Our Beginnings
Twenty four years following the foundation of the Congregation in Wexford, Bishop Matthew Gibney of Western Australia sent a request to the Sisters of St John of God in Ireland seeking Sisters to minister to the sick, and attend to the pastoral and social needs of the people entrusted to his care.
The young colony of Western Australia was in great need. The increase in population from the gold rush and the economic depression in the Eastern Colonies, together with the shortage of fresh water and lack of adequate sanitary facilities, had resulted in severe outbreaks of typhoid.
Eight Sisters of St John of God responded to the call for help and made the journey from Ireland on board the RSM Orizaba, arriving in Albany, on the south west coast of Western Australia on 23rd November 1895. Arriving in Perth on 25th November 1895, the Sisters’ first residence was in Adelaide Terrace, which became home and hospital as they assisted those in need in whatever way they could. |
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Eleven years later, in 1907, another small group of Sisters of St John of God, again at Bishop Gibney’s request, travelled to Beagle Bay in the far north of Western Australia to minister to the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley.
From those beginnings, the Sisters of St John of God have continued to demonstrate an approach to service provision that is inclusive and non-judgmental; they have sought to create work environments where people can flourish and come to "fullness of life" (John 10:10).
The Sisters continue to have a deep commitment to the creation of just, free, harmonious and prosperous societies.
