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

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

An A4 size spiral bound publication detailing the work of John Gordon and his sons William and Charles. It includes a speech transcript as well as articles and images.John Gordon was born in Chelsea, London in 1826. He and his wife Eliza migrated to Australia in mid-1853. They settled originally in Sydney where John practiced his profession of carpenter. By 1868 John was advertising himself as an architect. In May 1876 he and George Sheppard of Wagga announced they had entered into partnership, adopting the name "Gordon and Sheppard". John drowned in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga on the 19 December 1880 when aged 54, leaving a wife Eliza, two sons William Joseph and Charles Goodwin and a daughter, Ada Martin. In 1881 William and Charles established the firm Gordon & Gordon. Gordon & Gordon's practice initially covered southern Riverina, however by 1890 it was very Victorian orientated having offices in Melbourne, Corowa, Rutherglen, Mansfield, Benalla, Euroa, Wangaratta, Albury, Seymour and Wodonga. This publication documents many of the buildings designed by William and Charles Gordon, including images of many of them. Some of the more well-known ones were St. Patrick's Church in Albury, Fairfield villa at Brown’s Plains for G F Morris, the Wodonga Shire Hall of 1890, A. Schlink's Store in High Street, Wodonga, Old Tallangatta Shire Offices and Butter Factory, St. Joseph's Convent, Wodonga, "Cambourne" and the de Kerilleau Homestead.gordon and gordon architects, building albury & wodonga