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Presentation Sisters, Society of Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Presentation Sisters were founded in 1775 in Ireland by Nano Nagle. Their website gives some history of the Presentation Sisters’ work in Australia. They came first to Richmond in Tasmania in October 1866, to Victoria in 1873 and to New South Wales in 1874. In 1900, the Presentation Sisters went from NSW to the Western Australian goldfields and July 1891, another group came directly from Ireland to Geraldton.

The Presentation Sisters and Christian Brothers have had some historical links because of the inspiration drawn by the founder of the Christian Brothers, Edmund Rice, from Nano Nagle’s approach to religious life and work, and the practical support he gave to the establishment of their convent in Waterford, Ireland. In July 1941, four Presentation Sisters formed a community at St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Farm School Tardun.

The Presentation Sisters kept a Community at Tardun until 1966.

In his book, Enduring Struggle , Tardun ex-student David Plowman writes (p.255) that the Sisters of Nazareth were the first females at Tardun and after them came the Presentation Sisters. These were Mother Laurence (Ryan) and Sisters Aidan Coady, Philomena Ryan and Patricia White. They were followed in 1942 by Sister Peter, Sister Benedict, Sister Evangelist, Sister Paschal, Sister Bridget and Sister Margaret Mary to help with the boys from Clontarf who were evacuated to Tardun. The Presentation Sisters were asked to take charge of ‘the domestic arrangements in connection with the school, such as cooking, taking care of the sick, superintending laundry, clothes mending and the Chapel.’ Professor Plowman also records (p.259) that the Sisters at Tardun led an ‘uncomplicated life’ enjoying simple recreations such as Sunday films, walks and concerts put on by the Tardun students. They had an annual holiday in December at Geraldton with other Presentation Sisters. Apparently, it was their habit to have a ‘Sunday drive around the property and to neighbouring farms.’

In 1948, the Presentation Sisters also established a primary school at the Pallottine Mission at Tardun, a few kilometers from St Mary’s Farm School.

Related Entries

Related organisations.

  • Pallottine Mission, Tardun (1948 - 2004) Presentation Sisters, Society of Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary established a primary school at the Pallottine Mission, Tardun. Date: 1948 - 1949
  • Tardun Farm School (1928 - 2008) The Presentation Sisters had a working community at Tardun. Date: 1941 - 1966
  • Sisters of Nazareth (1888 - current) The Presentation Sisters came to Tardun Farm School when the Sisters of Nazareth left to work at Nazareth House in Geraldton. Date: 1941 -

This page was written by Debra Rosser, last updated 16 March 2012. Sources used to create this entry:

  • Plowman, David, Enduring Struggle , 2003 View Publication Details

http://presentationsociety.org.au/about/our-history/

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History of the Presentation Sisters in Australia, adapted from the Society of Presentation Sisters website at http://presentationsociety.org.au/about/our-history/

The history of the Presentation Sisters in Australia reveals the merging of two spiritual and social paths. One is the emergence and growth of the Spirit-inspired life and work of Nano Nagle among a people oppressed by the harsh penal laws in 18th century Ireland. The other is the action of the Spirit in developing the Catholic Church of Australia which struggled to provide its people with an education while at the same time nurturing their faith in a secular society. To follow these paths, we need to review the Irish foundations of the Presentation Sisters, the establishment and growth of the Presentation foundations in Australia and the contemporary expressions of Nano Nagle’s mission and ministry.

The story, like all spiritual quests, springs from a response to the Spirit, a transformation, a dream for justice, a perception of how this could be achieved and a life of prayer and action to make the dream a reality. The story begins with Nano Nagle (1718-1784), whose life of prayer, concern for her people, courage and perseverance inspired and enabled her to establish schools and other works of charity for those who were poor and oppressed by unjust social structures. To assist in her work Nano Nagle arranged for the Ursuline Sisters to come to Ireland, but Nano soon realised that the Ursuline rule did not allow the sisters to leave the cloister and thus to seek out and serve the poor in their own environment.  Consequently, in 1757, she established a new religious community, the Sisters of Charitable Instruction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, dedicated to teaching the poor. This community was ultimately to become the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

By 1800 five more foundations had been made. Nano Nagle’s vision of an uncloistered religious life met with much opposition within an Irish Church struggling to renew its life as the penal laws were being eased. Dr Moylan, the Bishop of Cork, sought canonical approval for the new congregation believing this would increase its prestige and its membership. He hoped to have solemn vows without the accompanying obligation of enclosure. In 1805, twenty-one years after the death of Nano Nagle, Pope Pius VII named the congregation as an Institute of Pontifical Right with solemn vows.

Instead of seeking the freedom of movement among those who were poor, as Nano had wanted, the sisters themselves chose enclosure and solemn vows believing they needed this security for their small, newly-founded group to continue. Enclosure and solemn vows were deemed essential by many authorities at the time for “real” religious life; Nano’s part in a fresh movement of the Spirit towards a new form of apostolic religious life was not yet recognised.

Growth of the congregation was slow but steady. The number of foundations in Ireland grew and foundations were also made in Newfoundland, England, India, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

As the small community of Presentation Sisters was establishing itself in Ireland, the Catholic Church was emerging in the penal colony of Australia as a faith community of lay believers. By the 1840s education was recognised widely in the different Australian colonies as a means of social reform which would help to change the moral and social life of the people, reduce crime and disorder, and develop culture and unity in the colonies. By the 1860s the provision of Catholic schools had become a concern of the Church at an official level, especially in countries of mixed religious adherence such as Australia.

Gradually in every colony in Australia education became the right and preserve of the State Government. State schooling eventually became free, secular and compulsory. But before that time, education was available only to those who could afford tuition. Catholic schools provided a cause particularly for Irish sectarianism, and the Irish clergy and hierarchy led the battle for a separate Catholic school system in Australia. Irish Catholics were largely poor immigrants who did not have the capacity to pay for their schools. In the absence of any state support, Catholic schools had to be financed through fees and parental and church support. To make such a Catholic education system possible, and make it accessible to the poor, the Australian bishops looked to Ireland for members of religious communities to teach in the schools they were establishing. Their calls for help from the ends of the earth met a generous response from many religious groups.

