home on the hill

HOME ON THE HILL

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HIS3MHI

Making History

Illustrated Essay

Home on the Hill

Megan Pearce

Student ID: 17722594

La Trobe University Albury Wodonga

2015

Figure 1.

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St. John’s orphanage in Thurgoona was run by

The Sisters of Mercy from 1882 until 1978.1 The

Orphanage first housed girls aged five to sixteen

years and later accommodated twenty-two British

war orphans. In later years it cared for both boys

and girls.2

Figure 2.

Howard Jones, a local journalist turned historian, has done a lot of research on St John’s. He has

written a few books on the local area, one specifically about the orphanage. He discusses the lack

of official records and photographs.3 The orphanage is part of the ‘forgotten history’ of regional

Australia, many stories from orphanages are often lost, due to poor record keeping, perhaps on

purpose to cover up the atrocities that went on.4 Jones describes St. John’s as a pace of tough

discipline; recounting an incident where a six year old was beaten until she bled for jumping on

her dormitory bed.5

Stories can be told, interpreted and understood relative to subjectivity of the historian. Cultural

and social understanding modifies the interpretation, which reflects how complex it can be for

history to remain objective without the influence of the historians own views and attitudes.6 This

concept is particularly relevant when

looking at St. John’s, as we need to

acknowledge the role of the historian in

each of the sources and how perspectives

can potentially manipulate the outcome

of the research.

Photographs allow us to visualise

situations that we could not comprehend

with just the written word. Again, it is

important to take into consideration the

context of the image, the perspective of

the photographer and why the photograph was being taken, for what audience or purpose. Visual

media is extremely important in accessing and delivering information, but it comes with its own

Figure 3.

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set of limitations.7 Many of the included images from St. John’s are from the Border Mail. The

newspaper aimed at flaunting the good deeds and hard work of the nuns at the orphanage, rather

than the darker side of the institution. A close analysis of these photographs is a good way to

gauge a broad perspective of St. John’s.

Jones’ work is mainly based on the experiences of the girls who lived at St. John’s. Memories

are the substance of oral histories. Memory is the ability to recall and represent information from

the past, depending on the context.8 When looking mostly at personal accounts and oral histories

of a particular subject, it is important to consider that memories are constructions and can be

faulty and flawed.9 They are a great

insight but have limitations.

Barbara Murray was interviewed by

Virginia Macleod in the Forgotten

Australians and Former Child Migrants

oral history project.10

It’s an extremely

candid interview where she talks about

her time in institutional care in Geelong

and Thurgoona. Historians bring their

own values and preconceptions to any

work they produce, which of course

influences the writing in some way. It is

irrevocably impossible to be objective

when analysing and interpreting data

and information as the perspective of

the person analysing and interpreting

will obviously do so from their own

perspective.11

It is necessary to take into consideration much more than just the writing and the

historian, but to reflect on the era it was written, as well as the intended audience for the writing

and these factors have a huge influence.

Thirty-two girls were initially admitted to the orphanage upon opening. It was claimed the

orphanage was for “destitute children... children admitted on the recommendation of priests of

Figure 4.

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this and surrounding districts of NSW and Victoria”.12

Very few of the girls were true orphans.

Many had one parent who died, and the remaining parent was unable to care for the children.

Rae-Lea Saviage story is an example of this; she was one of nine children.13

When her father

died, her mother couldn’t cope and the girls were sent to St. John’s.

The orphanage was extended in 1897 and two year later housed housed fifty-four children, from

two to fourteen years old.14

Most of the women who have spoken of their time at St. John’s have

mentioned horrific treatment they were subjected

to, such as beatings and being locked in small

spaces. One woman reported that when she

refused to eat at dinner one evening, a nun pulled

her head back by her hair and spoon fed her until

she vomited. The nun continued to spoon feed her

the vomit until another nun intervened.15

Girls

were too scared to speak up against the abuse, for

fear of worst treatment.16

There was a second extension in 1913, an entire second floor was added to the building.17

This

again enabled an increase in the number of children that were housed at St. John’s. By 1936,

there were eighty-five children living at the orphanage.18

All the girls who were living at the

orphanage were required to help with chores,

including cleaning duties and food preparation.

