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Western Australia - Organisation
Sisters of Mercy (1846 - 2011)
- From
- 1846
- To
- 2011
- Categories
- Care Provider, Catholic and Religious Order
- Website
- http://www.mercy.org.au
The Sisters of Mercy, a Catholic religious order of women, was founded in Ireland in 1831. The first sisters came to Western Australia in 1846. They soon became involved in schooling and accommodating children and were later involved in maternity nursing and adoptions. The Sisters of Mercy ran the St Joseph's Catholic Orphanage for Girls (1868-1901); Subiaco Boys' Orphanage (1876-1897); St Joseph's Girls' Orphanage (1901-1971); St Vincent's Foundling Home (1914-1971); St Margaret's Hostel (1918-1971); St Gerard's Hospital (1944-1972); St Anne's Hospital (from 1937); and the Catherine McAuley Centre (1971-1997). The Sisters were also part of the Catholic Migration Scheme which brought children to Australia from Britain and Malta after World War II (1947-1966). In 2011, the two congregations of the Sisters of Mercy in WA merged with others to form the Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia and Papua New Guinea, which inherited all records held by the previous congregations.
Publications
Books
- Chate, A.H.; Graham, Bruce; Oakley, Glenda, Date it!: a Western Australian chronology to 1929, Friends of the Battye Library (Inc.), Northbridge, Western Australia, 1991. Details
Resources
Online Resources
- 'Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Health Committee on 11 June 1998', in Health - Third Report, House of Commons Health Committee, Parliament of the United Kingdom, 11 June 1998, https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmhealth/755/8061101.htm. Details
- 'Submission No. 172 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, 11 September 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist. Details
- 'Submission No. 483 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, 1 November 2004, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist. Details
- Catholic Child Welfare Council, 'CCWC Minutes of Evidence Document 5', in Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Health Committee on 11 June 1998, Parliament of the United Kingdom, 11 June 1998, https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmhealth/755/8061108.htm. Details
- Catholic Archdiocese of Perth [website], http://www.perthcatholic.org.au. Details
- Catholic Welfare Australia, 'Submission No. 71 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, July 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist. Details
- Information Services, Department for Community Development, 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. Details
- McLay, Anne, Women Out of Their Sphere, A History of the Sisters of Mercy in Western Australia, Vanguard Press, Northbridge, Western Australia, 1992, 483 pp, https://institute.mercy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Women-Out-of-Their-Sphere.compressed.pdf. Details
- National Directory of Records of Catholic Organisations Caring for Children Separated from Families, A Piece of the Story: A Research Project Undertaken by the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission and the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes, November 1999, http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/A-Piece-of-the-Story-Directory-of-Catholic-Records-.pdf. Details
Sources used to compile this entry: Chate, A.H; Graham, Bruce; Oakley, Glenda, Date it!: a Western Australian chronology to 1929, Friends of the Battye Library (Inc.), Northbridge, Western Australia, 1991.
Prepared by: Leanne Howard and Debra Rosser
Created: 15 March 2011, Last modified: 29 October 2020