On Friday 20 July 1866 the first Presentation Sisters left their homeland, family and friends, and set out from Fermoy to make the long perilous journey to Tasmania. A group of four professed sisters and five postulants boarded The Empress at Queenstown, Ireland, and arrived at Hobart three months later to open, at Richmond, the first Presentation convent and school in the Southern Hemisphere. From Limerick six sisters and a postulant arrived in Melbourne on 21 December 1873 to found a convent and school at St Kilda, the summer resort for the growing capital of the newly established colony of Victoria.

Meanwhile, across the border in New South Wales in the flourishing but sparsely populated Riverina, the recently established town and district of Wagga Wagga was appealing for religious. Again the Presentation Sisters answered the call. Consequently, in May 1874, five sisters arrived from Kildare. In 1886 from the little village of Lucan, just out of Dublin, three sisters and seven postulants left for the Lismore mission. Coming through England, they were joined by another postulant and arrived in Lismore in August 1886. The party of four sisters and five postulants who arrived in Geraldton, Western Australia in July 1891 was made up of three sisters and and one postulant from Sneem, one sister from Mitchelstown, one postulant from Tipperary and three from Cork.

On their arrival in the Australian colonies the Presentation Sisters continued to answer the call of the needy throughout the continent. This sometimes involved making long, hazardous journeys to scattered outposts. Sisters from Wagga Wagga established new foundations in Elsternwick (1882), Hay (1883) and Longreach (1900). From Hay a group travelled in 1900 to the goldfields of Western Australia. This group formed a union with the Geraldton Congregation in 1969. Vast outback distances and intense heat were no barrier to these indomitable women. Foundations, both rural and urban, such as Domremy College founded in 1911, flourished in spite of extreme poverty and great hardship, largely because of the close collaboration between the sisters and the people they served. The sisters remained committed to the relief of suffering and injustice within an educational context.

In 1946 the major superiors of the seven Presentation Congregations in Australia agreed on common Constitutions and in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved the formation of the Society of the Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the early concerns of the Society was to establish an overseas mission. This was realised in 1966, the centenary of the first Australian foundation, when five sisters arrived in the Aitape region of Papua New Guinea where there is now a group of Australian and Melanesian Presentation Sisters, with Wagga Wagga as the receiving congregation.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) challenged the Presentation Sisters, along with members of all religious congregations, to renew their constitutions in the light of Sacred Scripture and the founding charism. Intense study, reflection and experimentation followed. Presentation communities around Australia realised that just as Nano Nagle was impelled to act in response to the plight of the poor and powerless people of her time, so were they called to respond to the needs of the poor and oppressed in their own time. Thus changes took place: many sisters moved from school-based ministries; emphasis was placed on both direct service to those in need and to working to change the social conditions that cause their impoverishment.

A constant throughout this history has been the recognition of the human dignity of each person and a determination to address the wrongs which oppress and deny the human spirit. Nano Nagle’s work in Ireland established a vision that education, in its myriad forms, is a means of empowering people for life. Her vision continues in the choice of Presentation Sisters to work with and on behalf of the many individuals, families and groups on the margins of society.

The contemporary experience of being Presentation in Australia is shaped by an ongoing commitment to the Presentation tradition as well as by new understandings of how that tradition finds expression in social, religious, cultural and ecological contexts. In recent years the Sisters have developed a deeper appreciation of the injustices perpetrated against the traditional owners of the land. They have begun to be involved in the Aboriginal Reconciliation process and to appreciate and learn from indigenous spirituality, culture and history.

At this time the sisters are also experiencing a new cosmic consciousness, drawing into deeper awareness of the elegance, complexity and mystery of our communion with the whole of life on our planet, within an ever evolving and expanding universe. The Presentation response is one of gratitude, wonder and awe for Presentation people believe that at the heart of this mystery is a personal loving God revealed most clearly in Christ, “the first born of all creation … in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col 1:15-20). The urgency of this new environmental awareness is compelling the development of new ways of expressing being in relationship with God, with one another and with the sacredness of the whole of creation within the one earth community.

Presentation Sisters around the world

Nano Nagle’s original vision has spread around the world and today Presentation communities can be found in 24 countries including Antigua, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Commonwealth of Dominica, Ecuador, England, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Slovakia, Thailand, United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Presentation communities have formed a number of associations over time which combine under the umbrella of the International Presentation Association (IPA), which was established in 1988 as a network of the various congregations of PBVM women, including those in the Union of Presentation Sisters, the Conference of Presentation Sisters of North America, and the Australian Society. The Goal of the IPA is to foster unity and to enable collaboration for the sake of mission. The IPA has NGO consultant status with the UN Economic and Social Council.

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

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Presentation Sisters, 150 Years of Service

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

Rear from left, Sisters Margaret Mary Crowley, Loyola Moloney, Lawrence Teahy, Aloysius Evans, Columba Bailie, Fabian O’Keefe and Di Pazzi Hensker. Front from left, Joan Gallagher, Teresa McMahon and Gerard Walter

Many of us who grew up in the Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland would have fond memories of the Presentation Sisters for their work in the parish and at Nagle College in both Bairnsdale and Moe/Newborough.  

My early years were spent in Bairnsdale and I remember the day that Mother Catherine PBVM came to St Mary’s Primary School and was introduced to the various classes. The Presentation Sisters were taking over the administration and staffing of the school from the Josephites.  I reckon I must have been in grade 4… and I was mildly alarmed by the ‘horns’ of her starched wimple.

It is almost precisely 150 years since the Presentation Nuns arrived in Australia. On December 21st 1873 the first small group of Sisters from their Limerick convent disembarked at Port Melbourne to staff the little Catholic school in East Saint Kilda… what was to become Presentation College, Winsor.

They were intrepid women. There were six professed nuns and two young postulants, one of whom was only 19 years old. The superior of the little group turned 31 on the voyage to Melbourne.

The tearful relatives who clustered around the 11 o’clock train to Dublin never expected to ever see them again and they, the nuns, like all other Irish migrants of the time, both religious and lay, never expected to return to see their relatives or their homeland. Most of them never did.

