Foundations
Derby 1937
Sisters of St John of God had taken care of leprosy patients at Beagle Bay Mission. When they heard that the Government was experiencing difficulty attracting nurses for the new facility built outside Derby in 1935-36, a group of Sisters volunteered for the service.
Sisters of St John of God provided the nursing staff of the Leprosarium from 1937 to 1986, when the Leprosarium was no longer needed and finally closed. Their skill and care contributed considerably to the control of the disease and the return of patients to normal activities in the community.
The understanding and sympathy of the Sisters had been the major factor in encouraging patients to seek treatment, while their continuity of residence, produced a continuity of knowledge and experience which had been valuable to both patients and doctors.
Sisters of St John of God commenced the education of the children of Derby under a Boab tree, until they built Holy Rosary Primary School in 1945.
In 1952 the Sisters had taken responsibility in Derby for an Aboriginal general hospital. In 1966 five Sisters worked at the new Derby hospital.
