Little Lon

“Little Lon” was the heart of Melbourne’s slum district. It was a place of brothels, gambling dens, drunkenness and destitution. It was also a place where the urban working class lived. Therefore, according to Mary MacKillop, it was a perfect location for the Providence in Melbourne and a school for the poor. 

The area was considered not suitable for the Sisters to live in because of the presence of houses of ill-repute. Annie (Mary’s sister) in a letter, wrote of the terrible screaming of women and the noise of cattle and dogs moving down the street during the night. 

Upon hearing of Archbishop Thomas Carr’s concern that the location may be unpleasant for the Sisters of St. Joseph, Mary replied that this was where the greatest need was. Mary visited the school often, bringing with her boiled sweets for the children. The school closed in the 1930’s. Although the term Social Justice was not in common use during Mary’s time, it is certainly an apt description of the work that she and the Sisters of St. Joseph undertook in Melbourne. Mary believed that education was the best means to provide the poor with opportunity to rise above their circumstance. For those who lived in poverty, Mary tried to provide aid and comfort to ease the difficulties in their lives. 

Mary MacKillop saw the work of the Sisters not as a public service, but as an element in Christian living inspired by the Spirit of Christ.