St Catherine's Geelong, courtesy of MacKillop Family Services.
Details
St Catherine's Orphanage was the new name given in 1912 to what was formerly Our Lady's Orphanage. It accommodated girls aged between 3 and 14. In 1928, the Orphanage relocated from Newtown to Highton. In 1960, it became the St Catherine's Children's Home.
Barnard and Twigg suggest that the Sisters of Mercy changed the orphanage's name from Our Lady to St Catherine's to distinguish it from the Sacred Heart Boarding School and the day primary school, which were located on the same site.
An appeal for a new building was launched in 1926, and in 1928 St Catherine's Orphanage relocated from Newtown to Highton.
In November 1955, St Catherine's Girls' Orphanage was declared an approved children's home under the Children's Welfare Act 1954.
In 1957, Sister Isidore Ryder took charge at St Catherine's. A year later, it started to receive boys (usually the younger brothers of girls already at the Orphanage). Subsequently, St Catherine's changed its name to St Catherine's Children's Home in 1960.
c. 1862 - 1912 Our Lady's Orphanage
1912 - 1960 St Catherine's Orphanage
1960 - 1975 St Catherine's Children's Home
c. 1975 - 1997 Mercy Family Care Centre
1997 - MacKillop Family Services
Sources used to compile this entry: Victoria Government Gazette Online Archive 1836-1997, State Library of Victoria, 2009, http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/; Barnard, Jill; Twigg, Karen, Holding on to Hope: a history of the founding agencies of MacKillop Family Services 1854-1997, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, 2004.
Prepared by: Cate O'Neill
Created: 10 August 2009, Last modified: 3 February 2014
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/vic/biogs/E000018b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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