Sisters of St John of God

Heritage Centre—Broome

Issue 7: — July 2015 Sisters of St John of God Heritage Centre 1

9 Barker St, PO Box 7442, Broome WA 6725

Web: heritage.ssjg.org.au Email: admin@ssjgheritagebroome.com.au

Five years ago Bill Marchant donated 1,700 photographic

images from his extensive Nulungu College and

Bidyadanga collection dating back to the early 1970s. They

were digitised and hard copies returned to Bill to continue

using them in his relationship with the local people. Recently Bill decided it was now time to place the hard

copies permanently into the care of the Heritage Centre.

When asked how he felt about taking this Bill said:

RELIEVED! I didn’t want to throw them away and I didn’t

know who would want them. Digitised copies of his photos have been organised into

batches of one hundred and put on a hard drive. Bill will be

able to easily show them to Bidyadanga people who visit.

Embarking on a digital journey

Helen Martin presented Bill with his

photographic collection on a hard drive.

Decoding the Relationships Exhibition

Readers will recall that the Heritage Centre was awarded a $25 000 through the Department of Culture

and the Arts Connect Grant in March this year. The project has been most successful with Katie Pinchas

as developer and Helen Martin as Coordinator. Their work, combined with many donated hours from the

three Broome educators and a significant additional donation from the Sisters of St John of God, enabled

the project to be doubled in outcome. Instead of two sets of teacher and student resources (for Grades

3&4 and 5&6), four sets have been created for Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6. These resources will assist teachers and maximise the experience of students when they visit the

Relationships Exhibition. Pre-visit activities are designed to familiarise students with content and

promote their own line of inquiry. Students will have their own student booklet for the visit. The

resources provide appropriate links to the National Curriculum as well as that of WA. The packages will be launched in Broome and on the Heritage Centre website on Foundation Day, 7

October 2015.

L: Section of the

Committee gathered to

view the finished

resources.

R: Erica Rowley

unveiling the resources

for the Committee.

Issue 7: — July 2015 Sisters of St John of God Heritage Centre 2

Relationships Exhibition An historical exhibition reflecting relationships between Sisters of St John of God and people in the Kimberley

Welcome Visitors

Cindy’s Quest

L: Sr Philomena welcomed her 91 year old

brother Frank Hockings from Brisbane.

They had a wonderful week together in

Broome. Frank joined Philomena on her Thursday

volunteer shift at the Relationships

Exhibition.

R: Elizabeth McKenna recently spent time in Broome

and volunteered assistance with entering published

eulogies into the new Life Story section of the database. Many will remember her as Sr Elizabeth teaching at

Holy Rosary and St Mary’s schools in the late 1950s

and 1960s. In 1967-68 she was Principal of St Mary’s

School.

Cindy (Antoinette ) Paterson nee Donation, from Darwin,

was spotted in the Relationships Exhibition busily writing and

researching at the photographic database.

Cindy’s journey began 15 years ago when she started to

research her family history and connections to Beagle Bay,

Balgo, Bungarun, Derby and Broome. From Mullewa to Mt

Isa, Cindy’s family shared a deep connection to the SSJG

and to the Church in the Kimberley. Cindy’s grandparents,

Dick and Dora Smith, were removed as children from Flora

Valley Station and the Fitzroy Crossing area and taken to

Beagle Bay.

The gift of Cindy’s research to her family and the first

meeting 12 months ago with Dick Junior’s Mt Isa family is

now driving the younger ‘30 something’ family members to

call for a family reunion in Broome in 2016.

They want to see what the lives of their grandparents and

great grandparents were like, where they lived and what they

did.

Cindy at the Photographic Collection

in the Relationships Exhibition.