COHGl".?.EGATION OF OUR I,ADY OP LillHCY

IN

NEW ZEAL.AJifJJ

Codeword: Aphis. 1. Preface

Sisters of Eercy in our different dioceses have often expressed regret that, so far, no one has written a historical sketch of the Order of roy in New Zealand. Time is steadily stealing from our midst those who were privileged to enjoy personal acquaintance with the first religious wonen - the Auckland Sisters of Uercy of 1850 - to cone to this country. So, v1'11ile there yet remain ·with us, five of the original band who in 1873 founded the~- first Convent of I~rcy in the South Island, I have attenpted to break the ice, however feebly, and thus free the current for more competent explorers. Owing to the lack of a central authority for the Order, the collecting of sources and other data has entailed :'luch :1ore research than one rr1igllt infer fror:t the size of the WOl"k. A considerable a.rnount of detail was necessa:r'y but I have endeavoured to so use it as not to lose si~ht of the vivifyin~ spi t o~ nercy, which enbraces even the least works of the Order.

pro;2pt an d. sene:;;ous response to :1any appeals and loans of useful naterials I owe abundant thad:s to ~Irs.S.R.Goulter, Fairlie; I

11 Aphisn

Convent of ~ Iercy, n:'inaru, 1930.

8 MAR ZOOO 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS page

1. PREFACE.

L~. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

7. CHAPTER 1 • ORIGIN AND SPIIUT OF' THE OHDER OP W~RCY.

1 L~. CHAPTER 11. THE COMING AND EARLY ACTIVITIES OP THE

SISTERS OF' UERCY.

27. CHAPTI~R 111 • MOTHER CECILIA L~EER: AUCKLAND POUNDATIONS.

St. Uary's, Ponsonby, 1850;. St. Patrick's, Auckland, 1850; St. John's, Parnell, 1862; St. Joseph's, Onehunga, 1864; St. Cecilia's, Otahuhu, 1866; St. hlar·y's, Coromandel, 1882; st. Joseph's Orphanage, Talcapuna, 1894; St. Leo's, Devenport, 1896; St. Catherine's, 'waihi, 1902; Te Aroha, Our Lady of J.Jourdes, 1903; Holy Cross, Epsom, '1921; r~,;t. Carmel, Milford, 1922; . St. Bride's Avondale, 1923; Star of the Sea Orphanage, Bowick, 1925; Monte Cecilia College, Hillsborough Rd., Onehunga, 1926; St. 1-.Iary' s, Pawarene§a, 1927; Holy Cross, Henderson, 1932. Mater Misericordiae Hospital, 1900.

39. CHAPTER 1V. WELLINGTON ARCHDIOCESE.

Guildford Terrace, Thorndon, 1851; St. Joseph's, Upper Butt, 1852; St. Philomena's, 1873; Blenheim, 1885; Ne·wton, 1890; Sea- toun, 1909; Kilbirnj.e, 1912; Picton, 1914; Nai Nai: the Beaut.: .. lll, 1916- '17; Ha.taitai and Holy Cross. ·1930; Other Foundations, 1936; An Amalgamation - Reefton, 1881, Westport, 1894.

54. CHAPTER V. HOICITIKA:

"All Saints," Greymouth, 1882; St. Joseph's, Lyttelton, .1890; St. MaT·y's Christchm.•ch, 18:J4; "Villa L1aria," Riccarton, 1918; Loreto College, 1929; Convent of Mercy, Tirnaru, 1936. 3 Page 71. OHAPrER V1. DUNEDIN DIOCESE. Gore, 1897; St. Philomena's College 1897- 1904; Liosgiel, 1898; St. Vincent's Orphanage, 1898; Winton, 1898; \'!rey' s Bush, 1899 Alexandra, 1912; Riverton, 1~:13; Nightcaps, 1916; I;Iornington, 1919; \,Vaveley Boys' Or;)hanage, 1920; Mater Misericordiae Hospital 1936. 79· -·------OHA-',TEH V11. CONCT.USION. 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. PUBLICATIONS.

1. RELIGIOUS WORKS CONSULTED.

Cardinal Patrick Francis Jvloran: History of the Catholic Church in Australasia. (Oceanic Publishin~ Cor:J­ pany, Sydney 1895.)

J.J. Wilson: 11 Memoirs of Early Days. 11 (The New Zealand Tablet Publishing Co. Ltd., Dunedin, 1910.) "In the Path of the Pioneer (New Zealand Tablet Publish ing Co. Dunedin, 1921.)

A New Orleans Sister of Mercy: 11 Leaves from the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy. 11 Vols 1 and 11. (P.O'Shea, New York. 1883)

Sister M. Josephene Gately: 11 The Sisters of L~ercy. rr Maci;lillan. Co., Nevr York, 1931. ) M.G. Thither: Thesis - Roman Catholic Educational Activity in the Province of Otago, N. Z. (Canterbury College 1934.)

2. NON-~~L~GIOUS '.'IOR!CS CONSULTED.

CYclopedia of New Zealand.~ Timaru Public Library, ) Vol. 1. ~ellington Vol. 11. Auckland. Vol. 111.Canterbury. (1903) Vol. V. Nelson, I~arlborough, and Westland.

Cambridge History of the British Empire. Vol. V11., part 11 n.z. · (cru~b. Press. London, 1933.)

Horsley: 11 The Romance of N. z." ('.r.c. and E.G. Jacli:.London, 1908. )

Rusden: 1'History of N.Z.," Vol. 11. (Melville, lilullen and Slade, Melbourne, 1882. Hight ana Bamford: 11 'l'he Constitutional History and Law of Nevr Zealand. 11 (Whi tcornbe & Tombs, Ch. Ch. 1914. ) 5 Shrimp ton and Mulgan: "Maori and Pakeha." (Whi tcombe & Tombs, Christchurch, 1921.)

Scholefield: "New Zealand Affairs." \L. Il. Isi tt, Christchurch, 1929.) Reeves. "The Long White Cloud." (Horace Marshall & Son, London, 1898.) 3. OFFICIAL DOCU!i!EWrG. Australian Catholic Directory, 1938. Year Book by I.larist Fathers, 1927 and 1928. New Zealand

and A11stralia. The New Zealand Police Gazette, 16th June, 1897. 4. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS. New Zealand Tablet. 23rd February 1938. (Dunedin. ) 30th.March 1938. 23rd November 1938. 30th Noveliilier 1938. Zealandia. 18th November 1837. (Auckland. ) 5th March 1938. 12th I.·larch 1938. 28th July 1938. 20th October 1938. 8th December 1938. hlarist Messenger. 1st December 1931. (Wellington. ) 1st September' 1934. 1st October . 1934. 1st November 1934. Centennial Nur:1ber, March 1938. Westport News. 11-tth December 1931. The Universe. 2nd Septenilier 1938. (London. ) English Catholic Times. 11th December 1937· (London. ) The Catholic Press. 3rd December 1931 . (Australia. ) Centenary Number, N. Z. Catholic Schools Journal: 1838 - 1939. 6

5. PHAf,:PHLJ:TS.

Bishop Cleary: 11 Seventy Fifth Anniversary of the landing in New Zealand of the Sisters of lilerc ( 1850 - 1925.) (Mercy Convent Archives, Auckland.) Rev. W. LocJcington S.J. '''.I'he Sisters of Mercy - (Centenary 1831 - 1931. Convent Librar•y, \Vellington. )

Rev. J. Ryan s. J. !1!. A. Mother Catherine LlcAuley - Litt. D. An Al?preciation (IJimerick 1938) (Convent Library, Timaru. )

Teacher's Bulletin: Surnrrw ·y of Hi or•y of Cath­ olicCJ:F.lrch in New Zealand (1828 - 1936.) (Lrs. Goulter, Pairlie.)

11 1 Ur. Paul Kavanagh 'l'he Sisters of Mercy ' in Nevv Zealand. Catholic Schools' Journal, Deptember, 1932. (Convent Library Timaru).

1 1 . Ul:J:PUBLI smm. SOUlWES ._ 1. Annals. /mnals of the Lytt ton (Convent of Uercy, Lyttelton). Convent:

\ Annals of the Hokitika (Convent of l'.lercy, Hold t a J. Convent:

2. Personal Interviews. ------··~ -- I have been able to eo;.;: u.p on much ma·i.;t;;;rial by discussing doLtbtful points ·ai th five pioneers who, though. they have passed beyond the allotted three-score- and-ten are still quite clear on the events and life of sixty years ago, though not always so clear as to more modern events. ~jisters: too, who have lived VJith the first Auckland and Wellington Sisters, have been kind in furnishing details. THE LIBRARY 7 fAWTERBURY UNIVERSITY COLLEGd CHAPT:Bm. 1 • CHRISTCHURCH, 11.1. Ox•iqin and Spirit o:t_:_ the Order of l,lercy..!. .. The Order of' Llercy sprang into being as an outc:owe of the zeal and chm·i ty of a beautiful, noble-hearted

Irish heiress, Catherine McAuley, who was born in Co. Dublin, in 1787. ( 1) Although the second hal1' of the 18th century was a 11 CPitical period for adhel'ents of the old faith" :r:n Ireland, yet Catherine's father, a devout

Catholic, enjoyed all the privileges of polite society without any apparent injury to his Catholic principles.

In those penal days when Catholicity vras a crime and all things Catholic were 11 hidc1en away as in the days of the

Catacombs, 11 Catherine's father used to asf~emble at his own home on Sundays and holidays the poor of the district to instruct them in the truths of their religion. His lessons were to bear fruit in the life of his young daughtel"' who never forgot them.

1:/hen Catherine, who was the eldest of three children vras but seven yem•s old, she lost her father; and her gay young mother seeing that to adhere to the Catholic faith meant to belong to (2) a upoor, despised, impotent, ragged and pitiful c onmnJ.ni ty, If willingly accepted the Protestant- isnt of her friends, with its monopoly of wealth, power,

1. Mother CathePine McAuley - An Appreciation (Eev. (.T. Ryan f3.J.ii:.A. D. Litt.) (Limerick, 1938.) 2. Ibid. 8 prestige and learning. She died when catherine was eleven and thenceforth the three orphans were brought up by Protestant friends who could never persuade Catherine to adopt their religion.

( 1 ) Vlhen sixteen years old, Catherine was adopted by Mr. and Idrs. Callaghan, lately l'eturned from abroad, who were old Protestant friends of the McAuley family. Her nevv guardians idolised Catherine but were in- flexible on one point - that she should not profess the Catholic religion. Yet so deeply.did she revere her father's memory that she offered· to relinquish all, rather than embrace any religion but his,· and this, even though she was yet ignorant of Catholic aching and was denied any association with it. However, the strength of her con- victions eventually secured her objective and she not only resumed the open practice of her religion, but gained a victory over the prejudice of years by winning her guardians themselves to e~)race the Catholic religion.

Mr'. Callaghan who survived his wif'e by two ars died in 1822, leavin,e.· Catherine his sole heiresr:;. (2) She was now mistress of his sta.tely residence 11 Coolock House with its plate, carriages and furniture, and income of £600 a year· and a sum of £30,000 in the Bank of Ireland. 11 Already

11 1 1 . Leaves from the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy ', Nev1 York 1881 Vol 1. page 10. 2. Article in "Zealandia11 (IJirs.· Goulter) Auckland Nov.L5th.,1937 9 her good father's exrunple had borne fruit and we find her, during leisure hours, distributing food and clothing to the poor, and visiting and instructing the sick of her neighbourhood. So when she came into possession of this fortune she decided to devote her life to the succour of the poor, the sick, and the ignorant. (1). For their benefit she sacrificed all; "her time, ·which ladies of' her

class were accustomed to 'Naste in pleasant distractions; her energy, which in those days of cheap labour she would never have been called upon to expend; 11 and her for·tune, which could give her a life of affluence and even of splendour. Almost irnmediatley after inheriting her fortune, she gathered about her other, noble:...minded ladies whom she in­ spired with like, noble ideals and (2) on September 2LJ.th, 1 824, there was laid the foundation stones in Baggot Str'eet, Dublin, of her first institution for destitute women and orphans, as wel1 as of a school for poor children. At thts stage she had no idea of forming a religious order, but, with her "practical capacity as :3:n administrator," she (3) saw that by forming themselves.into a religious con­ gregation the good done by herself' and her colleagues could be continued indefinitely in the future by those who would follow in her footsteps. (4) Hence after receiving

1. M.C. McAuley·- An Appreciation- (Rev. S. Ryan S.J.) 2. "Leaves frorn the Annals of the f3isters of Mercy11 Vol.1. pp. 21-22 3. "An Appreciation" op. cit. 4. Leaves from Annals. op. cit. pp. 33-67.

