In 1846, Bishop Pompallier bought 23 acres of land from Governor Sir George Grey, and used it as the grounds for the North Shore’s first school, St Mary’s College, which opened in 1849. Fr Forest S.M. was its first Rector, and Bishop Pompallier himself made frequent visits to the College, each time crossing the harbour by rowboat. Later, the College was used as a seminary, and then in 1893, it became an orphanage, and was renamed St Joseph’s by the Sisters of Mercy, who had been entrusted as its stewards. The orphanage’s 30-inch walls were strong enough to survive the fire of 1923, but sadly, its adjacent church was not as sturdy—in that same year, people attempted to move it away from the orphanage and next to Taharoto Road, but it collapsed overnight.
Devonport was, for the longest time, the main hub for North Shore Catholics, and during this time, St Joseph’s functioned as a satellite parish of Devonport. In 1919, however, St Joseph’s became its own parish, and thirty years later, St Vincent de Paul Church was established in Milford to accommodate the growing community. In 1957, Carmel College was built, thanks to the generosity of Thomas and Mary Poynton, who had settled in the North Shore in the mid-1800s, and of their daughter, Catherine Shea, who gave to the Sisters of Mercy the land on which Carmel College resides. In 1960, St Luke’s Church was established in Bayswater, and in 1962, Rosmini College was built just down the street from St Joseph’s. The current church at St Joseph’s was opened in 1966. In 1989, Sister Gemma, the last of the Mercy Sisters to run St Joseph’s school, returned to Ireland. While the primary school is no longer under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, the school community retains both its gratitude for the Sisters’ efforts, and its respect for Mercy Values.
Thanks to God’s blessings, and to the hard work of generations, our parish family continues to increase. From 1846 until now, we keep growing together, praying together, and helping each other spread the Gospel to the North Shore and beyond!
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