Mischievous girls were made to do more work as

punishment, all beyond what would be considered

reasonable today. Verna McGrath lived at St.

John’s in 1922, and was taught many housekeeping

skills which she was able to utilise after her time at

the orphanage.19

She learnt how to knit and fancy

craft work, as well as milking cows and separating milk to make butter. These duties made for a

rigorously strict schedule. Girls had to be up at 4am to do their chores then be ready and clean

for church at 7am.20

Figure 6.

Figure 5.

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In 1925, another extension was added to the

building.21

The Sacred Heart wing was used as a

classroom for older pupils. After church in the

morning, the girls were all required to attend classes

here. Other pupils included boys from the

surrounding area, but they had a separate

playground.22

The nuns were just as strict when it

came to discipline at school. Evelyn Woods was caned on her knuckles for using her left hand to

write.23

Education did not only include reading, writing and arithmetic. The girls were taken to a

nearby motel to eat, where they were taught dinner etiquette and table manners.24

By 1956, there were more than one hundred children living at St. John’s.25

This put extra strain

on resources that were not so readily available. There was little food and water for the children to

eat and drink, and the quality was inconsistent.26

Part of the girls duties was preparing and

cooking the food, but they weren’t taught how to. Breakfast was porridge, dinner was slop and

stew, and tea was bread and jam. Some girls would rummage through the rubbish for food

scraps, while other ate grass and breadfruit.27

The nuns and priests ate separately to the children

and had a wide variety of food and bigger meal sizes.

Barbara Murray and her younger sisters went to St. John’s when the family first moved to the

area.28

They were supposed to be living at Murray Vale Girls Home, but the building wasn’t

finished. Barbara recalls how lucky they were for only being at St. John’s for six weeks,

describing it as ‘not a very nice experience’.29

The girls all felt constantly scared, there were

often fights. At the time they were living at there, the orphanage housed 160 girls. There were

twenty to thirty girls in a dorm room at a time. Scrubbing the verandah was punishment for bad

behavior. Barbara and her sisters were only able to stay together during meal times. As she was

the oldest, Barbara would coax her younger sisters into eating, otherwise they would get belted.

She used to stand between the nuns and her four year old sister Joyce, who would get belted for

wetting the bed.30

This would happen every day that they were there. Their mum would visit

every second Sunday for four to five hours, driving all the way from Beechworth to see them.

Once places at Murray Vale Girls Home were ready, their mother picked them up from St.

John’s and took them straight there.

Figure 7.

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During the war, twenty-two British war orphans were brought over to live at St. John’s.31

Many

of the children were told that their parents were dead. Their parents were also often deceived;

many believed that their children had been adopted in Britain. The reality was very different. For

numerous children it was to be a life of horrendous physical and sexual abuse in institutions.

This is another part of the ‘forgotten history’ of regional Australia. A newspaper article from the

Border Mail reports a pleasant journey and arrival of the girls, photographing them upon arrival

at Albury train station at 7am from Sydney. Their names and ages were incorrect, as was a lot of

the other information. The article stated Pamela Hall’s mother was killed in the war, yet she was

later reunited with her in 1990. The girls themselves recount a very different story of the journey

to Australia full of stress, disorientation, and sea-sickness.

It was said that the idea behind bringing over British children was to increase Catholicism in

Australia. Religion was a part of the lifestyle at St. John’s; mass was each morning, the Rosary

after lunch time and prayers in the afternoon. Each girl also attended confession regularly.

Figure 8.

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During financial hardship, a new chapel was built and opened in 1961, evidence of what

priorities were.