THE LIBP.J!RY fARTERBURY UNIVERSITY COLLEG.S CHRlSTCHUHCH, N.Z. 10 from Pope Pius V111 a Rescript of Indulgences dated l.iay · ., 23rd, 1830, Catheri.ne and two companions began a novitiate on September 8th, 1830, under the Presentation Sisters at Georges Hill, Dublin. (1) Here on December 12th, 1831, they took their vows as the first Sisters of Mercy, Sister M. Catherine being appointed first Superior. Al- most in~ediately their zeal and charity were severely tested; for, in 1832, cholera stalked the streets of Dublin and the Archbishop appealed to the Sisters on behalf of his suffering flock. (2) In answer to his appeal the Sisters, we are told, "lcnel t down to receive his blessing &'1d then r•ose up and made the cholera hos- pital their home." During the ten short years of her religious life Mother McAuley founded convents through- out Ireland and opened, in England, the first convent since the religious revolt of the sixteenth century. Lady Barbara Eyre, daughter of the Earl of Newbury, vvas the first to receive the habit. Of the progress made by the Order we have the follovling from l.Iother EcAuley' s own pen ( 3) "We are now ( 1 839) above a hundred and desire to join us seems rather on the increase. Though it was thought foundations would retard it, the case appears to be otherwise.'' It was while engaged on the Birmingham foundation September

1. Ibid. Vol. 1. P. L~3. 2. "IJeaves from the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy." Vol. 1 . P. 315. 3. Ibid. Vol. 1. P. 1L~. 11 1841, that Mother McAuley's failing health disclosed . alarming symptoms. She died at Baggot Street on November 11th that year. Though teaching is the chief work of the Order of Mercy, yet, when opportunity calls, the Sisters pass from class-room to hospital or sick-bed and, if need be, even to the battlefield. In 1854-6, in 1861, and again in 1899, the Sisters of Mercy by their devoted service to the sick and wounded soldiers won the praise and esteem of all creeds. (1) On Friday, October 27, 1854 the first of several bands of Sisters of Mercy embarked on the "Vectis 11 bound fot the East. With.Florence Nightingale and Miss Stanley they showed themselves indefatigable in their efforts to soothe the awful sufferings of the plague-stricken and the wounded, on battlefield and in hospital, at Balaclava, Scutari, and Inkerrnann. (2) Two of the Sisters, victims of cholera and typhus respectively, are buried on the bleak heights of Balaclava. Again, in the records of the American Civil War, we read of the devotion of the Sisters to the stricken soldiers of their adopted country. (3) In 1900 we find Queen Victoria giving a very cordial reception to the Sisters of Mercy vvho had worked so heroically during

1. Annals of the Sisters of Mercy Vol. 11. p. 129. 2. Ibid. pp. 197-198. 3. Supplement to .N.Z. Catholic Schools Journal, September 1932 (Aucldand. ) 12 the siege of Mefeking. The Annals tell that while express­ ing her gratitude for their kindness to the soldiers, her Majesty pinned the Royal Red Cross on their guimpa. As Mother McAuley had foreseen, the good wor•k she began continued after her death to make rapid progress so that within a hundred years of its foundation the Order of Mercy had spread throughout the English-speaking world. At St. Johns, Newfoundland the first house of the Order was opened in the rtestern Hemisphere and at Pi tts·burg 1843 the first Convent of Mercy in the United States. Soon afterwards not only convents and schools but orphanages, hospitals and homes for young women were established by the Sisters in Amei'ica, Australia, New Zealand. and South Africa. The Centenary of the OI'der was celebrated in 1931 when the following statistics of the Order were presented.

( 1 ) Co:tNENTS OP MERCY Ireland 196. Africa s. England 93. B. \Vest Indies 5. Scotland 8. North Arne ric a 886. Channel Is. 3. South America 12. Australia 252. Central America New ZealwJ.d 46.

Total 1, 507 Convents; 20 ,L-1-62 Nuns.

1. Supplement N.Z. Catholic Schools Journal, Septenilier 1932. 13 CHAPTER 11. THE COMING AND EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SISTERS OI' MEHCY

It was as a result of the concerted effort of French missionaries and Irish irmnigrants that the Catholic Church was established in New Zealand. In 1838 Monsignor Jean Baptiste Pompallier, newly-named Vicar Apostolic of Wester·n Oceania of which New Zealand then formed a part, landed at Hokianga where he and. his intrepid band of Marists were warmly welcomed by an Irish settler, Thomas Poynton, and vvhence he set for·th determined to roughhew his way and blaze the trail for· his followers. In response to his appeals to Europe, priests trickled into the country and according as these became available, he established mission stations throughout the land. Realising the needs of his growing flock Bishop Pompallier embarked for Rome in 1846, and tvro years later, New Zealand was divided into tvvo dioceses Auckland and V/ellington. Bishop Viard who had been Bishop Pompal1ier' f> coadjutor since 1846, v1as appointed first Bishop of Wellington with the Marist Fathers as his helpers, while Bishop Pompalliel" retained the charge of Aucklancl from which diocese the Marist Fathers were to withdraw in favour of secular clergy, as soon as the diocese was sufficiently staffed with priests. 14 on his return joul"ney from Europe in 181+9, shop Pomp allier called at St. Leo 1 s Convent of b:ercy, Carlow,. Ireland, where he begged for volunteers for his remote

sea-girt mis on. Mother Cecilia Uahe1~, then Superior of

the Carlow Convent, privately offered hel~self' for the distant mission as did several other members of the Community. ( 1) When it becarne known that Mother Cecilia Laher had volunteered, the whole community in a body besought Bishop Haly, then in c.harge of the diocese, to dissuade her. Though aware of the singular merit of their Superior•, this zealous pastor very pertinently the Sisters how they, themselves, would have got the Pai th, if st. Patrick and St Augustine had remained at· 'home. He told them, that, though he was sorry to part with any them, God's glory demanded the sacrifice. So on August 8th, 1849, Mother Cecilia and seven companions set out from St.Leo's Carl ow, to travel to tbe remote enc,s of the earth there to carl"'Y on the works of Mercy - the amelioration of the spiritual educational and physical needs of the growing population. In Cross", one of New aland's earliest newsprints, we find the following, dated Friday, April 12th 1850: "Shipping Listtt

April 9. - 11 0ceania", of Antwerp, 533 tons, Captain

1 1 • ' Leaves from the Annals" Vol 11. P 591. 1 5 G-ustavus Radou, from Sydney, the 21st Uarch. Passengers: Bishop Pomp allier 10 (sic) Sisters of Mercy ... "

11 The New alander, 11 a contemporary Auckland Newspaper, bearing like date gives the names of those Sisters: " Iv!esdames I.larie hlaher, Elizabeth Hughes, Mary Pages, Mary Franklin, Mary Maher, Elizabeth Taylor, MaryBannox and Mar·y Slattery." Thus after braving the rigours of the Atlantic and Pacific for eight months in a (1) 533-ton sailing vessel~ Mother Cecilia Maher and :per seven compan­ ions reached Auckland, then but a small struggling village,. where they were to establish themselves as the first religious community of women to set foot upon New Zealand soil. 1'The outhern Cross 11 has the following account of their landing and welcome: 11 0n Tuesday afternoon a large assembl was gathered together at Smale's Point to witness the arrival of shop Pompallier, The wor>thy gentlel:ian had, however, debarl\:ed in private, and the crowd was gratified with a sight of the Sisters of Charity (sic), and several members of the Roman Catholic priesthood. As the bell was tolling, a rush took place and the church·was speedily thr•onged by an eager auditory.. Mass was celebrated and a 11 Te Deum" chanted with no inconsiderable ability by the choir especially considerj.ng the crowded state of the church and the excitement of the occasion. 11

1. "The Southern Cross" April 12th, 1850, as recorded in The Seventy Fifth Annivel"say (Bishop c::.eary) P·age 5. 16

However, in the interests of historical truth, we quote from a more accurate ace o~--

Commercial Bay to welcome the nuns, the Catholics being in the Minority. The newly - arrived ladies were rowed ashore in an open boat, t ~ land at Smale's Point, at the spot where nm'' stand the Government Buildings in Custnus Street West. A

Procession was formed. Preceded ·oy the ;hole Catholic Popul- ation up the ti-tree lined track, then (as now) called Albert

Llt,:r.·c~::t:. .• the Sisters in tvros, flanl<::ed by Catholic members of the gar·rison as guard-of-hon·Jur~ were. followed by acolytes, the priests, the venerable Bishop· ru1d his coadjutor, Dr. Viard, S.M. When they reached st. Patrick's, Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was given, hymns were sung and the l,lagnificat and Te Dewn intoned by the Bishops, priests and Sisters'. Dr>. Pompallier briefly expressed his gratitude to

God for this happy culmination of his dearest ~vi shes, and welcomed the Sisters to their new h01ne. rrhe citizens after­ wards extended their greetings in the recently erected school­ room, where refr·eshments were provided for all. The Convent was a neat little wooden house, the walls lined 'vVi th canvas and then covered vvi th paper. 11

------·------.. - 1 • 11 Seventy-fifth Anniversary. 11 (Dr. Cleary) p. 15 17 T.o the newcomers, Auckland presented a noYel picture of town life. Mother Cecilia describes the town of Auckland in 1850 (1) as "singular-looking, partly in a valley and partly straggling up a hill; wooden houses, streets marked, but sparsely strewn with dwellings; grass ever~rNhere. 11 (2) The European population of the Colon.:r ,then totalled about 30~000 of whom 35 per cent wePe in Aucl\:land; 22 per cent in ';'!ellington; 16. 6 per cent in Nelson; 12. 3 per cent in Canterbury; 7. 7 per cent in Otago and 6. L~. per cent in New Plymouth. (3) Of the 105,000 Maoris then in the country more than tv;o-thii'ds dwelt in Auckland while fevver than 2,000 were then to be found in the South Island. The variety of the climate, the character of the e6il, and the nature of the surface-vegetation, largely deteri11ined the distribution of the population so that, while some fortunate, fertile localities could support a fairly dense population, others - paPticularly such as were mountainous or su·bject to heavy rainfall - were c;_ui te uninhabited. The expansion o:f' Northern settlements .was difficult because of the hilly nature of the country, and it took stout hearts and broad backs to clear and burn through the dense forest in order to link by roads the various settle- ments, and thus enable out-settlers to carry their laboriously-procured produce to some convenient centre

1. Annals, Vol 11. op. cit. p. 607. 2. History of N.Z. (Rusden) Vol. 11 Published London 1882. 3. "The Romance of New Zealand" (Horsley. ) 18 from which it could be exported. Gradually their unflagging industry and the steady increase in population begot new c ondi tionf:~ of life throughout the };;nd, so that J:J!other Cecilia I,·laher could write frm: Auckland - ( 1) "No aristocracy here; all are comfortable. Immigrants are Irish or English." She gives the following tariff of the necessaries of life in Auckland 1850;-

11 GooJ. tea, 1 s. 6d. per pound; sugar, 3d.; beef and mutton, very inferior, 6d.; very good pork; 4d.; butter in summer 1 Od.; and in winter 2 or· 3 shillings; excellent potatoes very cheap. Servants £15 to £20 a year; washer­ ·women, 2s. 6d. a day; mechanics, 7s. 6d.; labour•ers, 5s. No poverty where there was industry. 11

S~ne years before the Sisters' arrival, (2)Father

Petitjean had opened a schooi 11 for the children of

inunigrants 11 and with the able assistance of stalwart lay­ men he pioneered the work of education. Hovvever, (3) it was not until the coming of the Sisters of Mercy, in 1850, that the education of Catholic youth in Auckland became an organi undertaking. In 1850 the Sisters took over

Father Petitjean's school, knovm as 11 St. Patrick' s 11 and soon they opened another - a sort of secondary school - dedicat- ed to st. Ii'rancis. Their Schools began with seventy Catholics eight of whom were war-orphans and fi:Lteen Pro-

testants. They also improvised in the :Lirst week and orphan~

1. "Leaves from the lmnals" Vol. 11. pp. 600-601. 2. "Auckland Times" March 9th 1843 (not signed) 3. "Seventy-fifth Anniversary" (Dr. Cleary) Page 17 •. 19 age in which to provide for the children of soldiers who had fallen in the Maori Wars. (1) Their efforts in this field vrere so successful that to-day they have tV'<"o wel equipped homes, the one for• girls at Bowick, the other for boys at Takapuna. It was not during school hours alone that the S1sters were kept busy. r.Iany (2). immigrants and native women came regularly to be instructed. The natives were delighted with the Sisters, .. any of whom, dur-ing their tedious journey of eight months, had acquired the 'Maori language. A chieftainess came to the convent and wept on seeing the Sisters; at length, she exclaimed:

11 I was in a state of suffering until I saw the sacred girls'. Now I begin to live." (3) By the end of 1850 the school roll was 158 com­ prising 65 infants, 75 girls as well as 18 in the Orphanage. The school re-opened in 1851 with 240 children in addition to '14 from the Orphanage and 12 native girls. During this year Sir George Grey visited the Si ers' schools and

1 described them as be-ing "exceedingly well-conducted. '

(l.J.) In 1852 Bother Cecilia reported to Carlow: "We have an orphanage, three schools - an infant school, one for grown girls and a select or benefit school. We have also a house for· native girls where after being in­ structed and taught everything useful, they leave and go among the tribes and others are taken. 11

1 • "The Sisters of Mercy" (Gately) New York 1931. p. 220. 2. "Leaves fPom the Annals 11 Vol. 11. p. 602. 3. Seventy-fifth Anniversary. (Dr. Cleary) p. 17. 4. Ibid.

THE Ll8RARY CArrTERBURY UNiV[RSITY C:OLLEG£ CHRIS1CHURCH. N.Z. 20 ( 1 ) 11 re is a specimen of a Maori pupil; 11 'One of our native girls has returned to her tribe. She is eight·een, very modest, religious, and edifying in her conduct. She is very talented. After learnin~ to read and write her own language she was taught English, which she speaks nicely, but with a lisp. She reads and writes English well, went through with Arithmetic, and has a good idea geography. At examinations she was often asked to point out remarkable places on the rnap; her knowledge of the equator, zones, etc., would surprise you. She can wash, iron, knit stoclcings, crotchet, n~alce and bake bread, cut out dresses. She helped to malce a rochet for the bishop; can . scrub a house and put it in order. As you may suppose, she is regarded with admiration· by all. She has a school of thirty of her· country girls (in the Bush). Some Europeans

1 go to her'. '

As a result of Mother Cecilia's earnest entreaties Carlow Convent opened a novitiate for Auckland and from time to time sent out reinforcements. (2) In 1857 a band of five Sisters about to embark at Chelsea, were visited and encoUJX:lged by Cardinal Wiseman, who was deeply inter- ested in New Zealand. (3) Of the next contingent which arrived in 1860, one member, Mother Bernard, the daughter of ------1. Ibid Page 615. 2. uLeaves from the Annals. 11 Vol. 11. p. 603. 3. Seventy-fifth Anniversary. 11 (Dr. Cleary) p. ·24. 21 General Sir Sheffield Dixon, and grand-daughter of the sixth Marquis of Lothian, had served in the Scutari Base Hospital and was destined to f'Dund the first convent in \Vellington in July, 1861. On ( 1) December 8th, 1861, Bishop Pompallier blessed the foundations of the present I\.fother House Mount Street,

Ponsonby, and wrote the following to .B1 ather Therry of Sydney: " ••• The Sisters of Mercy (have) a part of Diocesan ground of' eighteen ( 18) acres in extent near Auckland t t-self for religious, charitable, and educational purposes, v i"Z.: for their parent convent in the Diocese, for a Hospital, and for their vast establishments of boarding-schools in favoul' of bother races, 'whites and native' of this countl'Y• The intended establishment, not yet built, shall cost very likely between three and four thousand poUnds •••• To build it) I depend .on the charity of the faithful, and upon the assistance of God in His paternal providence. 11 In 1852 the care of native children was handed over to Dr. Pmpallier' s new· Order c ed the Holy F'ami ly. Thie Order did not survive the shop's departure, and his niece, who was its Superior returned with him to Frsnce. Yet the existence of this Order is of historical interest for tvvo reasons. (2) It included several members of the Maori race who were undoubtedly first liaori women to take the veil. In that Order also we first meet the noble- hearted Suzanna Aubert who, before founding the Order of the Sisters of Compassion, spent nearly a quarter of a

