Although Monte Pio was an Orphanage there were very few orphans. Family breakdown, unsafe home environment, lack of a responsible guardian, death of a parent, illness and poverty were some of the main reasons, girls were placed in the care of the Sisters of Mercy at Monte Pio.
Living conditions were hard for both the Sisters and girls in the early years of Monte Pio. With the girls having hardly enough clothing and linen to go round, not being able to enjoy a daily bath, eating and drinking from enamel plates and mugs, generally just having to make do. And this only scratched the surface of some of the inconveniences experienced by both the Sisters and girls at that time. There was no higher school education available for the older girls until 1953.
To try comparing life at Monte Pio prior to the mid-1950s’ to life at Monte from then to its closure in 1972, can be like comparing apples with oranges, so vastly different were the living conditions and social attitudes.
Anyone who lived at Monte Pio from the later half of the 1950s’ will tell you that the amenities were very up to date. The home boasted quality inclusions such as polished wooden floors in some areas and polished paving/tiles in others, porcelain hand basins and baths, stainless steel fittings and towel racks, showers, an industrial dishwasher, kitchen and laundry facilities any 5 star motel would envy, not forgetting the projector room for in-house movies. The girls of Monte Pio, under the supervision of a Sister, were responsible for the housecleaning and immaculate presentation of the inside of the home. The Sisters of course, maintained the convent, setting very high standards for the girls to follow. The Sisters ran the kitchen and laundry with the help of the girls. A handyman maintained the grounds and did repair work around the home, as well as being responsible for the maintenance of the boiler, which provided the home and convent with hot water.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s the girls of Monte Pio enjoyed outings to the local movie cinema, swimming pool, walks ‘over the hills’, an occasional Sunday drive around the area and even dancing lessons. In the early 1960s television replaced the in-house movies.
Concerts, school fetes and ‘button days’ continued to be a source of revenue for Monte Pio well into the 1960s. The Men’s Committee was a generous benefactor throughout the years. The people of Maitland, Newcastle and surrounding areas generously supported Monte Pio in a number of ways, and many of the girls experienced their kindness by being taken into their homes for school holidays.
If you were to ask anyone who attended Monte Pio to name their favourite Sister, you would get dozens of different names, and as with any institution, the most unpopular person would be the main disciplinarian at the time.
Not only did the girls at Monte Pio benefit from the opening of Our Lady of Mercy Home Science School, day pupils attended from Campbell’s Hill, Rutherford, Maitland, East Maitland, Greta, Branxton, Morpeth, Raymond Terrace and Miller’s Forest. During its ten year existence the school developed a good reputation for scholastic and sporting achievements. It was as a result of the Wyndham scheme and limited resources that the high school was forced to close in December 1962. At this time the high school’s curriculum was varied and well rounded, providing the pupils with a solid basis for further education and the opportunity to pursue careers in any field. Subjects taught at the school included English, Maths, History, Physiology, Business Principles and Bookkeeping, Home Science and Cooking, Textiles, Sewing and Drafting, and of course Religion. Shorthand and Typing were extra subjects taught after school hours.
In Sonia Hornery’s Thesis “Memories of daily life in a Maitland Orphanage” (Honours Thesis, Department of History, University of Newcastle, 2001), she gives an insight into the memories and experiences of a small segment of Monte Pio girls who volunteered to be interviewed for the Thesis. Topics discussed in this Thesis are ‘Children and Institutionalisation in Australia’; ‘Establishing Monte Pio’ and ‘Daily life, Learning and Work’.
It should be reiterated that personalities and temperaments being what they are, no two people share the same experience.
The poems ‘Reflections’ and ‘Ghosts of Murray Dwyer’ aptly express the sentiments of many.