Click on images to enlarge
1899
23 September 1899
Writing of the establishment of the Sisters of Mercy at the time, the local chronicles under date November 6, 1874, says:- "On Wednesday last the nuns, six in number, arrived here about 6 o'clock in the evening, having been driven from the railway station at Wallerawang by the Rev. J. O'Donovan (now Monsignor O'Donovan), whose expertness as a 'whip' is so conspicuous that we feel constrained to say the ladies in question could hardly have been commit ted to the care, during their travelling tour, of a more able driver. "' The nuns, five in number, were under the supervision of the Rev. Superioress of the Bathurst Convent, Sister Ignatius, a sister of Most Rev. Dr. Croke, Archbishop of Cashel. The premises temporarily used as a convent and school were situated in Court-street, in the west end of the town. The building, which was owned by Mr. S. A. Blackman, J.P., was a single-storied brick cottage of twelve rooms, with a verandah in front, having a neat little railing, and another verandah behind. "With one of the ablest masters in the Western, district (Mr. C. Kevin)," writes the same local authority at the time referred to, "in command of the Catholic denominational school, and such zealous and experienced teachers as the nuns to impart instruction to the feminine sex, it may truly be said that the educational requirements of the Catholics of the Mudgee district are well looked after, and although the consciousness of having achieved a good work and an approving conscience are the best rewards for having done so, it is a matter of simple duty to state that it is chiefly owing to the persevering efforts put forth by Father O'Donovan that a convent has been established in Mudgee. Many a clergyman less fertile in resource, less energetic in character, would fear to attempt an undertaking involving so many serious considerations." The writer at the time bears testimony to the zealous and praiseworthy efforts made by Father O'Donovan, and Miss O'Donovan (afterwards Mrs. James Loneragan, whose death was so recently recorded), and a contingent of Mudgee young ladies, to render the new home of the nuns attractive. As years rolled on, Monsignor O'Donovan laboured hard towards the erection of a convent suitable to the growing needs of our Catholic people. His efforts have been crowned with success, and the fine convent-schools, and handsome church and presbytery stand out as an enduring monument to the worthy efforts put forth by Monsignor O'Donovan and the laity. In the company of his reverence and the Rev. Mother we were shown through the convent and various schools, and I must say that these schools - boarding and day schools - are well equipped. The Sisters of Mercy have been eminently successful in teaching all branches of know ledge requisite to the proper education of young ladies. The convent is a tine two-story edifice with slate roof. As the Rev. Mother led us through the convent schools and described the purpose of each, she told the routine of each day's scholastic work. Then the Rev. Mother led the way upstairs where, in snow-white dormitories, the young girls slept at night, beneath the calm eyes of pictured saints. On going along the corridors we caught glimpses of the narrow cells, very simply furnished. There is here a nice chapel, and, small though it is, it is tastefully fitted up, into which the sun was pouring rich rays through the stained glass windows. A glimpse through the plainly furnished sitting-room upstairs revealed a splendid view of the town, and through each window crept the odour of flowers and the sweet spring air, which makes the birds build and the blossoms break. The ladies' high school is on the ground floor; here the young ladies were busily engaged at their lessons. Retracing our steps through the fine stained glass door leading from the high school into a wide passage to the front entrance, we enter the spacious garden. Here are nicely-laid-out walks and flower beds, shaded and scented. At one end of the grounds is a neat oratory of rustic woodwork, and right against the convent wall a tall pepper-tree kept silent sentinelship. Out on the open we noticed one Sister surrounded by a group of girls, energetically talking (it was play hour), all grouped around her like wind-tossed white flowers. We next went through the primary schools. They are roomy and well ventilated. There are over 200 pupils attending the convent schools, which are four in number, namely: — The Ladies' High School, the Sacred Heart School, and St. Joseph's Primary Schools for boys and girls. We must congratulate the Sisters of Mercy on the signal successes they have achieved with their pupils at the Sydney University and Sydney College of Music Examinations. Master Charles Wilton, a pupil of St. Matthew's Convent, won the badge last year in connection with the Sydney College of Music, though the blundering authorities gave the credit to a private Mudgee school. On their attention being drawn to this lapse, which deprived for the time being the Sisters of Mercy of the honour due to them, one of the professors or the registrar, it does not matter very much, wrote an apology to the Rev. Mother. Amongst the pupils of the Convent who achieved distinction is Miss B. Carden. This young lady, who has just passed 'sweet sixteen,' was one of the ten who competed for the position of pupil teacher for the Redbank Public School, near Mudgee, and needless to say she was the successful candidate. In fact, the teaching capacity of the Sisters of Mercy, Mudgee, is so well known and highly valued that to say any more in praise of it would be waste of words1
.