Who was Sr Francis Goold? What is the legacy of Sr Mary Margaret Hehir?
These questions will be answered at this year’s Perth Heritage Days (November 16-17) activities at the Mercy Heritage Centre.
This year, the centre will be shining a light on a couple of the many incredible women who have lived and worked at Victoria Square during its 167-year history.
Participants will learn about the remarkable Sr Francis, a pioneer Sister of Mercy who became the first principal of a Catholic secondary school in WA when she established the Ladies College at Victoria Square in 1848.
Visitors will be able to learn, for example, that she turned her hand to repairing boots when two Perth cobblers both refused to repair the Sisters’ shoes anymore, declaring them ‘rubbish’.
Many local people still remember the vibrant Sr Mary Margaret Hehir whose prodigious musical talent is the stuff of local legends.
For decades, she shared her skills with budding musicians and scholars alike as she ensured that girls under her care triumphed in local eisteddfods.
Participants in the Heritage Day sessions will be able to learn some of the details of how the lively young boarder, with extraordinary musical talent, became a teacher whom many former pupils still recall as one of the most influential figures in their lives.
Bookings for the sessions must be made at Heritage Perth – heritageperth.com.au.
The centre is in the 1871 Mercy convent building located behind St Mary’s Cathedral.