Sister Carmel Mary Hogan

Sr Carmel Mary Hogan, was born at North Carlton on 15 July 1913 and baptised Matilda Ellen at St Brigids Church,North Fitzroy. The second eldest in a family of eight, Carmel received her primary school education at Sacred Heart School, Preston and finished her secondary schooling at Prahan Technical College.

On leaving school she worked as a student teacher with the Good Samaritan Sisters at St Brigids School in North Fitzroy. She felt drawn to teach young children about God and because of her patience and kindness to them, she seemed eminently suited to religious life.

On 11 February 1935, t the age on twenty-one, she entered the Good Samaritan Novitiate, Pennant Hills as a postulant and made her first profession as Sr M Albertus on 10 January 1938. She completed her professional training at St Scholasticas Teachers Training College in 1938.

Her teaching appointments were as follows:

St Brigids Primary School, Marrickville
St Francis Xaviers, Wollongong.
1943 St Bedes School, Braidwood.
1945 to 1955 In Queensland- at Lourdes Hill, Bulimba, Cooparoo, Enoggera and Townsville.
1956 In Victoria- at Epping, North Fitzroy, West Preston, St Raphaels Central School, Thornbury Central School and Korumburra.
1974 New South Wales - at Newton and Marrickville

Sr Carmel retired in 1978

In 1982 she went to live at West Wollongong, then to Wollongong in 1988. In July 1992 she took up residence at Polding Villa.

In 1995, after a stay at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, she recuperated at Our Lady of Loreto Nursing Home at Strathfield. She went to Bethany Nursing Home at Eastwood on 7 October 1995. On 16 October 1995 she transferred to Villa Maria Nursing Home, Wollongong, so that she could be near her sister, Angela, and other members of her family. Carmel loved Wollongong and Villa Maria and enjoyed the view of the sea which she could see, in all its changing moods, from her bedroom window.