History

The philosophy and purpose of Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College (MSJ) grows from the example and work of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the Co-Foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph. She believed that God was active in her life and the lives of her Sisters and was calling them to the service of others. Through education, they worked to bring to all persons “the message of their human dignity and Christ’s saving love”. St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop believed that in this way, God’s compassionate love would become a reality for the people with whom the Sisters shared their lives.

In 1964, the Sisters of St Joseph opened Saint Joseph Girls School in Altona West to provide affordable Catholic secondary education for girls in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The first buildings were the convent, the brick classrooms along Maidstone Street and the Administration building. The Principal was Sr Mary John Forster. Initially there were four sisters and two visiting lay teachers on staff. In that first year, girls came from Williamstown, Newport, Spotswood, Altona, Laverton and Werribee. Originally only Form III was offered but by May, Forms I and II were added and the enrolment reached just on one hundred girls. In 1966, the original houses were named, Cardijn (red), Montini (yellow), Kennedy (green) and McKillop (blue). The school name was officially changed to Mount Saint Joseph Girls’ College in 1967 by the second Principal Sr Romuald Pierce. That same year the first Matriculation class had eight girls.

The 1970's were a period of growth for the College with enrolments growing rapidly, new buildings being erected and an average of twenty Sisters on the staff, including three Principals, Sr Anne O’Brien (1971), Sr Nora Finucane (1972 -73) and Sr Giovanni Farquer (1974- 1981). Enrolments were steady at around 700 by the end of the decade, with most girls choosing to complete H.S.C. Sr Margaret Blampied was Principal from 1982 to 1984. Sr Helen Reed was the longest serving Principal from 1985 to 2002. The number of Sisters available to teach in the College gradually declined through the eighties and nineties. The first lay Principal, Ms Regina Byrne, was appointed in 2003 and she remained at the College until mid-2008 when Ms Catherine Dillon became Principal. Ms Dishon became Principal in 2016.

The Sisters established a school marked by the philosophy of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Girls of MSJ inherit a legacy of service to others, of courageous compassion and generous response to those in need. They are an emerging expression of the charism of the Sisters of St Joseph, co-founded by St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods.

The Founders of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart

Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop: 1842 - 1909

Mary MacKillop was born of Scottish parents, Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacDonald on January 15, 1842 in Fitzroy, Victoria.

From the age of sixteen, Mary earned her living to help support her family, firstly as a clerk for Sands and Kenny (now Sands and McDougall), and later as a governess and teacher in her own school at Portland. While acting as a governess to her uncle’s children at Penola, Mary met Father Julian Tenison Woods. He was the only priest in the area and needed assistance with the religious education of children in the outback. At the time, Mary’s family depended on her income, so she was not free to follow her dream. However, in 1866, greatly inspired and encouraged by Father Woods, Mary opened the first Saint Joseph’s School in a disused stable in Penola.

Young women came to join Mary, and so the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph was begun. In 1867, Mary was asked by Bishop Shiel to come to Adelaide to start a school. From there, the Sisters spread in groups of two or three, opening schools in small outback settlements and large cities around Australia and New Zealand. She also opened orphanages, providences to care for the homeless and destitute both young and old, and refuges for ex-prisoners and ex-prostitutes who wished to make a fresh start in life.

Mother Mary endured many troubles and hardships in continuing her ministry but lived to see her Sisters become a powerful force in Catholic education, especially in rural areas. Later, her Josephite Sisters began to work in far flung places such as Peru, Brazil and in the refugee camps of Uganda and Thailand. Mother Mary died in Sydney in 1909 and was canonised as Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop in 2010.

This great Australian woman inspired great dedication to God’s work in the then new colonies. In today’s world, she stands as an example of great courage and trust in living out God’s loving and compassionate care of those in need. She is honoured as a holy woman by many Australians, not only Catholics.

Father Julian Tenison Woods: 1832 – 1889

Julian Tenison Woods was born in London on 15 November 1832. He was one of eleven children and came from a family that encouraged a love of learning, nature and the outdoors. In 1855, Julian arrived in Tasmania. He was greatly taken with the natural beauty of Australia and understood its geology finding fossils and other evidence of its ancient past. Over his many travels through Australia, he also developed an understanding and deep sympathy for the dispossession and pain of the Indigenous Australians.

He was ordained as a priest in Adelaide and was sent to work in the Parish of Penola in South Australia. It was here in 1861 that he met the young Mary MacKillop. Together in Penola in 1866, they founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred heart and dedicated the remainder of their lives to the Catholic education of the children of the poor and to other pressing social needs. Later that year, Julian was appointed Director of Catholic Education and asked Mary to come to Adelaide to assist him in developing an organised system of Catholic education with schools staffed by the Sisters of St Joseph. After four years as Director of Catholic Education, Julian continued working as a scientist and missionary priest in NSW, Tasmania and Queensland. Later, in 1883, he spent three years travelling through Asia, exploring and reporting on the mineral and coal deposits of the Malayan Peninsula and other nearby countries.

Julian developed a great knowledge of Australia and was one of its first scientists. He was well regarded by other gentleman-scientists and often gave scientific lectures in the same towns he was ministering to as a priest. In 1888 he was awarded the prestigious Clare Medal for distinguished contribution to Natural Science. He died in Sydney in 1889 at the age of 57.