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.
Robe Story …
When the SS Penola left Port MacDonnell in June 1867, it carried Mary MacKillop and Rose Cunningham. Robe was listed as a port of call on their journey to Adelaide. This possibly was Mary’s first glimpse of this district. As more women joined the Josephites, two Sisters were appointed to Robe. They opened a school in the church in 1869 and lived in the tiny vestry of the Church. In December of that year, when Mary and a group of five sisters were on their way to Queensland to open the first Josephite foundation, their ship from Port Adelaide called in at Robe. On her way home from Queensland in April 1871, Mary’s boat berthed at Portland. She travelled overland to Penola and then on to Robe, where she boarded the steamer for Adelaide. The Sisters withdrew from Robe after Mary's excommunication in 1871, but were back by June 1872. By 1880 the school was closed and the Sisters had left the district.
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 the second 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.
Thank you to Doctor Owl for the hide as she was travelling through Robe and saw a need
Cabbo’s and wanderingmoustache both responded to my email offering to attend to maintenance if needed.