St Brigid’s Industrial School, in Rockhampton, was run by the Sisters of Mercy. Information about this institution is scarce but it originally operated as a boarding facility and industrial school for young girls from outlying areas of the Diocese. It then became a working girls’ hostel. St Brigid’s opened around 1874 and closed in 1985.
St Brigid’s is described in A piece of the story (1999) like this:
St Brigid’s Convent was the founding house of the Rockhampton Sisters of Mercy after their arrival in Brisbane in August 1873. From 1874 to 1895, it housed the Catholic Girls’ High School before the school was transferred to a site on the Athelstone Range. Boarders attending the High School continued to live at St Brigid’s as well as a group of boarders who were part of the student population of the neighbouring primary schools of St Patrick’s and Our Lady’s. In the workrooms at St Brigid’s, the Sisters taught dressmaking, millinery, lace and fancy work, cooking, typewriting, music and art to the boarders. The Sisters also made Church vestments and altar decorations.
From
1874
To
1985
Alternative Names
Kent St Convent
St Brigid’s Convent Industrial School
1895 - 1985
St Brigid's Industrial/Training School was situated at Kent Street, Rockhampton, Queensland (Building Still standing)