1 • Ibid. p • 1 9. 2., 11 Zealandia" (M. Goulter). November 18th, 1937. 22 century among the natives, teaching the children and assisting the sick and aged. The Sisters of Mercy vvere devoted to the Maoris from the very start. ( 1) For Maori women who had to travel to

Auckland in order to dispose of their vegetables and fruit, Mother Cecilia opened a house of hospitality with the idea of protecting them from dangers to which they might find themselves exposed in undesirable boarding- houses. The Sisters were often impressed with the heroic virtue of the native girls under their care: ( 2) 11 0nce," writes Mother Cecilia, 11 as our orphans and native girls were walking on the shore, one of the children clirnbed a rock overhanging the sea; hel"' foot slipped and she fell down s .~me yards, and grasping some shrubs, scPeamed for help. The·situation was terrific; a priest and a settler looked on shuddering. But one of the native children leaped like a deer down fror.1 the rock and seizing the almost breathless child, bore hel" in triumph to her companions. 11

Mother Cecilia's constant solicitude for the ~~laoris awakened in them a lively gratitude and. gave her such influence over them that a few words from her often made peace between hostile tribes. (3) On one occasion when tv1o rival tribes were on the point of attacking each other, t1other Cecilia sent them, by a friendly native, a flag on which was worked a dove beari an olive branch under which was inscribed the message .- "The sacred girls beg the

1 • "Leaves from the Annals" Vol. 11 .. p. 615. 2. 11 Leaves fran the Annals" Vol. 11. p. 605 3. Ibid. p. 607. 23 hostile parties to become good friends. 11 At once both tribes yielded to her entr'eaties and hostilities wer·e averted. During their second decade in the country of their• adoption the Sisters experienced the horrors of the devastating, hfaori Wars when they did much to assuage the sufferings of the distressed and afflicted. ':i'he~', them­ selves, suffered such extreme privations that in a letter Home, Mother Cecilia remarks that ( 1) there was not a single pound.in the house. "It was with anxiety c::nd solicitude that they made out what was barely necessary. 11 The Sisters were often impressed by the gratitude of the r,:aoris. Whenever the slightest danger threatened their dwelling, both parties gave them notice and. assured them that, no matter what happened, the 'sacred girls' would be safe. ( 2) Once, in the thick of war, a chief at the

risk of his life carne into the harbour and calling at the convent warned the Sisters to be ready to flee if the worst should. come. He endeavoured to allay their fears by pledging his word to give them timely notice and to convey them to secure refuge. the Sisters' work in Auckland during this time Cardinal hloran writes: (3) 11 They proved themselves true Apostles to both the

1. "Leaves from the Annals." Vol 11. p. 619. 2. Ibid. p. 608. 3. Seventy-fifth Anniversary. p. 21. 2Lj.

'-'uropean and the natives in Auckland and throughout the ~!10 le Diocese. Amid the Vicissitudes· of that Diocese v;hen ;.issions were forsaken, and when difficulties arose such as seldom have befallen a Colonial Diocese; for that suffering -~)lurch was for years encompassed on every side with the terrors and ravages of savage warfare, and 1, i th all its direful consequences, dissensions, desolation, ruin, and a crushing burden of debt, nevertheless throughout that trying t~eriod st. Mary's Convent of Mercy in Auckland was a t1>ue fortress of the faith, and handed on to the faithful of the Diocese the tradition of piety and the blessings of religion." . . Eighty years after their ari'ival, on the occasion of the centennial celebrations of the Order in 1931, the Sisters' woric was still held in 1 oving rnernory.

( 1) 11 'l1he arrival of the pioneer Sisters, 11 says a writer in 'Zealandia, ·' 11 during the episcopate of His Lordship, Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier (whose memory is still deeply revered by ~he Maori people throughout New Zealand) was an epoch-making event in the social and religious progress of this c Oil!ltry. 11 "Therein we are not f'orgetful of the fact that our people substantially participated in the benefits thereof - for many of our women-folk o:t' the past, sever•al generations v1ere educated at the convent schools - and the names of the Sisters of l\lercy are held in household reverence in many homes. 11 J:l'or nearly twenty years, l,Iother Cecilia and her c onmmni ty dwelt in a tottering old house with I,ady Poverty as a constant companion. (2) Yet when the financial crisis came in the wake of the Maori Wars, their five convents were found to be free of debt. However poorly the,y lived9 the culture of good books and good music was always cherished. Even Vihen poverty obliged them to economise in food and clothing, the libr.aries were well stocked and

1 • 11 Zeal andia11 (M,. Gaul ter) NoveLiber 18th, 1937. 2. Annals. Vol.·iL op. cit. p.619. 25 every book that was a help to spirituality or education was ordered from Europe as soon as it appeared. (l)"Buy

every good book for us" appears in lfother Cecilia's letters home alwost as fr·eq_uently as "send us subjects."

In 1861 the present "Old Convent," St.l:Iary's, Ponsonby, becrune the Mother House, and Novitiate. For seventeen years this convent was hallowed by the presence of

Uother Cecilia and is still redolent of her self-sacrificing spirit. Here still lives in her d~ughters, that whole­ hearted solicitude for the poor, the erring, the sick and th.e orphaned.

1. liLeaves from the Annals" Vol.ll. p. 632. 26

HOTHER CECILIA MAHER. 27 CHAPTER 11:l. MOTHEH CECILIA_ i',lAH}EH - AUCKLAND FOUNDATIONS

of women pioneers of the Catholic Faith in New zealand the name of ]',[other Cecilia (Ellen) Maher, like Abou Ben Adhem's name, might.easily lead all the rest. :1er arPival on these shores, at the head of the little band of Sisters of Mercy in ·J850, is a prominent land- marlc of Catholic Pl"ogress in New Zealand. Ellen Maher was born at ( 1 ) Fl~eshford, Co. Kill

Carlow, L~other Cecilia well icnew the burdensome cares attached to that fice, yet from' 1850 to 1868, she bore that ydce unflinchingly, guiding her Auckland c onununi ty through the toilsome years of furPow digging by "superin- (1) tending every detail connected. with the pioneering vroPk of the young cmrununi ty. 11 Pi red with apostolic zeal r3.nd defiant of danger, ther•e hover•ed about her a radiance of love and helpfulness as she struggled heroically with the scantiest resources to secure a foothold in the land of her adoption. Her (~) ardent piety and high executive ability so noteworthy in her life in Auckland, nave becone a treasured tradition. In 1868 she was given a well-

1. nseventy-fifth Ann::..versary'' op. cit. Page 2. Ibid. Page 23. 29 earned rest from her administrative duties but was obliged to resume office in 1871. Now, as before in her role as adrninistrator or the affairs of the community, she dis-

played a keeness of discerrunent and an ad~ptation of means to the end, while ·always there was the sam,e compass of wind the same. good sense. Ever cheerful, even when a loser, she served as a constant source of inspiration to those

aro,~.nd her. Her overwhelming earnestness, and the spirit she infused into all with whom she came in contact, .largely contributed to the perpetuation in the Auckland community of the real spirit of Catherine. ticAuley. From Mother

Cecilia hel~ subjects imbibed the (1) Christlike spirit that should animate the approach to, and the sol uti ::m of, the problems connected with the poor, the suffering,

and the neglected of humanity. J?or Maori and vlhi te alilce, she had the vvorcl of' personal appeal and inspiration, which particularly suited each case, her exhortations assuming the form surest to impress the soul she desired to reach. Having fully demonstrated by her life, (2) what charity means, what service means, what true progress means, her owing heart poured out its last words of hope and consolation on November 25th, ·1878. During the two days that her remains lay in state in the convent chapel. she had loved so well, (3) crowds wllom she

1 • Gately. op. cit. p~e 5. 1 2. Pamphlet C. '1. • S. t~elbourne. Sisters of Mercy - Centenax•y 3. "Zealand· u (G lt ) 1931-W.J. Lockington S.J. la :rou er Nov.18, 1937. 30 had taught as well as numbers of non-Catholics whom she had befriended, carue to pay her their last respects. After Requiem Mass she was borne by ten Sisters to her last resting place in Mount st. Mary's Cemetery.

(1). If, as scientists tell us 1 not a leaf falls to the ground, not a pebble rolls upon the shore without in some 1:1easure affecting the harmony of the universe, what trer;1endous forces must have been put in motion, changing the cowardice of weru{ness into strength of endeavour, rounding irnrnature impulse into the shapeliness of fixed purpose and keeping alive the fire of prayerful devotion i~ the dark places of life, by the union of faith and good works which marked the earthly career or lilother Cecilia! ( 2). FOUNJJATIONS SCHOOLfi.

ST. EAR~~-PONSONBY: In a small wooden building, st. Patrick Is' Hobson Street' Aucl<:land - the first in New Zealand to be designated a Convent - the pioneer Sisters entered in 1850 on the first decade of their activities beneath the Southern Cross. In 1863 the tottering con­ dition of this house induced the original band and their first recruits to remove to Mount St.Mary's,.,Pons:Jnby, vthich -has since become pregnant with valued memories and hallowed traditions. The new building included besides the

1 •. Cat:1olic World. (Number lost.) 2. Information received from Auckland Community and from "Zealandia" (Goulter) Nov .. 7th, 1937. 31 convent proper, a fine boarding and day school for second- a1·y pupils, an orphanage for girls, and St.Joseph's, a primary school. However! schCJol accom.mcdat:Lon was still inadequate and aftel" the forming of the Sacred Heart parish in 1886 the church was used as a school. Roll nwnbers increased and in 1.893 we find three Si ers of 1.:ercy and J.liss Foote teaclline; in the church some 150 pupils. In 1895 Sacred Heart Girl's School was opened, in which girls and boys were taught. until 1913 when with the opening of the Vermont Street Schools, the Marist Brothers too~;: over the boys. In 1929 ·at a cost of £36,000 st. r.;ary' s boarding and day schools gave ;Jlace to the present superstructure in Spanish Mission style of archi tecttu•e so attractively girt \Vi th neat lavvns and friendly t:r·ees. The traditions of many generati01l2 of successful pupils combined with the most modern equipment for the irnpar•ting of a many sided education by trained teachers, several of \Yhom are University graduates, are marked features of st. Mary's College. The annual successes of the pupils in University and other public examinations v.;herein they hold their own with the public schools and :::alleges of the Doraini on, together with the results which are achieved by its pupils in the exam.i.nations held by the two leading London Colleges of 1~usic - Trinity College and the Associated Board of Music - continue to give evidence 32 of the high standard of wo:r'k maintained thl~oughout St. Mary's

In addition~ the pupils are taught to put into college. / practice the i als of Catholic education which Cardinal Nemnan has epitomised as follows:- "I wish the inte ect to range with the utmost free­ dor:1, but what I am stipulating for is, that they should be round in one and the same place, and exemplified in the same person. I vvant the same roof to contain both the intellectual and moral discipline. 11 A junior Mercy Guild by its activities keeps the school children in touch with the needy, and an enthusiastic Old Girls' Association unites ex-students who joyfully look f o rv1ard to their ra-union$.

1 85Q_z_ 8'-". PATRICK' 8 AUC;~LANl): T H , the first school in v;hich the Sisters taught, gave place in 1880 to the new· convent and schools erected by Archbishop Steins, S.J. on the te now occupied by the l!,ai'mers' Parlcing Area, corner of Hobson and Wyndham Streets. Thousands of scholars conned their daily tasks in this school which in time gav:e way to the new st. Patriclc' s, a handsome brick building erec d on a new site and adorned with the wooden crosses of "Old St. Patrick's," which it st rears aloft as it dail~r gathers in its three • hundred pupils. To this primary school is. attached a registered Technical School in which pupils pursue an efficient post-primary course. j_862, ST. JOHN'SLPARNSLL: A little cottage, to which the Sisters either wallced or drove in the Bishop's carriage, 33 ";er·red for years as the first convent school hex•e. st. John's was opened in 1862 by S.M. s, S.M. de Chantal and S.M. Ignatius. The present attendance is round

1 oo. --1 861.+. Joseph's,.Onehunga~ Here S.M. Philomena, 3 .1.!. Veronica and Sister r.larie opened a school for girls in

in 1905 b were admitted. The roll is 263

1866. st. Cecilia I ~Q_tahuhtU This school, founded by s.J.f. s, S,I,i. Philomena and S.I.I. Scholastica ,, has now a daily attendance of about 215. In 1874 the ~)is ters opened st. Thomas's, Thames, which in 1911 they gave over to the

Sister~ of St. Joseph.

1882. st. I.Iary' ~Q._ramandel__;_ The re site funds for the bui of this convent were collect by Rev. Fathe:t:> ;,;ahoney, 0. F. M., V. G. The first Sisters to go there were

S.M. Gabriel, S.Ivl. Barbara, S.B. Alphonsus. When nurses were badly needed in Coromandel, Sisters from this convent attended the public hospital daily~ anQ when the new public hospital was built there, in 1896, the Sisters took temporary charge and lived there until the opening of their own hlater Hospital in 1900. 1894. st. Joseph's 0r2hanage, Trucapuna: On their arrival in New Zealand in 1 850 the Sisters relieved the r~rarist Fathers of the responsibility of looking after eight orphans, children of soldiers who had fallen in the Northern

~aori Wars. In 1894 S.M. Alphonsus and S.M. ~ildred 34 established st. Joseph's Orphanage at Talcapuna and in 1300 ·Nhen the boarding-out system was begun, an industrial school was opened. Fire destroyed the orphanage in 1923 and

in the following year -~t was rebuilt, and reopened by Archbishop Cattaneo and Lord Jellicoe. By 1927 the original eight orphans had given place to hundreds and a new feature, that year, was the admission of bo·'s of the parish to the

day school. ·1896. st. Leo's, Devon12ort.: 'l'his school, called after the gl:'eat parent-house Carlow, vVaB opened by S.M. Peter,

S.l.I. Columba and G.l.I. Stanislaus with a roll-call of seventy children. The present roll is 125.

1902. St •. Cather~ne's, Waihi: This, the first Mercy Convent opened in the present century in New Zealand, had for its original staff four Sisters, S.M. Francesca, S.M. Ray:mond," S.M. Frances and S.M. Stanislaus. It has six Sisters on the staff now and a roll of 100.

1903. Te Aroha, OUr L~ of Lourdes: From the outlying, scattered dairy-farms of this district two Sisters, Sister Mary Patrick and S.M. Columba, gathered. in thirty children with whom they opened this school in 1903. The roll has now risen to 188. In 1904 the Sisters opened St. Dominic's Convent, Gisborne, but in 1915 this convent was talcen over by the Sisters' of St. Joseph .

.1~ Holu: Cr'oss 2 EJ2som: Three oisters, S.M. Benignus, 35

s.J1l. Borrorneo and s.r,L Cecilia began work here in 1921 but the building was burnt to the ground in 1928 when the sters were lent the presbytery by the late Rev. T.J. O'Byrne. The convent vtas inunediately l"ebuil t and has now a roll of 1 Desides the work of teaching and the visitation in their homes of the sick poor, the Sisters also visit the Auclcle.nd

I nfi rrnary. 1)22. Iiiount Carmel, l1iilford: With the intention of pro- viding a rest-house women this house was opened. Hovv- ever, it has so far been used as a school for boys under twelve. rrhis foundation i.s of particular inte:t•est because the property adjoins the farm and home ad of Thomas and Lary Poynton, whose daughter, !iirs. Shea, gave them to the Sisters. 1223. St. Br·ide' s, Avondale: From a begin11ing uad.e b;J five

Sisters, S.M. Berchmans, S.M. I1~onica, S.Ivi. Josepha,

S. Li. Aloysius and S. £,1. Mal achy 'l'li th eighty-tvYo childl"en

this school has increased its st to seven Si and its roll to 200. Three sters who serve Holy Cross, Henderson, reside here •

.:!3.£2..! ...... :?t ar of the Sea OrphanB£_~_:_.tJ.ov{j.ck: Prorn 1913 the ''Pah 11 had been used by the Sisters as a girls' orphanage

but in 1925 the girls moved into "Star of the Sea~ a new building, par"t of' which was of vrood. The v10oden part was

destroyed by fire in 1929 a:nc. the follovving year saw the erection of the new block together with the beautiful

Bishop - Cleary - Memorial Chapel - a fitting tribute to him 36 who so loved the orphans.

1926. r.;onte Cecilia College, Hillsborough H.d. ~ Onehunga: The residence knovm as the "Pah, 11 a building historic interest, was purchased by the Sisters in 1913 and used as an orphanage until 1925, in vFhich year, it was turned into a boarding school for bo;{s too young for t'.n ordinary college. The children of the surrounding district were also admitted to th~ day school. 1 927. St. Iviary 1 s, Pawarenga :. The natives of this district ';rere visited by Rev. Pathers Servant and Baty S.M. as far back as 1839. Four Sisters, S~l.I. Anselm, S.J·,~. J:,Iarcel s .. M. Helen and s.r,I. Cyril founded this school for the

natives in 1927. The number attending is 92. 11 'rhe ( 1 ) Sisters conduct several schools for the native children, one at Whang e, an almost inaccessible point in the extreme north

of the North Island, where the little Maoris endear them­ selves to the Religious by their docility, intelligence and eagerness for instruction . .:l_ll?__.___Holy Cross, Henderson: This school as has been stated

is serv by three Sisters who reside at St. Bride t s, Avondale. The roll is 115.

( 2) Hosni tals: As the care of the sick is one of the cherished works of the Order of Mercy, th· sters eagerly longed for

·---·------..... ·---· 1. Gately op. cit. p. 221. 2. Supplement N.Z. Herald Feb. 23rd. 1938, (not signed.) 11 Zea1andialf (Goulter) Nov. 18th, 1937. Correspondence with Auckland Sisters. 37 the day vvhen they would be able to open a hospital in

Auckland. At last the time seemed ripe for such an under- taking and on November 7th, 1900 the Sisters purchas a large private residence in Mountain Road, on the northern slope of r.;ount Eden. With M.lii.IGnatius as Superior, and a staff of three Sisters and five nurses, the hospital entered on its career vii th eight patients, an6. after twenty years enduring labour• was qu1 te free from debt. Then the need for greater aoconunodation was felt and soon a two storey brick building 'Nas added. By 1925 this too proved inadeccluate for their vrork and to comrnemorate the

Silver Jubl e a fine, large residence was co:r.verted into a convent and chap and named "St. Ignatius 11 after the hospit foundress. As the training of the Sisters was of vi t importance, several, vvho showed aptitude for the nursing profession, were sent to the leading institutes in Australia, St. Vincent's Hospital and the Mater Hospital,

::lydney, where they specialised in several branches of hospital nursing. The thorough training gained there formed the firm foundation for the strikin,:?; success and exc tion­ al speed with which they have pressed onward for the thirty-nine years of the present century. After the passage of legislation enabling approved,privately-owned hospitals to train nurses the Sisters pursued the irlea of' building a new hospital of the most modern style. For this purpose 38 liiother M. G::mzaga and I.lother M. Agnes, nursing enthusiasts, were sent to America to see there all m:JclePn hospitals and appliances. As the Sisters travelled through the United states and Canada they visited each hospital of note, in­ cluding the famous J..Iayo Clinic, and culled from each, wiclel, knowledge and experience. As a Pesult of that visit there now stands on the slopes of T;Iount Eden, a magnificent !':later

I'Hsericordiae Hospital r1ith every conceivable convenience. This towe:cing edifice can accornmodate one hunclr>,::cl and twenty patients and is c Olllhilete with the world's latest and best in hos: i tal appliances as well as x-ray rooms, private rooms a-la-Llode ancl pleasant public wards. In these vrar>ds the Sisters delight to lavish on the poor that loving car>e and attention inculcated by their revered foundress. The hospital is well staffed with twenty-three Sisters, fifty- six nurses and very full administrative ancl domestic staffs.

The two foundresses, !Jother r..r. Gonzaga and Eother I·,I. Agnes are still in charge of the institution and have grateful memories of the sustained progress ·;rhich it has made. On ( 1) Jan. 1st, 1937 the Mater Misericordiae was officially re­ gistered as an apprQVed, private hospital with Training

School capa.ble of training nurses. Ever solicitous for the happiness and '<7ell-being of the nurses, the Sisters erected

1. "Zealandia" Nov. 1Dth, 1937 (hi. Goulter.) 38B. for them in 1938 11 a c omf'ortable, even stylish home" to vrllich they retire clurin2 their hours of rest and leisure.

As testimony of the high esteeo in which the Sisters are held ·by the med.ical pr•ofession we have the following tribute from hlr. Frank Macky, President of the Auc~land

Division of the British Uedical ~ssociation:

(2) "The :~Jiste:r·s have eEn•ned the esteen o:C the pro­ f'essi. n thr'oughout the \Vorld. They have earned it in an unlimited sense for their enterprise, for their readiness always to zo to t~~ last degree beyond the limits of a meagr•e pur:3e in the provision o:t' hospital acco[-Lmodati:~Jn and facilities. 'rhey m•e to be admired for• their :faith, and :f'oc:· t~~e c '):'Viction that 3 job rrell clone will earn its o·.ir. r'ertard. '' I,U;:evvise the ~.lister's are loud in their• praise of ti1e weH:ber•s oi' the n,:;Ci.ical lH':Jfession. 'l'hey :eealise that the public warQs, in which doctors generou~ly atten~ in an honorery capacity; frequently r/i tness scenes of noble self sacrifice and sublir::e, .unostentiltious endu:r.'ance \J.nequallec_ elsewhere; showing as Pope says that:

11 In Faith anc_ Hope the world \7ill disagree,

But all I.Iankincl's concer>n is Charity." 39

-·----G!lA.FVEH 1'T.

r; G ,_, o r:.

~arly in 1850 Bishop Viard ~ith five !~rist 7athers and ten Brothers left Auckland for the ne~ly-created

Diocese of ~rellin~ton ',\'11ic:: hr:d been entrust to the

Dociety of =~ry. Shortly (l) after his arrivnl the shor1 directed the building of a ~athedral, presbytery and convent, and petitioned Aucl:land and I!elbourne for Sisters of :.:ercy to teach the children v:ho ·were _y;rov:i up '::i thout an? education, religious or secular. Sisters could then be only JITOtlised, and l)fmd1ng their .arrival he sta:"'fed tJ:e schools •.:i th four your:n; ladies '\'.'ho ;::ere desirous of becol"ling nun.:;, anc1 on Gepte:1ber f3th, 1850 OTJener1 .St. r:ar:r's, the :tst Catholic Girls I f.~chool' in '.'fellinr:;ton. ( 2) mhe two-acre sitE~, the town be , on v:!lich the convent \vas built y,•as the f't o:" 7oord r·ctre, \\'hose daughter BUbse- quently beca:1e a 1.1ellinc;ton f)ister. of l ~ercy. In 1861, the fai thfu.l :·:other Cecilia l:ep~c her Dronise and sent the

Bishop three volunteers frau ./:..uol:land, 8. E. Augustine

·who had served at Gcutari, ''nd f;is ter ~'arie, a tulant, to establish tht.."l first convent in 1dellin[ston. ( 3) ':'he tmm then extended ~'lainly alons the beach aYlC. held a roimlRtion of nome f.i ve hundred, of whon

1. "Zealn.ndia" L'ov. 18th, 1£3'7. (lr. Goulter) 2. ".Annals!! o;;. cit. }'a-:;e o34. 3. Ibid. p. 634. 40

only forty were Catholic adults, while those in the out-

lying districts, "dwellers in the pathless woods 11 on account

of bad roads or tr~acks, were almost completely isolated from their town neighbours. However, despite the small p·roportion of Catholic adults, the Sisters took charge of over (1) sixty children in the primary grades and forty-four others in- eluding t·wenty boarders, ready to start at the High School. Though by this time the natural wealth of the country vras 'becoming known and appreciated, the Sisters found their first twelve years in Wellington the leanest imaginable. They experienced the chill meagre and uncertain re- sources, the cramp of quarters so strai teneci that one ( 2) roop1 served as infirmary, community room, music-room and parlour, and the utmost anxiety on account of a staff numerically inadequate to cope 'iVi th the denanrl3 of ever increasing numbers of pupils. Yet, they pressed on, seeking help from diverse sources until, in 1873, the intensity of their plight wrung from Lather :rA. Ursula Frayne of

l'.:elbourne two of her community - t~Jother 1.1. Cecilia Benbow

and L:other I:l. Xavier Butler - destined to put St. Hary' s on its feet. Heartened by the potent enthusiasm· of the new

Sisters the little group struggled on and slowly, but steadil;,\ the tide turned in their favour. Better housing and

11 1. · "Zealandia Nov. 18th, 1937. ( l'.i.'' Goulter.) 2. "Annals 11 op. cit. p. 636. 41 more spac,ious class-roorr.sbecaJne a necessity; so in 1876

( 1 ) Mother Cecilia Benbow left for> Europe in search of teachers nnd funds and returned t·.:ro years later VIi th sixteen Sisters and £2,000. She lost no time in direciing the building of new prenlises and before the year was out the present convent sroup, st. Uar~rr sr Hill Street, had been erected. Prom its inception St. llary' s High School has stood for the best in higher education; it aims at the ~raining of young women for efficiency in things intellectual and social but its chief care is the development of character according to the ideals of true Catholic woman~1ooc1. (2) Its first pupils were truly a picked band, children of ioneers v7hose own (3) in- tellectual pursuits had, perfo1·ce, to give way to sustained effort in order to wr·est a livelihood from virgin soil. V.li th these pioneers (l.i.) 11 education was almost a passion11 and we are not surprised to find their daughters travellj.ng to school in a sailing ship and living on ship's biscuit and salt pork vvhen contrary winds made the journey longer than they had anticipated. So perilous were these journeyings to and from sc~wol, that fwmetirnes on their return after the holidays, the children found the ;")lster·s praying for their souls as for those lost at sea. It was not any catalogued number of courses which the school professed, that induced these

1 • 11 Ze alanc1ia11 Nov.. 18th, 1937. (M. Goul ter .. ) 2. Ibid. 3. C.H. B.E. Vol. 7 Part 2 Ch. X11 Page 242. 4 .. C.H. B.E. Vol. V11. Part 2. Page 243. 42 pioneers to expose their children to such risks, rather was it the conviction that, side by side with intellectual and

artistic culture, v.'ent the pe1~s1stent leavening of the moral character. ~ore up-to-date facilities in ace ornrnodati on and c lass-roow equipment call for attention and in (1) 1930 at a cost of £20,000 the new college in Hill street,

was upreared under the c:t.irection of t:other M. de Sales

Goulter, wl1o for thirty years had served ~s Principal of the High School. This new St. Uary's College with its ex- cellently equipped class-room, library, studio, dress- t:alcing room and. large assembly hall furnishes ideal en- virorunent for the pursuit of all branches of secondary work. (2) The roll for last year was 62 boarders, 154 secondary, From small beginnings at St. Lary's of 1861 on Golder's Hill the Order of Uercy has radiatect. branches throughout the Archdiocese and Suffragan Uees.

(.3) GUIWJ<'OHD TERRACE, THOHNDON, 1 851: Teachers 4, pupils 134. This flourishing parochial school for girls dates back to twenty-eight years before the State system of education was set up in New Zeal1md. In 1861 the school was taken over by the Sisters and to-de.y there is fo;_md within its 'Nalls the thil'd generation of its first pupils. Singing

·1. "Zealandia11 Nov. 9th, 1937. (l:i.Goulter.) 2. Australasian Catholic Directory 1938. Pub. St. Mary's. 3. Ibid. Page 346. Sydney. Page 345. 43 is a speciality with the pupils as is annually testified by their achievement in this eld.

