Presentation SistersPrint Page 
In the 1800s the port of Geraldton had become a prosperous town due to wool and grain exports and mining from Northampton nearby. Bishop Matthew Gibney of Perth sought the assistance of several religious orders to establish a convent and school in Geraldton. The Presentation Sisters from Sneem and Michelstown in County Kerry, Ireland agreed to come to Western Australia.
In May 1891 Sisters sailed from Ireland to England then to Albany. From Albany they travelled to Perth by train and finally by boat to Geraldton, arriving in July 1891. They commenced work the day after they arrived. During the next 78 years the Sisters from that original group opened a further 21 schools in some of the remotest areas of Western Australia. They “followed the mining towns, opening and closing schools wherever there was a need, even taking their convent and school by ‘jinker’ (a wheeled flat topped conveyance) from one mining town to another. They reached out to country children by taking boarders, both boys and girls, and taught many Aboriginal children.”
Location
| Address: | Lot 85 Foreshore Drive , Geraldton, 6530 |
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| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -28.768985 Long: 114.613362 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Education |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 6th July, 1991 |
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Plaque :
This plaque is to commemorate and acknowledge the work of the Presentation Sisters in Catholic Education in Geraldton
and surrounding areas. They began their work on this site in 1891.
Presented by the City of Geraldton 6th July,1991
Mayor E. J. Whelan
Plaque :
This monument was erected on the original site of the Star of the Sea Presentation Convent renamed Stella Maris Presentation College in 1911
Unveiled by His Worship Mayor P. G. Cooper JP on 20th July, 1995.
