The Sisters of the Good Samaritan and St Scholastica’s College joined together for a historic celebration recently to mark the 125th anniversary of the Sisters’ arrival in Glebe and the laying of a foundation stone for the school.
By Debra Vermeer
A special liturgy at the College on 16 October brought to life the history, which saw the Sisters move from their convent in Pitt Street, Sydney, to Toxteth House in Glebe in 1901, paving the way for the school community to join them on the site the following year.
Current students from St Scholastica’s College played the roles of significant characters being interviewed about key moments in the history of the site, beginning with two First Nations students honouring the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who first inhabited the lands around Glebe.
The story then shifted to tell of how, on 16 October 1901, in the presence of a small crowd of Sisters, clergy, friends and relatives, Toxteth House was blessed by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Patrick Moran, as the new Mother House for the Sisters, with the blessing of the foundation stone for the school taking place that same day.
The Sisters of the Good Samaritan were founded in 1857 by Archbishop John Bede Polding OSB and their Mother House had been in Pitt Street, Sydney, where Polding had acquired disused government buildings for a women’s refuge, initially run by the Sisters of Charity and lay women, and then by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
When a decision was made to locate Sydney’s Central Railway Station on the Pitt Street site the Sisters moved to Toxteth House, which they purchased with government compensation.
In a column published in the October edition of The Good Oil, Congregational Leader Sister Catherine McCahill SGS said the 125th anniversary celebration was a significant occasion.
“The past is important because it shapes us; we can learn from it,” she wrote. “However, I hope that standing in this moment in time, we can look ahead. The light from the past illuminates a path in front of us. I hope that all of us might see the light from the past showing us the way forward.”
Catherine said that, over the years, the site had served as a centre for many aspects of Good Samaritan life, “a community or home for our Sisters, aged care for our frail and infirm Sisters, a Teachers’ College, a primary school (phased out), girls’ secondary school, boarding school and Good Samaritan Education offices. From here, the Sisters have been sent to many parts of Australia, Japan (1948), the Philippines (1990) and Kiribati (1991)”.
The Principal of St Scholastica’s College, Laetitia Richmond, said the anniversary celebration helped bring to life not only the history of the Glebe site but also the value of ‘being a good neighbour’ as expressed in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
“It was a wonderful day,” she said. “I think sometimes we just take for granted living on the same piece of land together with the Sisters. This was a good opportunity to focus on what it means to be neighbours here and what the history of this place is, and what the impact is on the students that are currently here.
“It showed them that they’re part of a long thread of a story that involves not only past students but the Sisters and past staff. It was a great opportunity to celebrate that.
“My hope was that the girls really enjoyed meeting the Sisters on the day and hearing their stories in person about their connection with this place and why St Scholastica’s is so important to them. And I hope that left a little imprint in their character and created an awareness that they’re the people to carry on the next part of this story, and that they pass it down.”
The Head of Mission at St Scholastica’s, Rita Armen, said the anniversary celebration was a collaboration between the Sisters and the College, with Sister Elizabeth Brennan SGS the principal creator of the liturgy, which featured prayer, song, dance, and an imaginative role-play of interviews with key figures from the past and present.
“We really wanted to include students from all year groups, and there was a lot of thought put into the selection of students and staff and the Sisters, to ensure that there was representation from both communities,” she said.
“I think there was a sense of responsibility as well because it is a shared site, and we are very privileged because the Sisters still live here and we are invited to a lot of things with them, and we’re just right next door, so we really are neighbours. And that neighbourly aspect of getting to know one another and sharing our events, brings the charism to life for our students and staff, and that’s what we were celebrating.”
Leading the liturgy was former Congregational Leader and past student of St Scholastica’s College, Sister Patty Fawkner SGS.
“It was lovely to see these impressive young students, confident and poised and engaged, telling the story of the history of the Sisters and the College at Glebe,” she said.
“It was wonderful to see some of the ex-students, and teachers and ex-principals who I’ve known over the years and to reconnect with them. A number of Sisters came, some who’d been students there, and one or two who had taught there. It was a simple ritual, but really beautifully done. It was a day of joy and, I think, appropriate pride in 125 years of sustained history on that that site.”
Patty, who attended the College for Years 11 and 12 in 1967-68 and was elected Vice-Captain, said she very much enjoyed her time there as a student.
“When I arrived there, they had wonderful teachers and forward-looking nuns on the staff who were a real inspiration. And it was a rich mix of girls coming from around Sydney and beyond. It was a very rich environment,” she said.
Later, after joining the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, Patty found herself back at Glebe over the years, attending the teachers’ college, living there while completing a university degree, and then working there during her time as Congregational Leader, while living in a cottage nearby.
“So, a lot of my time has been spent on that site at Glebe,” she said.