St. J·oseph' s, UE.J2._er Hutt, 1852: Teachers 6, pupils 248. Bishop Vi with his marked predilection for the

hiaoris built a home called "Providence It native and half-'caste girls on a strip of land ( 1) granted for the

purpose by Governor, Sir George G:r.,ey in 1852. As soon as

the Sisters of Mercy were in residence in ~ellington, they

took over the char' of this ovidence and taught the Maoris to read English intelligently and fluently, to

vvri te neatly and '.vel1, to malce ir own clothing and to

:.eep their quarters clean and tidy. A visitor> to tha Pr>o-

vidence in 1879 wrote - ( 2) 11 The children e seperate "bed-ronms and are all scru.pulously neat and clean. Each l"oom oper.s .. into a long passage and there :Ls perfect ventilation. The teaching and supervision of' the school is the gratuitous work of those in charge. 11 rrhese Llaori girls on return to their tribes bee ame a potent influence in the spreading of European culture for, as

Sir Apirana lTgata claims - (3) "One the greatest services rendered by the schools, especially the secondary schools, to the ~aori race is the gradual sr~olub.:-1n of the comr:mnal idea for w.. _ich the word 11 kianga11 stands, and the persistent substitution of the pakeha idea of home •.•• The eclucatecl young women could not imbibe nev'i as and t es during their residence in the secondary schools without in- sisting on changes in the vill life. They have in··

1. "Zealandia" Nov. 18th, 1937. (I-::.Goulter.) 2. 11 Annals 11 op. cit. Page 639. 3. C.H.B.E. V'i1 .Part 2, Page 2h9 quot The Times, N. Z. Nwnber 22nd Februa1.,y 1927. f'luenced theil' elders and the young men to confoi'll to the new standar·ds. If Too soon, however, the Maoris showed a tendency to move inland and children of' the incoming Europeans were also received at the Providence. The Maori-loving Bishop Viard died in 1872 and in 1 876, owin.~ to the need for greater accormnodation, his old house, the. gift of Bishop Hedwood, was converted into an extra wing for the Providence, which thus prolonged its existence until the end of the century. Ready by the new century stood a new stone orphanage on the old site but, by 1909, even this was over-cro\ided and gave way to the present St. Joseph's, Uppe,r Hutt, the land f'or which was the gif't of (1) Hon, H.W. Petre of' Woburn Estate. Later, a desirable adjoini property was purchased, which exten on has made possible the flourishing farm which now aff'ords no little help in supplying the needs 1 of some two-hundred and f'ifty children. Up to 1918 St. Joseph's was exclusively for girls; but the catastrophic epidemic of that year depl'ived so many children of' both parents that the Sisters (2) improvised a boy's home out of a stout old stable vvhich still withstands the invasions of vigorous youths. The upkeep of this double orphanage is a constant source of' anxiety to the Sisters in charge. It is mainly financed by a large, annual donation f'rom the T.G. I,1cCarthy Trust, by the yearly diocesan collection, and by devices

1. "Zealandiau Nov., 9th, 1937. (M.Goulter.) 2. "rrhe r,lonth 11 Dec. 1931.. (Leonard J. Cronin. ) 45 such as Street Days.

ST. Philomena's, 1<~

Immigration had so flooded the country by 1873 that numbers Catholic children ( 1) strayed thr·cl'·~gh streets and by-ways of '.re Aro vri thout a single Catholic school to gather them in. Mother L. Augustine r;;ax.well perceived the want and with the generoLts co-operation of !lev. Father' Cummings succeeded in converting the top OJ:'Y of a S;lop in 'dillis Utreet into two school-rooms. It was a pluck;? beginning but the shop-school proved to be very inconvenient and in

137L+ the Sisters with £900 secured a more sui table pr-o­ perty in Dixon Street. 'l'he number of pupils· again in­ creased beyond the capacity of the acconnnodat:,. :m provided for them, so in 1878 new schools were built and a High

School added in 1~~00. (2) In 1908 the Dixon re property was sold but the new High School was removed to Eroughrun Street where it is still in use. That year saw the erection of a branch convent in Broughrun Street where the prese11t convent v1as built soue few years ago, and where reside the

Sisters vtho teach in the Buckle Street Sacred Heart School with its 250 pupils.

Blenheim, 188_,2;,

On 25th, August, 1885, the ·v~ell ington Sisters of Mercy opened a branch convent and High School in Blenheim and

11 1 1. Annals ' op. cit. Page 63E\. 2. 11 Zealandia" Nov. 18th, 1937. (Iv:I.Goulter.) took charze of the already existing school for girls. In 1 889 an Infant School vvas built and seven years later the Sisters accepted char-ge of the boys' school which,since 1872, had been in the hands of a succession of rnasters.

Soon after the incoming of the present centu1~y the present fine convent and High School were built in Liaxwell ltoad opposite the ole. site. ( 1) Total nuwber of pupils 249. Newton, 1820: Teachers 7, puptls 260: His GPace, Archbishop. Redwood, for·mally opened st. Joseph's Convent School in Adelaide Street, Newton, on June 30th, 1890. To this school the Sisters tr·avelled by tr'amcar for ten years until in 1900 they had the happiness of establishing thei'e a branch convent, st. Anne's, toge tl:er with a new parish school and St. Joseph's High School in Daniel Street.

SeatoU1f:;9__:!_209, Pal'()_~pjaJ Scho:Jl PreDaratory College: A little cottage sltuat on the present Church property served as Church and School for many ye0rs. In 1909 the parochial school, St Anthony 1 s,w&s opened ana the Sisters who teach here reside at the preparatory call which was also built in 1909 under the title of Star of the Sea. The college is adrnir'ably si tuuted cowrnancUng a wide view of the sea G.nd is well provided with playing-al,eas, marked off into tennis courts, croquet lawns and football

1. Directory op. cit. Page 346. 47 fields. r.rother E. Bernard Redwood has foP many :rears been in ch~rge here where she has received boys from all parts of' l'ievv :~~e and. Some these boys have become priests, some doctor's, others lawyers, but whatever ~heir subse<:~uent calling, many of them return to 1nove again, if only for a half' hour, rnidst the scenes of their care-free days.

Kilbirni~ 1912: Al terstions for conventual ne0ds were made in thr•ee rooms attached to the Church School and in 1912 the Sisters lfioved into these and began the daily rounds a Sister. of' Mere:,'.· Two year's later a desirable property was pur­ chase,.L and on it was built the present convent and i3t. ··atrick's Parochial School. The 'listers also have charge o:C a High ;3cho under the patronage of St. Catherine. answer to the claim macl.e by sorr'owing, suffertng humani t,y the Kilbirnie Si rs far many years vistted regularly the

VI omen 1 s prison at Point Halswell. 'l'he r:>ame visitation is now the wonopoly of' the Seatoun Sisters who are 1nore con­ veniently situat a for it.

Northlands, Karori and Harton, 1910-1917:

Sisters from Hill Street tr'avel daily by tr·mncar to the parochial schools in :uorthlands and Karor•i. At Marton they have a 'branch convent and large primary schools for bays and girls. Every week the Sisters drive from r.iarto.: to imnter•ville and Bulls' there to teach music a~1d to instruct 48 children who are as yet unable attend Catholic Schools. ' Pic t on , 'I 91 4 ·:

Up to 1914 the Catholic children of Picton travelled eighteen rlliles to Blenheim convent school, but on August

4Ll that year, the Sisters had the happiness of establishL1G'

''~· ~Jl'".:·:C~- convent in Picton. 'l'he absence of a school, hovrever, necessitated their teaching in the clmx•ch until at length in 1924 His Grace, Archbisi1op Redwood, blessed and opened the present parish school.

Dell back from the main roa~ at the foothills of Lower .. Hu tt, Nai Hai pi'ovides yet cmother sphel~e of' activity for the Sisters of l.Ier·cy. :B'or pictui•esc1ue scenery St. Thomas's

Hc;Jtle stands second to none in hew Zealand. )rounds beauti- fully set out ace ording to Cllli \/orld patterns:· dis~;lay a profusion of' Nature's wealth - fresh-lookin~ bush, bri~hter toned ferns and fronds; a whispering broo>: :L'lOY,EJ. beneath r'ustic bl'idges sunnounted by Old ~,/orld Statues~ rookeries and neat drives and perhaps dearest of all, the lazy sw1ms that glide up and down the slov1-moving waters. This beautiful home belonged tb the late John Dutchie and was purchased for the Sisters of :Mercy in 1917. Boys c owe to

Hai Nai fro;n all parts of the .u~xninion, they are taken from five years of age and may be kept until they have passed standard V1. The fees are sufficiently low to bring Nai Nai 49 within the reach tr1e working class and, in necessitous cases, boys are taken without fees, provision for them being obtained thrcmgh an annual church collection and through a donation from the T .G.I'.1cCarthy J?uncl. St. Thoraas' s is paPticularly suitable foro delicate b.ys, who after the first two months of its bracing air, its football, svvil[lming, cricket, boxing and gardening, feel the full vigour of boy- hood coursing thr.m~)1 their veins.

Mount Carmel, ar; up-to-eLate primary school at Hatai tai, was opened by the Sistc.a's in 1930 ·, is supplied with Sisters from Hill. Street who travel thence by tra.mcar every day. The thickly peopled st:cict l.liramar has its convent school, He>ly Cross, in which four Sisters from

Seatoun teach one-hundred and. forty-tlu~ee pupils.

In 1936 the Sisters frcm1 Hill Street opened a branch convent near the parish school in Ar'o Street to provide a co~venient residence for the staffs attending the Aro Street and Brooklyn Schools. A house in R,Dna Bay v1as purchased this year also, to serve as a convent foP the Sisters who teach 1 already, nearly a h1JnU.red pupils in San Antonio, the old building in which Mass was celebrated until the building of the present church.

'fHE LIBRARY t~I'ITE:RBURY UNIVERSITY COLLEGB CHRISTCHURCH. N.Z. 50

An Amalgamation:

( 1) 1'Under the rule, originally established by the

foundress, a Convent of t:ercy was an indepenclent House,

electing its own ~uperior and training its own novices. In more recent years, however, the need for centralisation in

government foP X"eligious communi ties, especially in the equ:l nt of' the novitiate has made i tsel:f :felt, with the

result that in sowe c ountPies the ;3 :1 sters of Eercy, who are under Papal jurisdiction, have been organised into a

general ate, 'Nhilst in others, their convents have been grouped together v;i thin a diocese under one Superior, with

a Cowman novitiate, as the first step, it is hoped, of' re-

organisation covering a vtiuer area." Thus in 1927 His

Grace, Archbishop, Hedwo:Jd, desirous of placing all the Convents of r..:ercy in the .-".rchdiocese unc1er one Superior,

amalgamated the H.eef'ton, \lestport and Grani ty Convents with

St. tlaPy 1 s, Hill Street, '.lnder the present, I.;other I'.I. Francis

Doyle as Superior General o:f the amalgamated Communities.

It may be mentioned here that this lceen enthusiast in re- cognition of her services in the interests of Education, received a Goronc;tion Leclal, Jt.me 1937 !'rom their Eajesties

the King and Queen.

Reefto!l.'- 1 881 :

(2) u,~uartz x•ee:fs o.iscoverecL at i;;urpay' s Creek some sixty-

' ' 1 • 11 English Catholic 11 T iri1es Dec. 11 th 1937. 2. I.Iarist tlessenger, Page 9, Sept. 1st, 1931. (:a.ev. K. 1\IcGrath.S.M. 51 five years ago made Reefton' s name and fame." In 1875 Rev. Pat:,er C:umm:i.ngs, s ..M., erected a church and school, and

after la:r te: chers had taught '.l~e chilO.ren for twelve years, the question of religious t(;ac rs vms considered.

Hev. Pather Rolland, finding that Hoki tika was unable to

supply him with Disters of },iercy, successfully appealed to

the foundress of Singleton, Mother 1-J. t:>tanislaus Kenny, who

not only gave up four of her Sisters but even acc~mpanied

them on their arcl.uous jourm:y, first across the Tasman and

thence to \'/ellington, Greymouth, Hol;;:i tika, ac:cnsB t 11e Terematau by aerial tramvvay, and, by coach as :ear as the

railway terminus W11er·c: they boarded the train fo1· ~.e ton.

'l1 he ;isters found a girls' school ax;aited them wlth some

hundred and forty on roll; they added a Hi i3choo1 which

opt:necl i'.'1th 30 pupils and almost at once began the v7orlc of visitation 0f the Biclc. 'l:'he Sisters visited Boatrnam regul-

arly to truct the child~en in their religion.(1) A

school was opened in 1893 at Ikamatua, a little fanr:ing settlenent in the Grey Valley, and \7as attended by an average

of about forty children not all of' whom vvere Catholics. It

was a gl'ate:ful work and. though it meant trwt the Sisters

had to leave l?.eefton at 7: 30 a.m. and return at 8: p. rn. they d.id not grudge the sacrifice. However, a grr.::ater

sacrifice was still to be made, for one of the two Sisters

1. I.iarist L~essenger Page 12, Sept - November· ·1931. 52

'.who travelled daily to Ikamatua ( 1 ) returned alone one night llalf-dr·mmec_ anc1 covered with blooCL, her coL~panion having been the victim of a f~t l'oau acci nt.

Vlestport, 1 ~2_4_;_

This town received its pioneer sters o~ Kercy from

Reefton which gave the (2) late r.:onsignor ·' sh seven sters whoi on Pebrura:c>y 3l"d.,made tbeir horne in \/e:;tport. Alr;Jost inuaed.iately they too~-:: charge of • CJ·3.nice's School anc1 ened a Becondary school in Dhich pupils ~ere p~ep for' the public exmninationr3. In ~ St. Canice's School was anted

Government inspec t.Lon. By ·1904 the old c :::nvent and School., were unsui t le for further use by the :i.ncreased numbers of' teachers emu. ['Ltpils so a new convent snci. Schools were built

in ;,iueen Stre where later, St. Joseph's Scho was opened in

·J The secondaP,y colle , st. ,,iary's, cu_1Pit the first

tilenty rear-2. adr;1i tted. gi:cls only, but in later years large classes of boys also, have GOiilpletecl the seco!1Llary

education s.t st. Lar•y' s. In ·ISYI vie find that there v;ere

sixteen boys out of a total of fifty pupils. Extra classes

at'e held f'or ambitious clerical Horl~ers who, havin.s:; secured

positions, are ti desirous of' pursuing their studies under the Sisters' direction. In 1914 the Sisters opene~ an

out school in Grani ty and in 1921, vthen free rail':;ay tid:ets were wi thdravm1;a convent was established in the township.

