From the cloisters

By Rosemary Easton

Here’s the latest contribution from the Rose City Writers – a non-fiction piece from ROSEMARY EASTON…

‘From the Cloisters’

I was young when I encountered Sisters of the Good Shepherd Religious order at saint Aiden’s Orphanage, Bendigo, Victoria. My family were their guests when we celebrated the consecration of my uncle as Bishop of Sandhurst. They were kind and gracious women, rather shy and to me, strangely dressed in long white habits.

The order was founded by Saint Mary Euphrasia in France with the goal of assisting women and children in most need. The order came to Australia in 1863. To raise funds the sisters set up laundries which were staffed by the delinquent girls in their care. Orphaned children were educated, taught various skills and prepared for life. These activities finished in the 1960s.

My secondary education was at a College, owned and operated by the Sisters of Mercy, Ballarat, Victoria. This large establishment was also the novitiate of the order, founded by Catherine McCauley in Ireland. Its aim was to educate children and care for impoverished and sick families. The order spread throughout the world, establishing schools and hospitals, example All Hallows College and the Mater Hospital, Brisbane. Nowadays there are only a few sisters teaching or nursing, but their establishments continue the Mercy Tradition.

Sister Mary Catherine, Gertrude Healy, a world -famous violinist, was a member of the Mercy Order at Ballarat. She entered religious life after touring Europe, playing in the British Symphony orchestra finally being offered the position of conducting it. She declined and returned home and became a nun. She taught music to many, stringed instruments, singing and conducted choirs. She maintained a fully functional orchestra within the college and her choir was in high demand for liturgical celebrations.

I trained as a teacher and my first appointment was to a Mercy College in Colac, Victoria. I was the first Lay teacher to be employed by the sisters. Their guidance, care and encouragement strongly influenced my successful teaching career.

Being a young lady, the sisters may have had their eye on me as a potential candidate for the nunnery. Another teacher and I were invited by the Reverend Mother to accompany her and two sisters to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral Melbourne to witness the ceremony of receiving postulants (first step in the sisterhood) to the novitiate The ladies wore bridal gowns, received a habit and white veil which they donned and returned in procession to the altar for further liturgy, finally prostrating themselves at the altar as a sign of their commitment.

At this time, nuns never dined with the laity. On our return from Melbourne, the sisters pulled off the road, retrieved a basket from the boot of the car, passed food to my companion and me. They huddled around the back of the car to eat their lunch. Five cars pulled up with drivers asking if they could render assistance, thinking the poor nuns were stranded with car troubles. It was a great source of amusement to all.

I moved from Colac to Mentone, taking up a position as teacher at Kibreda College which was administrated by the Brigidine Sisters. It was a much bigger school with mainly lay teachers. The sisters were friendly. We were left to our own devices and developed our own expertise. The sisters weren’t progressive with change and while other orders moved more with the times, the Brigidines at this time remained more traditional.

My next foray was with the Presentation Order. They were more progressive, shorter habits, lighter veils, more aware of the world and had pleasant interaction with lay staff. One very talented sister produced a brilliant musical with senior students which was preformed at the Dandenong Town Hall to great acclaim.

Germaine Greer was a student at Gardenvale Presentation College, but the move to change during her studies could have started her radical thinking. I don’t know what influence the sisters had on her viewpoints.

It was during this period that there was a movement within the Church, Vatican Two, which brought about these changes. Some sisters questioned their vocation, and several left the order taking their place in communities.

At this stage I left the Catholic system and worked at a Technical College at Clayton in Victoria. This was a boys’ school staffed mainly by men with a few female teachers. This experience in a male dominated school proved very beneficial in later years.

As a contrast, my next school was Saint Hilda’s, Southport, a girls’ school staffed with lay teachers. This was quite a good atmosphere although the students were aware of their financial privileges.

I returned to the Catholic System and was appointed the first lay principal at Assumption College, Warwick, formerly administrated by the Sisters of Mercy. Here I was a lady in her mid-thirties, educated and employed by the sisters in the role of being in charge! There were four sisters and several lay teachers. It was a wonderful experience. The sisters accepted me with love and sincerity which made my administrative role simple. By then the sisters were less confined and integrated into the community. We had very few problems and there was a spirit of camaraderie with staff and students.

After two years the boys’ and girls’ schools amalgamated, and the staff now consisted of nuns, Christian Brothers and Lay Teachers. This was a difficult time as there was a different culture with the boys, shy girls and the staff not always experienced with the two genders. It took several years for the transition to work, mainly because the appointed principal found his role difficult and there were probably too many former bosses on staff, four!

On one occasion, I invited the staff to my home to celebrate an event. One teacher, male, drank far too much, fell asleep at the table and woke up in time to process to the dessert table. To keep upright, he threw his arms around one of the nuns announcing that he and sister were going steady! Gails of laughter, the nuns very amused, not surprising as they had a great sense of humour.

For some years there was a presence of sisters on staff, but their numbers dwindled. A nun was sent up from Brisbane to finalise business with the convent and the nuns finally left. The convent was sold and is now known as the Abbey of the Roses.

We missed the sisters and their friendship. They moved from Warwick with very little fanfare and to this day their contribution to the town has never been acknowledged. This is a sad inditement as the wonderful women had such a positive influence on the town.

Over time, some sisters have received negative publicity, some deserved, but I never experienced anything untoward and can only speak highly of the sisters I encountered.

I continued teaching in a lay situation but look back with affection and gratitude to very solid, caring and supportive communities of sisters.

God bless them all.