presentation sisters qld

• Organisation

Presentation Sisters, Society of Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Presentation Sisters were founded in 1775 in Ireland by Nano Nagle. Their website gives some history of the Presentation Sisters’ work in Australia. They came first to Richmond in Tasmania in October 1866, to Victoria in 1873 and to New South Wales in 1874. In 1900, the Presentation Sisters went from NSW to the Western Australian goldfields and July 1891, another group came directly from Ireland to Geraldton.

The Presentation Sisters and Christian Brothers have had some historical links because of the inspiration drawn by the founder of the Christian Brothers, Edmund Rice, from Nano Nagle’s approach to religious life and work, and the practical support he gave to the establishment of their convent in Waterford, Ireland. In July 1941, four Presentation Sisters formed a community at St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Farm School Tardun.

The Presentation Sisters kept a Community at Tardun until 1966.

In his book, Enduring Struggle , Tardun ex-student David Plowman writes (p.255) that the Sisters of Nazareth were the first females at Tardun and after them came the Presentation Sisters. These were Mother Laurence (Ryan) and Sisters Aidan Coady, Philomena Ryan and Patricia White. They were followed in 1942 by Sister Peter, Sister Benedict, Sister Evangelist, Sister Paschal, Sister Bridget and Sister Margaret Mary to help with the boys from Clontarf who were evacuated to Tardun. The Presentation Sisters were asked to take charge of ‘the domestic arrangements in connection with the school, such as cooking, taking care of the sick, superintending laundry, clothes mending and the Chapel.’ Professor Plowman also records (p.259) that the Sisters at Tardun led an ‘uncomplicated life’ enjoying simple recreations such as Sunday films, walks and concerts put on by the Tardun students. They had an annual holiday in December at Geraldton with other Presentation Sisters. Apparently, it was their habit to have a ‘Sunday drive around the property and to neighbouring farms.’

In 1948, the Presentation Sisters also established a primary school at the Pallottine Mission at Tardun, a few kilometers from St Mary’s Farm School.

Related Entries

Related organisations.

• Pallottine Mission, Tardun (1948 - 2004) Presentation Sisters, Society of Australian Congregations of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary established a primary school at the Pallottine Mission, Tardun. Date: 1948 - 1949
• Tardun Farm School (1928 - 2008) The Presentation Sisters had a working community at Tardun. Date: 1941 - 1966
• Sisters of Nazareth (1888 - current) The Presentation Sisters came to Tardun Farm School when the Sisters of Nazareth left to work at Nazareth House in Geraldton. Date: 1941 -

This page was written by Debra Rosser, last updated 16 March 2012. Sources used to create this entry:

• Plowman, David, Enduring Struggle , 2003 View Publication Details

http://presentationsociety.org.au/about/our-history/

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• Newspapers & Gazettes
• The Longreach Leader (Qld. : 1923 - 1954) View title info
• Fri 24 Mar 1950 Prev issue Next issue Browse issues
• Page 9 Prev page Next page Browse pages
• GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF PRESENTATION SISTERS IN QUEENSLAND Prev article Next article Browse articles

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• Abstract The Presentation Sisters this week in Longreach celebrated the Golden Jubilee of their arrival in Queensland: fifty years of primary and secondary education that has grown from a small beginning of 80 pupils in a church-school in Longreach to nearly
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The Longreach Leader (Qld. : 1923 - 1954), Fri 24 Mar 1950, Page 9 - GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF PRESENTATION SISTERS IN QUEENSLAND

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Type of place

School, Residence (group), House, Institutional / group housing

Victorian 1860-1890, World War II 1939-1945

Sisters of Presentation Convent

This is an image of the local heritage place known as Sisters of Presentation Convent

Sisters of Presentation Convent Zoom current image

This house was constructed circa 1885 for bank manager James Gibson as a marine residence. It became his permanent residence after his retirement in the 1890s, called ‘Culterfel’. The property was sold to John Henry Hart in 1911, a grazier who also used it as a holiday and retirement residence. Transferred to his trustees with power of sale in 1929, it was sold in 1935 to Archbishop James Duhig. Duhig already owned ‘Wyvernleigh’ across the road and established the St John Vianney parish there in 1930. After alterations ‘Culterfel’ became home to the Presentation Sisters and their school, which opened in 1941. It continues to serve as the Convent of the Sisters of Presentation.

