."

John O'Brien Men of '38 and other Pioneer Priests

St. Clement's Monastery, where the Retreat Centre is situated, is a large three storey brick building, nestling among the rolling hills 3 kms from the village of Galong. It has been altered and extended since it began life as "Galong Castle", an unpretentious, pioneering homestead built by Edward (Ned) Ryan in the 1840's.

The college closed in 1975 and its doors have been opened as a popular Retreat Centre. It is a joint ministry currently being run by the Redemptorists and the Sisters of St. Joseph, Goulburn.