Station 6 – Founding Sisters’ Plaque

This plaque, installed in October 2023, recognises the original nine Presentation Sisters who came from Ireland to establish St Mary’s College. The Presentation Sisters were invited by Bishop Daniel Murphy to provide an education to the first European settlers of Hobart Town in the context of their Catholic faith.

These Sisters were: Mother Xavier Murphy and Sisters Stanislaus O’Brien, Ignatius Murphy, Regis Murphy, Xavier Beechinor, Joseph Russell, Evangelist Cronin, Benigna Keller and Martha Foley (several of these Sisters are pictured below).

These brave women from Fermoy, County Cork, left Ireland in 1866 on the Empress, travelling to an unknown land on the other side of the world; one with a different climate, different vegetation, different wildlife and few recognisable aspects of Ireland. Only one of these women were to ever visit their homeland again.

When the Sisters arrived in Hobart, three months later, the new convent and school were not yet ready for them. So they were invited to live in Richmond and teach at the local school. When they left in 1868, the people of Richmond were very sad to see them go.

Early photo of the Presentation Sisters taken at the site of the current Founding Sisters’ Plaque – formerly a Marian Grotto. The Founding Sisters in this photo are: Front Row: Sr Martha Foley (2nd from left), Mother Xavier Murphy (3rd). Back Row: Sr Ignatius Murphy (1st from left), Sr Regis Murphy (6th), Sr Stanislaus O’Brien (7th) Sr Joseph Russell (9th).

Photos from the unveiling of the Plaque in 2023. Left: Presentation Sisters in attendance. Back Row (L-R): Sr Elizabeth Vagg, Sr Majella Kelly, Sr Barbara Amott, Sr Monica Shelverton, Sr Marilyn Fryett. Front Row (L-R): Sr Gabrielle Morgan, Sr Pat Kingsley, Sr Norah Donnelly, Sr Marie Connolly. Right: Blessing ceremony celebrated by Fr Leonard Caldera.

Reflection

“Leaving Fermoy”

Leaving Fermoy, the heartbreak, then to the commotion of the wharf, huge ship, dwarfing us all.

At the rail, piercing cries of sorrow, as the green shores of home slip away.

Night and the roiling ocean, dark blankets the sky.

The moon, and my heart stills, settles this moon, these stars lead us to God’s plan for us.

A different hemisphere, another wharf, crowds of people, not so different.

Small unshod boys, wild-eyed, mock our carriages, hitting stones and sticks before them.

There is no school to see, but hospitality and welcome abound.

An arduous drive through bushland, alive with the cries of strange and colourful birds and silent animals floundering away in the shimmering heat.

A vista of Richmond opens, a strange and yet familiar landscape, rolling green hills, wisps of smoke from distant cottages, open hands, open arms, and the cool interiors of Woodburn.

The mission begins, this is God’s plan for us.

Margaret Rootes

Photos from Richmond

Left: A plaque commemorating the Presentation Sisters who lived and taught in Richmond in 1866-7. Middle: The former St John’s School House where the Sisters taught. Right: Historic Richmond with St John’s Church in the background, where the Sisters regularly attended Mass.