Also known as

L89_RP33032 ; L90_RP33032

Local Heritage Place Since — 1 January 2004

Date of Citation — March 2015

People/associations

Criterion for listing, interactive mapping.

City Plan Interactive Mapping

The appeal of Manly as a bayside suburb grew in the 1880s with the subdivision and sale of the 151 acre ‘Manly Beach Estate’. The estate was also known as the ‘Wyvernleigh Estate’, after a residence which had been constructed there. Bank manager James Gibson was the first registered purchaser of allotments in the estate in 1882, and his purchases included this site, fronting Dallie and Waterloo Streets (now Oceana Terrace and Kooralgin Street). He added surrounding blocks to his holding in 1883 and 1885. During that time Gibson also had a marine residence constructed on the site. By 1885 the Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser was calling attention to a sale of Manly Beach Estate allotments ‘in close proximity to the marine residence of our well-known townsman, James Gibson, Esq.’ Gibson’s house was included in the 1887 estate sale maps, opposite ‘Wyvernleigh’.

Gibson’s house ‘Culterfel’ was one of the first seaside holiday houses constructed in Manly. As manager of the Ipswich branch of the Bank of New South Wales, Gibson and his family primarily resided in Ipswich, but took their holidays in the Manly house. The demand for bayside holiday houses accelerated in the late nineteenth century, as wealthy Brisbane residents took advantage of the opening of railway lines to Brisbane’s bayside suburbs and an economic boom, to create vacation and retirement homes. Most of this development occurred at Sandgate and Shorncliffe, with growth at Wynnum and Manly following in the twentieth century.

Gibson had built ‘a mansion worthy of the site’, according to an 1887 advertisement in the Queensland Figaro and Punch . ‘Culterfel’ faced the bay, with verandas to take advantage of the view. It was slightly less elevated than ‘Wyvernleigh’ but its position was still considered ‘one of the best on the shores of Moreton Bay,’ with an ‘unobstructed and extensive’ view.

Gibson and his wife became the permanent residents of ‘Culterfel’ on his retirement in the early 1890s. After the death of his wife in 1898, Gibson removed to Brisbane and leased the Manly property, which included stables, a coach house and gardens. ‘Culterfel’ briefly became a boarding house in 1909 and 1910 before Gibson’s death in 1910. The property was then sold to John Hart, a Blackall grazier. Hart followed Gibson’s example, initially using ‘Culterfel’ as a holiday residence but later retiring to the property with his wife. The Harts took an interest in the local community, joining clubs and providing the house to host the Manly fete in 1912 and Green Island Scheme meetings in 1920. The house was also used as security for a significant loan of £50,194, which Hart took out in July 1920. The mortgage seems not to have been related to ‘Culterfel’ itself; Hart owned large holdings in western Queensland and the mortgage may have been associated with these. In the late 1920s the Harts removed to a residence in Ascot. The Hart Estate at Manly was offered for sale in 1927, and Hart died a year later in 1928.

‘Culterfel’ and its land, including lots 64 to 69 and 89 to 90, was purchased by Brisbane’s Roman Catholic Archbishop James Duhig in December 1935. Following his appointment as Co-adjator in 1912 and Archbishop in 1917 Duhig planned immense and unprecedented growth within the Church. Over one hundred Roman Catholic churches were constructed in the Brisbane Archdiocese between 1912 and 1928. As part of this growth scheme Duhig purchased large old estates in and around Brisbane, modifying the houses and adding to the sites churches, schools, convents and presbyteries. These included ‘Folkstone’ in Bowen Hills (Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church, 1925), ‘Mount Margaret’ in Wynnum (now Nazareth House) and ‘Wyvernleigh’, across the road from this property.