1. Marist ssenger. November 1934. Page 13 article not signed. 11 2. \Jestpor•t 1:ev1s" Dec. 1 L~ th 1·1931 .0-nsigned a:r·ticle). 53 In (1) 1912 the O'Conor Home for the Aged was opened in accordance with the wi of the late Eugene O'Conor, Esq., and har3 been conducted by the Sisters of 7vestport since then. '.::'he present number of inmates is twenty~nine. During the influenza epidemic of 1918 the Sisters offered the authorities one of' the dormitories as a Wai."'d for out-side patients, and for weeks they nursed all who were sent to thelrl. Ihur of the ~)iste:r.'s nur·sed in the public homes. rrhe total nlill:ber of pupils attending the Westport Sisters I Schools last year (1938) was as follows:- St. Canice's 80;

St. Joseph's 106; Granity 53; St. J;Jar~·'s College 48; rnalcing a total of 287. In the year that followed its foundation

~estport's need exceede~ that of its parent, Reefton, accordin.:ElY the l.iot.her House and Novitiate were tr•ansferred frOL, Heeftcm to Fv'estport and, after arnalgamation in 1927, to ·~Iel ngton.

'rhe little band of three who left Auckland to found the first convent in Wellington has indeed increased and 'multiplied until at the present tirae the amalgamated Communi ties of the Archdiocese m:unber slightly over two hundred while the . nlilnber of ch1ldren ·taught in their schools approximates to four hundred out of a (2) . Catholic Population of 66,714 according to Government Census of 1 6. 54 0 H.'>.PT ER V •

Almost ei~hty years , in 1860, provider;t, :Car•- seei. ,John Lac foP ( 1 ) purchased the excessively disproportionate area of the province of ~estl i to pre~:;cnt clay valu.es. Soon aftel"'V·tarcls that il.'resis- t e ruagnet - gold. - allured thither flo of cosmop i tan s of eve v.ralk of li who surged tlu"ough

Hokitika and converted it from an unimportant t

into one of leading ports of thecolony. Dy the of 186h population had 1·1sen fr•ow (2) 100 to , 000 Y:18.ny

o:t' vrhom were Irish Catl10lics anxL\Us thei1~ new hon1es to

secure the ministrations a priest. su:9ply thei:r.' ne

Icev. Pather Ste HaJ.lun was appointed f:l. priest for the West Coast an(t was ly succe by a chain self- s u.c :.·if icing men, l1'ostly Ear ist Pathe1•s, vvho exlli bi ted

int id C;!nstancy in theiP service of l)oth God and man. r/e find, as a str•one link in ti1is chain, Rev. ltp I.;artin,

S.l.~. viho, born in the South of France in 1830, in due tiLe became a I.~a:dst Pather and volunteered for Australasian

::.iission. After rende valu.able service in Dunedin anc1 Inverc argi , Father I.:aPtin was sent to t

his gener·ous,

1. "Zealanclia' October 13tll, 1938, (not signed.) 2. Harist L:essenger. !>.larch 1938. (Editor. ) 55 franl(, unPeser'Ved tLough prudently guaro.ed raann:cr quickly

Vlon him the esteem and affection of' the 11arishioners vrho were frankly proud of having a priest in their midst. A man of untiring ener Father J:.Iartin projected and accomplishe _ many '•dorlt.s of zeal, anci. h.Ls LU1::oelfish devotion to the :Lnter-e of souls led him to spare nei :c fat nor anxiety in the shepherding of' his numerous flock.

Shortly after his appointmet

Liss J Jn,:s too.:. charge of' the girls. Eov1e·ver•, Father Lc:cPtin llacl set his heart on secuPing. for his pa:eish service;.:;. of a religious c our:mni Jc .. ·, and l:noviing tl:h:: 'JOl'~·- that tl!:::

Sisters of' L:ercJ were doing in Auc~clanct and ':/ellington, he peti ticmed s op _:,:edvi0oc1 to obtain a cor:ununi ty of' Sisters of I.:erc~r Holci tika. The shop hancied on the request to

!.Iother C<;;cilia 3en'bow then £tbout to embark for' Eu:r•ope in search of additional nub jects for the 'i!ellin1_ston founda- ions. In every convent the pe'!'sonality of the Superioress cm.mts and at the time of L!othe;c L. Cecilia Benborv 1 s visit, there was in char·ge o:f the Convent :,:ercy, Ennis,

Co. Clare, Ireland, a big-hearted, large-souled wo~mn, t:ot ,er r·. Vincent, LicL:ahon, who l'e -, ::\ the inm1ense value of missionary labours in a new land. 'i!i th (2) chaPacteristic generosity sheselected eight fr8J runong volunteers in her

1. Liarist Liessenger, November 1934, (not signed.) 2. Hokitika Records. 56 own CorruH.lni ty to form the nucleus of· the Hoki tika foundation. The eight Sisters selected were:

Mother M. Clare hlolony, Superioress of the band,

S.M. I::echtildes Boland, ,~).:.:. Gabriel Kennedy,

S.M. Cecilia Sheehan, S.M. Juliana Hyan, S.M. Claver

Ryan, S.LI. Aloysius LlcGrath, Sister Angela O'Keefe and two postulants. This little group of ten left

London for· L!elbourne via the Cape of Good Hope, on the stearner 11 Garonne 11 on July 23rd, 1878.- After a short break at Melbourne the Sisters proceeded to li/ellin::;ton where they were warnly received. by Bishop

Hedvrood and ( 1) the Ron. T .A. Bonar then Superinten- dent of Westland. From 1iiellington on 'board the 11 Tararua 11 they enjoyed the company of Mr. Bonar vri th vrhorn they established a fr1end.ship vVl1icl-" v;as to end only v1i th his death. 11 Hever once" records I.:other L. Clare, "did this great \1es ~. Coaster fail to call at the Conve:1t on

Christmas Day to express his good-will on the festive season. 11

(2) At mid-day on October 15th, 187t3 the 11 Tararua' appeared oi'f Port Holci tile a. Its appearance vras a signal for universal Pejoicin? equalled by the ardency with WDich the entire town population had prepared for the coming of the nuns. Their' actual landing is described by Mother ~. Clare as follows:

1 • 11 Zealandia" October 13th, 1938. 2. I'bid. 57

11 ,,midst the acclamations of' the people, who had ::...;.-::ambled in vast numbers at the wharf to r:·reet them, the ~: ters arrived at tika. Mr. ~atthew Cleary, the :-:-ern or of Hoki tika gaol, and l'.'fr. Edward A. Burke accompan- ~ them ashore, having gone out to welco~ne them on l::ehalf :: the Catholic parishioners, RcN. PhiL~p L , the ~: :ri p :1st or. was the first to meet them and welcome them :: ::·iia1ly the land of their adoption. He then conducted :...:.::::: to the carriages in waiting, Wllich drove off rapidly -::.:_:<)UJ..>;h ths tovm to their temporary residence, a charming : -:; tae;e of eight r00ms, with garden and paddock." :-= the f'ine convent which had ·been erected for the:.1 on the : _...,ner of Sewell and staffoPd Streets was not then quite

:·;; .:.dy for . occupancy, the Sisters took up residence in the

- :se in Stafford Stre t, in which the Hon.H.L.Michel ~nd rs of his f,'ll:Jily aftervlai'ds dwelt. On October 28th. fHster's took charge of the girls' school which had been

::~ducted by a succession (2) of three lay teachers- __ ::s Jones, Miss Anne Brogan (later to bee orne l.Irs. McKeever) :...:.::. l:ass Blanche Stevens who handed ove1, the chaPge to the

_ :: ters. urrhe attendance was 105 and the children in

~ :::.eral vrere very intellit::ent" - Such was Eother ClaPe' s

~-~st report of their new pupils. January 14th, 1879 thou~h

: .'lll, wet day -~rom the weather> point of vieY'/, was for the :_3ters, a day of great rejoicing; for on that day they

11 · -i into their new convent called St. Columbkille' s. The .:> m" as their pastor was far:'lilinrly c led by his parish­ .:..:::ers, had suitably furnished it and provided all the to --:;tle c omforto vthLch he thougLt the Sisters uight have been 1\

Hokitika Records unpublished. l;'!arist ssenger. November 193L!.. (unsigned. ) 58 accustomed in their loved Ennis convent. Not many pioneer religious facing li in a new cauntry have had. such an encouraging generous 1'riend. \Yi th the solicitude of a fond parent, he ed them from the possibility of nan- cial worries by providing theE ·. i neans sufficient to cover their< ex tu~e for over a year. January 20th,1879 saw the SL> rs PesULle teac not only in the primary school of long standing but also in a select school later to orne the present Hi Sc ol. By ( 1 ) PebrD.ary the roll num1Jers had increased to 1 and included s music pupils.

In the followin2: l.iar>ch, Bishop Hec1.W.iQd vi ted Eol~i tika

:, ;,d perfox'ued the rst solnnn religious ceremony - tht~

Reception to the igious fe Sis tel, J.:. Patr and Uister J',;. Columba, the two postulants vrho had accompanied the eight professed Sisters from 3nnis. Before he returned to Wellington the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation (2) to forty children, and on two consecutive days, visited the e.chools and res sed himself as •;·-311- pleased with the spiritual, :Lntel tual and cultL'l,al pro- gress already manifest in children. On Eastel' Uonday, )880, st. Columbkille's accep its first postulant who was soon followed by ~70 many others that tvvo year>s 1 r the

Sisters were ~ble to comply with shop I?.edvrood' s request to open a conv in Greyli1outh, then a promising seaport.

1 • tr Zeal andia'' October 20th, 1 ~; , (unsigned. ) 2. Ibio.. 59 Within the follovfing five years schooJ.B were opened at

Kanieri and H.imu ar1d to these the sters travelled daily.

In (1) 1 8 the Ri::::;ht f{ev. J.J. Grimes, S.1J •. establj_shed the diocese of ::Jhr'istchurch in which was incorporated the \'fest

Coust vrhich until then had been administered fr:)tl ri 1 inJ:ton.

Two months after his consecr'ation Dr. Grimes paid his

first episcopal visit to Hokitika where he was enthusiastically received by the par•ishioners. He visited the schools,

ws.s fully satisfied with the. proficiency of the pupils

ancl confir'J,ted ty-five in St. l .. ary' s Chruch, \:~lttich

for the occ~'Bton v'/8.~3 c;:mst:c-ained int'o holding, but by no

to that the E3:i.ste1.'t3 should

orJen 1:1 b1:anch Convent, at :~oss and ( 2) in Lay ·1889,

i:lt. Patrick's Convent, ss ·,/as es tabli f;hed v;J. tl1 a ~J.uno.red

and tvrent;;r chilC:,:een tlle schools. . 1.:ary' s, the first

Boardinir ~3chool on the \iest Coast, vras also opened in ·1 El89

and enrolled pupils f'roL E1;..::1.ny arts of stland. st. Dr-ic"i..Q'et Is,

Kumara Has also opened that year ancl soon e.s ma.n.y as one .

hundred ard:l. fifty pupih3 vr0Pe in attendance. The :.:ollm;i y·eo.r sa·;i a little bane_ of three Sis tel's lep.ve Hoki tj,l.;:G. and

cross the s to open a convent in I~tt ton.

The Sisters had. now worked for- twelve years 8E1ong the

peo)le of Westland with wany whom they had become

------·-----·-·---·---~- 1. 11 Zealcmdia11 Octobel,. ·J3th.193,3. 2. Hoki tika ords, unpublished. 60

acquainted vVhile visi tin:£ the sick, the poor Sl1cl the im-

prisoneo.. To raany a heart sore-distressed they the

balm cheerful resign~1tion while to more than on': God-

ee spi t the:r lp to sclose the sec of his

scontent sl. him lEJV/ - "Pear Vlist not to evade, as

Love st to pur'sue. 11 Throughout the period of expension

Uothei."' ~~1. Clare continJ.ed to fill the office of L~other

Superior 811d in 18S;2 she retired that resnon~ible position.

r.Phe full extent hel~ work for Catholic educ r;ti on in stland will never r-ealised,· ?or over forty years she

v1as actively engaged ln the inter'ests of education among

the children ·anc1 youth of the \fe Goast: Bless 'v'fi th

that rarest of rare [:ifts - a clear accurate uin;:1 - she

posse a cheerful, e:et natc.. r-e Vi had the povrer of

exciting effort and arousin[~ ide · in others, Vll1ile her

knowledge, and the amazing

cla.ri ty and. chs.rrn her exp tion, earned i'o:t.' her a unique

reputation as a te r. She never H1iss an op ~~ u .:.·t·uni ty of

pouring her' own at love of scholarslli p and ac hi ev er;Jen t

into the heaPts of the young. .A pupil of hel's in the

{ 1 ) 11 Only \·;e who v1ere pri vilesed to sit in her classes, or those who hac1 the honour of living with her, cc-)ulcl r>ealise the spirituality, the cieep lear·ning, the sirnplici ty and sincere unclePstancUng of this woman of principle. Her knovrledge of the classics, her love of history in all i branches ancl., a·bove :::tl1, her absolute joy in 1..m:Cold:i.nz the

·1. 11 2:ealan~lia 11 October 13th, 1938. 61 beauties tlili Faith, of Scripture and of the Liturgy, made her a rare teacher for alv1ays · s~1e c om'bined vri th love of lmowlec1ge a love of heP pupils. 11

Second only to her at love of God cmne her ardent love of her native land, thOUc.Th she eschewed c ontr'cwers~r of all kinds, yet, vvhen occasion deuano.ec5. it, she could launch a crushin:?; rejoinder barbed with a polite ir·ony altogether disaru:ing. Por the ')ris she had a very special love and her stronJ sin~lici gave her an empire over: then1 which no diplo;:wcy coul1i have her to ac qui ''e, They, as well as their: white neig11bour:c~, sought he1·counsel and syrnpatny in times of trouble, knowing full '.;ell t."'at her frienC:Lship lmew no hesitations, r:o ehills, no wear•ying. Great was the mournin::r at the Arahaura pall when on Octobe:r

20th, 1 1 they heard of her death. In the mess e of sympathy ¥7l1ich t se L:aoris sent to the Iioki til(a Si rs, and ';,:n:Lc!: the Sisters fondly che:ei , vre read - "The rata flower l:la;~; f'slllen at last and we grieve for· her. u "\nd ·the flmning rata 1kindling the hillside with t aze of its glor•y., is indeed a fitting SYJ:lbol of her glowing charity, soue sparks of \~Jllich inflcuaed the he art ; of nany rrho v;ere so fortunate as to come under the spell of her influ.ence.

