Second house of  Providence

At the south east corner of Victoria and Exhibition Street, there is a five metre graphic with explanatory text depicting the site of the second House of Providence of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Melbourne.   Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of Saint Joseph worked in this very poor and depraved area of Melbourne in the 1890’s.

The photograph of the original building shows the second House of Providence, believed to be the middle house, which originally would have been at the site of the Ecco Café – just a few doors east.

Members of the Department of Lands, Waters, Environment and Parks organised both the graphics and photographic display, to be part of the newly refurbished people’s area and foyer.  They were unveiled in March 2019.

In 1892 the Sisters advertised a home for unemployed servants. The second House of Providence was opened at ‘Nottingham Place’ at 535 Victoria Parade.