On this day in 1873, so protracted was their parting that the train was half an hour late leaving Limerick.

I have included a poem written to mark the first 100 years of the Presentation nuns on the mainland  (there was an earlier foundation in Tasmania). It perfectly captures the ‘shock of the new’ and the audacity of these women as they ‘rose up’ to follow their vision of the possible.

We too stand on the threshold, listening to hear ‘Life’s insistent cry’ every day we embrace the dawn.

Article by: Mike Hansen, Traralgon

Century  1873-1973

They were women of listening hearts To them the Spirit spoke; ‘Come’. So they rose up to follow. He led them out of their quiet valley, Over the rim of the world, Where summer came in winter-time And the very stars hung strange.

Listening, they could not rest from journeying… Always a little further… always one pace beyond. They set their course with life for their lode-star, Faith and love and laughter brimming over, And hope in their firm hands like seed. Till the seed they planted became a great tree, and many there were grew strong in its shade.

We stand where they once stood. Listening… hearing our own world, new-born this day, Life’s insistent cry – the Spirit’s voice. Let us rise up and follow, For though the Cross hang in our stars Resurrection shouts in the sunrise, And the tree of a hundred rings, deep-thrusting Out of firm darkness lifts to the light Branches vibrant with song.

Presentation Sister Raphael Consedine 

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

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The Presentation Sisters

The society of australian congregations of the presentation of the blessed virgin mary (pbvm).

The Presentation Sisters were founded in 1775 by Nano Nagle to meet the needs of the poor in penal Ireland. Founded from Ireland, Presentation Sisters came to ‘the ends of the earth’ in Australia in 1866. Traditionally, Presentation Sisters in Australia have reached out to families in need through education in Primary Schools, Secondary Colleges and Tertiary Institutions.

Today Presentation Sisters and Associates are in every continent across our globe and work to address the ‘cry of the poor and the cry of the earth’ through a variety of social justice initiatives.

The Society of Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM) is a federation of six autonomous Presentation Congregations in Australia and a group of Australian and Melanesian Presentation Sisters in Papua New Guinea.

Presentation Sisters are called to encounter God in the heart of the world and to continue the mission of Jesus in the spirit of our founder Nano Nagle. Like Nano we are called to keep our hearts open to the voices of those who are poor and oppressed, voices which challenge us to conversion and action both personally and communally.

For more information on the Presentation Sisters visit their website.

St Mary's College is located on the traditional lands of the muwinina people of the South East Nation. We acknowledge and deeply respect the palawa people, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community, and all Elders past and present. We are committed to learning alongside our students and community in this place, nipaluna, and support the continued sharing of knowledge and culture.

Trustees of Kildare Ministries
> > > > > > > > >
1775, and three similarly inspired women founded a religious community in Cork in Ireland, to continue Nano’s work in education and outreach.   The community later became known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (pbvm). Nano had earlier established secret schools for poor children in Cork, at a time in Ireland when access to Catholic education and employment was limited by the penal laws. Her hope was that education would enable the children to engage more fully with life. In addition to her schools, Nano visited the sick and elderly in their homes, often by lantern light, offering loving, practical care and comfort. This was a unique and dangerous thing to do.

From these small beginnings, Nano’s Presentation Sisters established schools and transformative, inclusive communities across Ireland and around the world. The first Presentation Sisters in Australia arrived at Richmond, Tasmania in 1866.

from Limerick in Ireland in 1873. Another group of Presentation Sisters arrived in Victoria in 1883, having first travelled from Kildare, Ireland to Wagga Wagga NSW in 1874. The Presentation Sisters soon established and supported primary and secondary schools across Melbourne and country Victoria, responding to needs as they emerged. Later, they moved into the wider community continually finding new ways of empowering people to live more fully, and to find happiness and hope midst the challenges of everyday life.

 Today, as members of the Australian Society of Presentation Sisters, Victorian Presentation Sisters are called:


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Presentation Sisters celebrate centenary

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

NEARLY 1500 people gathered at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens last Sunday to join the Presentation Sisters in celebrating their centenary in Queensland.

On February 13, 1900, five sisters travelled from Wagga Wagga by boat and train to Longreach to begin a century of service in Queensland.

Sisters came from Wagga Wagga, including their congregational leader Sr Anne Lane, and from Lismore and Sydney to join the celebration.

Within Queensland, sisters travelled from Longreach, Toowoomba and Murgon, where they organised a bus to bring young and old parishioners with them.

Some sisters attending were in their 80s, including Sr Gabriel Hogan, a former Queensland and Australian congregational leader.

Archbishop John Bathersby, who celebrated the centenary Mass said: “Today we gather to thank God for 100 marvellous years of the presence of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queensland.

“We are all richer because of their presence and thank and congratulate them and ask God’s abundant blessings on them,” the archbishop said.

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Type of place

School, Residence (group), House, Institutional / group housing

Victorian 1860-1890, World War II 1939-1945

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

Sisters of Presentation Convent

This is an image of the local heritage place known as Sisters of Presentation Convent

Sisters of Presentation Convent Zoom current image

This house was constructed circa 1885 for bank manager James Gibson as a marine residence. It became his permanent residence after his retirement in the 1890s, called ‘Culterfel’. The property was sold to John Henry Hart in 1911, a grazier who also used it as a holiday and retirement residence. Transferred to his trustees with power of sale in 1929, it was sold in 1935 to Archbishop James Duhig. Duhig already owned ‘Wyvernleigh’ across the road and established the St John Vianney parish there in 1930. After alterations ‘Culterfel’ became home to the Presentation Sisters and their school, which opened in 1941. It continues to serve as the Convent of the Sisters of Presentation.

Also known as

L89_RP33032 ; L90_RP33032

Local Heritage Place Since — 1 January 2004

Date of Citation — March 2015

People/associations

Criterion for listing, interactive mapping.

