COHGl".?.EGATION OF OUR I,ADY OP LillHCY
IN
NEW ZEAL.AJifJJ
Preface
Sisters of Eercy in our different dioceses have often expressed regret that, so far, no one has
written a historical sketch of the Order of roy in New Zealand. Time is steadily stealing from our midst those who were privileged to enjoy personal acquaintance with the first religious wonen - the Auckland Sisters of Uercy of 1850 - to cone to this country. So, v1'11ile there yet remain ·with us, five of the original band who in 1873 founded the~-first
Convent of I~rcy in the South Island, I have
attenpted to break the ice, however feebly, and thus free the current for more competent explorers.
Owing to the lack of a central authority for the Order, the collecting of sources and other data has entailed :'luch :1ore research than one rr1igllt infer fror:t the size of the WOl"k. A considerable a.rnount of detail was necessa:r'y but I have endeavoured to so use it as not to lose si~ht of the vivifyin~ spi t o~ nercy, which enbraces even the least works of the Order.
pro;2pt an d. sene:;;ous response to :1any appeals and loans of useful naterials I owe abundant thad:s to ~Irs.S.R.Goulter, Fairlie; I<Iiss Rona Oonnor,TT.A., Auckland; Hev. li'a ther Fogarty, Geraldine; Rev. E:. I. nenrath, D.1I. 1~ditor, Parist I.~essenger, ';/ellington; :Rev. Brother iiL~.rcelli.n, Timaru; l'fr. Alan 1\.Garter, Editor, Hm;' Zealand r~ablet, Dunedin; Sergeant ,T.
~leary, Ashburton; Sergeant Devlin, ni~aru and to the foll.mving named aenbers of the Order of 'leroy
-father;:. ~reronica, I ... ineric~c; I.I. Benie;nus; Auckland;
!1.~.1.:Wrances,'Jellington; !·I.~·~.Claude, 1.'!estport; S.!;~. Derch:1ans, · l}reyr1outh; H.
:r.
Claver, Eoki tika; !~.Aloysius, Lyttel ton; Rev. !'·~other IT. de Sales and
E.I\.Beni~nus, Timaru; T.'·r.Ignatius and S.!I.St •. Tohn, Dunedin.
11Aphisn
Convent of ~ Iercy, n:'inaru, 1930.
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
1. PREFACE.
L~. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
7. CHAPTER 1 •
1 L~. CHAPTER 11.
27. CHAPTI~R 111 •
39. CHAPTER 1V.
54. CHAPTER V.
ORIGIN AND SPIIUT OF' THE OHDER OP W~RCY.
THE COMING AND EARLY ACTIVITIES OP THE
SISTERS OF' UERCY.
MOTHER CECILIA L~EER: AUCKLAND POUNDATIONS.
St. Uary's, Ponsonby, 1850;. St. Patrick's, Auckland, 1850; St. John's, Parnell, 1862; St. Joseph's, Onehunga, 1864; St. Cecilia's, Otahuhu, 1866; St. hlar·y's, Coromandel, 1882; st. Joseph's Orphanage, Talcapuna, 1894; St. Leo's, Devenport, 1896; St. Catherine's, 'waihi, 1902; Te Aroha, Our Lady of J.Jourdes,
1903; Holy Cross, Epsom, '1921; r~,;t. Carmel, Milford, 1922; . St. Bride's Avondale, 1923;
Star of the Sea Orphanage, Bowick, 1925; Monte Cecilia College, Hillsborough Rd.,
Onehunga, 1926; St. 1-.Iary' s, Pawarene§a, 1927; Holy Cross, Henderson, 1932.
Mater Misericordiae Hospital, 1900.
WELLINGTON ARCHDIOCESE.
Guildford Terrace, Thorndon, 1851; St.
Joseph's, Upper Butt, 1852; St. Philomena's, 1873; Blenheim, 1885; Ne·wton, 1890; Sea-toun, 1909; Kilbirnj.e, 1912; Picton, 1914; Nai Nai: the Beaut.: .. lll, 1916- '17; Ha.taitai
and Holy Cross. ·1930; Other Foundations, 1936; An Amalgamation - Reefton, 1881, Westport, 1894.
HOICITIKA:
Page
71. OHAPrER V1.
79·
-·---
OHA-',TEH V11.DUNEDIN DIOCESE.
Gore, 1897; St. Philomena's College
1897-1904; Liosgiel, 1898; St. Vincent's Orphanage, 1898; Winton, 1898; \'!rey' s Bush, 1899
Alexandra, 1912; Riverton, 1~:13; Nightcaps, 1916; I;Iornington, 1919; \,Vaveley Boys'
Or;)hanage, 1920; Mater Misericordiae Hospital 1936.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. PUBLICATIONS.
1. RELIGIOUS WORKS CONSULTED.
Cardinal Patrick Francis Jvloran:
J.J. Wilson:
A New Orleans Sister of Mercy:
Sister
M.
Josephene Gately:M.G.
Thither:2. NON-~~L~GIOUS '.'IOR!CS CONSULTED.
CYclopedia of New Zealand.~
Timaru Public Library, )
Cambridge History of the British Empire.
Horsley:
Rusden:
Hight ana Bamford:
History of the Catholic Church in Australasia.
(Oceanic Publishin~ Cor:J-pany, Sydney 1895.)
11Memoirs of Early Days. 11
(The New Zealand Tablet Publishing Co. Ltd., Dunedin, 1910.)
4
"In the Path of the Pioneer (New Zealand Tablet Publish ing Co. Dunedin, 1921.)
11 Leaves from the Annals of
the Sisters of Mercy. 11 Vols
1 and 11.
(P.O'Shea, New York. 1883)
11
The Sisters of L~ercy. rr Maci;lillan. Co., Nevr York, 1931. )
Thesis - Roman Catholic Educational Activity in the Province of Otago, N. Z.
(Canterbury College 1934.)
Vol. 1. ~ellington
Vol. 11. Auckland.
Vol. 111.Canterbury. (1903) Vol. V. Nelson, I~arlborough,
and Westland.
Vol. V11., part 11
n.z. ·
(cru~b. Press. London, 1933.)
11
The Romance of N.
z."
('.r.c.
and E.G. Jacli:.London, 1908. )1
'History of N.Z.," Vol. 11. (Melville, lilullen and Slade,
Melbourne, 1882.
11'l'he Constitutional History
and Law of Nevr Zealand. 11
Shrimp ton and Mulgan:
Scholefield:
Reeves.
3. OFFICIAL DOCU!i!EWrG.
"Maori and Pakeha." (Whi tcombe & Tombs,
Christchurch, 1921.)
"New Zealand Affairs." \L. Il. Isi tt, Christchurch, 1929.)
"The Long White Cloud." (Horace Marshall & Son, London, 1898.)
Australian Catholic Directory, 1938.
Year Book by I.larist Fathers, 1927 and 1928. New Zealand
and A11stralia.
The New Zealand Police Gazette, 16th June, 1897.
4. NEWSPAPERS
AND
PERIODICALS.New Zealand Tablet. (Dunedin. )
Zealandia. (Auckland. )
hlarist Messenger. (Wellington. )
Westport News. The Universe.
