Sisters of St John of God Retreat

Statement of Significance

• The site has historic value for its association with the Sisters of St John of God who operated an orphanage in Broome from the early 1940's to 1962. • The site has social value for the members of the community who attended the place as a holiday cottage in the 1950's and 1960's, predominantly the girls who attended the Holy Child Orphanage and Sisters of the St John of God. The extant buildings on the site have no cultural heritage significance.

Physical Description

A group of several detached single storey houses within a fenced setting on the coastline. All evidence of the original buildings on the site has been removed.

History

The lot on which these buildings are located was first leased to the Sisters of St John of God in 1955 by the State Government. The Sisters of St John of God established the Holy Child Orphanage for girls in the Broome townsite during the early 1940's. The majority of the girls were from the local aboriginal population. The purpose of the acquisition of the lot at Reddell Beach was to provide a summer cottage for the girls. The Sisters named the block Bethlehem after the birthplace of Jesus. Mother Margaret engaged local builder, Jacob Sesar to construct a simple dormitory block and a pit toilet. All the materials for the building were recycled from other sites. For many years after World War Two building materials were in short supply therefore recycling was an economic necessity. The dormitory could only accommodate half of the population of girls from the orphanage, therefore during holidays each girl would have the opportunity to spend half of the holidays at the beach with one of two sisters accompanying them. Conditions at Bethlehem Retreat were basic with no running water or electricity but recollections from some of the girls who went on these holidays recall it as a positive experience with simple pleasures such as fishing and bush walks, and time away from studies. It is understood that on occasion girls from Broome who did not live at the orphanage also went to Bethlehem Retreat. Travelling to the retreat was challenging as the car the Sisters owned was not big enough for all of the girls so a scheme was devised to take one group half way and then drop them off to walk the remainder of the distance whilst the truck returned to pick up the other group. Alternatively the smaller children would get a ride while the larger children walked. Later the Sisters acquired a larger truck to transport all the girls. The Holy Child Orphanage in Broome was closed in 1962. The lease for the site was transferred to the Diocese of Broome in 1963. Aerial photographs indicate that the original buildings on the site were removed after this transfer and new buildings have been subsequently constructed on the site.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update