STORIES
The Sister’s Day
In 1880, a sister's day began early and ended late. It was filled with devotional, teaching, domestic and administrative duties. A typical day would go like this:
5.25am
5.40am
6.00am
7.00am
7.45am
8.00am
9.00am
12.30pm
3.45pm
4.00pm
4.30pm
5.00pm
Tea
7.45pm
9.00pm
10.00pm
Rise at the sound of a bell rung by a 'Caller'
Angelus, prayed in Choir, at the sound of a bell rung from the steeple
Lauds, chanted alternately by two choirs of nuns standing opposite sides of the chapel
Celebration of Mass, offered by a priest of the parish
Breakfast - a simple meal of porridge, bread, butter, tea. Eaten in silence
Household duties in convent, supervision of duties in boarding school and orphanage
Classes in school, orphanage, parish. Care of the sick
Lunch - a light meal of bread, butter, jam, tea
Vespers, chanted in the chapel by two choirs
Dinner - one course only, with sweets served on Sunday
Recreation in Community Room or garden
Matins, chanted in the chapel by alternating choirs. Spiritual reading
A light meal of bread and butter. Silence
Recreation in the Community Room
Night prayers, led by Superior in the chapel
Lights out, except with permission otherwise. Profound silence
The Bell Family
Have you ever wondered how places get their names? What is the connection between family names and places? One such connection is between Bells Beach and Bellbrae.
The Bell family story is an interesting one; John Calvert Bell and Frances Ellen Bell (both from prominent western district families) had five children - Clara Irene Stewart Bell, Naomi Frances Woolbrook Bell (Mid), Honor Calvert Otway Bell (Queen) and (Mary) Kathleen (Girlie) Bell, along with their two brothers Harold and John (who died in infancy). The family were residing at Calder Park, Mount Duneed in 1894 - we know this through the admissions register where Honor was enrolled on 20 January 1894. Clara and Naomi were both enrolled the following year in 1895. Given the distance of 20km between Sacred Heart and their home, it is to be expected that they were at least weekly boarders.
We know that her mother Frances died in 1901 at Miss Murray’s Private Hospital in Myers St, Geelong and at that time, John moved his family to Torquay. Their property included over 3000 acres between Torquay and Anglesea, the house Addiscot and over 700 acres of coastal land. By this time the girls were sent to board at Loreto Abbey, Mary’s Mount. Clara, Naomi and Honor enrolled from Feb 1900, followed by Kathleen in 1908. John married Frances’s sister Irene in 1908, who had been helping to care for the children since Frances’s death. Clara and Honor continued their association with deep catholic faith, with both entering the Loreto Abbey Convent, Clara in 1909 becoming M. Aluigi and Honor taking M. Andrew as her name in religion in 1916.
When Harold was killed on the battlefield in Belgium in 1917, Mother Gonzaga Barry wrote an extremely heartfelt letter of condolence to his father John Bell, showing a level of friendship and respect between M. Barry and John.
What became of the other Bell children? Naomi married an Irish Sea Captain in 1919 and sadly died in Dublin in 1920, from complications after surgery. Kathleen (Girlie), the youngest, stayed on at Addiscott with her father and stepmother Irene. When Irene died in 1938, the house was sold and Girlie moved to a tin cottage, without any electricity on the 400 acres of remaining land. She died in 1978 having become practically a recluse after her parent’s death.
Loreto Mary’s Mount has a wonderful collection of letters and ephemera from the sisters to each other. Amongst the collection is this wonderful hand written program for Distribution of Prizes at Sacred Heart School, December 17th 1896 and a great photograph of two of the Sisters outside the Bell Town House, of which now only the dining room remains as the Chapel at Grace McKellar.
Addiscot Homestead, Bells Beach
photo: Chris Barr
James Hayes
James Hayes was the first caretaker and groundsman at Sacred Heart College from at least 1863. He not only looked after the grounds, buildings and animals but also cared for the sisters and acted as a chaperone, driving them out in a buggy to visit and care for Geelong’s poor, sick and imprisoned. He lived on site, with his wife Ellen and sons, including Michael who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a groundsman at the Convent in the 1880s. The continued family service followed with Lawrence, Michael’s son also taking up the mantle in the early 1900s.