(London. )
English Catholic Times. (London. )
The Catholic Press. (Australia. )
N. Z. Catholic Schools Journal:
23rd February 1938. 30th.March 1938. 23rd November 1938. 30th Noveliilier 1938. 18th November 1837. 5th March 1938. 12th I.·larch 1938. 28th July 1938. 20th October 1938. 8th December 1938. 1st December 1931. 1st September' 1934. 1st October . 1934. 1st November 1934. Centennial Nur:1ber,
March 1938. 11-tth December 1931. 2nd Septenilier 1938.
11th December 1937·
5. PHAf,:PHLJ:TS.
Bishop Cleary:
Rev. W. LocJcington S.J.
Rev. J. Ryan
s.
J. !1!. A. Litt. D.Teacher's Bulletin:
Ur. Paul Kavanagh
1 1 . Ul:J:PUBLI
smm.
SOUlWES ._ 1. Annals./mnals of the Lytt ton Convent: Annals of the Hokitika
Convent: 2. Personal Interviews.
---··~
-11Seventy Fifth Anniversary of the landing in New
6
Zealand of the Sisters of lilerc ( 1850 - 1925.) (Mercy
Convent Archives, Auckland.) '''.I'he Sisters of Mercy
-(Centenary 1831 - 1931. Convent Librar•y,
\Vellington. )
Mother Catherine LlcAuley -An Al?preciation (IJimerick 1938) (Convent Library, Timaru. )
Surnrrw ·y of Hi or•y of Cath-olicCJ:F.lrch in New Zealand
(1828 - 1936.) (Lrs. Goulter, Pairlie.)
11'l'he Sisters of Mercy1
' in Nevv
Zealand. Catholic Schools' Journal, Deptember, 1932.
(Convent Library Timaru).
(Convent of Uercy, Lyttelton). (Convent of l'.lercy, Hold t a \
J.
I have been able to eo;.;: u.p on much ma·i.;t;;;rial by
discussing doLtbtful points ·ai th five pioneers who, though. they have passed beyond the allotted three-score- and-ten are still quite clear on the events and life of sixty years ago, though not always so clear as to more modern events. ~jisters: too, who have lived VJith the first
C HAPT:Bm. 1 •
fAWTERBURY UNIVERSITY COLLEGd CHRISTCHURCH, 11.1. Ox•iqin and Spirit o:t_:_ the Order of l,lercy..!. ..
The Order of' Llercy sprang into being as an outc:owe
of the zeal and chm·i ty of a beautiful, noble-hearted
Irish heiress, Catherine McAuley, who was born in Co.
Dublin, in 1787. ( 1) Although the second hal1' of the 18th
century was a 11CPitical period for adhel'ents of the old
faith" :r:n Ireland, yet Catherine's father, a devout
Catholic, enjoyed all the privileges of polite society
without any apparent injury to his Catholic principles.
In those penal days when Catholicity vras a crime and all
things Catholic were 11hidc1en away as in the days of the
Catacombs, 11 Catherine's father used to asf~emble at his own
home on Sundays and holidays the poor of the district to
instruct them in the truths of their religion. His
lessons were to bear fruit in the life of his young daughtel"'
who never forgot them.
1:/hen Catherine, who was the eldest of three children
vras but seven yem•s old, she lost her father; and her gay
young mother seeing that to adhere to the Catholic faith
meant to belong to (2) a upoor, despised, impotent, ragged
and pitiful c onmnJ.ni ty, If willingly accepted the
Protestant-isnt of her friends, with its monopoly of wealth, power,
1. Mother CathePine McAuley - An Appreciation (Eev. (.T. Ryan
f3.J.ii:.A. D. Litt.) (Limerick, 1938.)
prestige and learning. She died when catherine was eleven and thenceforth the three orphans were brought up by
Protestant friends who could never persuade Catherine to adopt their religion.
( 1 ) Vlhen sixteen years old, Catherine was adopted by
Mr. and Idrs. Callaghan, lately l'eturned from abroad, who were old Protestant friends of the McAuley family.
Her nevv guardians idolised Catherine but were in-flexible on one point - that she should not profess the Catholic religion. Yet so deeply.did she revere her
father's memory that she offered· to relinquish all, rather than embrace any religion but his,· and this, even though she was yet ignorant of Catholic aching and was denied
any association with it. However, the strength of her con-victions eventually secured her objective and she not only
resumed the open practice of her religion, but gained a victory over the prejudice of years by winning her guardians themselves to e~)race the Catholic religion.
Mr'. Callaghan who survived his wif'e by two ars died
in 1822, leavin,e.· Catherine his sole heiresr:;. (2) She was now mistress of his sta.tely residence 11Coolock House with its plate, carriages and furniture, and income of £600 a year· and a sum of £30,000 in the Bank of Ireland. 11 Already
8
1 . 11Leaves from the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy1
' , Nev1 York 1881 Vol 1. page 10.
her good father's exrunple had borne fruit and we find her, during leisure hours, distributing food and clothing to
the poor, and visiting and instructing the sick of her neighbourhood. So when she came into possession of this fortune she decided to devote her life to the succour
of the poor, the sick, and the ignorant. (1). For their benefit she sacrificed all; "her time, ·which ladies of' her class were accustomed to 'Naste in pleasant distractions; her energy, which in those days of cheap labour she would
never have been called upon to expend; 11 and her for·tune,
which could give her a life of affluence and even of splendour. Almost irnmediatley after inheriting her fortune, she
gathered about her other, noble:...minded ladies whom she in-spired with like, noble ideals and (2) on September 2LJ.th, 1 824, there was laid the foundation stones in Baggot Str'eet, Dublin, of her first institution for destitute women and orphans, as wel1 as of a school for poor children. At thts stage she had no idea of forming a religious order, but, with her "practical capacity as :3:n administrator," she
(3) saw that by forming themselves.into a religious con-gregation the good done by herself' and her colleagues could be continued indefinitely in the future by those who would follow in her footsteps. (4) Hence after receiving
1. M.C. McAuley·- An Appreciation- (Rev. S. Ryan S.J.)
2. "Leaves frorn the Annals of the f3isters of Mercy11 Vol.1.
pp. 21-22
3.
"An Appreciation" op. cit.4. Leaves from Annals. op. cit. pp.
33-67.
THE LIBP.J!RY
from Pope Pius V111 a Rescript of Indulgences dated l.iay ·
.,
23rd, 1830, Catheri.ne and two companions began a novitiate on September 8th, 1830, under the Presentation Sisters at Georges Hill, Dublin. (1) Here on December 12th, 1831, they took their vows as the first Sisters of Mercy, Sister M. Catherine being appointed first Superior. Al-most in~ediately their zeal and charity were severely tested; for, in 1832, cholera stalked the streets of Dublin and the Archbishop appealed to the Sisters on behalf of his suffering flock. (2) In answer to his
appeal the Sisters, we are told, "lcnel t down to receive his blessing &'1d then r•ose up and made the cholera hos-pital their home." During the ten short years of her religious life Mother McAuley founded convents through-out Ireland and opened, in England, the first convent since the religious revolt of the sixteenth century. Lady Barbara Eyre, daughter of the Earl of Newbury, vvas the first to receive the habit. Of the progress made by the Order we have the follovling from l.Iother EcAuley' s own pen
( 3) "We are now ( 1 839) above a hundred and desire to join us seems rather on the increase. Though it was thought foundations would retard it, the case appears to be otherwise.''
It was while engaged on the Birmingham foundation September
1. Ibid. Vol. 1. P. L~3.
2. "IJeaves from the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy." Vol. 1 . P. 315. 3. Ibid. Vol. 1. P. 1L~.