City Plan Interactive Mapping

The appeal of Manly as a bayside suburb grew in the 1880s with the subdivision and sale of the 151 acre ‘Manly Beach Estate’. The estate was also known as the ‘Wyvernleigh Estate’, after a residence which had been constructed there. Bank manager James Gibson was the first registered purchaser of allotments in the estate in 1882, and his purchases included this site, fronting Dallie and Waterloo Streets (now Oceana Terrace and Kooralgin Street). He added surrounding blocks to his holding in 1883 and 1885. During that time Gibson also had a marine residence constructed on the site. By 1885 the Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser was calling attention to a sale of Manly Beach Estate allotments ‘in close proximity to the marine residence of our well-known townsman, James Gibson, Esq.’ Gibson’s house was included in the 1887 estate sale maps, opposite ‘Wyvernleigh’.

Gibson’s house ‘Culterfel’ was one of the first seaside holiday houses constructed in Manly. As manager of the Ipswich branch of the Bank of New South Wales, Gibson and his family primarily resided in Ipswich, but took their holidays in the Manly house. The demand for bayside holiday houses accelerated in the late nineteenth century, as wealthy Brisbane residents took advantage of the opening of railway lines to Brisbane’s bayside suburbs and an economic boom, to create vacation and retirement homes. Most of this development occurred at Sandgate and Shorncliffe, with growth at Wynnum and Manly following in the twentieth century.

Gibson had built ‘a mansion worthy of the site’, according to an 1887 advertisement in the Queensland Figaro and Punch . ‘Culterfel’ faced the bay, with verandas to take advantage of the view. It was slightly less elevated than ‘Wyvernleigh’ but its position was still considered ‘one of the best on the shores of Moreton Bay,’ with an ‘unobstructed and extensive’ view.

Gibson and his wife became the permanent residents of ‘Culterfel’ on his retirement in the early 1890s. After the death of his wife in 1898, Gibson removed to Brisbane and leased the Manly property, which included stables, a coach house and gardens. ‘Culterfel’ briefly became a boarding house in 1909 and 1910 before Gibson’s death in 1910. The property was then sold to John Hart, a Blackall grazier. Hart followed Gibson’s example, initially using ‘Culterfel’ as a holiday residence but later retiring to the property with his wife. The Harts took an interest in the local community, joining clubs and providing the house to host the Manly fete in 1912 and Green Island Scheme meetings in 1920. The house was also used as security for a significant loan of £50,194, which Hart took out in July 1920. The mortgage seems not to have been related to ‘Culterfel’ itself; Hart owned large holdings in western Queensland and the mortgage may have been associated with these. In the late 1920s the Harts removed to a residence in Ascot. The Hart Estate at Manly was offered for sale in 1927, and Hart died a year later in 1928.

‘Culterfel’ and its land, including lots 64 to 69 and 89 to 90, was purchased by Brisbane’s Roman Catholic Archbishop James Duhig in December 1935. Following his appointment as Co-adjator in 1912 and Archbishop in 1917 Duhig planned immense and unprecedented growth within the Church. Over one hundred Roman Catholic churches were constructed in the Brisbane Archdiocese between 1912 and 1928. As part of this growth scheme Duhig purchased large old estates in and around Brisbane, modifying the houses and adding to the sites churches, schools, convents and presbyteries. These included ‘Folkstone’ in Bowen Hills (Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church, 1925), ‘Mount Margaret’ in Wynnum (now Nazareth House) and ‘Wyvernleigh’, across the road from this property.

Manly was ripe for Duhig’s investment, with a growing population but a shortage of Catholic places of worship and education. Wynnum was the nearest worship centre for Manly’s Catholic residents, with a church for Sunday services and the Sisters of Mercy’s convent school providing non-secular education. It was not until Duhig purchased ‘Wyvernleigh’ in 1925 that a church was proposed for Manly. In 1930 the St John Vianney parish was established, ‘Wyvernleigh’ was demolished, and a presbytery erected on the site in 1936. ‘Culterfel’ also played a role in this progress. Although title to ‘Culterfel’ did not pass to Duhig until January 1936, the Archbishop appears to have taken possession of the house early, with ‘Culterfel’ becoming home to the parish priest, Rev Father Butler, in 1930. The lower level of ‘Culterfel’ was reportedly used as a mass centre pending the completion of the presbytery on the former ‘Wyvernleigh’ site. The house was also used for the parish’s social gatherings, holidays for poor children, and a wedding breakfast was held on the veranda in 1931. However, the parish’s use of ‘Culterfel’ appears to have declined over the course of the 1930s, after the presbytery and a church hall were built on the ‘Wyvernleigh’ site.

In 1940 ‘Culterfel’ was remodelled to provide a seaside convent for the Presentation Sisters. The alterations, which cost around £1,700, are likely to have been undertaken by architect Frank Cullen. Cullen trained with Hennessy, Hennessy and Co and ran an architectural firm with Desmond Egan from 1937 to 1941. He was also the Archbishop’s nephew and was responsible for the design of many interwar and postwar Catholic buildings, including the presbytery for the ‘Wyvernleigh’ site (1936), alterations to Mount Carmel Convent at Wynnum (1940), the second section of the Villa Maria Hostel (1940) and extensions to St Joseph’s Nudgee College (1950s).

The property was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese Trustees on 14 January 1941. Twelve days later, the St Philomena’s Convent and School was blessed and opened by Archbishop Duhig. It was home to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation (or Presentation Sisters), who had arrived in Queensland in February 1900. The order focused on outreach, particularly education, and the Sisters established schools and convents in Longreach and central Queensland. Schools in Brisbane followed, including St Rita’s Convent School in Clayfield which opened in 1926, and the Church of Christ school in Graceville in 1937 (now Christ the King Catholic Primary School). A Catholic school for

Manly was foreshadowed by Duhig in 1930, and one of the order’s Queensland pioneers, Mother Ursula, helped select the Manly site in September 1940. Oral history suggests that the Sisters had moved into the Manly convent in December 1940, and the Catholic Leader of January 1941 stated that the Presentation Sisters were seeking school enrolments. The Sisters conducted the school from the convent site, opening with just over 80 students. The school was renamed St John Vianney’s Catholic Primary School and moved across the road to a purpose-built schoolhouse in 1953.

