Archives



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…

Sisters of Mercy Archives (North Sydney)

The Sisters of Mercy Archives are located in North Sydney and were established in 1865 at the same time as the North Sydney Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy. These Archives previously held the records of children’s Homes run by the Sisters of Mercy. Photos from St Catherine’s and Waitara Homes are kept at North…

St Catherine’s Orphanage

St Catherine’s Orphanage was a children’s home run by the Sisters of Mercy at Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River. St Catherine’s Orphanage had been St Carthage’s College for Young Ladies. It was primarily a girls’ home, although some of the girls’ brothers lived in the home while they were young. It closed in 1990. St…

Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation

The Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation, is a Catholic order of nuns established in Sydney 1865. They were responsible for the administration of St Carthage’s College for Young Ladies (1907-1931), St Catherine’s Home, Brooklyn (1931-1990) and Waitara Foundling Home (later known as Our Lady of Mercy Home from 1898 to 1977. It also ran…

St Patrick’s Homes

St Patrick’s Homes, run by the Sisters of Mercy, were formed in 1976 when the remaining children from St Patrick’s Orphanage were moved to two cottages in Armidale. The cottages closed in 1984.

Sisters of Mercy, Gunnedah Congregation

The Sisters of Mercy, Gunnedah Congregation was a Catholic religious order of women who arrived in Gunnedah in 1887 from Singleton. The sisters were responsible for the administration of St Patrick’s Orphanage (later called St Patrick’s Home and St Patrick’s Homes) Armidale. In 2011, the Sisters of Mercy, Gunnedah Congregation was dissolved and merged with…

St Patrick’s Orphanage

St Patrick’s Orphanage, run by the Sisters of Mercy, was located at the end of O’Connor Road, Armidale from 1919 until 1983. When it closed the remaining children were moved to two cottages in Armidale which were known as St Patrick’s Homes.

St Joseph’s Cowper Children’s Homes

St Joseph’s Cowper Children’s Homes was established in 1972 following the relocation of St Joseph’s Orphanage to North Street, Grafton. In 1993 the service became known as St Joseph’s Cowper. In 1972, the St Joseph’s Orphanage relocated to a site in North Street, Grafton and became known as St Joseph’s Cowper Children’s Homes. This change…