1841, that Mother McAuley's failing health disclosed . alarming symptoms. She died at Baggot Street on November
11th that year.
Though teaching is the chief work of the Order of Mercy, yet, when opportunity calls, the Sisters pass from class-room to hospital or sick-bed and, if need be, even to the battlefield. In 1854-6, in 1861, and again in 1899, the Sisters of Mercy by their devoted service to the sick and wounded soldiers won the praise and esteem of all creeds.
(1) On Friday, October 27, 1854 the first of several bands of Sisters of Mercy embarked on the "Vectis11 bound
fot the East. With.Florence Nightingale and Miss Stanley they showed themselves indefatigable in their efforts to soothe the awful sufferings of the plague-stricken and the wounded, on battlefield and in hospital, at Balaclava,
Scutari, and Inkerrnann. (2) Two of the Sisters, victims of cholera and typhus respectively, are buried on the bleak
heights of Balaclava. Again, in the records of the American Civil War,
we
read of the devotion of the Sisters to thestricken soldiers of their adopted country. (3) In 1900 we find Queen Victoria giving a very cordial reception to the Sisters of Mercy vvho had worked so heroically during
1. Annals of the Sisters of Mercy Vol. 11. p. 129. 2. Ibid. pp. 197-198.
12
the siege of Mefeking. The Annals tell that while express-ing her gratitude for their kindness to the soldiers, her Majesty pinned the Royal Red Cross on their guimpa.
As Mother McAuley had foreseen, the good wor•k she began continued after her death to make rapid progress so that within a hundred years of its foundation the
Order of Mercy had spread throughout the English-speaking world.
At St. Johns, Newfoundland the first house of the Order was opened in the rtestern Hemisphere and at
Pi tts·burg 1843 the first Convent of Mercy in the United States. Soon afterwards not only convents and schools but orphanages, hospitals and homes for young women were established by the Sisters in Amei'ica, Australia, New Zealand. and South Africa.
The Centenary of the OI'der was celebrated in 1931 when the following statistics of the Order were presented.
Ireland England Scotland Channel Is. Australia New ZealwJ.d
( 1 ) Co:tNENTS OP MERCY 196. 93. 8.
3.
252. 46. AfricaB. \Vest Indies North Arne ric a South America Central America Total 1, 507 Convents; 20 ,L-1-62 Nuns.
s.
5.
886. 12.
CHAPTER 11.
THE COMING AND EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SISTERS OI' MEHCY
It was as a result of the concerted effort of French missionaries and Irish irmnigrants that the Catholic
Church was established in New Zealand. In 1838 Monsignor Jean Baptiste Pompallier, newly-named Vicar Apostolic of Wester·n Oceania of which New Zealand then formed a part, landed at Hokianga where he and. his intrepid band of Marists were warmly welcomed by an Irish settler, Thomas Poynton, and vvhence he set for·th determined to roughhew his way and blaze the trail for· his followers. In response to his appeals to Europe, priests trickled into the country and according as these became available, he established mission stations throughout the land. Realising the needs
of his growing flock Bishop Pompallier embarked for Rome in
1846,
and tvro years later, New Zealand was divided intotvvo dioceses Auckland and V/ellington. Bishop Viard who had been Bishop Pompal1ier' f> coadjutor since
1846,
v1as appointedfirst Bishop of Wellington with the Marist Fathers as his helpers, while Bishop Pompalliel" retained the charge of Aucklancl from which diocese the Marist Fathers were to withdraw in favour of secular clergy, as soon as the
on his return joul"ney from Europe in 181+9, shop
Pomp allier called at St. Leo 1 s Convent of b:ercy, Carlow,
.
Ireland, where he begged for volunteers for his remotesea-girt mis on. Mother Cecilia Uahe1~, then Superior of
the Carlow Convent, privately offered hel~self' for the
distant mission as did several other members of the
Community. ( 1) When it becarne known that Mother Cecilia
Laher had volunteered, the whole community in a body besought
Bishop Haly, then in c.harge of the diocese, to dissuade
her. Though aware of the singular merit of their Superior•,
this zealous pastor very pertinently the Sisters how
they, themselves, would have got the Pai th, if st. Patrick
and St Augustine had remained at· 'home. He told them, that,
though he was sorry to part with any them, God's glory
demanded the sacrifice. So on August 8th, 1849, Mother
Cecilia and seven companions set out from St.Leo's
Carl ow, to travel to tbe remote enc,s of the earth there to
14
carl"'Y on the works of Mercy - the amelioration of the spiritual
educational and physical needs of the growing population. In
Cross", one of New aland's earliest newsprints,
we find the following, dated Friday, April 12th 1850:
"Shipping Listtt
April
9. -
110ceania", of Antwerp,533
tons, CaptainG-ustavus Radou, from Sydney, the 21st Uarch.
Passengers: Bishop Pomp allier 10 (sic) Sisters of Mercy ... "
11The New alander,11 a contemporary Auckland Newspaper,
bearing like date gives the names of those Sisters: "
Iv!esdames I.larie hlaher, Elizabeth Hughes, Mary Pages, Mary
Franklin, Mary Maher, Elizabeth Taylor, MaryBannox and
Mar·y Slattery." Thus after braving the rigours of the
Atlantic and Pacific for eight months in a (1) 533-ton
sailing vessel~ Mother Cecilia Maher and :per seven
compan-ions reached Auckland, then but a small struggling village,.
where they were to establish themselves as the first
religious community of women to set foot upon New Zealand
soil. 1
'The outhern Cross11 has the following account of
their landing and welcome: 110n Tuesday afternoon a large
assembl was gathered together at Smale's Point to
witness the arrival of shop Pompallier, The wor>thy
gentlel:ian had, however, debarl\:ed in private, and the crowd
was gratified with a sight of the Sisters of Charity (sic),
and several members of the Roman Catholic priesthood. As
the bell was tolling, a rush took place and the church·was
speedily thr•onged by an eager auditory.. Mass was celebrated
and a 11Te Deum" chanted with no inconsiderable ability by
the choir especially considerj.ng the crowded state of the
church and the excitement of the occasion. 11
16
However, in the interests of historical truth, we quote
from a more accurate ace o~--<nt of that memorable day. ( 1 ) 11
Old
residents have told us, 'ere they passed to their reward, that
everyone in the village w.as dmm to the shores of the vanished
Commercial Bay to welcome the nuns, the Catholics being in the
Minority. The newly - arrived ladies were rowed ashore in an
open boat, t ~ land at Smale's Point, at the spot where
nm''
stand the Government Buildings in Custnus Street West. A
Procession was formed. Preceded ·oy the ;hole Catholic Popul-ation up the ti-tree lined track, then (as now) called Albert
Llt,:r.·c~::t:. .• the Sisters in tvros, flanl<::ed by Catholic members of
the gar·rison as guard-of-hon·Jur~ were. followed by acolytes,
the priests, the venerable Bishop· ru1d his coadjutor, Dr. Viard,
S.M. When they reached st. Patrick's, Pontifical Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament was given, hymns were sung and the
l,lagnificat and Te Dewn intoned by the Bishops, priests and
Sisters'. Dr>. Pompallier briefly expressed his gratitude to
God for this happy culmination of his dearest ~vi shes, and
welcomed the Sisters to their new h01ne. rrhe citizens
after-wards extended their greetings in the recently erected
school-room, where refr·eshments were provided for all. The Convent
was a neat little wooden house, the walls lined 'vVi th canvas
and then covered vvi th paper. 11
---·---
.. -1 • 11T.o the newcomers, Auckland presented a noYel picture of
town life. Mother Cecilia describes the town of Auckland
in 1850 (1) as "singular-looking, partly in a valley and
partly straggling up a hill; wooden houses, streets marked,
but sparsely strewn with dwellings; grass ever~rNhere. 11
(2) The European population of the Colon.:r ,then totalled
about 30~000 of whom 35 per cent wePe in Aucl\:land; 22 per
cent in ';'!ellington; 16. 6 per cent in Nelson; 12. 3 per cent
in Canterbury;
7. 7
per cent in Otago and6.