The Convent and its land were transferred to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation in Queensland in 1959. The coach house, which stood along the Oceana Terrace frontage, was converted into a laundry and offices. A garage, chapel and aged care accommodation were added to the site in the 1970s and 1980s; these buildings are not included in the heritage overlay. The site continues to be owned by the Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation in Queensland.

Statement of significance

Relevant assessment criteria.

This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:

Criterion A

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of the city's or local area’s history

as one of the first large holiday residences built in the Manly area in the nineteenth century.

Criterion B

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of the city’s or local area’s cultural heritage

as a rare surviving example of a large nineteenth century holiday and retirement residence built in Manly.

Criterion G

The place has a strong or special association with the life or work of a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons

as it has served as the Convent for the Presentation Sisters since 1941.

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Entry on the Queensland Heritage Register, Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church [601585]

Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Historic Titles

Brisbane Courier, Catholic Leader, Courier Mail, Longreach Leader, Queensland Times Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, Queensland Figaro and Punch, Western Champion, 1883-1945

Brisbane City Council, Building Cards and Registers of New Buildings, 1936-1941

Brisbane City Council Department of Works Detail Plan No W 44

Brisbane City Council, City Architecture & Heritage Team, heritage citations

Brisbane City Plan 2014, aerial photographs 1946, 2012

Estate maps, Manly Beach and Wyvernleigh, 1883, 1887

History of the Presentation Sisters in Australia (website)

History of St John Vianney’s Catholic Parish (website)

History of St John Vianney’s Primary School (website)

Rev A Nolan, History of the Manly Parish (notes from the South Moreton Bicentennial Historical Collection)

Mervyn N Beitz, From Mangroves to Moorings

Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)

RELIGIOUS ORDERS SERVED HUGE SOCIAL NEEDS IN COLONIAL AUSTRALIA

Catherine Kovesi

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

  • X (formerly Twitter)

This flourishing was partly a consequence of changing attitudes to the capacity of women religious to participate in the community. It was also partly due to the extraordinary societal needs posed by this great century of industrialisation.

Until the nineteenth century, women religious had been subjected to the restricting confines of the cloister. This restriction of enclosure had a long history in the Catholic Church, dating back to the 1298 constitution Periculoso of Pope Boniface VIII. This was reinforced by the papal bull Circa pastoralis of 1566, which forbade women from leaving the convent walls except in cases of leprosy, epidemic or fire.

Despite numerous attempts by women across the centuries to circumvent these regulations, including by St Clare of Assisi, Mary Ward and Nano Nagle, it was not until 1831, in Ireland, that any woman was successful in doing so.

In 1831 in Dublin, Catherine McAuley founded an Order in which religious sisters could tend to the needs of the wider community outside the convent walls. Her Sisters of Mercy were, for this reason, nicknamed The Walking Nuns.

In France, Napoleon, who at first had declared that religious orders "serve no useful purpose," soon came to see their benefit to French society, and by 1808 he was actively promoting their recruitment.

Over the next eighty years almost 400 new Orders for religious women were established in France. The Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart (founded in 1800), the Faithful Companions of Jesus, or FCJs (1820), the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (1831) and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparation (1832) are prime examples of this new wave in France.

Australia's status as a new site for mission, and as a country in desperate need of providers of education, healthcare and welfare, meant that many religious men and women felt compelled to make the long journey from Europe to Australia in the nineteenth century.

All of the first women religious came from the new French and Irish orders. The first Catholic nuns in Australia were the Sisters of Charity (founded in 1816) who arrived from Ireland in 1838 in order to minister to women convicts in the Female Factory at Parramatta.

In 1846, a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland arrived in the Swan River Colony (now Western Australia) and established the first secondary school for girls in the whole of Australia.

In 1855, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition arrived in Fremantle in Western Australia. In 1863 a group of Sisters of the Good Shepherd arrived in Melbourne; 1866 saw the first Presentation Sisters (founded 1805) arrive in Tasmania from Ireland; and in 1875, sisters of Loretto (later renamed Loreto), from the Irish branch of Mary Ward's English Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, established themselves in Ballarat.

Shortly after, in 1882, French women from the Society of the Sacred Heart arrived in Sydney, and Sisters of the Faithful Companions of Jesus arrived in Melbourne, in order to found schools. All of these Orders spread throughout Australia.

By mid-century, Australian conditions also animated Australian responses. The first of these was a foundation of religious women specifically for Australian conditions - the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, founded by Archbishop Bede Polding in 1857.

An English Benedictine and the first Catholic Bishop of Australia, Polding envisioned an Australia influenced by the principles of Benedictine monasticism. Appalled at the conditions faced by many in the streets of rapidly-expanding Sydney, Polding instructed the Sisters of the Good Samaritan to care primarily for destitute women and to educate children, but also to "apply themselves to every other charitable work."

Similarly, the gold rushes led to particular circumstances of need. The gold rush in Victoria, beginning in mid-1851, led to extraordinary population growth and wealth, but its downside was deserted wives, destitute families, orphaned children, prostitutes, opium addicts, alcoholics, and a sprawling "canvas town" of tents and huts flourishing across South Melbourne.

It is worth remembering that, in this period, no government provided social services. There were no unemployment benefits, no public healthcare, no compulsory education. It was the religious sisters who responded to these societal needs with the provision of education, healthcare, orphanages and refuges.

Regional areas of Australia faced other problems of poverty and the tyranny of distance from centres of education and welfare provision. It was to these needs that Mary MacKillop first addressed herself, in the tiny town of Penola in South Australia, midway between Melbourne and Adelaide.

In 1867, her new order of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart was founded, the first religious order for women established by an Australian woman.

MacKillop's schools were the first in which children of means, and those without, were not segregated in class. The Sisters of St Joseph also became providers of welfare, and Josephite establishments, such as the House of Providence in East Melbourne, became places of refuge and welcome.

Mary MacKillop was clearly a charismatic foundress. This does not mean "charismatic" in our conventional understanding of the term, although she may have been that also. Rather, it means an individual whom Catholics understand as being gifted by the Holy Spirit with a particular divine spiritual gift, which is used, not for the individual herself, but for the benefit of the whole community established by her.

