Archives



Archives of Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph

The Archives of Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart hold the official records of the Congregation dating back to the foundation of the religious order. It no longer holds any records of children’s Homes operated by the Sisters of St Joseph. In 2020, records of children’s Homes are held…

St Anthony’s Home Croydon

In 1925, St Anthony’s Home moved from Petersham to Croydon. It was a Home for unmarried pregnant women and accommodated them and their babies for up to 12 months after the birth, as well as infants and children up to around the age of 3. Sister Kathleen Burford’s history of the Home states that mothers…

St Anthony’s Petersham

St Anthony’s was opened in 1922 by the Society of St Vincent De Paul, first in St Peters, and then in Petersham. It was not intended to provide long term residential care. Several hundred adoptions and foster placements were arranged from Petersham. In 1925 the home became St Anthony’s Home Croydon. St Anthony’s was developed…

Sisters of Mercy, Wilcannia-Forbes Congregation

The Sisters of Mercy, Wilcannia-Forbes Congregation, a Catholic religious order of women, was established in 1890. The Sisters ran St Anne’s Home, Broken Hill from 1898-1941. In 2011, the Sisters of Mercy, Wilcannia-Forbes Congregation was dissolved and merged with 15 former Australian congregations to become the Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia and Papua New…

Sisters of Mercy, Singleton Congregation

The Sisters of Mercy, Singleton Congregation, a Catholic religious order of women, was established in 1875, when Bishop James Murray invited Sisters of the Ennis Community to the Diocese of Maitland, Ireland. They built a substantial convent in stages from 1893 to 1925, and conducted a wide ranging ministry, including running the Monte Pio Home…

Convent of Mercy Archives (Parramatta)

The Convent of Mercy Archives hold the records of the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation and records of St Brigid’s Girls Home Ryde and St Michael’s Home, Baulkham Hills.

Sisters of Mercy, Parramatta Congregation

The Sisters of Mercy, Parramatta Congregation are an order of Catholic nuns who were responsible for the administration of St Brigid’s Girls’ Home, Ryde, 1898-1978 and St Michael’s Home, Baulkham Hills, 1902-83. The Sisters of Mercy ran also ran St Michael’s Family Centre, on the site of the old children’s home. In 2012 they announced…

Our Lady of Mercy Home, Waitara

Our Lady of Mercy Home was established in 1928 and was formerly known as Waitara Foundling Home and usually just as Waitara. The Home cared for children from birth to the age of 15, and from 1970, children aged 7-12. It also housed unmarried mothers. Our Lady of Mercy Home Waitara was replaced by the…

Mercy Family Life Centre, Waitara

The Mercy Family Life Centre Waitara was previously known as Our Lady of Mercy Home and was run by the Sisters of Mercy. It was built in a part of the grounds of the old Waitara Orphanage (Our Lady of Mercy) in 1977. In 1994, it was incorporated and became the Mercy Family Centre. Mercy…

Waitara Foundling Home

The Waitara Foundling Home was established in 1898 by the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation as a home for babies and for unmarried mothers, who were referred from hospitals throughout the eastern states of Australia. In 1928 the Waitara Foundling Home was renamed Our Lady of Mercy Home. The Waitara Foundling Home was first…