L~. per cent in NewPlymouth. (3) Of the 105,000 Maoris then in the country more
than tv;o-thii'ds dwelt in Auckland while fevver than 2,000 were
then to be found in the South Island. The variety of the
climate, the character of the e6il, and the nature of the
surface-vegetation, largely deteri11ined the distribution of the
population so that, while some fortunate, fertile localities
could support a fairly dense population, others - paPticularly
such as were mountainous or su·bject to heavy rainfall - were
c;_ui te uninhabited. The expansion o:f' Northern settlements .was
difficult because of the hilly nature of the country, and
it took stout hearts and broad backs to clear and burn through
the dense forest in order to link by roads the various
settle-ments, and thus enable out-settlers to carry their
laboriously-procured produce to some convenient centre
1. Annals, Vol 11. op. cit. p. 607.
2. History of N.Z. (Rusden) Vol. 11 Published London 1882.
18 from which it could be exported. Gradually their unflagging
industry and the steady increase in population begot new
c ondi tionf:~ of life throughout the };;nd, so that
J:J!other Cecilia I,·laher could write frm: Auckland
-( 1) "No aristocracy here; all are comfortable. Immigrants are Irish or English."
She gives the following tariff of the necessaries of life
in Auckland
1850;-11GooJ. tea, 1 s. 6d. per pound; sugar, 3d.; beef and mutton, very inferior, 6d.; very good pork; 4d.; butter in summer 1 Od.; and in winter 2 or· 3 shillings; excellent potatoes very cheap. Servants £15 to £20 a year; washer-·women, 2s. 6d. a day; mechanics, 7s. 6d.; labour•ers, 5s. No poverty where there was industry. 11
S~ne years before the Sisters' arrival, (2)Father
Petitjean had opened a schooi 11for the children of
inunigrants11 and with the able assistance of stalwart
lay-men he pioneered the work of education. Hovvever, (3) it
was not until the coming of the Sisters of Mercy, in 1850,
that the education of Catholic youth in Auckland became an
organi undertaking. In 1850 the Sisters took over
Father Petitjean's school, knovm as 11St. Patrick' s11 and soon
they opened another - a sort of secondary school -
dedicat-ed to st. Ii'rancis. Their Schools began with seventy
Catholics eight of whom were war-orphans and fi:Lteen
Pro-testants. They also improvised in the :Lirst week and orphan~
1. "Leaves from the lmnals" Vol. 11. pp. 600-601. 2. "Auckland Times" March 9th 1843 (not signed)
age in which to provide for the children of soldiers who had fallen in the Maori Wars. (1) Their efforts in this field vrere so successful that to-day they have tV'<"o wel equipped homes, the one for• girls at Bowick, the other
for boys at Takapuna. It was not during school hours alone that the S1sters were kept busy. r.Iany (2). immigrants and native women came regularly to be instructed. The natives were delighted with the Sisters, .. any of whom, dur-ing their tedious journey of eight months, had acquired the 'Maori language. A chieftainess came to the convent and wept on seeing the Sisters; at length, she exclaimed:
11I was in a state of suffering until I saw the
sacred girls'. Now I begin to live."
(3) By the end of 1850 the school roll was 158 com-prising
65
infants,75
girls as well as 18 in the Orphanage. The school re-opened in 1851 with 240 children in addition to'14
from the Orphanage and 12 native girls. During this year Sir George Grey visited the Si ers' schools anddescribed them as be-ing "exceedingly well-conducted. 1 '
(l.J.) In 1852 Bother Cecilia reported to Carlow: "We have an orphanage, three schools - an infant
school, one for grown girls and a select or benefit school. We have also a house for· native girls where after being
in-structed and taught everything useful, they leave and go among the tribes and others are taken.11
1 • 2.
3.
4.
"The Sisters of Mercy" (Gately) New York 1931. p. 220. "Leaves fPom the Annals11 Vol. 11. p. 602.
Seventy-fifth Anniversary. (Dr. Cleary) p.
17.
Ibid.THE Ll8RARY
CArrTERBURY UNiV[RSITY C:OLLEG£
20
( 1 ) 11 re is a specimen of a Maori pupil; 11
'One of our native girls has returned to her tribe. She is eight·een, very modest, religious, and edifying in her conduct. She is very talented. After learnin~ to read and write her own language she was taught English, which she speaks nicely, but with a lisp. She reads and writes English well, went through with Arithmetic, and has a good idea geography. At examinations she was often asked to point out remarkable places on the rnap; her knowledge of the equator, zones, etc., would surprise you. She can wash, iron, knit stoclcings, crotchet, n~alce and bake bread, cut out dresses. She helped to malce a rochet for the bishop; can
.
scrub a house and put it in order. As you may suppose, she is regarded with admiration· by all. She has a school of thirty of her· country girls (in the Bush). Some Europeans go to her'. 1
'
As a result of Mother Cecilia's earnest entreaties Carlow Convent opened a novitiate for Auckland and from time to time sent out reinforcements. (2) In 1857 a band of five Sisters about to embark at Chelsea, were visited and encoUJX:lged by Cardinal Wiseman, who was deeply inter-ested in New Zealand. (3) Of the next contingent which arrived in 1860, one member, Mother Bernard, the daughter of
---1. Ibid Page 615.
2. uLeaves from the Annals. 11 Vol. 11. p. 603.
General Sir Sheffield Dixon, and grand-daughter of the sixth Marquis of Lothian, had served in the Scutari Base Hospital and was destined to f'Dund the first convent in \Vellington in July, 1861.
On ( 1) December 8th, 1861, Bishop Pompallier blessed the foundations of the present I\.fother House Mount Street, Ponsonby, and wrote the following to .B1ather Therry of
Sydney:
" ••• The Sisters of Mercy (have) a part of Diocesan
ground of' eighteen ( 18) acres in extent near Auckland t t-self for religious, charitable, and educational purposes, v i"Z.: for their parent convent in the Diocese, for a Hospital, and for their vast establishments of boarding-schools in favoul' of bother races, 'whites and native' of
this countl'Y• The intended establishment, not yet built, shall cost very likely between three and four thousand poUnds •••• To build it) I depend .on the charity of the faithful, and upon the assistance of God in His paternal providence. 11
In 1852 the care of native children was handed over to Dr. Pmpallier' s new· Order c ed the Holy F'ami ly. Thie
Order did not survive the shop's departure, and his niece, who was its Superior returned with him to Frsnce. Yet the existence of this Order is of historical interest for tvvo reasons. (2) It included several members of the Maori race who were undoubtedly first liaori women to take the veil. In that Order also we first meet the noble-hearted Suzanna Aubert who, before founding the Order of the Sisters of Compassion, spent nearly a quarter of a
1 • Ibid. p • 1 9. 2., 11
century among the natives, teaching the children and
assisting the sick and aged.