During a recent literature survey of newspapers and articles relating to the Convent and daily College life, this article turned up. It is from The Ballarat Courier, November 3 1880.
Scene at the Geelong Convent
For some days past rumours have been abroad that a large portion of the grounds attached to the convent of Our Lady of Mercy, at Newtown, was to be claimed by a stranger just arrived from Queensland. In some quarters the rumour caused a little excitement, from the fact that it was based on the assumption that the claimant had a sound title to the ground—which has been fenced in, and now forms a portion of the convent enclosure. The claimant is a man named Thomas Needham, sixty-two years of age, a general dealer by trade, and a married man, with a wife and six children.
He has lately arrived in the colony from Rockhampton, and, according to his own statement, has come to Geelong for the purpose of residing on an allotment of ground facing Aphrasia street, and lying between that thoroughfare and the wall of the convent kitchen. The land claimed, according to Needham, consists of about a quarter of an acre, having 66 feet frontage to the street named by a depth of 450 feet, which goes so far back as to take in nearly 2 feet of the stone building forming a portion of the kitchen at the convent Mr Needham, who appears to be an old resident of Newtown, states that he obtained the title to the land through buying it from a man named John Jones when in Melbourne twenty-three years since. The matter appears to be rather mixed up. Jones borrowed £10 from a person James Rook, who resides in Aphrasia street. After a time Needham advanced to Jones the sum of £10 to release the deeds from Rook, and then gave Jones £30 more for the land, obtaining the deeds for the property, with a bill of sale written on the back of the document. Needham claims that he once resided on the land, which was sold to Jones by the New South Wales Government before the separation took place between the two colonies, and that he left Victoria sixteen or seventeen years since. He values the land in dispute at £50. As there are always two sides to a question, it is now necessary to give the other one.
In the first place the land is not worth more than £15; instead of being 450 feet in depth it is only 450 links; thirteen years since it was fenced and, and has formed part and parcel of the convent grounds; Needham cannot produce any title; the paper he holds being at most merely an equitable mortgage, and in fact he has no claim to the property. The solicitors are Messrs Taylor, Buckland, and Gates for the Roman Catholic trustees of the convent premises, and Mr W. Higgins for Thomas Needham. Acting on the advice of his solicitor, Mr Needham on Monday forenoon proceeded with a tent and other material, and together with Thomas Barber, of Malop Street east, scaled the convent fence and began erecting the tent on the coveted ground. They had scarcely commenced operations when James Hayes, the groom and gardener at the convent objected to the presence of the intruders, especially as to Barber's hand in the affair.
Evidently acting under legal advice also, Hayes, armed with a dangerous looking bludgeon, commenced a vigorous attack on Barber, who, acknowledging the unusual warmth of his reception, beat a hasty retreat across the fence and Needham, fearing similar treatment, played " follow the leader" in a style which would have done credit to a first-class steeplechase horse. Having discomfited the enemy, Hayes hurled the tent and materials into Aphrasia Street, and from a commanding position on the dividing fence invited a renewal of hostilities, but the sight of a broken-handled spade in his right hand caused the offer to be rejected. During the afternoon Messrs Barber and Needham loitered about the outside fences of the convent ground, and Hayes guarded the disputed land with a determination to sacrifice his blood, if necessary. We understand that the attack will be resumed by Messrs Needham and Barber. During the scene there was considerable excitement about the convent grounds, and there was a great stir in the neighbourhood.
Sadly, there are no further reports of what happened next and Thomas Needham seems to have dropped his case, not wanting a repeat of the hostilities and disappears from history. Thomas Barber, who was a strange choice of companion for Needham, goes on to spend a life of infamy and crime, with numerous reports of him appearing before the courts for running a disorderly house, handling stolen goods and forging documents, winds up being expelled from a Geelong benevolent asylum for misconduct in 1904. He dies soon after.
James Hayes goes on to live to 100, dying at his residence in Aphrasia Street in 1920. The descriptions in the Geelong Advertiser describe his funeral with hearse, two mourning coaches and a number of conveyances, and his pallbearers were local councillors and town elders.
James’s connection to the Sisters of Mercy and Sacred Heart continues to this day with descendants in five families attending the College.