An extract from ‘The Catholic Press’, a newspaper from Thursday 14 April 1932, documents the

death one of the Sisters of Mercy.32

Sister Mary Berchmans was buried in the orphanages

cemetery alongside other deceased nuns and

children. The physical heritage of the

cemetery reflects the power hierarchy at the

time.33

The Nuns deaths were well

documented and reported on to the wider

community, and essentially memorialized.

None of the children buried in the cemetery

had this level of ceremony.34

Cemeteries are

commonly seen as reflective of the historic

environment, and are a unique interpretive

tool when looking at cultural heritage.35

Changes to the way orphans were cared for in communities changed in 1978, which led to the

closure of St. John’s. Children were instead being

cared for in foster homes instead of institutions. The

“Forgotten Australians” Senate inquiry into

children’s homes in 2005,36

which calls for the

recognition of the existence of children’s homes,

changed the historical landscape of Australia’s

understanding of these institutions. In 2010, there

was an appeal for information about St. John’s

orphanage.37

Although there was an official apology given by both Australian and British

Governments for the awful treatment children were subjected to, there has been no accountability

for anyone involved.38

There was over 2000 destitute or abandoned girls who lived at St. John’s for the time it was the

orphanage.39

There is no real memorial for the survivors of the orphanage to attend and no real

way to commemorate what had happened there.40

Very few people living in Thurgoona, Albury

Figure 9.

Figure 10.

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and Wodonga actually know the history behind the building. It is important as a community we

take ownership of this history to ensure it is adequately documented and forever remembered.

1 Gaye Pattison, ‘Mercy for Albury’s Orphanage’, ABC Goulburn Murray, November 14, 2011

<http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/11/14/3364316.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. 2 Howard Jones, ‘Albury to show mercy over ‘wrong’ fence’, The Border Mail, June 24, 2010

<http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/51748/albury-to-show-mercy-over-wrong-fence/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. 3 Howard Jones, ‘History of Thurgoona’, Albury Wodonga Development Corporation, Albury: 1989.

4 Gaye Pattison, ‘Mercy for Albury’s Orphanage’, ABC Goulburn Murray, November 14, 2011

<http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/11/14/3364316.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. 5 Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010.

6 Ann Curthoys, “History Wars”, in Is History Fiction, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005): 220-237.

7 Ludmilla Jordanova, ‘Approaching Visual Materials’(Ch. 3) in Lucy Faire and Simon Gunn, Research Methods for

History, Edinburgh University Press 2012, pp.30-47. 8 Ann Curthoys, “History Wars”, in Is History Fiction, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005): 220-237.

9 Ann Curthoys, “History Wars”, in Is History Fiction, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005): 220-237.

10 Virginia Macleod, ‘Barbara Murray interviewed by Virginia Macleod in the Forgotten Australians and Former

Child Migrants oral history project’, recorded on 30 and 31 May 2012, in National Library of Australia [online database] <http://www.nla.gov.au/amad/nla.oh-vn5979640?searchTerm=subject%3A%22St.+John%27s+Orphanage%22>, accessed on 30 Sept 2015. 11

Ann Curthoys, “History Wars”, in Is History Fiction, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005): 220-237. 12

Find & Connect, ‘St. John’s Orphanage Thurgoona (1882-19780): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Organisation, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00170b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015.

Figure 11.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/11/14/3364316.htm

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/51748/albury-to-show-mercy-over-wrong-fence/


http://www.nla.gov.au/amad/nla.oh-vn5979640?searchTerm=subject%3A%22St.+John%27s+Orphanage%22


http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00170b.htm

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13

Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. 14

Howard Jones, ‘Albury to show mercy over ‘wrong’ fence’, The Border Mail, June 24, 2010 <http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/51748/albury-to-show-mercy-over-wrong-fence/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. 15


Nigel McNay, ‘We were afraid to claim abuse’ Beaudesert Times, May 30, 2014 <http://www.beaudeserttimes.com.au/story/2320323/we-were-afraid-to-claim-abuse/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. 17