The Sisters of Mercy vvere devoted to the Maoris from
the very start. ( 1) For Maori women who had to travel to Auckland in order to dispose of their vegetables and
fruit, Mother Cecilia opened a house of hospitality with
the idea of protecting them from dangers to which they
might find themselves exposed in undesirable
boarding-houses. The Sisters were often impressed with the heroic
virtue of the native girls under their care:
( 2) 110nce," writes Mother Cecilia, 11 as our orphans and
native girls were walking on the shore, one of the children clirnbed a rock overhanging the sea; hel"' foot slipped and she fell down s .~me yards, and grasping some
shrubs, scPeamed for help. The·situation was terrific; a
22
priest and a settler looked on shuddering. But one of the native children leaped like a deer down fror.1 the rock and seizing
the almost breathless child, bore hel" in triumph to her companions. 11
Mother Cecilia's constant solicitude for the ~~laoris
awakened in them a lively gratitude and. gave her such
influence over them that a few words from her often made
peace between hostile tribes. (3) On one occasion when
tv1o rival tribes were on the point of attacking each other,
t1other Cecilia sent them, by a friendly native, a flag on
which was worked a dove beari an olive branch under which
was inscribed the message .- "The sacred girls beg the
1 • 2.
3.
"Leaves from the Annals"
11Leaves fran the Annals"
Ibid. p. 607.
Vol. 11 .. p. 615.
23
hostile parties to become good friends. 11
At once both
tribes yielded to her entr'eaties and hostilities wer·e
averted.
During their second decade in the country of their•
adoption the Sisters experienced the horrors of the
devastating, hfaori Wars when they did much to assuage the
sufferings of the distressed and afflicted. ':i'he~',
them-selves, suffered such extreme privations that in a letter
Home, Mother Cecilia remarks that ( 1) there was not a
single pound.in the house. "It was with anxiety c::nd
solicitude that they made out what was barely necessary. 11
The Sisters were often impressed by the gratitude of the
r,:aoris. Whenever the slightest danger threatened their
dwelling, both parties gave them notice and. assured them
that, no matter what happened, the 'sacred girls' would
be safe. ( 2) Once, in the thick of war, a chief at the risk of his life carne into the harbour and calling at the
convent warned the Sisters to be ready to flee if the worst
should. come. He endeavoured to allay their fears by
pledging his word to give them timely notice and to convey
them to secure refuge.
the Sisters' work in Auckland during this time
Cardinal hloran writes:
(3) 11They proved themselves true Apostles to both the
1. "Leaves from the Annals." Vol 11. p. 619. 2. Ibid. p. 608.
'-'uropean and the natives in Auckland and throughout the
~!
10
le Diocese. Amid the Vicissitudes· of that Diocese v;hen ;.issions were forsaken, and when difficulties arose such as seldom have befallen a Colonial Diocese; for that suffering-~)lurch was for years encompassed on every side with the terrors and ravages of savage warfare, and 1, i th all its direful consequences, dissensions, desolation, ruin, and a crushing burden of debt, nevertheless throughout that trying
t~eriod st. Mary's Convent of Mercy in Auckland was a t1>ue fortress of the faith, and handed on to the faithful of the Diocese the tradition of piety and the blessings of religion."
.
.
Eighty years after their ari'ival, on the occasion of
the centennial celebrations of the Order in 1931, the Sisters'
woric was still held in 1 oving rnernory.
( 1) 11'l1he arrival of the pioneer Sisters, 11 says a writer
in 'Zealandia, ·' 11during the episcopate of His Lordship,
Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier (whose memory is still deeply revered by ~he Maori people throughout New Zealand) was an epoch-making event in the social and religious progress
of this c Oil!ltry. 11
"Therein we are not f'orgetful of the fact that our people substantially participated in the benefits thereof -for many of our women-folk o:t' the past, sever•al generations v1ere educated at the convent schools - and the names of the Sisters of l\lercy are held in household reverence in many homes. 11
J:l'or nearly twenty years, l,Iother Cecilia and her
c onmmni ty dwelt in a tottering old house with I,ady Poverty
as a constant companion. (2) Yet when the financial crisis
came in the wake of the Maori Wars, their five convents
were found to be free of debt. However poorly the,y lived9
the culture of good books and good music was always
cherished. Even Vihen poverty obliged them to economise in
food and clothing, the libr.aries were well stocked and
1 • 2.
11
Zeal andia11 (M,. Gaul ter) NoveLiber 18th, 1937. Annals. Vol.·iL op. cit. p.619.
25
every book that was a help to spirituality or education
was ordered from Europe as soon as it appeared. (l)"Buy
every good book for us" appears in lfother Cecilia's
letters home alwost as fr·eq_uently as "send us subjects."
In 1861 the present "Old Convent," St.l:Iary's, Ponsonby,
becrune the Mother House, and Novitiate. For seventeen
years this convent was hallowed by the presence of
Uother Cecilia and is still redolent of her self-sacrificing
spirit. Here still lives in her d~ughters, that
whole-hearted solicitude for the poor, the erring, the sick
and th.e orphaned.
26
CHAPTER 11:l.
MOTHEH CECILIA_ i',lAH}EH - AUCKLAND FOUNDATIONS
of women pioneers of the Catholic Faith in New
zealand the name of ]',[other Cecilia (Ellen) Maher, like
Abou Ben Adhem's name, might.easily lead all the rest.
:1er arPival on these shores, at the head of the little
band of Sisters of Mercy in ·J850, is a prominent
land-marlc of Catholic Pl"ogress in New Zealand. Ellen Maher
was born at ( 1 ) Fl~eshford, Co. Kill<enny, Ireland on
September 13th, 1799, and while yet but a child she
shouldered the responsi.bili ty of mothering her five
young step-sisters whose own rnother treated thera with
unnatural harshness and severity. Thus, even in her own
home, she began heL' career of self forgetfulness and
sePvice to othel"s, showing affectionate sympathy for the
sick ancl afflicted as well as maternal love for the
child. One of her step-sisters died in childhood, the
other· four entered religion and laboured disinterestedly
in the service of the neighbour under foreign skies.
Though Ellen lJiaher was not free to follow her vocation
until she was thirty-nine years old, yet she was destined
to bee ome a foundress of religious life in a new land.
Entering (2) St. Leo's Convent of Mercy, Carlow,
Ireland, in 1833, she was appointed Mistress of Novices
----
---
---1. 11
Annals11 op. cit. Vol. 11. Page 610.
