In 1892 four Sisters of Mercy from Albury were invited to establish a foundation at Wodonga. On the 6th February 1892, Mother M. Aloysius Tierney (1864-1948), Sr. M. Gabriel Comins (1868-1945), Sr. M. Celestine Coyle (1871-1857) and a postulant Miss Mary Jane Conlan (1874-1939) (Sr. Mary Joseph) travelled by horse drawn cab from the Albury convent to a rented house in Hume Street. The parishioners of Wodonga were anxious for the nuns to have their own residence, and on the 19th March 1893, the foundation stone for St. Joseph’s Convent was laid. The Convent was officially opened on Sunday 13 August 1893. From these early beginnings the Sisters of Mercy guided the development of many Wodonga children through more than one hundred years at St. Augustine's school in Wodonga. The St. Joseph's convent was incorporated into changes in St Augustine's school in 2001. These items are important because they depict the Sisters of Mercy who were for many years responsible for the implementation of Catholic education in Wodonga, Victoria.Three black and white photographs of Sisters of Mercy who served at St Joseph's Convent in Wodonga and taught at St Augustine's School in Wodonga.Names under each photo sisters of mercy wodonga, catholic education wodonga

Until 1892 the first Catholic School in Wodonga, a simple wooden skillion which was erected behind the sanctuary of St. Francis’ Chapel, was overseen by Dean William Tierney of Beechworth, Father Michael O’Connor P.P. of Chiltern and his successor Father Charles Van Der Hayden. The lay teachers, Miss Fagan and Miss O’Leary. In 1892 four Sisters of Mercy from Albury were invited to make a foundation at Wodonga. On the 6th February 1892, Mother M. Aloysius Tierney (1864-1948), Sr. M. Gabriel Comins (1868-1945), Sr. M. Celestine Coyle (1871-1857) and a postulant Miss Mary Jane Conlan (1874-1939) (Sr. Mary Joseph) travelled by horse drawn cab from the Albury convent to a rented house in Hume Street. The parishioners of Wodonga were anxious for the nuns to have their own residence, and on the 19th March 1893, the foundation stone for St. Joseph’s Convent was laid and consecrated by Bishop Stephen Reville on behalf of Bishop Crane of Sandhurst. The convent was designed by architects Gordon and Gordon and built by Fraser and Wilson of Melbourne at a cost of £1000. Construction was expected to take three months. The Wodonga and Towong Sentinel of Friday 24 March 1893 included the following description of the Convent. “In the front is a handsome verandah, with an oratory on the right and a community room on the left. Entering the door, the reception and music rooms are met with on opposite sides, and there are five cells in succession at the back of the reception room, whilst on the other side of the passage the reverend mother's cell, the refectory, pantry, and kitchen are found. At the extreme rear of the building there is a linen room, a bathroom, and a servant's room, There is also a verandah on either side of the convent. The height of the walls is to be 12 feet and 13 feet”. The Convent was officially opened on Sunday 13 August 1893 St Joseph’s Convent became part of St Augustine’s school in 2001.These images are significant because they capture the history of an important religious building in Wodonga, Victoria.Three black and white photographs of St Joseph's Convent in Wodonga in the early 1900s.sisters of mercy wodonga, st joseph's convent wodonga, st augustine's church wodonga