North to Brisbane

1 July 1956. Our Lady’s Home, Brisbane, opens after more than a decade of talks with Most Rev. Jam

1 July 1956. Our Lady’s Home, Brisbane, opens after more than a decade of talks with Most Rev. James Duhig, Archbishop of Brisbane. Eager to have the gentle presence of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor in his diocese, Archbishop Duhig donates half of the £6000 required to purchase a house in New Farm and then pays to have it refurbished into a convent. A public appeal raises £2000 within a matter of weeks, while the Queensland Government contributes a further £500. Mother General Cissie McLaughlin stays with the three foundation sisters, Sisters May McGahey, Lucy Mackay and Peggy Shead, for several months. Our Lady’s Home quickly becomes a focal point of Brisbane’s Catholic community. Annual gift days raise hundreds of pounds in cash and donations of much-needed supplies of groceries, medical requirements and clothing. As in Sydney, teams of volunteers drive the sisters on their rounds and to help maintain Our Lady’s Home. Archbishop Duhig donates a car the following year and then a second in 1959. It proves to be a fruitful mission, with the sisters soon making more than 3000 visits and distributing 1000 food, medical and clothing parcels each year.