This founding charism becomes embedded in the community but becomes deadened if locked into a fixed expression. It is for this reason that the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called upon all religious Orders of men and women to revisit their founding charism and to renew it for the contemporary age.

The Sisters of St Joseph, while now not recognisable in the outward form that Mary MacKillop established, would see themselves as true to her founding spirit, re-expressed for the 21st Century.

The specific needs of basic education and welfare for which religious Orders of women were first brought to, or founded in, Australia have largely been met, and hence religious sisters in Australia now direct themselves to the pressing concerns of their own day.

Although their educational and health services are landmarks on the Australian scene, sisters themselves are now rarely actively involved in the actual provision of these services. Many have moved into the tertiary sector as lecturers or into the administrative aspects of healthcare.

The plight of asylum seekers, trafficked women, women in situations of violence and poverty, the provision of hospices, aged care facilities, spiritual direction and so on, are now some of the many ministries of women religious in Australia.

The increasing opportunities for women to be involved in such work without having to take religious vows in order to carry them out is partly responsible for a rapid decline in the numbers of women joining religious orders in Australia.

The contribution of women religious to Australian society, however, has been, and still is, profound, even if largely unrecognized and unacknowledged by many Australians today.

Catherine Kovesi is a Senior Lecturer in History in the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne. She has published widely both in Australian religious history and in Italian Renaissance history. Her most recent book is "Pitch Your Tents on Distant Shores: A History of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Tahiti" (Playright, 2010).

Christian Brothers and Edmund Rice

Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers was born in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1762.

Edmund

Edmund Rice

As a community we follow the example given to us by Blessed Edmund Rice. Edmund Rice was an Irish man of the 18th and 19th Century who had the dream of creating a better world for poor young people through religion and education. Born into a prosperous family, Edmund from an early age began to see a great contrast between the rich and poor. Given a good education, Edmund became a businessman in Waterford and eventually married Mary Elliot in 1785. They were blessed in 1789 when Mary fell pregnant with a daughter but unfortunately died from complications of childbirth. These events changed Edmund. He joined a small prayer group of men and felt a strong calling to found an Order which would uplift and educate poor boys in Ireland. Edmund began living as a lay brother, sharing in the Eucharist daily and incorporating regular prayer and Bible reflection into his day. He worked closely with the Presentation Sisters and in 1822 his Order became a reality and was known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools or the Christian Brothers. Despite many challenges, Edmund established many Christian Brothers Schools catering for over 5,500 boys, free of charge by 1825. His compassion and love for the poor is a legacy taken up by Christian Brothers and their communities who have continued the vision of Edmund Rice by addressing the social and political realities of their world.

Edmund is honoured as the founder of both the Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers. For more than two centuries, many have been and continue to be attracted by his vision and generosity. The mission continues today on all five continents through the ministry of Christian Brothers and laity called to serve in this vocation of Catholic Education.

The Christian Brothers came to Australia – first of all, to Sydney – in 1843, at the invitation of Archbishop Polding, but left in 1848.

They arrived in Melbourne in 1868 at the invitation of Bishop James Goold. Within thirty-five years, the remarkable Brother Patrick Ambrose Treacy had responded to invitations from various Bishops to establish schools in the Dioceses of Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Dunedin and Perth. The task of the Brothers in Australia, as mandated by the Bishops, was the evangelisation of the mainly poor, mainly Irish, Catholic families of the colonies.

The gift to Australian Catholic education since 1868 has been profound. The ministry of the Christian Brothers and their co-workers is active in all States and Territories of Australia and continues to be expressed in multiple forms.

At the beginning of the 21st century in Australia, there is a continuing need for Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition to reflect on their purpose and role. This is borne out by the complexity of the modern world and the challenges confronting young people in their search for meaning. All members of these schools are called by way of their vocation to be committed to reflect deeply on engrained practices and issues relevant to spirituality. They are called to provide education that is transformational and liberating within the reign of God for the world.

Blessed Edmund Rice

A school conducted in the Edmund Rice tradition

  • offers a distinctive Catholic educational philosophy
  • provides a curriculum attentive to the needs of each person
  • nurtures and encourages the spirituality of each person
  • lives and grows as a faith-sharing community by fostering a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ
  • develops a culture of good relationships, which evidence respect, community, hospitality, nurture, humour, care and justice
  • acknowledges the dignity of all its members, each formed in the image of God
  • promotes service of others, by way of significant learning experiences
  • stands in solidarity with those who are powerless and marginalised
  • fosters in its members the mind and heart of Edmund, who acted with compassion
  • acknowledges the traditional relationship of indigenous peoples with the land
  • actively encourages all its members – teachers, staff and students – to reflect on the contemporary world in the light of the Gospel.

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

St Pius X College acknowledges the traditional inhabitants of the land on which the College stands, the Cammeraygal people, of the Eora nation.

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Monument Australia

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Presentation Sisters Print Page

30-October-2018

The gates at the front of the church commemorates the work of the Presentation Sisters in Collie from 1902 to 2000.  The gates were crafted by Sergio Amadio.

The Presentation Sisters (also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) are women who belong to a family of Roman Catholic religious orders inspired by or based on the group founded in Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775. In the past, the Sisters dedicated their time to creating schools that would help to educate young people, especially young ladies. Most of these schools are still in operation and can be found all over the world.

Address:Medic & Prinsep Streets, St Brigids Church, Collie, 6225
State:WA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.355833
Long: 116.152222
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
Monument Type:Gate
Monument Theme:Culture
Sub-Theme:Religion
Approx. Event Start Date:1902
Approx. Event End Date:2000
Designer:Sergio Amadio

1902 - 2000

PBVM St. Brigid

Presentation Convent

The door that secures our safety also opens us to new opportunities

Our Presentation Sisters represented that door over their 98 years loving presence among us in Collie

We thank them

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

Congregations

  • Wagga Wagga

Western Australia

Western Australia witnessed the establishment of the Presentation Sisters through two distinct founding stories in 1891 and 1900. These narratives predated the union of the Geraldton and Perth congregations in 1969, which marked a significant milestone for the Sisters.

