The Archives of Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart hold the official records of the Congregation dating back to its foundation in the 1800's.
The archives held the records of several children's homes in New South Wales that had been operated by the Sisters of St Joseph. In 2013 the Sisters transferred their records to CatholicCare Adoption Services in Bankstown, which is now called Family Spirit. Family Spirit should be contacted for access to records relating to children who spent time in homes run by the Sisters of St Joseph.
Sources used to compile this entry: Sisters of St Joseph, 'Letter from Sisters of St Joseph regarding location of records [Correspondence, Item 6]', in Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices: Submissions received by the Committee, 25 August 2011, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2010-13/commcontribformerforcedadoption/submissions; Thinee, Kristy and Bradford, Tracy, Connecting Kin: Guide to Records, A guide to help people separated from their families search for their records [completed in 1998], New South Wales Department of Community Services, Sydney, New South Wales, 1998, https://clan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/connectkin_guide.pdf; Emails from Archivist, Archives of Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph, 17 January 2013 and 29 April 2013, regarding locations of records of children changed from North Sydney to CatholicCare Adoption Services, Bankstown.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry
Created: 9 March 2011, Last modified: 15 June 2021