The cache is located in Mary MacKillop Reserve and near a property formerly owned by the Sisters of St Joseph.
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 and Julian Tenison Woods 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.
History ….
The first Victorian foundation of the Sisters of St Joseph was in 1889 at Numurkah, a rural centre. Father Michael O’Connor first met Mary MacKillop in Penola, as Father Woods’ successor. Parish Priest of Numurkah, in Sandhurst Diocese, he requested Sisters for a school. In late 1889 four sisters arrived by Cobb & Co. coach. In January 1890 Mary in Numurkah, opened the first Victorian Josephite school. She wrote of a ‘humble beginning of a great work’.
Though the first foundations were for rural schools, within months Archbishop Carr urged the Sisters to assist the newly founded Home for Destitute Children in rural Surrey Hills.
By May 21st 1890 the Sisters were at Surrey Hills, by 1893 the home was so overcrowded that children sometimes slept three to a bed; lacking chairs in the dining room they ate meals standing. The Sisters ate in a corrugated iron shed. Mary guided the home at Surrey Hills through its precarious beginnings: she travelled the countryside seeking donations for the needs of the children in the Home, while visiting children who were placed in foster care.
This work continued until 1980.
Thus began the Victorian chapter of the Josephite story. The Sisters responded to Victorian need while the challenges of Victoria, particularly among the poorest people, shaped and re-shaped their spirit
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 one of many caches placed in significant locations of her story.
Mary died on August 8th, 1909.
She was declared Australia’s first Saint in 2012.
A BIG thanks to clickcraftsman for assistance with this cache!