Manly was ripe for Duhig’s investment, with a growing population but a shortage of Catholic places of worship and education. Wynnum was the nearest worship centre for Manly’s Catholic residents, with a church for Sunday services and the Sisters of Mercy’s convent school providing non-secular education. It was not until Duhig purchased ‘Wyvernleigh’ in 1925 that a church was proposed for Manly. In 1930 the St John Vianney parish was established, ‘Wyvernleigh’ was demolished, and a presbytery erected on the site in 1936. ‘Culterfel’ also played a role in this progress. Although title to ‘Culterfel’ did not pass to Duhig until January 1936, the Archbishop appears to have taken possession of the house early, with ‘Culterfel’ becoming home to the parish priest, Rev Father Butler, in 1930. The lower level of ‘Culterfel’ was reportedly used as a mass centre pending the completion of the presbytery on the former ‘Wyvernleigh’ site. The house was also used for the parish’s social gatherings, holidays for poor children, and a wedding breakfast was held on the veranda in 1931. However, the parish’s use of ‘Culterfel’ appears to have declined over the course of the 1930s, after the presbytery and a church hall were built on the ‘Wyvernleigh’ site.

In 1940 ‘Culterfel’ was remodelled to provide a seaside convent for the Presentation Sisters. The alterations, which cost around £1,700, are likely to have been undertaken by architect Frank Cullen. Cullen trained with Hennessy, Hennessy and Co and ran an architectural firm with Desmond Egan from 1937 to 1941. He was also the Archbishop’s nephew and was responsible for the design of many interwar and postwar Catholic buildings, including the presbytery for the ‘Wyvernleigh’ site (1936), alterations to Mount Carmel Convent at Wynnum (1940), the second section of the Villa Maria Hostel (1940) and extensions to St Joseph’s Nudgee College (1950s).

The property was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese Trustees on 14 January 1941. Twelve days later, the St Philomena’s Convent and School was blessed and opened by Archbishop Duhig. It was home to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation (or Presentation Sisters), who had arrived in Queensland in February 1900. The order focused on outreach, particularly education, and the Sisters established schools and convents in Longreach and central Queensland. Schools in Brisbane followed, including St Rita’s Convent School in Clayfield which opened in 1926, and the Church of Christ school in Graceville in 1937 (now Christ the King Catholic Primary School). A Catholic school for

Manly was foreshadowed by Duhig in 1930, and one of the order’s Queensland pioneers, Mother Ursula, helped select the Manly site in September 1940. Oral history suggests that the Sisters had moved into the Manly convent in December 1940, and the Catholic Leader of January 1941 stated that the Presentation Sisters were seeking school enrolments. The Sisters conducted the school from the convent site, opening with just over 80 students. The school was renamed St John Vianney’s Catholic Primary School and moved across the road to a purpose-built schoolhouse in 1953.

The Convent and its land were transferred to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation in Queensland in 1959. The coach house, which stood along the Oceana Terrace frontage, was converted into a laundry and offices. A garage, chapel and aged care accommodation were added to the site in the 1970s and 1980s; these buildings are not included in the heritage overlay. The site continues to be owned by the Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation in Queensland.

Statement of significance

Relevant assessment criteria.

This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:

Criterion A

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of the city's or local area’s history

as one of the first large holiday residences built in the Manly area in the nineteenth century.

Criterion B

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of the city’s or local area’s cultural heritage

as a rare surviving example of a large nineteenth century holiday and retirement residence built in Manly.

Criterion G

The place has a strong or special association with the life or work of a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons

as it has served as the Convent for the Presentation Sisters since 1941.

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Entry on the Queensland Heritage Register, Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church [601585]

Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Historic Titles

Brisbane Courier, Catholic Leader, Courier Mail, Longreach Leader, Queensland Times Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, Queensland Figaro and Punch, Western Champion, 1883-1945

Brisbane City Council, Building Cards and Registers of New Buildings, 1936-1941

Brisbane City Council Department of Works Detail Plan No W 44

Brisbane City Council, City Architecture & Heritage Team, heritage citations

Brisbane City Plan 2014, aerial photographs 1946, 2012

Estate maps, Manly Beach and Wyvernleigh, 1883, 1887

History of the Presentation Sisters in Australia (website)

History of St John Vianney’s Catholic Parish (website)

History of St John Vianney’s Primary School (website)

Rev A Nolan, History of the Manly Parish (notes from the South Moreton Bicentennial Historical Collection)

Mervyn N Beitz, From Mangroves to Moorings

Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)

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The History of St Rita's College Our College

St rita’s college.

