No. 1510 - Hobart - St Mary's Presentation Sisters Convent (1868)
This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a simple record of these buildings, including those which no longer exist.
St Mary’s Presentation Sister’s convent within the Cathedral precinct is now the home of St Mary’s College. When the second Catholic Bishop of Hobart, Daniel Murphy (1815–1907), arrived in Tasmania in April 1866, he was accompanied by a band of Irish Presentation Sisters* headed by his sister, Mother Xavier Murphy. Bishop Murphy decided to build a convent building for the Sisters adjacent to the partly-completed St Mary’s Cathedral. In August 1866 the foundation stone for a building designed by architect Henry Hunter was ceremonially laid.
Catholic Church history, Brian Andrews, suggests that Hunter’s design was almost entirely inspired by the architectural drawings of Augustus Pugin, a close friend of Bishop Robert William Willson, Hobart’s first Bishop. When Willson revisited England in 1848, he was to return with a set of Pugin’s designs for a residence for him on a site next to the Cathedral. Andrews writes:
“In a moment of inspiration, Hunter created—or should we say cribbed—the composition and proportions of his design from the unused Pugin house plans….Thus, it comes as no surprise that the convent building, of such outstanding beauty and refinement, has been derived from the creative genius of the man who designed England’s iconic Big Ben clock tower on the British Houses of Parliament”.
On 3 February 1868, the little school of Mount St Mary’s, as it was then know, received its first pupils.
*The sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Presentation Sisters) were founded in Cork, Ireland, by Nano (Honora) Nagle in 1775. The Presentation sisters established themselves in Tasmania in 1866 at Richmond under the auspices of the Archbishop, Dr. Daniel Murphy. This was the first Presentation convent and school in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sources:
St Mary’s Presentation Sister’s convent within the Cathedral precinct is now the home of St Mary’s College. When the second Catholic Bishop of Hobart, Daniel Murphy (1815–1907), arrived in Tasmania in April 1866, he was accompanied by a band of Irish Presentation Sisters* headed by his sister, Mother Xavier Murphy. Bishop Murphy decided to build a convent building for the Sisters adjacent to the partly-completed St Mary’s Cathedral. In August 1866 the foundation stone for a building designed by architect Henry Hunter was ceremonially laid.
Catholic Church history, Brian Andrews, suggests that Hunter’s design was almost entirely inspired by the architectural drawings of Augustus Pugin, a close friend of Bishop Robert William Willson, Hobart’s first Bishop. When Willson revisited England in 1848, he was to return with a set of Pugin’s designs for a residence for him on a site next to the Cathedral. Andrews writes:
“In a moment of inspiration, Hunter created—or should we say cribbed—the composition and proportions of his design from the unused Pugin house plans….Thus, it comes as no surprise that the convent building, of such outstanding beauty and refinement, has been derived from the creative genius of the man who designed England’s iconic Big Ben clock tower on the British Houses of Parliament”.
On 3 February 1868, the little school of Mount St Mary’s, as it was then know, received its first pupils.
*The sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Presentation Sisters) were founded in Cork, Ireland, by Nano (Honora) Nagle in 1775. The Presentation sisters established themselves in Tasmania in 1866 at Richmond under the auspices of the Archbishop, Dr. Daniel Murphy. This was the first Presentation convent and school in the Southern Hemisphere.
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| The old convent forms part of St Mary's College campus. Photo: Duncan Grant |
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| A monument to the Presentation Sisters is situated in front of the former convent. Photo: Duncan Grant |
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| Convent Gardens at the rear of St Mary's Cathedral (c.1892). Source: Libraries Tasmania; Photographs and Glass Plate Negatives collected by E R Pretyman (NS1013) |
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| View of Hobart showing St Mary's Cathedral and Convent (c.1892) Source: Libraries Tasmania: Photographs and Glass Plate Negatives collected by E R Pretyman (NS1013) |
Sources:
Andrews, Brian; Heritage Treasures, Catholic Standard, page 12; 24 March 2024.
Southerwood, W. T. Planting a faith : Hobart's Catholic story in word and picture / [by] W. T. Southerwood [Hobart] 1970
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