In May 1861, Mother Vincent Whitty and five other women who had dedicated their lives to works of charity and mercy, arrived in Australia from Ireland.
Mother Vincent Whitty had been a close associate of Catherine McAuley, and joining a Mercy venture overseas had been the real desire of her heart for many years.
Under her guidance, this little group was committed to continuing the work of Mercy that had seen the establishment of Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin.
Although the Sisters were immediately busy with education and visiting the sick, Mother Vincent’s main ambition was to build a hospital dedicated to caring for the poor.
Although they did not yet have a hospital at the time of Mother Vincent’s death in 1892, the Sisters had largely replicated the works established in Dublin with 222 Sisters of Mercy in Brisbane and regional Queensland managing 26 schools with 7000 students, a teachers’ training college, a secondary girls’ school, an orphanage, an industrial school and a Magdalen asylum for unmarried mothers.
Another Irish woman, Mother Patrick Potter, succeeded Mother Vincent Whitty. Mother Patrick arrived in Brisbane in 1868 when she was only 19.
An ardent advocate for women’s education and determined to establish a university in Queensland, Mother Patrick held the office of Superior or assistant Superior, for 48 years.
"Mother Patrick’s religious outlook did not prevent her from having her feet firmly planted in the material world. Her way to heaven was not paved only with good intentions—good strategic planning and meticulous financial management formed a resilient tarmac."
–Extract from Expressions of Mercy—History of the Mater Hospitals, by Helen Gregory.
Within the first year of Mother Patrick’s appointment, the Sisters purchased 10 acres of land at South Brisbane for A£7000 in 1893. However, it wasn't until 1906 that the first Mater Misericordiae Private Hospital opened in North Quay, Brisbane, with accommodation for 20 patients.
Part of the private patient fees went towards construction costs for the public and private hospitals at the South Brisbane location now known as Mater Hill. Building commenced in 1908 and Mater Private Hospital opened with great fanfare in August 1910, followed by Mater Public Hospital just a few months later. This hospital, which provided free care for the sick and needy, had been the most dearly held dream of the Sisters of Mercy since their arrival in Brisbane 50 years earlier.
Mother Patrick’s era is remembered as a period of great expansion. Some of the advances made under her stewardship include Mater Public Hospital's extensions, the establishment of the Mater Public Hospital training school for lay nursing trainees and the start of construction for Mater Children's Hospital.
Born in Ireland in 1880, Mother Alban Salmon came to Queensland in November 1902.
After teaching in various Sisters of Mercy schools, Mother Alban was Mistress of Novices before she was elected Reverend Mother (Congregation Leader) in 1923.
Mother Patrick Potter’s death in 1927 brought Mother Alban Salmon to the fore, a shrewd and determined leader with a strong sense of direction for the future of the Mater.
Mother Alban’s vision was to ensure that Mater became a clinical school for The University of Queensland’s Faculty of Medicine. This dream became a reality in 1949. Part of the strategy in achieving this goal was the announcement in 1946 of the construction of a maternity hospital. By providing training in obstetrics for Mater’s resident medical officers, Mater Mothers’ Hospital elevated the Mater campus into a large and complex hospital system, entrenching it as a vital part of Queensland’s hospital network.
Mother Damian Duncombe was the first Australian-born woman to lead the Brisbane Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy.
Born in Hughenden in 1899, she taught at All Hallows’ Girls’ School from 1927 to 1944 when she became the Superior at Mater and, in 1950, its first Sister Administrator. An able administrator with a keen interest in new ideas and new methods, Mother Damian started the McAuley Teachers’ College, reflecting her determination that the young Sisters would be educated. She also established the Sisters’ mission in New Guinea.
She was elected Reverend Mother (Congregation Leader) in 1954 and first president of the Federation of the Sisters of Mercy Australia in 1956. Mother Damian was passionately interested in Mater Mothers' Hospital, which opened in December 1960 and admitted its first patients on 2 February 1961—exactly 50 years after the first patients were admitted to Mater Public Hospital and 100 years after the Sisters’ arrival in Queensland.