Foundations were made in other Dioceses; Wanganui in 1880 Goulburn in 1882, Maitland in 1883 and Tasmania in 1887. The Diocesan Sisters of St Joseph were recognised as Institutes in their own right and distinct from other Sisters of St Joseph by Decree of Propoganda, 25^th July, 1988. The Federation was formed in 1967. Each part of the Federation retained its autonomy but adopted common Constitution and participated in join initiatives such as Page School and the House of Studies in Canberra and the Papua-New Guinea Missions. The symbol, the blue monogrm, was replaced by the Federation Cross.

The Maitland Diocese foundation was made at Lochinvar in September, 1883, when four Sisters arrived from Perthville at the request of Bishop Murray, to teach in the Diocese.

The Sisters, who profess simple Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, see their Apostolate as a call to the service of poor, especially in "remote places where a Priest does not reside", (Fr Woods). In the early days their efforts were almost exclusively confined to Education and Parish Visitation in rural areas.

The Institute expanded rapidly. In early 1884 the first Postulants arrived, and in January, 1885 the first Branch Convents and Schools were opened at Merriwa and Quirindi. At the end of the first decade thirty-three Sisters had been professed and ten Branch Houses established. The Postulants came mostly from a rural background of town or district in which the Sisters worked.

The four young women who came to Lochinvar from Perthville faced constant challenges as they strove to lay the foundations of the Institute in a new area far from their parent community and family support. The rapid expansion in the Diocese necessitated the placing of young and inexperienced Religious in Convents and Schools far removed from the Motherhouse. Communications and transport were limited and contact with the Motherhouse restricted to the annual Retreat and occasional visits from the Sister Guardian. An example of this isolation was Krambach, now a drive less than two hours from Lochinvar, was a journey of three days by boat and buggy when the Convent was opened in 1893.

Finance, or lack of, posed a continuing problem considering the Apostolate in which they were engaged and the necessity to provide accommodation for the increasing number of Religious and pupils and to equip Sisters for their work in Branch Houses. The day they commenced work at Lochinvar, the community purse contained four shillings.

Perhaps the greatest trial of the first decades was sickness and death in the community, which was not spared that world wide scourge of the later 19^th century, tuberculosis. Of the thirty-three Sisters professed in the first ten years seven were to die by the end of the decade. This trend continued into the early twentieth century.

By the end of 1918 (the period under review), 130 Sisters had been professed at Lochinvar and twenty Branch Houses opened. That the Institute survived the trials of the early years is, under God, due to the dedication of the Sisters, the generosity and kindness of the people amongst whom they worked and the encouragement and friendship of the Bishop and Priests of the Diocese.

In 1941 Lochinvar Sisters were granted Provisional Approbation as a Canonical Congregation, followed by Definitive approbation in 1961.

Tranter, J.M., `Foundations: The Forces at Work in the Foundation of the Sisters of St. Joseph at Lochinvar,

1883-1913’ thesis (M.A.), University of Newcastle. 1988

Tranter, J. `Fr. Julian Tenison Woods: His Role as Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Lochinvar, N.S.W.’

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 12, 45-58. 1990.

Tranter, J. `The Irish Base of an Australian Religious Sisterhood: The Sisters of St. Joseph’, in Irish-

Australian studies: Papers delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, edited by P. Bull,

C. McConville and N. McLachlan, Melbourne. 228-42.

Zimmerman, B. Diocesan Sisters of St. Joseph 1876-1883. Australian Catholic Record. April 1991, pp 179-191.

If further information is required about individual Sisters the following address is given:

The Archivist

Lochinvar Congregation Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph

St. Joseph’s Convent

New England Highway

LOCHINVAR NSW 2321

In writing to the Archivist, it would be appropriate that a financial contribution be made for the Archivist’s time and expertise.

Religious Orders or Congregations have released the details on their members. It is understood that the copyright of any material (including the listing of the names of the Sisters) relevant to a particular Order or Congregation in this publication remains with the relevant Order or Congregation.