During the 1800s, Geraldton prospered as a prominent port town due to its thriving wool and grain exports, as well as mining activities in Northampton. Bishop Matthew Gibney of Perth recognized the need for a convent and school in Geraldton and sought assistance from various religious orders. The Presentation Sisters from Sneem and Michelstown in Ireland responded to this call and agreed to venture to Western Australia. Arriving in July 1891, they wasted no time and began their work immediately.

Over the following 78 years, the Geraldton Sisters established an additional 21 schools in remote regions of Western Australia. Their dedication led them to follow the mining towns, opening schools wherever the need arose. They even transported their convent and school using a wheeled conveyance called a jinker which allowed them to relocate from one mining town to another. In their mission, they reached out to children from rural areas, including Indigenous communities and migrant groups, offering Catholic Faith instruction, education and boarding facilities amongst other pastoral contributions.

Simultaneously, the Perth Congregation was formed, as the gold rush sparked the establishment of new towns in Perth, in the south west and in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. In the late 1800s, Bishop Matthew Gibney invited the Presentation Sisters from Hay, New South Wales, to contribute to the education and pastoral care needs in these areas. Sisters hailing originally from County Kildare, Ireland, together with Sisters from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales comprised the Hay Foundation. The founding Sisters reached Southern Cross on 14 February, 1900. Despite encountering extreme heat and an unfinished convent, they found temporary accommodation and proceeded to open the school and convent on 26 February of that year.

Undeterred by challenges such as isolation, climate, distance, and limited resources, the Sisters persevered. Over the next 70 years, they established an additional 18 schools, exemplifying their entrepreneurial spirit and fostered cultural pursuits, particularly music, speech, drama and commercial. The Sisters made a significant contribution to the Catholic instruction in regional towns through the establishment of the motor mission, always demonstrating an unwavering commitment to serving those in need. Ministering with various groups, including First Nations people, engaging in spiritual formation, and in justice outreach including mental health, combatting homelessness and caring for the earth, underpinned some of the Sisters’ day to day activities.

The culmination of their efforts occurred in December 1969 with the union of the Geraldton and Perth congregations forming the Congregation of Presentation Sisters WA (Inc).

Following the union, the Sisters extended their mission to various overseas locations, including Papua New Guinea, Thailand. In Western Australia, the Sisters continued to engage in diverse ministries such as education, governance, pastoral care, justice, leadership and prayer, always seeking to assist those made poor and those kept poor.

Today, the Sisters persist in their dedication to serving the marginalised and in their deep commitment to faith, spirituality, justice, education and the preservation of human dignity for all. Underlying all the Sisters’ works and prayers throughout the years, is the central place of Jesus Christ, and the call of the Gospel, in their lives.  

Contact Information

Congregation Leader: Anna Fewer pbvm Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 8 9384 5433 Office: Presentation Sisters Centre 36 Palmerston St Mosman Park Postal Address: PO Box 12 Mosman Park WA 6912

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Presentation Sisters celebrate 110 years of service and dedication to Iona

13 june 2017.

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

The sisters of the Presentation Order with Archbishop Costelloe paying homage to the newly erected Nano Nagle statue in the Presentation Garden (photo by Natashya Fernandez).

On Friday 2 June, staff, students and distinguished guests gathered at Iona Presentation Primary School for a Thanksgiving Mass and Garden Blessing in celebration of the Presentation Sisters 110 years of service and dedication to Iona.

The morning was spent recognising the incredible presence the Sisters have had at the school for so many years, and thanking them for their unwavering support and dedication that has touched the lives of so many in the Iona school community.

Also recognised on the day was the founder of the Presentation Sisters, Nano Nagle, whose mission to bring light to the world was seen through her endless passion and commitment to helping the less fortunate, and whose message is lived on through the Sisters today and the values they have instilled in the students of Iona.

The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe and concelebrated with Frs James D’Souza, Chris Ross and Rodrigo Ponte, with the blessing of a ‘Presentation’ Garden and abstract mosaic.

Archbishop Costelloe thanked the Presentation Sisters for the amazing contribution they have given with their presence not only to the school, but to the church in Western Australia.

“Today especially, we celebrate this Mass in which we have a chance to come closer to Jesus and, through him, closer to each other. To reflect on just how important the Presentation Sisters, and the spirit which animates them has been and continues to be for this school,” he said.

Catholic Education Western Australia joins Iona Presentation Primary School in thanking the Presentation Sisters as they hand over responsibility for the school to Archbishop Costelloe.

Presentation Sisters Western Australia Congregation Leader, Sr Kathleen Laffan, said that it was a privilege to be present at the Mass and celebrations.

“We are here today to celebrate the 110 years that we have journeyed together, Presentation Sisters, students, parents and the wider community. All in the footsteps of our found, Nano Nagle. “I hope the newly erected statue of Nano will be an inspiration to all students, staff and parents in the years ahead” she said.

when did the presentation sisters arrived in australia

Congregation leader of the Presentation Sisters in Western Australia, Sr Kathleen Laffan, with Archbishop Costelloe and Iona Presentation Primary School Principal Jennifer Anderson (photo by Natashya Fernandez).

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COMMENTS

  1. Our story

    The Presentation story in Australia and Papua New Guinea originated with several groups of Irish Presentation Sisters travelling to Australia, beginning in 1866. ... It was symbolic that the arrival of the Sisters in Papua New Guinea occurred one hundred years after the first group of Presentation Sisters arrived in Australia at Richmond, Tasmania.

  2. Presentation Sisters

    3.3 Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea. 3.3.1 Tasmania. 3.3.2 Victoria. 3.3.3 Western Australia. 3.3.4 New South Wales. ... In November 1854, five Presentation Sisters arrived in San Francisco from Ireland at the invitation of Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany. Mary Joseph Cronin was appointed as the community's first superior ...

  3. Presentation Sisters, Society of Australian Congregations of the

    The Presentation Sisters were founded in 1775 in Ireland by Nano Nagle. Their website gives some history of the Presentation Sisters' work in Australia. They came first to Richmond in Tasmania in October 1866, to Victoria in 1873 and to New South Wales in 1874. In 1900, the Presentation Sisters went from NSW to the...