Virginia Macleod, ‘Barbara Murray interviewed by Virginia Macleod in the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project’, recorded on 30 and 31 May 2012, in National Library of Australia [online database] <http://www.nla.gov.au/amad/nla.oh-vn5979640?searchTerm=subject%3A%22St.+John%27s+Orphanage%22>, accessed on 30 Sept 2015. 18

Howard Jones, ‘History of Thurgoona’, Albury Wodonga Development Corporation, Albury: 1989. 19



Jones, Howard, ‘Albury to show mercy over ‘wrong’ fence’, The Border Mail, June 24, 2010 <http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/51748/albury-to-show-mercy-over-wrong-fence/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. 22



Howard Jones, ‘History of Thurgoona’, Albury Wodonga Development Corporation, Albury: 1989. 25






Virginia Macleod, ‘Barbara Murray interviewed by Virginia Macleod in the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project’, recorded on 30 and 31 May 2012, in National Library of Australia [online database] <http://www.nla.gov.au/amad/nla.oh-vn5979640?searchTerm=subject%3A%22St.+John%27s+Orphanage%22>, accessed on 30 Sept 2015.


http://www.beaudeserttimes.com.au/story/2320323/we-were-afraid-to-claim-abuse/


















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31

Find & Connect, ‘Child and Youth Migration to New South Wales (c. 1911-1983): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Event, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00170b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. 32

1932 'Sisters of Mercy, Albury.', The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), 14 April, p. 25, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106384509>, accessed 20 Sept, 2015. 33

Spennemann, Dirk 2007 ‘Gender bias after death: the case of the clergical cemetery: St. John’s Orphanage, Thurgoona NSW Australia,’(United States: Bridgewater State College), accessed on Trove, National Library of Australia on 30 Sept 2015. 34

Find & Connect, ‘St. John’s Orphanage Thurgoona (1882-19780): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Organisation, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00170b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. 35

Spennemann, Dirk 2007 ‘Gender bias after death: the case of the clergical cemetery: St. John’s Orphanage, Thurgoona NSW Australia,’(United States: Bridgewater State College), accessed on Trove, National Library of Australia on 30 Sept 2015. 36

Brad Worrall, ‘Call for memorial at Thurgoona St John’s Orphanage site’, The Border Mail, October 11, 2010 < http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/53620/call-for-memorial-at-thurgoona-st-johns-orphanage-site/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. 37

Find & Connect, ‘List of Names for Orphanage Endowment Claim (1932 - 1959): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Archival Series, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00612b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. 38


Pattison, Gaye, ‘Mercy for Albury’s Orphanage’, ABC Goulburn Murray, November 14, 2011 <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/11/14/3364316.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. 40

Brad Worrall, ‘Call for memorial at Thurgoona St John’s Orphanage site’, The Border Mail, October 11, 2010 < http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/53620/call-for-memorial-at-thurgoona-st-johns-orphanage-site/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. Illustrations Figure 1. The girls of St. John’s line up in their Sunday mass outfits. Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Photo from The Border Mail Archives Figure 2. St. John’s girls pose for a photo. Pattison, Gaye, ‘Mercy for Albury’s Orphanage’, ABC Goulburn Murray, November 14, 2011 <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/11/14/3364316.htm> Figure 3. St. John’s girls are given a rare treat of sweets and pose for a photo. Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Photo from The Border Mail Archives Figure 4. Newspaper article depicting tensions between Government and orphanages. 1915 'The Government and Orphanages.', Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), 25 November, p. 9, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115595197> Figure 5. The children in line waiting for dinner. Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Photo from The Border Mail Archives Figure 6. The children lining up in their classroom at the orphanage. Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Photo from The Border Mail Archives Figure 7. One of the few boys to live at the orphanage enjoying a meal. Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Photo from The Border Mail Archives Figure 8. Newspaper article detailing the British war orphans arrival to Thurgoona. 1932 'Sisters of Mercy, Albury.', The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), 14 April, p. 25, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106384509> Figure 9. Newspaper article announcing the death of Sister Mary Berchmans. 1932 'Sisters of Mercy, Albury.', The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), 14 April, p. 25, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106384509>


http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106384509


http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/53620/call-for-memorial-at-thurgoona-st-johns-orphanage-site/