The Life of Sr Lucina
Monica Bernadine McMaster, known to the family as Mona, was born on 30 June 1898 at Grand View in Moyston. She attended the Lake Bolac primary school completing her certificate of merit; this is where she also won a prize for an oil painting which showed that even early on Mona had a talent for painting.
After leaving state school, she remained at home for some time before she was enrolled at Sacred Heart College as a boarder in 1918, she had a couple of aunts attended in the 1870s. Here she passed grade 2 in her pianoforte exams and won first prize for painting. Her teachers considered she had an exceptional gift for oil and watercolours.
One of Mona’s oil paintings of a man in a boat still hangs in the Bishop’s Parlour here at Sacred Heart – the man in the painting bears a striking resemblance to her father and relatives have since shared that Mona painted this from a photograph she had of her father.
It was during this time that Mona decided to join the Sisters of Mercy and take up the habit, but her father would not give his consent until she had waited a year, which she did. Then satisfied that Mona did indeed have a vocation, he gave his blessing. She entered the noviciate at Ascot Vale and was professed in December 1922.
Monica’s name in religion was Sister Lucina. Sr Lucina began her teaching career at North Melbourne, going on to become principal at several Mercy primary schools and was on the staff at Sacred Heart College from 1956 to 1974, the last two years part time. She is remembered fondly for teaching geography.
In 1974 she started her time as researcher for the Sacred Heart archive, writing a lengthy history focussing mostly on the19th century beginnings of the College. After retirement from teaching Sr Lucina kept herself busy caring for residents at Vincentian House and visiting elderly in their homes. She also attended a local state school weekly for 2 years to give religious instruction to Catholics attending there.
Sr Lucina died at the Convent hospital on 26 March 1996, aged 97 years.
Sr Lucina’s nieces and great nieces have gone on to attend and continue the connection with Sacred Heart. Recently a donation was brought to the archives of Sr Lucina’s paints and palettes donated by her niece Bea Lipson. These were used by Sr Lucina to illustrate and decorate family bibles and prayer cards for the Sacred Heart piety stall of which we have some examples already held in the archives.
Sister Mary Raphael Sheehan
Muriel Margaret Sheehan, was born on 4 March 1905. One of five children, her siblings were John, Patrick, Veronica (Vera Ryan) and Louis. Muriel attended the Academy of Mary Immaculate, between 1915 to 1919. In 1927, she went on to study for the Bachelor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and her degree was conferred 8 April 1934.
Muriel entered the Sisters of Mercy on the 25 May 1935, was professed on 24 January 1938 and finally professed on 20 January 1944, taking the religious name of Mary Raphael. Sister M Raphael taught music at her alma mater, Academy of Mary Immaculate, Fitzroy and Our Lady of Mercy, Heidelberg before coming to Sacred Heart College, Geelong in 1956.
Sister M Raphael was known for being both passionate and strict with her music students. Not practicing before a piano lesson could see the unfortunate student pushed out of the music room with their books thrown after them. She took on the running of the canteen and often during lessons would have to leave to attend to deliveries of bread rolls or supplies. At exam time, Sr M Raphael would bring students to the oratory to pray and then pin a relic of St Anthony on them to wear as spiritual aid for success in the exam. In 1988 she celebrated her Golden Jubilee of Religious Profession and at a small gathering she was presented with an anniversary clock from her family. Former students performed a programme of songs as thanks for Sister’s talents, passion, care and the giving of her best to her students over many years.
In 1990, Sr M. Raphael retired from teaching after a remarkable 44 years of contribution to the musical life of Sacred Heart College. Sister M Raphael died at Geelong on 19 March 2002 and is buried in the cemetery at Sacred Heart College, Geelong.
Her anniversary clock was donated to Sacred Heart College and is now sitting proudly on the Principal’s mantlepiece in their office. Thank you to Sr Eileen Daffy and Carmel Edwards for their information on Sr Raphael. Special thanks to Karen and David Kiss for their gift of restoration on the clock.
The Lending Library
The Sisters of Mercy are credited with having begun Geelong’s first lending library in 1870, six years before the Geelong Free Public Library opened.
