Sacred Heart Convent Island Bay Wellington

[karrienz]

Hi

My grandmother more than likely (most probably) went to Sacred Heart Convent Island Bay from a young age circa 1918 - 1925 at least.

Enquiring today if anyone can help me locate the whereabouts of the records of the old Convent. On Archives NZ Archway index for the convent primary school there is a 'no date' box of primary school records but I was wondering if NZSG have any indexes for Catholic schools in Wellington for those years or should I be contacting the Catholic Schools archives people - tried looking up who that would be but drawn a blank - the residence of my great grandmother Lily Belcher on the Electoral roll for 1919 is Wellington North which appears to be quite a distance from Island Bay and the school. 

Any help or ideas appreciated thank you

Karrienz

[TwiggyTree]

There are some photographic and general records here for Sacred Heart Convent:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0y2h/

When I contacted the Catholic (Schools Board) archivist in Wellington (2009) about school records he said that he had none and that each would be with the school themselves.

If it is the school you are looking for then Sacred Heart Convent School was later known as Erskine College for Girls.

[TwiggyTree]

This however may be the admission register?
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0y2i/

[karrienz]

  Hi TwiggyTree

Thank you very much for that information and the links; I had seen the photographs but not the rest of the file references.  Now, today as I was composing a note to the NatLib to see about finding the name of my grandmother in the registers - a 'light bulb' went off - I have her Roman Catholic Missal - I've had it for about 40 years and it's so precious that I had it packed away with some other mementos in a storage box in my wardrobe; I have just gotten the box down and found the Missal - guess what is on the front  page in pencil: St Mary's Convent, Hill Street, Thorndon.  However this book is printed in 1936 - the same year my grandmother got married so it may have been a gift from her old 'mother superior' at this convent or she was attending the chapel - having been at the St Mary's convent school as a child - I had always thought though that it was the Island Bay convent because she was fostered to a family in Island Bay as a young girl around 12 or younger as her mother remarried in 1924 and my grandmother never lived with her again.  I'll let you know how I get on...I have some more checking on the residence of her mother when she first married in 1918 - it is probably Thorndon as I know that was an area in Wellington North.

regards
Karrienz

[shaigh]

Try the archivist at Baradene College in Auckland.
It is the only school left in NZ of the same order and should have history details for Erskine and Timaru etc

School website   just Google   Baradene College

The archivist has recently changed and I do not know the name of the new one.

[shaigh]

Just looked it up!

.http://www.baradene.school.nz/WebSpace/3049/

[Janette]

Hi Shaigh

You will need to remove the name and email from your post as it is against RC policies to avoid spam,this link will substitute it

http://www.baradene.school.nz/WebSpace/3049/

Cheers Janette

[shaigh]

Done!  Sorry!

[Lucy2]

  I had always thought though that it was the Island Bay convent because she was fostered to a family in Island Bay as a young girl around 12 or younger as her mother remarried in 1924 and my grandmother never lived with her again.

Hi karrienz

If you're looking for a primary (or junior) school in Island Bay, then it was likely the Sacred-Heart-run, St Francis de Sales school which opened in Avon Street, Island Bay in 1905.      In 1926 this school became St Madeleine Sophie after moving to a new Island Bay site (-- I seem to recall that St Madeleine Sophie junior school was once located in the grounds of what was later called Erskine College].   

     ~  Lu