Also enjoying the celebration was former student Sister Cecily Pullen SGS, who attended St Scholastica’s College from 1943-47.
Cecily said it was a much smaller school when she attended. She recalled being given a half-day holiday when the College enrolment reached 100 students.
“I enjoyed my time as a student there very much,” she said. “In those days all the nuns were teaching and so we got to know them. They were very good teachers and very friendly and approachable.”
Cecily said she received a bursary to attend St Scholastica’s, which she considered to be a great educational opportunity.
She said it was “undoubtedly” the influence of the Sisters teaching at the College that prompted her own vocation to become a Sister of the Good Samaritan and a teacher in their schools, including one year at St Scholastica’s.
“I loved teaching and I’m sure it was the Sisters’ example at school that encouraged me in that,” she said.
For Sister Julie O’Regan SGS, the 125th anniversary brought back happy memories of her time teaching and caring for boarding students.
Julie taught religious education at the College from 1977-80. She had pastoral responsibility for the newly arrived boarders in Year 7 and was on staff when the first lay principal was appointed.
“I absolutely loved the teaching staff I was with, and have caught up with them over the years,” she said.
“Being just newly professed when I started there, I was feeling my way in community, on the staff, and in the boarding school. But I did enjoy the boarding aspect. A lot of the new girls were quite homesick, so it was just trying to help them feel comfortable and create a home away from home for them.”
Sister Marcia Magill SGS taught at St Scholastica’s in 1962 and ’63 but her memories go back to her time at the Good Samaritan teachers’ college where, in 1961, she and others were tasked with helping to set up a garden party to celebrate the 60th anniversary of being on the Glebe site.
“It was a big celebration,” she said. “We did a lot of work for it. I also attended the 100th anniversary in 2001 and now the 125th anniversary celebrations.”
In her first year of teaching, in 1962, Marcia not only had to learn the ropes of the profession but also adjust to a major overhaul of education in New South Wales. Known as the Wyndham Scheme, it extended high school from five years to six years, launched a wider range of subjects, and saw the introduction of the School Certificate in Year 10 and Higher School Certificate in Year 12.
For Marcia, who had previously trained as a radiographer, it meant speed-learning a new curriculum, with Science now a compulsory subject incorporating Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology and Astrology. It was so new that no textbooks had been printed.
“That was a challenge for everyone. There was a lot to learn so that we could teach what was now required. But they (the students) survived and I survived, so we got through it,” she said.
Marcia also lived at Glebe at various times over the years, both during her teaching career around Sydney and later working at Polding Villa, supporting ageing Sisters.
Another highlight of the anniversary liturgy was students role-playing interviews with prominent former students, including Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, television producer Penny Chapman, and Papua New Guinean lawyer and diplomat, Dame Meg Taylor.
Following the event, Senator McCarthy, who is a Yanyuwa and Garrawa woman and now Minister for Indigenous Australians, sent her congratulations to the College and the Sisters on 125 years at Glebe.
“My journey with St Scholastica’s began when I was just 12 years old. The Sisters and the wider school community gave me so much support, encouragement and guidance during those important formative years,” she told The Good Oil.
“I will always be grateful for the opportunities I was given, including the privilege of serving as School Captain. The encouragement and belief shown in me by the Sisters and everyone at the school helped shape the person I am today.
“This is a wonderful milestone and one that the entire school community should be incredibly proud of. I am so grateful for the lasting impact St Scholastica’s has had on my life and the lives of so many others. I congratulate you all on this special anniversary and look forward to seeing the school continue to inspire and support generations of young women into the future.”
Year 12 student Chloe Maguire is one of those young women and, as part of the liturgy, she shared her experience of life at St Scholastica’s, including the importance of the College’s Benedictine tradition.
“It is this Good Samaritan charism – recognising our neighbour in everyone and responding with generosity, justice and compassion, that defines Schols and has shaped a community where every person has the opportunity to belong and to flourish,” she said.
She reflected on how she discovered belonging over her six years at the College, and “how community is something we create together”.
“Standing before the Sisters, I felt deeply grateful for 125 years of their presence in Glebe,” she said later. “The highlight for me was seeing everyone come together, with every girl wearing the 125 Year ribbon, a generous gift from the Sisters and the school, in her hair.”
Fellow Year 12 student Lucy Carr said that being part of the anniversary celebrations was “such a special and meaningful experience, knowing we were contributing to a significant moment in the history of St Scholastica’s College”.
“It was a privilege to have a role in the liturgy and to help celebrate the legacy of the Good Samaritan Sisters, whose Benedictine values of community, hospitality and service continue to shape our school today,” she said.
“The highlight was being able to reflect on how generations of women have contributed to the Schols community and recognising that we are now part of that ongoing story. It was a beautiful reminder of the importance of honouring our past while continuing to live out our values into the future.”