2. 11
Seventy-fifth Anniversary. 11 op. cit. Page 21.
four years later, and with her outstandinz qualities of
mind and heart vras elected S~perior of the Carlow Convent
in 1842. This office she still filled when, in 1849,
she generously answered Bishop p;)mpallier' s appeal f'or
volunteers for his hazardous mission in a land shalcen
by earthquakes and distressed by native wars. r brave
and cheerful spirit counted not the cost, nor did it
suggest to her that on accoui1t of age - she was nmv past
her prime - she might well co:r.unend to someone younger,
the sponsoring of such an arduous underta1cing. Prom
her sev~n yeaPs' experience as Mother Superior in
Carlow, L~other Cecilia well icnew the burdensome cares
attached to that fice, yet from' 1850 to 1868, she bore
28
that ydce unflinchingly, guiding her Auckland c onununi ty
through the toilsome years of furPow digging by "superin- (1)
tending every detail connected. with the pioneering vroPk
of the young cmrununi ty. 11
Pi red with apostolic zeal r3.nd
defiant of danger, ther•e hover•ed about her a radiance of
love and helpfulness as she struggled heroically with the
scantiest resources to secure a foothold in the land of her
adoption. Her (~) ardent piety and high executive ability
so noteworthy in her life in Auckland, nave becone
a treasured tradition. In 1868 she was given a
earned rest from her administrative duties but was obliged
to resume office in 1871. Now, as before in her role as
adrninistrator
or
the affairs of the community, shedis-played a keeness of discerrunent and an ad~ptation of means
to the end, while ·always there was the sam,e compass of wind
the same. good sense. Ever cheerful, even when a loser,
she served as a constant source of inspiration to those
aro,~.nd her. Her overwhelming earnestness, and the spirit
she infused into all with whom she came in contact, .largely
contributed to the perpetuation in the Auckland community
of the real spirit of Catherine. ticAuley. From Mother
Cecilia hel~ subjects imbibed the (1) Christlike spirit that should animate the approach to, and the sol uti ::m of,
the problems connected with the poor, the suffering,
and the neglected of humanity. J?or Maori and vlhi te
alilce, she had the vvorcl of' personal appeal and inspiration,
which particularly suited each case, her exhortations
assuming the form surest to impress the soul she desired
to reach. Having fully demonstrated by her life, (2)
what charity means, what service means, what true progress
means, her owing heart poured out its last words of
hope and consolation on November 25th, ·1878. During
the two days that her remains lay in state in the convent
chapel. she had loved so well, (3) crowds wllom she
1 •
2. Pamphlet C. Gately. op. cit. '1.1 p~e 5.
• S. t~elbourne. Sisters of Mercy - Centenax•y
29
3.
"Zealand· u (G lt ) 1931-W.J. Lockington S.J.had taught as well as numbers of non-Catholics whom she had befriended, carue to pay her their last respects. After Requiem Mass she was borne by ten Sisters to her last
resting place in Mount st. Mary's Cemetery.
(1). If, as scientists tell us1 not a leaf falls to the ground, not a pebble rolls upon the shore without in some 1:1easure affecting the harmony of the universe, what
trer;1endous forces must have been put in motion, changing the cowardice of weru{ness into strength of endeavour, rounding irnrnature impulse into the shapeliness of fixed purpose and keeping alive the fire of prayerful devotion
i~ the dark places of life, by the union of faith and good works which marked the earthly career or lilother Cecilia!
( 2). FOUNJJATIONS SCHOOLfi.
ST. EAR~~-PONSONBY: In a small wooden building,
st. Patrick Is' Hobson Street' Aucl<:land - the first in New Zealand to be designated a Convent - the pioneer Sisters entered in 1850 on the first decade of their activities beneath the Southern Cross. In 1863 the tottering con-dition of this house induced the original band and their first recruits to remove to Mount St.Mary's,.,Pons:Jnby, vthich -has since become pregnant with valued memories and hallowed traditions. The new building included besides the
1 •. Cat:1olic World. (Number lost.)
2. Information received from Auckland Community and from "Zealandia" (Goulter) Nov .. 7th, 1937.
convent proper, a fine boarding and day school for
second-a1·y pupils, an orphanage for girls, and St.Joseph's, a primary
school. However! schCJol accom.mcdat:Lon was still
inadequate and aftel" the forming of the Sacred Heart
parish in
1886
the church was used as a school. Rollnwnbers increased and in
1.893
we find three Si ers of1.:ercy and J.liss Foote teaclline; in the church some
150
pupils. In
1895
Sacred Heart Girl's School was opened, inwhich girls and boys were taught. until
1913
when with theopening of the Vermont Street Schools, the Marist Brothers
too~;: over the boys. In
1929
·at a cost of£36,000
st.r.;ary' s boarding and day schools gave ;Jlace to the
present superstructure in Spanish Mission style of
archi tecttu•e so attractively girt \Vi th neat lavvns and
friendly t:r·ees. The traditions of many generati01l2 of
successful pupils combined with the most modern equipment
for the irnpar•ting of a many sided education by trained
teachers, several of \Yhom are University graduates, are
marked features of st. Mary's College. The annual successes
of the pupils in University and other public examinations
v.;herein they hold their own with the public schools and
:::alleges of the Doraini
on,
together with the results whichare achieved by its pupils in the exam.i.nations held by the
two leading London Colleges of 1~usic - Trinity College and
32
of the high standard of wo:r'k maintained thl~oughout St. Mary's
college. In addition~ / the pupils are taught to put into
practice the i als of Catholic education which Cardinal
Nemnan has epitomised as
follows:-"I wish the inte ect to range with the utmost free-dor:1, but what I am stipulating for is, that they should be round in one and the same place, and exemplified in the same person. I vvant the same roof to contain both the intellectual and moral discipline. 11
A junior Mercy Guild by its activities keeps the school
children in touch with the needy, and an enthusiastic Old
Girls' Association unites ex-students who joyfully look
f o rv1ard to their ra-union$.
1 85Q_z_ 8'-". PATRICK' 8 AUC;~LANl): T H , the first school in
v;hich the Sisters taught, gave place in 1880 to the new·
convent and schools erected by Archbishop Steins, S.J. on
the te now occupied by the l!,ai'mers' Parlcing Area, corner
of Hobson and Wyndham Streets. Thousands of scholars
conned their daily tasks in this school which in time gav:e
way to the new st. Patriclc' s, a handsome brick building
erec d on a new site and adorned with the wooden crosses
of "Old St. Patrick's," which i t st rears aloft as it
dail~r gathers in its three • hundred pupils. To this primary
school is. attached a registered Technical School in which
pupils pursue an efficient post-primary course.
j_862, ST. JOHN'SLPARNSLL: A little cottage, to which the
33
";er·red for years as the first convent school hex•e.
st. John's was opened in 1862 by S.M. s, S.M. de
Chantal and
S.M.
Ignatius. The present attendance is round1
oo.
1 861.+. Joseph's,.Onehunga~ Here S.M. Philomena,
--3 .1.!. Veronica and Sister r.larie opened a school for girls in in 1905 b were admitted. The roll is
263
1866.
st.
Cecilia I ~Q_tahuhtU This school, founded bys.J.f. s, S,I,i. Philomena and S.I.I. Scholastica ,, has now a daily attendance of about 215. In
1874
the ~)is ters openedst. Thomas's, Thames, which in 1911 they gave over to the
Sister~ of St. Joseph.
1882. st. I.Iary' ~Q._ramandel__;_ The re site funds for the
bui of this convent were collect by Rev. Fathe:t:>
;,;ahoney, 0. F. M., V. G. The first Sisters to go there were
S.M. Gabriel, S.Ivl. Barbara, S.B. Alphonsus. When nurses were badly needed in Coromandel, Sisters from this convent
attended the public hospital daily~ anQ when the new public
hospital was built there, in 1896, the Sisters took temporary
charge and lived there until the opening of their
own hlater Hospital in 1900.