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Figure 10. Headstones of deceased girls who attended St. John’s in the cemetery. Howard Jones, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Photo from The Border Mail Archives Figure 11. The most recent photo of the old St. John’s building. Brad Worrall, ‘Call for memorial at Thurgoona St John’s Orphanage site’, The Border Mail, October 11, 2010 < http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/53620/call-for-memorial-at-thurgoona-st-johns-orphanage-site/> Bibliography 1915 'The Government and Orphanages.', Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), 25 November, p. 9, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115595197> accessed 20 Sept, 2015. 1932 'Sisters of Mercy, Albury.', The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), 14 April, p. 25, <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106384509>, accessed 20 Sept, 2015. Brad Worrall, ‘Call for memorial at Thurgoona St John’s Orphanage site’, The Border Mail, October 11, 2010 < http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/53620/call-for-memorial-at-thurgoona-st-johns-orphanage-site/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. Curthoys, Ann, “History Wars”, in Is History Fiction, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005): 220-237. Find & Connect, ‘Admission Register (1882-1995): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Archival Series, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00611b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. Find & Connect, ‘Child and Youth Migration to New South Wales (c. 1911-1983): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Event, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00507b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. Find & Connect, ‘List of Names for Orphanage Endowment Claim (1932 - 1959): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Archival Series, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00612b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. Find & Connect, ‘Sisters of Mercy, Goulburn Congregation (1859 - 2011): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Organisation, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00165b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. Find & Connect, ‘St. John’s Orphanage Thurgoona (1882-19780): History and information about Australian Orphanages, Children’s Homes and other institutions’, New South Wales – Organisation, <http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE00170b.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. Jones, Howard, ‘Albury to show mercy over ‘wrong’ fence’, The Border Mail, June 24, 2010 <http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/51748/albury-to-show-mercy-over-wrong-fence/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. Jones, Howard, ‘History of Thurgoona’, Albury Wodonga Development Corporation, Albury: 1989. Jones, Howard, ‘Orphanage survivors: a true story of St John's Thurgoona’, Independently published, Albury: 2010. Jordanova, Ludmilla, ‘Approaching Visual Materials’(Ch. 3) in Lucy Faire and Simon Gunn, Research Methods for History, Edinburgh University Press 2012, pp.30-47. Macleod, Virginia, ‘Barbara Murray interviewed by Virginia Macleod in the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project’, recorded on 30 and 31 May 2012, in National Library of Australia [online database] <http://www.nla.gov.au/amad/nla.oh-vn5979640?searchTerm=subject%3A%22St.+John%27s+Orphanage%22>, accessed on 30 Sept 2015. McNay, Nigel, ‘We were afraid to claim abuse’ Beaudesert Times, May 30, 2014 <http://www.beaudeserttimes.com.au/story/2320323/we-were-afraid-to-claim-abuse/>, accessed Sept 15, 2015. Paton, Prue 1984, Oral history, via Trove <http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/191595703> Pattison, Gaye, ‘Mercy for Albury’s Orphanage’, ABC Goulburn Murray, November 14, 2011 <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/11/14/3364316.htm>, accessed Sept 20, 2015. Spennemann, Dirk 2007 ‘Gender bias after death: the case of the clergical cemetery: St. John’s Orphanage, Thurgoona NSW Australia,’(United States: Bridgewater State College), accessed on Trove, National Library of Australia on 30 Sept 2015.













http://www.beaudeserttimes.com.au/story/2320323/we-were-afraid-to-claim-abuse/

http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/191595703


home on the hill

Documents

johns orphanage

st johns

jones work

essay home

substance of oral histories

good way

hard work

howard jones