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Western Australia - Organisation

Sisters of the Good Shepherd (1902 - )

From
1902
Categories
Care Provider, Catholic and Religious Order
Website
https://goodshep.org.au/

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd arrived in Western Australia in October 1902 from Abbotsford, Victoria. The Order originally came from France. The Sisters of the Good Shepherd had established Homes for 'destitute women and girls' throughout the world. Residents worked in the laundries run by the Sisters. In WA, the Sisters ran the Home of the Good Shepherd in two sections: a women's home (from 1902) and a reformatory (from 1909). In 1904, the Sisters opened a new convent and Home in Leederville and the Home of the Good Shepherd in Adelaide Terrace, Perth, closed.

Details

To support their institutions, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd ran commercial laundries in which the residents of their Homes worked. This laundry work had attracted controversy since the early 1900s and its legacy has continued to draw criticism in government inquiries in Australia and elsewhere.

In the 1970s, they ran a centre for teenagers (Neuville) which was less 'institutional' in its approach. After 1979, the Sisters no longer ran residential programs in WA, but they have continued to be involved in social justice activities and education in the State.

Events

1902
Location - The Sisters of the Good Shepherd established the Home of the Good Shepherd in Adelaide Terrace, Perth. Location: Perth

Related Organisations

Publications

Books

  • Byrne, Geraldine, Built on a hilltop : a history of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Western Australia, 1902-2002, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Leederville, 2002. Details

Resources

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: 'The Good Shepherd Nuns', The West Australian, 25 December 1902, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24851134; 'Ladies' Column [Good Shepherd Nuns]', The Daily News, 25 October 1902, p. 9, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81323465; 'Fallen Women's Home [Good Shepherd]', Sunday Times, 15 November 1903, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57188077; Information Services, Department for Community Development, 'Home of the Good Shepherd Industrial School for Girls', Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920, Government of Western Australia, 2004, https://signposts.communities.wa.gov.au//pdf/pdf.aspx.

Prepared by: Debra Rosser