From Potts Point to the Pacific
The Mission to Fiji, 1957-1966
Assistant Archivist, Carlos Lopez
The Congregational Archives holds a diverse collection of photographic prints, slides and negatives that provide a visual record of the history of the Sisters of Charity and their ministries both in Australia and abroad. Of particular significance is a collection of 35mm slides dating from 1957-1966 documenting the first overseas mission of the Congregation at St Teresa’s Novitiate, Cawaci, Fiji.
Invited by the Vicar Apostolic of Fiji, Victor Frederick Foley S.M., the Sisters of Charity were tasked with teaching English and other secondary school subjects to the postulants and novices of the Sisters of Our Lady of Nazareth (SOLN), a Diocesan Congregation founded in Fiji in 1952. It was hoped that this education would prepare the SOLN to pursue further studies in teaching and nursing, transforming their Congregation from its traditional supportive role in the Mission Stations to one which would manage and work in schools and hospitals across the Pacific.
The slides themselves largely consist of both formal and informal snapshots documenting daily life at St Teresa’s Novitiate and at the nearby Sisters of Charity Convent, ‘Maryhill’. Scenes include Sisters participating in lessons, recreation, gardening, and fishing as well as profession ceremonies and visits from dignitaries. The slides also document visits to local landmarks, religious houses and neighbouring communities, including the leprosarium on the nearby island of Makogai.
Cataloguing and describing this collection has been a challenge as the slides often do not contain any descriptive information that could assist in establishing their location, date, creator, purpose, or identifying those in the images. However, much of this information has been revealed through a close examination of the visual evidence, corroboration of details with other records and through working in collaboration with the Sisters of Our Lady of Nazareth. Furthermore, the choice of medium would suggest that they were intended to be shared as the slides could be projected to a larger group of people than a single photographic print could.
Nevertheless, our research continues as some questions remain unanswered, such as who was behind the camera documenting this mission and who created the slides.
Highlighting this collection is timely as 2022 marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of this mission, marking a significant point in the history of both Congregations.
Above are a few slides selected from the collection.
All images are courtesy of the Congregational Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Australia.