St Joseph’s Convent in North Goulburn is part of a large residential precinct steeped in history and has changed hands. Photo: John Thistleton.
Aged care provider Southern Cross Care has bought the vacant former St Joseph’s Convent in North Goulburn.
Southern Cross Care (SCC) is now considering expanding residential age care in the Reynolds Street building and options for affordable housing or supported living. It did not disclose the purchase price.
The sale has triggered a scramble among past school students for letters they wrote in a time capsule and buried in 1982 to mark the centenary of the sisters in Goulburn. Containing about 560 letters, the capsule was not meant to be opened for 50 years, but the sisters have opened it to return the letters to everyone who wrote one.
Expecting the capsule to be opened in 2032 some former students are disappointed they were not contacted ahead of the capsule’s opening.
Five Sisters of St Joseph, most in their 20s and originally from Ireland, arrived in Goulburn from Perthville near Bathurst in August 1882.
They lived in a cottage in Lagoon Street which belonged to the Sheekey family until the convent in Reynolds Street was built and opened on 6 May 1883.
A former student, Penny Gordon has gathered the history, noting after their arrival in Goulburn they took charge of the Sacred Heart School at North Goulburn run by the Sisters of Mercy when it opened earlier that year.
Beginning a long association with education in Goulburn, the sisters taught at Sacred Heart School, Saint Joseph’s Primary School, St Joseph’s Secondary School and Marian College.
In 1977 Saint Joseph’s College and Our Lady of Mercy College merged to become Marian College. Senior students were moved from the Saint Joseph’s campus to the OLMC campus, while boarding school facilities were moved from the OLMC campus to the Saint Joseph’s College campus.
In 2000 Marian College merged with Saint Patrick’s College to become Trinity Catholic College. After the amalgamation, the sisters continued to operate the girls’ boarding residence in Lagoon Street, until it was amalgamated with the boys’ boarding residence in 2006, at which time the responsibility for the boarding facilities was transferred to the Catholic Education Office in Canberra.
Over the years, the sisters also operated four novitiates in Reynolds Street, Mount St Joseph in Verner Street, “Pineleigh” in Addison Street and “The Towers” on Braidwood Road, which closed in 1973.
While no longer directly involved with the Catholic schools in Goulburn, many of the sisters are still active in pastoral activities within the Goulburn Parish.
In a statement, congregational leader of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Sr Monica Cavanagh, said the order wanted the well-maintained convent building to provide an ongoing service to the wider Goulburn community.
In the same precinct SCC has leased land to operate Tenison Residential Care near the convent since 2005.
SCC chief executive Monique Reynolds said the aged care provider was delighted and honoured to be entrusted with the ownership and stewardship of St Joseph’s Convent.
“Across the 40 communities we serve in NSW and the ACT, our role is to support older people to live life to the full, close to the people, places, and traditions that matter to them,” she said.
SCC pledged to preserve the Sisters of Saint Joseph’s historical connection to the site. The chapel would not operate as a regular or frequent place of congregation, but the sisters would continue to have access to the chapel and gathering area.
The chapel would also continue to be available for formal services, including funerals and special events, or by request from the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
The last sisters to live in the convent left in late 2024.
