Anecdotes from the Archives

Shining legacy in education 

In the last newsletter, I referred to the work of Cecily MacFarlane, in her 1989 study of Saint Mary’s College 1928-1938. 

This week, I again take my information from Cecily’s study. 

Speaking of the Presentation Sisters working in the College, Cecily sums up their lives:

Responsibility for the education and welfare of the students, as well as for the reputation of the College, rested entirely with the Presentation Sisters. They made policy decisions, kept account of finances, and were undisputedly “in charge”. Their cloistered lives allowed precious little time for recreation (half an hour each evening for mending or embroidery), and cut them off from contact with their families; they were permitted to write a letter home once a month. They came in all shapes, sizes and personality types, and from varying social backgrounds. Their presence inspired awe in children, and respect in the older girls. But most important of all, they instilled qualities of tenacity in study, and strength of personal convictions. [A student from the era said] “they gave me a sense of identity, a sense of purpose, and a sense of pride”.

This paragraph struck me particularly, because when I interviewed many past scholars at the time of the College’s 150th Anniversary, almost all of them made similar comments about the mark the Sisters had made on their lives. Many remarked that they are the women they are today because of the positive effects that the witness of the Presentation Sisters had on them. Usually they mentioned strength, courage, ambition and compassion.

Former student Christine Milne, famous for her achievements as a Greens politician, stated succinctly in her speech one year at our annual Prize Giving:

We were inculcated with a responsibility to stand up for what we believed in, to have the courage of our convictions, no matter what other people thought, said or did; to have the capacity for independent thought and the courage to challenge and change unjust laws. [This] is what the school in known for in the broader community; not its heritage buildings, its prestige as a private girls’ school or its academic achievements…although these are all important…but, rather, for its values.

Whether we recall the Sisters as our educators, or whether we are new to the school, let us always be aware in some corner of our being, of the incalculable contributions of the Sisters over the 158 years of St Mary’s College: their spirit lives on still in so many of our people, beliefs, rituals and customs.