
History
‘The cause of a person’s poverty is not yours to question.
The fact a person is poor is the reason you help.’
Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor was founded in Sydney by a young Australian woman, Eileen O’Connor, considered by many to be a saint-in-waiting, and a Society of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart priest, Rev. Edward (Ted) McGrath.
Both shared a deep devotion to Our Lady and the desire to establish a ministry of compassionate service to the sick poor in their own homes in her honour. At the time, there was no Government healthcare assistance, meaning that illness was an added burden for the poor.
In 1913, a small community of Catholic women gathered by Eileen O’Connor and Father McGrath began their mission from rented premises in Dudley St, Coogee. By the end of the year, the house was purchased with the generous financial assistance of Rev. Edward Gell and his sister, Miss Frances Gell.
Over the following months and years, seven young women entered Our Lady’s Home. The foundation nurses and those that followed became affectionately known as the ‘Brown Nurses’ because of their distinctive brown cloaks and bonnets, chosen by the founders in honour of St Joseph.
In 1953, Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor was officially recognised as a diocesan congregation. Ministries were established at Brisbane in 1956 and Newcastle in 1962. At one stage, the congregation had almost 40 religious sisters and novices ministering throughout Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Today, the mission of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor remains as important as ever. Assisted by the ongoing generosity of benefactors and volunteers, the Sisters continue to assist the sick poor in Sydney, Newcastle and Macquarie Fields.
The Brown Nurses, a work of the Society of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, conducts a mission for the poor and disadvantaged in the local government area of Sydney. Many of their patients suffer debilitating mental and physical illnesses. Being in the care of the Brown Nurses is their last chance to live independently.
On 1 July 2017, the Congregation of Our Lady’s Nurses of the Poor came under the governance of the Congregational Leader and Council of the Sisters of Charity of Australia, thereby ensuring the charism of Eileen O’Connor and the legacy of the Brown Nurses is carried into the future. Arriving in Australia in 1838, the Sisters of Charity have a long history of involvement in education, healthcare, aged care, social welfare and social justice.
2 August 1951
The Catholic Weekly publishes this obituary for the Very Rev. Father Edward Gell
7 July 1934
The Catholic Freeman’s Journal provides this gritty account of the ministry of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor
21 August 1918
Co-founder of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, Captain Rev. Father Edward McGrath msc, is awarded the Military Cross
19 August 1977
The Grange Lions Club donates its sixth Chrysler Galant to Our Lady’s Home in Brisbane.
30 August 1962
His Eminence Cardinal Norman Gilroy, approves the following prayer for the beatification of Eileen O’Connor
28 September 1918
Captain Rev. Father Edward McGrath msc rescues a seriously-injured British Army officer
28 October 1914
Mrs Ada Holman, wife of the NSW Premier, opens a four-day ‘garden fete on a large and brilliant scale’ at Our Lady’s Home
21 August 1974
Carlton Football Club President, George Harris, writes to Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor co-founder, Rev. Father Edward (Ted) McGrath msc, who is now 93 years old.
1904
In 1904, the family moves to Sydney, where Charles finds work as a bookkeeper with Anthony Hordern & Sons.
9 July 1918
Co-founder of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, Captain Father Rev. Edward (Ted) McGrath msc, embarks for the Western Front from Victoria Station, London.
1 November 1911
On the eve of All Saints Day, 19-year-old Eileen O’Connor lies unconscious at ‘Restwell’ in Beach St, Coogee
8 August 1913
Ellen (Nell) Fitzgerald, one the foundation nurses, enters the community at Our Lady’s Home. Born in Harden, NSW.
July 1911
The O’Connor family falls on hard times following the death of Charles O’Connor.
01 April 1913
An early telephone directory lists the phone number of ‘Miss E. O’Connor, Our Lady’s Home, Dudley St, Coogee’, as Randwick 908
12 June 1915
Co-founder of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, Rev. Father Edward (Ted) McGrath msc, is reinstated by his Order but is prevented from returning to Australia.
27 October 1911
Mrs Annie O’Connor and her four children move from ‘St Elmo’ in Neptune St, Coogee, to the ironically named ‘Restwell’
1 November 1911
Eileen holds this crucifix as she joyfully experiences an apparition of Our Lady at ‘Restwell’, Beach St, Coogee.
1 July 1956
Our Lady’s Home, Brisbane, opens after more than a decade of talks with Most Rev. James Duhig, Archbishop of Brisbane.
28 May 1914
Catherine (Kit) McGrath, one of the foundation nurses, enters Our Lady’s Home after attending a retreat
June 1926
Co-founder of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, Rev. Father Edward (Ted) McGrath msc, returns.
4 October 1981
Founder of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa, writes to the community at Our Lady’s Home
7 July 1932
The Catholic Freeman’s Journal reports that the Holy Father has given the Archbishop of Sydney permission to allow Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor
17 May 1977
Co-founder of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, Rev. Father Edward (Ted) McGrath msc, dies at Our Lady’s Home, aged 96 years.
November 1914
Co-founders Eileen Rev. McGrath msc, were presented with part of a war club reputedly used to martyr St Peter Chanel.
4 August 1940
The Most Rev. Norman Gilroy, Archbishop of Sydney, opens and blesses the new extension at Our Lady’s Home.
October 1915
Co-founder of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, Eileen O’Connor, has an audience with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XV.
29 October 1901
20-year-old Ted McGrath arrives at the Society of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart seminary at Kensington, NSW.
26 May 1913
Theresa (Cissie) McLaughlin enters Our Lady’s Home and becomes Eileen O’Connor’s first volunteer nurse.
25 September 1914
As Rev. Edward (Ted) McGrath battles with his superiors at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
HISTORIC NEWS
10 September 1914.
Fundraisers organise a concert at Concordia Hall in Elizabeth Street, Sydney, in aid of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor.