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 and Julian Tenison Woods 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 ….
The first Victorian foundation was in 1889 at Numurkah.
St. Patrick’s School was erected as a memorial to the residents of Pyramid Hill and district who gave their lives in World War II. St. Patrick’s School was blessed and opened by the Bishop of Sandhurst (Most Rev. Dr. B.D. Stewart) on Sunday, February 5th 1956.
It was erected in eight weeks and designed to accommodate 100 pupils. Classes opened on February 7th 1956 with an enrolment of 60 students up to the proficiency level .
The Sisters of St. Joseph (Josephites) were the first teachers of St. Patrick’s. They are the spiritual daughters of Mary McKillop—Australia’s first Saint. This remarkable woman saw the particular needs of the countryside in Australia in the matter of Catholic education. It was a memorable day for the Parishioners, who witnessed the culmination of hopes that originated with the pioneers many years ago—their descendants were strongly represented among the crowd of 500 at the opening. They contributed financially and with time and labour to ensure success for their efforts.
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 2010.
MANY THANKS TO AUSSIE FUN SEAKERS for hiding and maintain the cache as part of the Mary MacKillop series.