The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (pbvm) first came to Australia in 1866 and the first of the Order arrived in Longreach, Queensland, in 1900.

Stanley Hall, a one-storey residence at Clayfield, had been built on the traditional lands of the Turrbal and Jagera peoples by John Forth in 1885. The residence was home to Herbert Hunter from 1888 to 1910 during which time the second story and tower were built in 1890. From 1911 to 1926 the property was owned by Edward Blume and his family.

In 1926, Sr Alice Kennedy, pbvm and Sr Mary Madden, pbvm purchased Stanley Hall along with four acres of land surrounding the residence to establish St Rita’s College, not really knowing how they would manage to pay the asking price of £22,000, but discerning that the purchase was the correct action to take. St Rita’s officially opened on 27 September 1926, and on 4 August the following year, 1927, St Rita’s College was registered as a Secondary School (Boarding and Day). Initially boys and girls were enrolled from Kindergarten to Grade 3, and girls only from Grade 4 to Senior.

In deciding what name for the school to take, the Sisters revealed a snippet of dry Irish humour when they chose St Rita’s as the name, for St Rita of Cascia is the Patron Saint of impossible causes. The challenges experienced by the Presentation Sisters in those early years when they took on this large debt with little means of paying must have worried them as being an impossible cause. But, through God’s grace and the exceptional hard work of the Sisters over many years, and, no doubt, through the intercession of St Rita herself, our College has flourished.

Stanley Hall has served as the living and praying quarters for the Sisters, as a dormitory for the boarders and a classroom for the students. In 2009, the year of the 225 th anniversary of Nano Nagle’s death, the Presentation Sisters moved from Stanley Hall and the heritage-listed building was converted into a senior administration area.

Timber from the living quarters of the Sisters and boarders was retained and remodelled into furniture for the staff lounge area. This meaningful preservation extends the heritage of the Presentation Sisters and the foundations of St Rita’s College for many years to come.

St Rita’s today educates 1200 girls from Years 5-12 and continues the rich tradition of social justice instilled in the charism of Venerable Nano Nagle and the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Academic and vocational excellence is valued and each girl is encouraged to make the most of their gifts and realise their full potential.

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Congregations

Wagga wagga.

• Western Australia

The Presentation Sisters of Wagga Wagga have a rich history, dating back to their arrival in 1874. The founding Sisters, Mother John Byrne, Sr Evangelist Kelly, Sr Paul Fay, Sr Xavier Byrne, and Sr Stanislaus Dunne, sailed from Kildare and Mountmellick convents in Ireland. On 29 May, they were escorted into town by a large number of residents of the district.

For their first two years in Wagga Wagga, the Sisters lived in the presbytery and taught in the presbytery’s stables until Mount Erin Convent was built and opened in 1876. During this time, the Sisters were actively involved with the people living around them, including the poor and immigrants. They not only taught in their school, but also offered support and opportunities for learning and gathering to the entire community. However, with the move to Mount Erin, Bishop Lanigan imposed enclosure within the grounds of the convent, limiting their direct involvement with the broader community.

Despite this, the Sisters continued to extend their mission to other parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and even Papua New Guinea. Responding to invitations from parish priests and bishops to open or take over schools, and as a result of changes to mission focus and the ministries of individual Sisters, the Sisters expanded their work to address the needs of the communities they served.

In the years following Vatican II, the Sisters began to explore Nano’s story, leading to the expansion of ministries to other works that Nano had been engaged in with her service to the poor, such as working with those in prisons, hospitals, and the homeless. Advocacy for structural change also became a focus of mission.

Today, the Sisters continue to engage in a variety of ministries, including adult education and spirituality, supervision, counselling, facilitation of groups, pastoral work, support of asylum seekers and refugees, historical research and writing, presence with those who are homeless, disadvantaged and aging, and prison ministry.

Their commitment to addressing the needs of our planet, alongside social justice and advocacy for those on the margins continues.

Contact Information

Congregation Leader: Margaret Barclay pbvm Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 2 9643 7999 Office: “Kildare” 86 Cambridge St Berala Postal Address: PO Box 83 Berala NSW 2141