  4. Presentation Sisters

    History of the Presentation Sisters in Australia, ... Consequently, in May 1874, five sisters arrived from Kildare. In 1886 from the little village of Lucan, just out of Dublin, three sisters and seven postulants left for the Lismore mission. Coming through England, they were joined by another postulant and arrived in Lismore in August 1886. ...

  5. Our founder, Nano Nagle

    The first Presentation Sisters in Australia arrived at Richmond, Tasmania in 1866. Over the ensuing years, other groups of Irish Presentation Sisters travelled to Australia, founding independent Presentation congregations in different states from which further foundations were made.

  6. Presentation Sisters, 150 Years of Service

    It is almost precisely 150 years since the Presentation Nuns arrived in Australia. On December 21st 1873 the first small group of Sisters from their Limerick convent disembarked at Port Melbourne to staff the little Catholic school in East Saint Kilda… what was to become Presentation College, Winsor. They were intrepid women.

  7. Presentation Sisters

    The Presentation Sisters from Sneem and Michelstown in County Kerry, Ireland agreed to come to Western Australia. In May 1891 Sisters sailed from Ireland to England then to Albany. From Albany they travelled to Perth by train and finally by boat to Geraldton, arriving in July 1891. They commenced work the day after they arrived.

  8. Centenary of the Arrival of the Presentation Sisters

    The two stained glass windows over the choir loft were installed to mark the centenary of the arrival of the Presentation Sisters in Geraldton on 6th July, 1891. They are a tribute from the Diocese of Geraldton to the work of the Sisters during 100 years. From the left, the first window depicts the Irish foundation of the Order by Nano Nagle on ...

  9. The Presentation Sisters

    The Society of Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM) The Presentation Sisters were founded in 1775 by Nano Nagle to meet the needs of the poor in penal Ireland. Founded from Ireland, Presentation Sisters came to 'the ends of the earth' in Australia in 1866. Traditionally, Presentation Sisters in ...

  10. Victoria

    In December 1873, the Presentation Sisters arrived in Victoria and established their first convent in Windsor. They had been invited by Father James Corbett, the Parish Priest of St Mary's Parish in East St Kilda, who sought their help in ensuring the continuation of Catholic education after the 1872 Education Act saw the withdrawal of funds for religious schools.

  11. Presentation Tradition

    The first Presentation Sisters in Australia arrived at Richmond, Tasmania in 1866. Continuing in Victoria. Responding to a cry for help in staffing schools that came from "the ends of the earth", Presentation Sisters arrived in Victoria from Limerick in Ireland in 1873. Another group of Presentation Sisters arrived in Victoria in 1883 ...

  12. PDF Volume 10

    Ireland, arrived in Australia in October 1866. They came at the request of Bishop Daniel Murphy of Hobart, whose sister, Mother ... Australia, the Presentation Sisters immediately modified their rule so as to establish boarding schools, which they did not do in Ireland.

  13. Presentation Sisters celebrate centenary

    Some sisters attending were in their 80s, including Sr Gabriel Hogan, a former Queensland and Australian congregational leader. Archbishop John Bathersby, who celebrated the centenary Mass said: "Today we gather to thank God for 100 marvellous years of the presence of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queensland. "We are ...

  14. Sisters of Presentation Convent

    It was home to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation (or Presentation Sisters), who had arrived in Queensland in February 1900. The order focused on outreach, particularly education, and the Sisters established schools and convents in Longreach and central Queensland.

  15. Presentation Sisters

    The Presentation Sisters (also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) are women who belong to a family of Roman Catholic religious orders inspired by or based on the group founded in Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775. In the past, the Sisters dedicated their time to creating schools that would help to educate young ...

  16. Presentation Australia

    4F/9 Redmyre Rd. Strathfield. NSW 2135. E [email protected]. ABN 11 705 860 022. Safeguarding. We acknowledge the First Peoples of Australia as traditional custodians of these sacred lands and waters. We learn from their care of country and are grateful for their ongoing, unique and vital contribution to community and culture in the places in ...

  17. History

    The Presentation Sisters were founded by Nano Nagle in Cork, Ireland in 1775. Nano was a woman of great courage who established secret schools (hedge schools) for Catholic children barred from education by oppressive British law. She taught long days, and at night she carried her lantern among Cork's

  18. Religious Orders Served Huge Social Needs in Colonial Australia

    In 1855, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition arrived in Fremantle in Western Australia. In 1863 a group of Sisters of the Good Shepherd arrived in Melbourne; 1866 saw the first Presentation ...

  19. Christian Brothers and Edmund Rice

    He worked closely with the Presentation Sisters and in 1822 his Order became a reality and was known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools or the Christian Brothers. ... The Christian Brothers came to Australia - first of all, to Sydney - in 1843, at the invitation of Archbishop Polding, but left in 1848. They arrived in Melbourne in ...

  20. Presentation Sisters

    The gates at the front of the church commemorates the work of the Presentation Sisters in Collie from 1902 to 2000. The gates were crafted by Sergio Amadio. The Presentation Sisters (also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) are women who belong to a family of Roman Catholic religious orders inspired by or based on the group founded in Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775.

  21. Western Australia

    The Presentation Sisters from Sneem and Michelstown in Ireland responded to this call and agreed to venture to Western Australia. Arriving in July 1891, they wasted no time and began their work immediately. Over the following 78 years, the Geraldton Sisters established an additional 21 schools in remote regions of Western Australia.

  22. Presentation Convent, Geraldton, Western Australia · Medievalism in

    An image of Stella Maris College in Geraldton. The purpose-built college for the Geraldton Presentation Sisters was completed in 1912, after the foundation stone had been laid by Bishop William Kelly in 1911. The building was designed by Mother Brigid who had entered the convent in 1895. The style of the brick building is primarily colonial but ...

  23. Presentation Sisters celebrate 110 years of service and dedication to

    Presentation Sisters Western Australia Congregation Leader, Sr Kathleen Laffan, said that it was a privilege to be present at the Mass and celebrations. "We are here today to celebrate the 110 years that we have journeyed together, Presentation Sisters, students, parents and the wider community. All in the footsteps of our found, Nano Nagle ...