Of the original band. of ten pioneer Sisters who began the vtorks of the Institute of l'.'iercy in the South Islano. sixty-one years ago, five are not only.still ive, but still mentally alert, tho wont to view with yearning gaze 62 the· progressive course of life's day-star•, now, for them, nearing the western horizon.

Gr'e;ymouth, 1 882 :

In 1870 Rev. Father C omb, S,l,;. built the first

Catholic School in CJ.reyrnouth on a stte ( 1 ) later p1.H'chasec~

·by tLe Government for hLu•bour requirements. In 1882 at the request Bishop Redvroocl the Iloki tika Cornr.mni ty sent a founctation to open a Branch Convent Gre;ymouth. In those e y days the j curney frorri Hoki tika to Greywou.th v1as both tedious an(\ danger>ous. Short as was actu distance it had to 1Je cover·ed in successive sta'2:es, of which v.; a0 the horse-t:r:sm journey as far al::; Ku:

Then faLL the at of crossi t11e 'i'erer:Ja~·;:au by at was

i s1:t1y c nlJecl. 11 aePi li (2) This consi ed an old oaf-iron csge susp d by res )ropellec1 an asthmatic engine, 'irhich when was the I:wod for movewent, chug:.red its VIR;./ across, ·~:;arely clearinc '/later whenever the river was in flood. remaining e een 111iles jotn'ney were 1:1ade by Coach frau \l.bich tlie traveller alighted weary bu.t yfi th a sense of triumph on having last reached ~ourney's End. The stel's real that as long as Greymouth re~:minecl a B1•anch Convent, tr ling between the two tovms would be a frequent

-~-----·-·~- 1. Church in l'T.Z. Vol. 11. p. 10S'. 2. I.!arist senger, September 1934. 63 necessity ancl llO'Ii/ that tl1ey had tasted the joys of such travelli , they decided to relinquish them by constituting

Greymouth foundation an independent Convent b the end of the year 1882. At once Sisters of s new founda- ti on opel}ed a p:Pimary school gir-ls, and boys up to andarcL i , as l as a high school with bo p r:iwary an1\ secondary depar·tments. The present St. Lary 1 s High

School, Alexander Street,. dates 'back to those early days anci holds an admil'able r~ecorcl annual successes in scholastic uusic eire Out-schools were ened

Brunnerton, Cobden a..11d Runanga a total L!-1-~5

C ic children vii:~o are ta~J.[Sht GreyElouth fli ers.

Lyttel ton, ·1890 :_

( 1 ) In 1 Sir> Prederic:·: ·:reld then Prime Lini l

New Zealand, out of l1iD orm 1Jo1.mty presented the Gat ,o' ics of Lyttelton with a strip ground for the erection of a

Chul'ch. St. eph' s Chui'ch, now oldest Church in

ocese Chriscchurch, and the olde stone Gimrch in l'i. Z. vras ·built in ·J 865 a..11d the school erected v1as staf':i.'ecl vri th lay teachers until ·J 890 when thl'ee Si ers of

rcy arrived from Holci tika to take chal'ge the parish sc On account of the diffic ties tr•av in those days, the Lyttel ton Convent from the 1Jeginning \7as made an independent house ;ai tl1 the of self - gover.nrnent and s

-~------1 .. ChUI'Ch il) H.Z. • cit. Vol. ·) L page 104. 64 consequence - self-support~ From small beginnings in a house formerly mvnecl by Captain Gibson in Exeter Street, . the Sisters pressed onward vti th great endurance under the leadership of 1·1er U. Aloysius McGrath, one the original band of pioneers from Ennis. Their new mission was not one to fire the blood - it demanded constant sacrifice and only after years of suffering and str•uggling did they triumph. ':Pheir perseverance was in large measul"e clue to the inspiring e:-;:arople of . other M. Aloysius whose ever-increasing self-restraint moved forward progressively with a daily enlar.:Jed innulgence foi' the weakness of other's. Slle was an able and well-balanced guide wJ.wse earnest spirit, combined 'Ji th an aptitude organis ion, preser•ved her fr•om discouragement snd infused additional vigour· into those amon::; whorn she vvox•ked. Organising and superintending everything rrith a skill, presence of mind and cheeriness which endeai•ed her to 1, this zealous woraan laboured on, knowing well that in s O\Vll time God would give'the increase'. (1 )In 1902 rauch needed improve- ments vYere effected in the Convent and a new school was built. Four years previously I.,yttel ton sent foul' Sisters to open a Branch Convent in i\karoa and again, in 1912 and

1913, similar Convents were opened in Rakaia and Llethven re­ spectively. In 1934 the present artisically-constructed

----~------1. Lyttelton Records, unpubli 65 building was erected on the site of the old convent. St. IJ:ary' s High School and St. Joseph's Sci·1ool a1<)e the only

OatllOlic Schools in Lyttel ton~ so in these the S:i.sters teach ·1)oth girls and boys. The present total nuwber of pupils is ninety-two. Besides teachi , the 81 rs sedulou:3ly attend to visitation of the t'.licl-: anci the s- tressed, as 'Nell as the impriso:qed. Their influence over the inmates of the gaol uay best be exemplified by re- o alling the tPansfol"lDati on vrhich they ;;el''e instrumental in

cting in the dispositions of ( 1 ) Williarn Sheehan, who was found guilty the murder of a youn;::-~ wo1:mn and con- denmed to cieath by hanging on June 16th, 1897. This un­ foi•tunate man vras recalcitrant fPou childhood, spent some tiJ:Je in st Orphanage and at the age of twenty-six -vvas already sear•ed vri th crime: Hearing that in infancy he had been baptized a Oat11olic, the Sisters endeavou:r.•eC:t to awaken in him trust in the L:er>cy of God. Great as W'J.i3 their zeal f'or his repentance it was no greater than the sullen gloom w•. icll steacliJ.y enveloped hie to the exclusion of any impress fPom out de influence. The priest,· the SisteJ>s and the people of Lyttelton stormed heaven with prayer that this poor man wight die reconciled to Lis God. Undauntec~ by frequent repulsion I:Iother l:I. Aloysiut"> again strove to malce him seek forgiveness for his cri~tie and hacl the great

1. Ashburton Police Gazette 1897. 66 happiness of' tting him to pr'ay. She taught him hov1 to say the Rosar;;,r and in a shor't tiue this hal"dened sinner had be- come a model penitent. He asked the mother of t girl whose life he had taken to forgive hiL:; he thanked the people of Lyttelton who had prayed foX' him, and he faced

::md met the death he had deserved, with such admirable dis­ pas ions that those who witnessed the sad spectacle real­ ised the force of Tennyson's claim that- 11Llore t ngs ar'e wrought by prayer

Than this vrorld dx'e81TIS of. 11

J.iother L. Aloysius is still a member of the Lyttel ton

Community ancl though life's ve ers have come, lit by a slanting sun, still her reminiscences of' those early clays are clear and vivid as old.

St. l.lar'r' s Convent, Christchurcllj 8)L•_:

The Greymouth foundation prospered so well that on July 25th, 1894 it v1as strong $Dough - o give a band of Sisters to st. Llary's pari , Christchurch v/i:lich had been established by the persevering ( 1 ) ef:f:'orts of H.ev. t:n.el' Le Uenant des

Chesnais, &.ti. and his curate I~ev. Pather> Earnane, S.M. Five

Sisters of Liercy and a postulant crossed the Alps and on

August 1894 too~\: charge of the pariG.il school, • Mary's, a fine brj.ck building situated behind the Church and separated from it by the play-ground. At first the Sisters occu~;iecl a

1. The Cyclopedia of N.Z. Vol. 3 (Ch.Ch. 1903.) house at tlle corner of l.iancheste:r anc1 Salisbury Streets but in the loviing 1-iovembex- they pure CL a tlu·ee- quarter· an acr•e site on vri1ich Vie:re two jacent houses facin::E C olc.lmbo Strec.::t. '.Chese houses for- wany ye r:n·s sel'ved as st. L:ary' s Convent until it became nece s to secur·e better i'acilities in h :'using accor:Lodation. In 1900 the present convent chapel so lfully ~xecute~ in grey stone was erec te,.. as osin __: build- i 1GlO\Yn r1s Ut. M 's, Uol:Jrnbo· Street. ,.i,.icll lncludes

• l.lax-y' s Collegiate Hi::;;l1 Scl1ool bt.tilt in 19·12; t Convent e rec teL in l:JlG and ti1e l.:usic Elock upreaPe~_, 1 . In

LancLe ;c;ter Street Sci:co s ti;.e i ster·::; teac!1 present 2

tendr:tnce at • Lo.ry' s Col1egiate Hign

0chool is :.:: incluO.ing 3) boys. ilere as in ·~11~~ other

Gee onclal'y c)C ciO s c ncluc teci. b~r Sisters, pupils are pre-

L. ' UCl1tJ u.. annually :L'or· publ:fc exm~inatians in v;hich their succes . testifles to

ies ·.:Jn anu. pooP in tilei r ,es anc, in iwspi tal, and by t iP un- ostent ious charity 'bl'ing l'elief to son:; ·!1'10 are too c rushect to let their want 'bee ome known to pu.blic charities.

Eother Ll. 1.1echtildes Boland, as I'i:l t tperioress, gui d the worki of' St. Liary' s Convent for tnan;,r yecu-·s. A pioneer, who hai begun her lifo as a Sister of rcy in Ennis and who 68 had filled.. the of1 iee of Assistant in the J::o'<.:i ti:c,3.

of their holy foundress - Mother Catherine UcAuley - until her sudtien ~eath in 1928, while she was on a visit to

Greymou~h. i.lere a~:; in the othei' independent founda<~ions a

Novitiate was i'or·nel).. which aclmi tted several subjects fr•o1.1

over-searJ as· 'Nell as fr,om .Australia and. Hevr Zealanci..

In Darfielll. they openec.... a ~:ranch Convent in Vlhich

r-eside the .:Jister•s Hho teac1l in. the pariBh scLwol vthich

at ~)resent gE,tllcrs in thirty-six pupils fl·ou t;1e sur1-·mmd-

in.z CListr,ict. 'l'J:w disters also opene

St. Joseopl1' s, in Papanui, to which they traveLLed

tramcar until Lor.::to Colle:::·e \1:1~"> establishecl on the :eoute

AI ~i 7 ·J· to Papanui in 1 ,.2c;_. _. ) _.1 _)I.. •

11 _..;.-=-c:....:..:...=-...:.:..:..::::.=-::::...::::_..::..£:..,.____''Vil.la Llar•ia Upner Hiccarton, '1918:

By ti1e yearo 1918 such pr·ogres~' hau been made in the

sphere of transport in New Zenland that there Das no

longep any great reason why the Corwents of bercy in the

ChriL=,tchurch d:iocwe should r·euain disDociated. Consequently,

in that ye:-J.r, a Llotller· House with a centPal n?vitiate nas

established at "Vill~biiaria" a beautiful ~lrivate residence

which tr1e Sisters of Lcr•cy of tile combined Convents pul'-

chase6. fror1·1 Mr. Joseph of Upper F.icr~ art on. Her,e again vre

find one of the pioneer band - Mothe:e :.:. Claver - acting

as Superioress anu wi til mar(;:eu.. executive a·bili ty governing the M1algamation until ill-health supe1~ened in 1921. A ard- ing School girls was built joining the Convent anc1 a splendid ·imn was added 1 ater. sters who live at "Villa L:aria" have charge of the High School with both primary and secondary departments; the parish school, and the new kindergarten school in Puiriri street; opened in 1937. In 1930 a boys' junior college was opened in

\iinderrnere Hoad, Papa:nui under the title, J_,ol~eto College and re the Sistel'S conduct a flouri~3hing boarding ai1d day scl1ool for bo:rs in the primary s. The saw th.::: transfer 'o:r the Lother House and novitiate frmn nvilla ;,:ar•ian to Tiuaru where the Sis rs had purchasec~ a· grand old Convent and property frou the Sisters t11e

Sacred rleart Order w~o were desirous of giving their services in other s of their Order re help 1Nas needed.

Convent of Mercy 2 Tirnaru, 1936: • :.:other' LI. Agatha LlcDonnell, Superior'ess of t11e A.lJo.lgamated Convents of L:ercy in the Christchurch diocese, t:Jo~c up Pesidence in wllat had been the Sacred

Heart Convent, Craigie Avenue, ri'imaru. Here with the novitiate and a steff of Sisters selected from ttte various

Convents, initiated the v10rks of the Ue Order. 3he brought to her' task a highly cultivated intellect, are- 70 marl<:able spirit of trustful abandonment to God.' s guiding

providence and, above all, a charity that compelled her

influence. 3ar deeply regretted death within first

six 111ont!1s of her settling in 'J:lil(.aru deprived t11e Sister-

hood of a valued. Super>iox•ess whose very presence VIas an

inspiration and a steppini_i:-f3tone to nighel, things. Sacred

lie art Girls 1 College w"l1ici1 is both boarding and. clay school

has at present 120 pupils and Sacred Heart School adjoining the

Convent . roperty t1.as an attendance of 210. This year· ( ·1939)

the Sisters took charge of St. Joseph's School, in the

North Enc:.. of tlle parish, anu. have at present a roll of 53

pupils.

Thus has spread. the seed sovm by the 1i ttle band of

pioneer Sisters of ~ercy who arrived in Hokitika in 1878

and g:we the S:)uth Island its fir-sec religious community of

women. They sowed the seed, the people tilled the ground,

but God gave the increase. 71

CHAPTER V1 .

