Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842. When she was in Penola she met Julian Tenison Woods and together they opened the first St Joseph's School in 1866.
Mary MacKillop founded the Sisters of St Joseph to continue this work. Over the many following years, the number of Sisters grew as did their schools. Schools were opened as the needs arose: in country towns, mining towns, cities. The Sisters also became involved in other areas of need including setting up a refuge for women in need and orphanages for children, visiting prisons and working with the sick.
History of St Joseph’s School ….
For a number of years, there had been a growing need to provide an education for the children of migrant families who had settled in the area. This need was finally addressed in 1954 when two Sisters of St Joseph began classes in the small pre-fabricated church. This has since been demolished and replaced by the present church dedicated to St Maxamilian Kolbe. Years one to three were the only classes catered for in those early years. When the school moved to a larger community hall, classes for year 4 were added. By 1975 classes were available up to year 7.
Since 1997, St. Joseph's has been led by a lay principal.
Mary MacKilop's famous saying was "Never see a need without doing something about it"
Well..... there was a need, a geochache in her honour, and something has been done about it!
This is one of many caches placed in significant locations of her story.
Mary died on August 8th, 1909.
She was declared Australia’s first Saint in 2012.