Under the supervision of Mother Gabriel Sherlock, it operated from a room at the rear of St Catherine’s School, and public access was from a ‘grassy lane leading to Retreat Rd’. One former member recollected how, '...the room was always very crowded, but everyone was very quiet....‘The Lady Sherlock’, as everyone used to call her presided. She took no time to find our names in the members book, and knew exactly where to replace any returns or take down any book called for. She could give information on any subject.'
The number of books is said to have exceeded 2000; many were acquired from Baggot Street in Dublin, and the founding sisters had most likely brought some with them. Some would have been used for teaching and study. Boarders were charged for their use, as it was not until 1889 that they began purchasing their own class books.
Over the years books were lost or destroyed but over 1000 remain, shelved in their original cedar bookcases in the upper corridor of the North Wing of the original Convent building.
Postcards from Lourdes
Found in our Archives recently were some lovely postcards to Rev. Mother from Alma.
While not giving a year, they are dated for July 29th ‘Lourdes’ and August 4th ‘London’. They describe a visit to Lourdes with a party of “forty five and seven priests from England’, as well as a visit to the Spanish Frontier, where they were prevented from crossing the border by French soldiers.
The identity of Alma, was unknown but there were some tantalising clues. In Mercedes for 1939, there is a section titled ‘S.H.C. Abroad” with a collection of extracts from letters and reports by students, teachers and Sisters while overseas. On page 52 there is a report of a visit to Devon by Alma O’Brien, a past student and ‘tireless’ worker for the Past Pupils Association. On page 48 of Mercedes of the same year, there is a description of a visit to Lourdes by R.C. Preece, who had three daughters at SHC at the time.
In 1939, Mother Antonia Nolan was Superior of the convent and community at Newtown, and given the description of the visit to the Spanish Frontier and known historical events at the time, it is reasonable to believe that R.C Preece and Alma O’Brien were on an arranged tour of Europe at the same time. We may have found our Rev. Mother and Alma!
Olga Brandon
Olga Brandon who later became a celebrated stage actress in the late 19th century, has a link to the current Sacred Heart College through the then existing Our Lady’s Orphanage operated by the Sisters of Mercy.
She was born Olga Lazarrevich on 21 December 1863 in the Victorian gold-mining town of Redcastle. Her father Spiro was Croatian and her mother Victoria Schinkle was Danish. Supposedly ‘kidnapped’ by 25-year-old Spiro in 1857 when she was 15, Victoria married him that year. After mining various goldfields, they moved to Redcastle.
Around 1865, the family settled in Geelong, where Spiro worked as a fisherman. Olga now had three brothers and two sisters. Spiro accidentally drowned in Corio Bay in 1867. With no income, Victoria committed her children to the orphanages Our Lady’s at Sacred Heart and St Augustine’s respectively. Olga was four, her sisters Annette, nine, and Adrianna, ten months. For five years, they slept in dormitories upstairs (now Rooms 108, 109 and staff room) in the south wing. She and other orphans ate meals and may have had some schooling downstairs (now reception and main staffroom). Victoria went to work in New Zealand, only returning in 1873 and marrying American mariner Albert Wagner. By 1875 the reunited family had settled in America.
In 1878, Olga married Los Angeles photographer Valentine Wolfenstein; she was 14, he 32. They divorced acrimoniously three months later and Olga returned to school. In San Francisco in 1880 Olga, 16, married bookkeeper Herman Brandenstein, 25 (from whose surname she became Brandon.) The couple moved to New York in 1884, where Olga established her acting career on Broadway, mainly in comedy and melodrama.
Attractive and vivacious both on and off-stage, 21-year-old Olga was a social magnet for male admirers and lovers, doing little to discourage either. Inevitably, she and Herman separated in 1886 when Olga left for England, to eventually find her real fame and fortune on the London stage. Olga regularly acted in various genres: comedy, melodrama, and serious drama. She attained the pinnacle of her career in 1890, with her universally acclaimed performance at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre as the mysterious miracle-worker Vashti Dethic in Judah, opposite Edward Willard in the title role. At this time, Olga was one of the highest paid actresses in England.
Olga continued to perform, but illness from tuberculosis lead to a decline in engagements. Olga’s final performance was in 1901, followed by five years of increasing poverty until her death on May 8 1906, aged 42.