When the Hight Hev. Dr. ran was trans rred in 1 D70

Grahcnfistown, South Africa to the new See of Dunedin,

secured a foundation of Dorninic an sters frou Sion

Hill, Dublin wi til whose assistance he openeci the first

Catholic priuary school in the diocese on Pebruary 20th,

1 1 a school a week later. The education of

tile girls of __ :une6.in re111ained in cap hands of

t[J.ese indust ous nun:3 until ·1897. In the. L:ay of 1 6 iii s Lordship, shop Verdon, was consecrated Bishop of Ltmeclin where he saw the need e ablishin2· an ,.,l,der,

the mern'ber•s of i would carry aut visitation of the

s poor in their· homes as 1 as in hospitals,

woc.lci. t care ox'plwno. th s object in view lle

e d to Hev. her Lo ani acl.S :'~enny \'ill a v;as then

.. " ·-~: I'' f"3uper'ioress of the Convent of Ler·cy, Jingl on, l'i ::, •. /.

and obtained froL1 !1er already lete6. Coumunity a group

to lay t!1e foundations af the Order in l~une6.in. 'his

i ant Community unLier leade p l,:other 1.:. t.:a r~irby, landed at Port Ciialmers on Sunday, Jannary '17th,

1 897, and were welc or:1ed to ir future home ·Ly IIis Lordship, Bishop Verclon anci_ the priests of the ::a ty. For

three days the Sisters were the gue s of the hospitable

Dominican Sisters who oesto1.'ted on them evel'Y conce able 72

l<:::indness, until their ovm Convent was Pead~r for habitation. \fell-trained in the duties Sister·s were soon busily engaged in the sc._oolc;, and on t.ne visi tGtion, so t~1at \Ji thin first we , their

I had already begun to teem with activi

Subjects from Home with the addition o~ Dany

Austr·alian and ~.ew Zealand candidates so enlargeri t:le

Cmr:munity that tlle Novitiate acconn:10dation ·,.:as taxed t·) its u t1;1ost cap :cci ty. Expansion began and soon the net- .. orl\: of 13ranch Convents S)I'ead throughout ov ince.

this year· six Sister-s of L:e:ccy who opened a sma11 in Gore in ·J 8_:0 anat

:ounedin Sisters t widened their sphere of influence.

At this centre the ster•;:; nm; conduct s 1 priL;c:;.ry

oursihing School of

Dunedin secondary school was opened by i.iothel' ~.:.Kost~ca in Au as a school. n 3oardi School was adcied in 1904 ami its annual succ esse;.:; in the

ublic examinations have aced it auong leacLi educational establishments of the province of Ot rrlle present number of pupils, inclu.c1in,; the ·cn··imar-y 'lrtment, is ic ~ 1 s ?riuary School in :louth ::_,,_~_nedin 73

a c1aily attendance of 215.

this SemirH'J.PY town the Sisters of tiercy in Lay

1898 opened t.heir first t3chaol ta which they tl'avellecl daily by·train 1~1 Dunedin. 'rhe tr·ain sel.... Vice did n prove satisfactory for their' wor'k ·so it '>'!as decided to establish a Convent of the t orm. · Pro1~1 'I G u.ntil

·i 912 the c:J.ildren were taught in ·t;he Church but in ·1912, llev. Fr.~iston then Parish Priest, ( 1 ) pur·cllaseci frol•l the

Losgi ~orough Council a btiil whicil was re ly con- v into an aCI.mirab scJ.1ool. r;U>.ib e·~· of pupils at present in attenCJ.ance at Liosgiel Convent •3choo1 is· 60.

'.VI:le founclation stone o:L· s chm•i t e institution vras 1 a few 1.1onths after the ~3isters arr in

Dunedin and received the rst little orphan

July i 896. Here ol";Jhan gir:::.a are received even in infancy and ar•e looked after with suci1 tender solicitude that many ti:.ern, in later• li , cheris!l ir rtJel!lOl.'ies of

St. Vincent's as .J...·vne 1na iest their lives. These .::;i a1·e c aref ly ated according to the principles of

Catholic r.::1mrcl1 which l::elieves in sendi the wll:)le child to school - the art ns well as the mind - so that she ac Lees ,,a taste fol~ uoins rrood", a taste for· j;~ght living.

-·------··------~-----·------1. C onve Records, Dunedin. 74

Children ~ith special aptitudes, as well as tLJsa with special disa'bili ties, are treated apart end prepared. to fill, in later life, the positions for which t~ey are best sui ted. At prer:;ent the Uisters have sixty-two oi'[Jh9J1s in st. VincEnt's.

Rev. P.O'~eill, paris~ priest of ~inton applied in

·1898 to the Superioress oi' tlle :_;onvent of :.. ei'cy, Dunedin for· a Conn:J.111.:. ty oi' Ststers fu:c· his pa:c•i::;i1. It has alvvays

·been the aifil of the ~:listers of Lercy to supply, to the best of' ti~eir ar)ility, Catholic School;:; for the suallei' r•arL:.lws in each cliocese, so the i·e(Juest t·J provide

\linton r;i th a Cor.]:JUni ty Vfc\S reacl.ily gPc:mtecL Cn the feast oi' Jt. 3er•nar•ci_, August 20th, 1898, three ;)iste:cs ope~1ed

:=lt. Be:r'nard's C:)onvent, \Hnton. ll'r'om t .. is cent.·; Siste:es go

This settle1nent was a1most entir·ely Catl1:-,lic in i C!)_. and foi' sm,,.~ yeal's the children had been attendin · the ~)l~'i•J'ic schoo1. r;:'hat year, o~1 the :J?east of st. Joseph, ::arch 19th, the Sister's opened a Convent ancl schoo1 here and the public school auton:atically closed.

Alexandra, 1912:

At the re c~uest of I{ev. :L'1atJ:1er Hunt of Alexandra,

Central Ota<];o, the Sisters of l.iercy from Soutll Dunedin 75

e there a convent and school, L1 Hhich there ar•e :J.t prefJent tln•ee Si ers and seventy-tv1o c1lilLLr'en re ectively.

Dis rs nd sc ::rp e 11g Ol1~t

v e r.'y 1 m·

e:cton p sh, he found t there

no Catnolic t·,,enty-threc

Irl1:n1ediately s about -:;n·ovid.ing a rJ(::anG of rel ous instr·uction fo1• the chil ·en and obtained 0!;1

five Sistel'S of

!.Jerc3r (Y)enecl a Convent :;nd school in Riverton. Ohil froL the ous s."'t le: .. ents, Tev1aewae, , Tikaka,

Ot a at au, Thor'nbU.I\'{,

ly ~y t~aiil t~ 2iverton

Conv nt

JI'e~r 1 s 3ush openecl., in ·1916, a sc ol in coal-mining tormship of Hightcaps, five es

cdstant, 8.l1CL t:eq.vell thither daily 1.mtil. ·1936.

year school at 'Hrey 1 s Dush had :Callen to a r-oll nu.n1:;er of seven while that at Nightcaps ha0. :eiDen to

eighty. Oonsec;uently the sterc-; clos the Convent at

·,irey 1 s Bush and opened one at r"iightc aps rfi::.ere they nort

reside. rrhe p:eesent m.m1ber of children is ninety. ..\t this little tovmsl:ip. in tl~e suburbs of Dunedin the :)is , at r-equest of His Lordship, Bisho:) rdon, openec1. a Convent and School in ·1 S'1 •

In 191 p it became necessary to acl.r.dt -snall bo~rs to St. Vincent's Girls' Orphanage but as these proved to too at a tax on sting accommodation the ters sought 8 sui table property on \Vhicl"l to open an orphanage for lJO,:·s. In 19 0 a beautiful hor:·1e at 'Javerl , till then

by the late Llr. Scobie McKenzie, rras purc~1ased l)y

Lessrs • ."-.ndrev1 and Henl'y Hagerty c1 tc:> the

Dunechr; Dister·s :.·ercy. Here St. ~oseph's ' Howe was e a·blishecl ct.nd the present new buil by t generosity

Dec.m Lie lan of' y. At present the Home is taxed to capacity and Sisters hone t;:; to the institution in the near future. \i8.'/el'l Doys 1 is a populs.r ature of the Hor:1e and is ably c ondu.cted by l.ir. \·:·helan. The peo:;:>le oi' ~)unedin ~ r-ovide an annual outing for the .iaverly Boys and nm'e than c:>ne clwri table citizen has, fro1n tiDe to time, su.ppli eve~y boy in the

th boots, overcoat or suit of clothes. :Pive ;~isters attenCl to igious, mor·al and intellectual tr'aining of boys and rfi th noble purpc:>se and hi endeavour 77 ar'e mov fo:c·-,;e_rd con antly to a h1gl.ler e:Lfici ncy in their menazeoent. The boys are he tlw and happy, they

C acqUil'C(L its 1 OUl.' ste i nc1us tr ,'.', are lee i11 t Eport ~nd ev1nce filial respect for

i .. e:ccy the Gistel'S a:..··~ a.Lways glac:L of an oppor>tuni. ty to en a llospit co tc~ by nuns waG a lonB- t vtant in dioces of the 0 ic uitizenc rille i.,

o.e. selectec:L for· nu.:·si haci unaer!onc traini in and an~ the Superiorcss, anu ·e ss of the hospi t ::1, ci.i(,

):Jssible to the Sisters for their nev vork.

'l'hc Ho it i f:t ne bride on a site ::Jl' ;:;ne a hal ac1·es in a r·s(_·nnel ei ~c.t ;Jistel'S 8lld a cap;::tci ty o:r be~-.s. I ti.L se be nnine;s .::-re :eel ati vel~r l, ;ret

te1"l ser·ic or ae gives promise of p i

.; :::nrth a··0 ll s att 'G.:J nm:1e ~.3 ann.

In Ot .. ie rc ·r have e :3tabli ities Confraternities which tend towards the uplifti yotm v1omen of the 78

oc ese. l.:ercy lcLs ach the alusgiver hov1 to be ov1 her aln:s, hov/ to see in the poor rec:::_pient o1' her charity,

one sent by God to test her justice ann to enable l' to hear fr01:1 Justice Hirl1self:

II a use did it to one of t se,

least bretJ:u•en, yc>"l). cliO. it unto ue." 79

CH.i\.PTER V11 .

COlfCLUGIOJ.Y.

Coincident wit1l the esta'blisllrJent in Ne.i Zealand of' the 'i/Orlcs o::. ti:re Or•der of Lercy there proceected tl1e daily perfecting oi' the religious life in eac:C. Corm;mni ty.

The fire kincJ.leCL in th:Jse pioneerinG.· ·.·0.ys 1Jy valiant vw;:·;en ha::; ~een steaci.il;yr fannec1 into "ever q'lickening life'' as is Low· attested ·b~r the 473 I!ev1 Zealand S LSters of r.:ercy who, vi vifieC:t 'by the sa.me u.isinterested spirit, have bc.n.md ther:lSelves unresei"/ec~.ly to the· service o:L' God, and of' nan, by the thr:..cc V·.J':rs •Jf ~'overty, Chastity and Obedience. r.::'he

\ rder has ever been r·er:larl<:~:c,·ble f'or its unfal terine; r•eligious obser'VG.nce, i'··n· its unfl ag2:ing a:. tentLm to the needs oi' those whom j_t ser·vcs, ana for the alacrity v1it11. vriJ.ich it r·esponds to local needs.

If ~.ev. \1. Lockin0ton 3.J. is cor·rect in statinJ: that

( 1) '1Forer:.ost arnon;~; the builders of ou:.:· nation stands the

CatllCJlic nun 11 then the Sisters of J.Iercy are muong the builders of this nation. (2) "For r:ore than thirty years, they were the only nuns in Aucldanci, si.1ar·in,s in an intiuate

'Nay the lives of' tl1e lonely Irish and. other exiles .nd. digging deeply the fo:-.nd.ations of the Clmrch in Auc.i.-:lanc5.• " Their schools, howes, orphanages, hos;Jitals, open alike to Catholics and Hon-Cat~10lic s, bear• unerr·ing testimony to the service that the Order of l.:ercy renders here in Hevr Zealand,

1. The ~3isteJ.•s oi.' Ler·cy Cent.ena:ey 1831-193'1. J.ev. ·:;. J. Locl:- in;J:t:Jn f.:.l.J. (s.T.:J .•..'~J.b <.rne.) 2. Larist L:essengt:r ::.:ev. ~=· LcGrath, :Oece;:;iber 1st. 'l9.J7. so not only to the Catholic section~ 'but to the CoLJ.nuni ty in gen~ral. s:'hese nuns are at present the educators of

(1) 8,94L+ young Hew Zealanc1ers; they mothei' the orphan; they a:ee the guai>d.ians of· the aged; the :nealers of the sic:\:; the comforters of the infir'Li and. incur~a·ble. 'liwugh the Order' wa,::, specif'ically founded for "the service of the pool', sick ancl ignorant, 11 yet Sistel~s are engaged in all depar-tuents of' eC:iucational as of ilO:=·~:>i tal rror'~;:. The gr•eatel' nur:1ber spend, in general, five days a-v1eek in sc~cool or> LiUsic-rOOLl ancl the remaining t'HO, in ,:; al':c·yi ng ot<.t srnJe of the other works of their Institute. The young f3isters undergo, during their novitiate, a perioC:i_ Df traL1in2 in tile pPinciples and Letllocls Df' teaching. Later they Gi t fDl' 'l'eacllel'i~' ~JertLL'icates 2-nd smne f'Dr University deg:c·ees. i.:usic in all its ·branches is 8 f:l1lecial1"cy .iith the :Jisters of Lle:c·cy, ; .. an.:~ Df ·;.'h:Jln pursue tl1ei 1' stu.Cies in 31DCLltion; Singing and Instruuental I.~u:::;ic as far as the awsrds of Licentiste ~nd FellDwship by the t~o LDn­ c:.un 3cllools of Mu::;ic - r:;.'he ~.:.o;sral .:~caderiiY and 'l.'rini t:r

Colleze •

. ii tl1 tlwir advent to :t:e\v Zealand in ·1 <3_50 tl1e Sister's of ;:ercy completec:. ti.·Le ci1ain of Jdercy wi t:1 vrhich, in ·1838, l.Iothel' r.:c.Aulcy unl:nowingly be.s:;o.n to span the entire earth.

She lived to gui6e her Order for only ten, very full years

------~------?+

·1. Catiwlic Directur~,', 19)C3. 81

and under the rule she then established to suit the exigencies of the time, eac11 Convent of Uercy was en in- dependent Hou~:;e, electing its own Sup o:: and training its O\tn novices. With the expansion of the Order the need for centralisation in government has made its f felt especially in consideration of the noviti e training, as a step toward:3 Pemedying this Viant, the C;)nvents i,iercy in FieH Zealand have ·been oup ther w~thin each diocese under one Supe oress and vri th a common novitiate.

Had i.iother Ec.Auley th r p.r:actical con:r,on sense lived to see the rwrld- .. ide ezpcmsion of the Order, she w;::~ulc1 have b3en one of the first to eli cern the advisability securing tl1e unific iDn of the Ol"'der; which u.ni cation is the aPdent hope, if rw~ also 'tL·;. fel"'Vent ,·r·ayer, of the vast majority of r 20,L1.62 Siste.::s scattered throughout the v10rJ.d.

THE LIPP.