1894.
st. Joseph's 0r2hanage, Trucapuna: On their arrivalin New Zealand in 1 850 the Sisters relieved the r~rarist
Fathers of the responsibility of looking after eight
orphans, children of soldiers who had fallen in the Northern
established st. Joseph's Orphanage at Talcapuna and in 1300
·Nhen the boarding-out system was begun, an industrial school was opened. Fire destroyed the orphanage in 1923 and
in the following year -~t was rebuilt, and reopened by
Archbishop Cattaneo and Lord Jellicoe. By 1927 the original eight orphans had given place to hundreds and a new feature, that year, was the admission of bo·'s of the parish to the
day school.
·1896. st. Leo's, Devon12ort.: 'l'his school, called after the gl:'eat parent-house Carlow, vVaB opened by S.M. Peter,
S.l.I. Columba and G.l.I. Stanislaus with a roll-call of seventy children. The present roll is 125.
1902. St •. Cather~ne's, Waihi: This, the first Mercy Convent opened in the present century in New Zealand, had for its
"
original staff four Sisters, S.M. Francesca, S.M. Ray:mond, S.M. Frances and S.M. Stanislaus. It has six Sisters on the staff now and a roll of 100.
1903. Te Aroha, OUr L~ of Lourdes: From the outlying, scattered dairy-farms of this district two Sisters, Sister Mary Patrick and S.M. Columba, gathered. in thirty children with whom they opened this school in 1903. The roll has now risen to 188. In 1904 the Sisters opened St. Dominic's Convent, Gisborne, but in 1915 this convent was talcen over by the Sisters' of St. Joseph .
.1~ Holu: Cr'oss 2 EJ2som: Three oisters, S.M. Benignus,
s.J1l. Borrorneo and s.r,L Cecilia began work here in 1921 but
the building was burnt to the ground in 1928 when the sters
were lent the presbytery by the late Rev. T.J. O'Byrne. The
con vent vtas inunediately l"ebuil t and has now a roll of 1
Desides the work of teaching and the visitation in their
homes of the sick poor, the Sisters also visit the Auclcle.nd
I nfi rrnary.
1)22. Iiiount Carmel, l1iilford: With the intention of
pro-viding a rest-house women this house was opened.
Hovv-ever, it has so far been used as a school for boys under
twelve. rrhis foundation i.s of particular inte:t•est because
the property adjoins the farm and home ad of Thomas and
Lary Poynton, whose daughter, !iirs. Shea, gave them to the
Sisters.
1223.
St. Br·ide' s, Avondale: From a begin11ing uad.e b;J fiveSisters, S.M. Berchmans, S.M. I1~onica, S.Ivi. Josepha,
S. Li. Aloysius and S. £,1. Mal achy 'l'li th eighty-tvYo childl"en
this school has increased its st to seven Si and its
roll to 200. Three sters who serve Holy Cross, Henderson,
reside here •
.:!3.£2..! ....
...:?t ar of the Sea OrphanB£_~_:_.tJ.ov{j.ck: Prorn 1913 the''Pah11
had been used by the Sisters as a girls' orphanage
but in 1925 the girls moved into "Star of the Sea~ a new
building, par"t of' which was of vrood. The v10oden part was
destroyed by fire in 1929 a:nc. the follovving year saw the
erection of the new block together with the beautiful
who so loved the orphans.
1926. r.;onte Cecilia College, Hillsborough H.d. ~ Onehunga:
The residence knovm as the "Pah, 11 a building historic
interest, was purchased by the Sisters in 1913 and used as
an orphanage until 1925, in vFhich year, it was turned into a
boarding school for bo;{s too young for t'.n ordinary college.
The children of the surrounding district were also admitted
to th~ day school.
1 927. St. Iviary 1 s, Pawarenga :. The natives of this district
';rere visited by Rev. Pathers Servant and Baty S.M. as far
back as 1839. Four Sisters, S~l.I. Anselm, S.J·,~. J:,Iarcel
s .. M. Helen and s.r,I. Cyril founded this school for the
36
natives in 1927. The number attending is 92. 11'rhe ( 1 ) Sisters
conduct several schools for the native children, one at
Whang e, an almost inaccessible point in the extreme north
of the North Island, where the little Maoris endear
them-selves to the Religious by their docility, intelligence and
eagerness for instruction .
.:l_ll?__.___Holy Cross, Henderson: This school as has been stated
is serv by three Sisters who reside at St. Bride t s,
Avondale. The roll is 115.
( 2) Hosni tals: As the care of the sick is one of the cherished
works of the Order of Mercy, th· sters eagerly longed for
·---·----
- - - ...·---·
1. Gately op. cit. p. 221.
2. Supplement N.Z. Herald Feb. 23rd. 1938, (not signed.) 11
the day vvhen they would be able to open a hospital in
Auckland. At last the time seemed ripe for such an
under-taking and on November 7th, 1900 the Sisters purchas a
large private residence in Mountain Road, on the northern
slope of r.;ount Eden. With M.lii.IGnatius as Superior, and a
staff of three Sisters and five nurses, the hospital
entered on its career vii th eight patients, an6. after twenty years enduring labour• was qu1 te free from debt.
Then the need for greater aoconunodation was felt and soon a
two storey brick building 'Nas added. By 1925 this too
proved inadeccluate for their vrork and to comrnemorate the
Silver Jubl e a fine, large residence was co:r.verted into
a convent and chap and named "St. Ignatius11 after the
hospit foundress. As the training of the Sisters was of
vi t importance, several, vvho showed aptitude for the
nursing profession, were sent to the leading institutes in
Australia, St. Vincent's Hospital and the Mater Hospital,
::lydney, where they specialised in several branches of
hospital nursing. The thorough training gained there formed
the firm foundation for the strikin,:?; success and exc
tion-al speed with which they have pressed onward for the
thirty-nine years of the present century. After the passage
of legislation enabling approved,privately-owned hospitals
to train nurses the Sisters pursued the irlea of' building a
new hospital of the most modern style. For this purpose
38
liiother M. G::mzaga and I.lother M. Agnes, nursing enthusiasts,
were sent to America to see there all m:JclePn hospitals and
appliances. As the Sisters travelled through the United
states and Canada they visited each hospital of note,
in-cluding the famous J..Iayo Clinic, and culled from each, wiclel,
knowledge and experience. As a Pesult of that visit there
now stands on the slopes of T;Iount Eden, a magnificent !':later
I'Hsericordiae Hospital r1ith every conceivable convenience.
This towe:cing edifice can accornmodate one hunclr>,::cl and
twenty patients and is c Olllhilete with the world's latest and
best in hos: i tal appliances as well as x-ray rooms, private
rooms a-la-Llode ancl pleasant public wards. In these vrar>ds the
Sisters delight to lavish on the poor that loving car>e
and attention inculcated by their revered foundress. The
hospital is well staffed with twenty-three Sisters,
fifty-six nurses and very full administrative ancl domestic staffs.
The two foundresses, !Jother
r..r.
Gonzaga and Eother I·,I. Agnesare still in charge of the institution and have grateful
memories of the sustained progress ·;rhich it has made. On ( 1) Jan. 1st, 1937 the Mater Misericordiae was officially
re-gistered as an apprQVed, private hospital with Training
School capa.ble of training nurses. Ever solicitous for the
happiness and '<7ell-being of the nurses, the Sisters erected
for them in 1938 11
a c omf'ortable, even stylish home" to
vrllich they retire clurin2 their hours of rest and leisure.
As testimony of the high esteeo in which the Sisters are
held ·by the med.ical pr•ofession we have the following tribute from hlr. Frank Macky, President of the Auc~land
Division of the British Uedical ~ssociation:
(2) "The :~Jiste:r·s have eEn•ned the esteen o:C the pro-f'essi. n thr'oughout the \Vorld. They have earned it in an unlimited sense for their enterprise, for their readiness always to
zo
to t~~ last degree beyond the limits of a meagr•e pur:3e in the provision o:t' hospital acco[-Lmodati:~Jnand facilities. 'rhey m•e to be admired for• their :faith,
and :f'oc:· t~~e c '):'Viction that 3 job rrell clone will earn its
o·.ir. r'ertard. ''
I,U;:evvise the ~.lister's are loud in their• praise of ti1e
weH:ber•s oi' the n,:;Ci.ical lH':Jfession. 'l'hey :eealise that the
public warQs, in which doctors generou~ly atten~ in an
honorery capacity; frequently r/i tness scenes of noble self
sacrifice and sublir::e, .unostentiltious endu:r.'ance \J.nequallec_
elsewhere; showing as Pope says that:
11
In Faith anc_ Hope the world \7ill disagree,
But all I.Iankincl's concer>n is Charity."
39
G!lA.FVEH 1 'T.
·
-r;
G ,_,o r:.
~arly in 1850 Bishop Viard ~ith five !~rist 7athers
and ten Brothers left Auckland for the ne~ly-created
Diocese of ~rellin~ton ',\'11ic:: hr:d been entrust to the
Dociety of =~ry. Shortly (l) after his arrivnl the shor1
directed the building of a ~athedral, presbytery and
convent, and petitioned Aucl:land and I!elbourne for Sisters
of :.:ercy to teach the children v:ho ·were _y;rov:i up '::i thout
an? education, religious or secular. Sisters could then be
only JITOtlised, and l)fmd1ng their .arrival he sta:"'fed tJ:e
schools •.:i th four your:n; ladies '\'.'ho ;::ere desirous of becol"ling
nun.:;, anc1 on Gepte:1ber f3th, 1850 OTJener1 .St. r:ar:r's, the :tst Catholic Girls I f.~chool' in '.'fellinr:;ton. ( 2) mhe
two-acre sitE~, the town be , on v:!lich the convent \vas
built y,•as the f't o:" 7oord r·ctre, \\'hose daughter
BUbse-quently beca:1e a 1.1ellinc;ton f)ister. of l ~ercy. In 1861, the
fai thfu.l :·:other Cecilia l:ep~c her Dronise and sent the
Bishop three volunteers frau ./:..uol:land, 8. E. Augustine
·who had served at Gcutari, ''nd
f;is ter ~'arie, a tulant, to establish tht.."l first convent
in 1dellin[ston. ( 3) ':'he tmm then extended ~'lainly alons the
beach aYlC. held a roimlRtion of nome f.i ve hundred, of whon
1. "Zealn.ndia" L'ov. 18th, 1£3'7. (lr. Goulter) 2. ".Annals!! o;;. cit. }'a-:;e o34.
40
only forty were Catholic adults, while those in the
out-lying districts, "dwellers in the pathless woods11 on account
of bad roads or tr~acks, were almost completely isolated from
their town neighbours. However, despite the small p·roportion
of Catholic adults, the Sisters took charge of over (1) sixty
children in the primary grades and forty-four others
in-eluding t·wenty boarders, ready to start at the High School.
Though by this time the natural wealth of the country vras
'becoming known and appreciated, the Sisters found their
first twelve years in Wellington the leanest imaginable.
They experienced the chill meagre and uncertain
re-sources, the cramp of quarters so strai teneci that one ( 2)
roop1 served as infirmary, community room, music-room and
parlour, and the utmost anxiety on account of a staff
numerically inadequate to cope 'iVi th the denanrl3 of ever
increasing numbers of pupils. Yet, they pressed on, seeking
help from diverse sources until, in 1873, the intensity of
their plight wrung from Lather :rA. Ursula Frayne of
l'.:elbourne two of her community - t~Jother 1.1. Cecilia Benbow
and L:other I:l. Xavier Butler - destined to put St. Hary' s
on its feet. Heartened by the potent enthusiasm· of the new
Sisters the little group struggled on and slowly, but steadil;,\
the tide turned in their favour.
1. · "Zealandia11 Nov. 18th, 1937.
2. "Annals11 op. cit. p.
636.
Better housing and
41
more spac,ious class-roorr.sbecaJne a necessity; so in 1876
( 1 ) Mother Cecilia Benbow left for> Europe in search of teachers
nnd funds and returned t·.:ro years later VIi th sixteen Sisters and £2,000. She lost no time in direciing the building of new prenlises and before the year was out the present convent
sroup, st. Uar~rr sr Hill Street, had been erected. Prom its
inception St. llary' s High School has stood for the best in
higher education; it aims at the ~raining of young women
for efficiency in things intellectual and social but its chief care is the development of character according to the
ideals of true Catholic woman~1ooc1. (2) Its first pupils were
truly a picked band, children of ioneers v7hose own (3)
in-tellectual pursuits had, perfo1·ce, to give way to sustained
effort in order to wr·est a livelihood from virgin soil. V.li th
these pioneers (l.i.) 11
education was almost a passion11
and we
are not surprised to find their daughters travellj.ng to
school in a sailing ship and living on ship's biscuit and
salt pork vvhen contrary winds made the journey longer than
they had anticipated. So perilous were these journeyings
to and from sc~wol, that fwmetirnes on their return after the
holidays, the children found the ;")lster·s praying for their
souls as for those lost at sea. It was not any catalogued
number of courses which the school professed, that induced these
1 •
2.
3.
4 ..
11 Ze alanc1ia11
Ibid. C.H. B.E. C.H. B.E.
Nov.. 18th, 1937. (M. Goul ter .. )
pioneers to expose their children to such risks, rather was it the conviction that, side by side with intellectual and artistic culture, v.'ent the pe1~s1stent leavening of the
moral character. ~ore up-to-date facilities in ace ornrnodati on and c lass-roow equipment call for attention and in (1)
1930 at a cost of £20,000 the new college in Hill street, was upreared under the c:t.irection of t:other M. de Sales Goulter, wl1o for thirty years had served ~s Principal of
the High School. This new St. Uary's College with its ex-cellently equipped class-room, library, studio, dress-t:alcing room and. large assembly hall furnishes ideal
en-virorunent for the pursuit of all branches of secondary work. (2) The roll for last
year
was 62 boarders, 154 secondary,From small beginnings at St. Lary's of 1861 on Golder's Hill the Order of Uercy has radiatect. branches throughout
the Archdiocese and Suffragan Uees.
(.3) GUIWJ<'OHD TERRACE, THOHNDON, 1 851: Teachers
4,
pupils 134.This flourishing parochial school for girls dates back to twenty-eight years before the State system of
education was set up in New Zeal1md. In 1861 the school was taken over by the Sisters and to-de.y there is fo;_md within its 'Nalls the thil'd generation of its first pupils. Singing
·1. "Zealandia11 Nov. 9th, 1937. (l:i.Goulter.)
2. Australasian Catholic Directory 1938. Pub. St. Mary's.
