“It’s kind of like looking at an old cemetery at the moment, like a dark headstone”
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Explored Visions by Greg Davis
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First published in the Goulburn Express - Issue 8 - August 2021
The owner of St John’s Orphanage is awaiting the arrival of a demolition works order, which upon receipt, he will have 90 days to execute after preserving his historical elements of the building.
Goulburn Mulwaree Council announced the demolition of 52 Mundy St at the meeting of Council on July 22, after a heritage advisor deemed the building a risk to public safety due to extensive fire damage.
Many of the orphanage’s former residents, known as the ‘St John’s old boys’, will be happy to see the building gone, after years of watching their once home descend into disrepair – a far cry from the grand building they remember.
“It’s kind of like looking at an old cemetery at the moment, like a dark headstone,” said one of the ‘old boys’, Phil Merrigan.
Over 2,000 boys lived in the Orphanage from 1912 to 1978, under the care of the Catholic Sisters of Mercy.
Each year, a number of the old boys return to the Goulburn region from all corners of NSW for a function held at the restored St Joseph’s Girls Orphanage owned by Maggie and Darryl Patterson.
“The St. John’s building has suffered over recent years, it has become a magnet for trouble,” said Maggie Patterson.
“It brought distress to some of the former residents who cared about the site and wanted to see it retained as a symbol of their experience”.
The inside of the restored St John’s orphanage Photo: Rebecca Wilkinson
“It was tough, and it was hard, and you got beltings and you were in fights all the time, but that was such a better experience than my home life.”
Phill Merrigan is one such boy who cherished his time at St. John’s and said for many boys they “don’t know what their life would have been if they didn’t have that place to go to.
“Only about two percent of the 2,000 boys were orphans,” he said. “And the nuns never turned anybody away. You might have a father whose wife had died and left him with eight kids, and he’s got to try and find a job.
“It was tough, and it was hard, and you got beltings and you were in fights all the time, but that was such a better experience than my home life.”
It is likely that by the time the former residents return this year for their reunion in November, the Orphanage will have disappeared from the Goulburn skyline.
“There’ll be those that come back to town to visit and we’ll definitely drive up and have a look,” said Mr Merrigan.
The owner, John Ferrara, told the Goulburn Express that he is still waiting on further communication from the Council about the specifics of the demolition and which parts of the building will need to be salvaged.
Council has already specified that the crucifix, stone elements, foundation plaque, forecourt area and remnant trees will be among the artefacts saved from the historical site.
“We would like the foundation stone to be saved and I would prefer that somewhere in the new development they recognise that this was the site of St. John’s,” said Mr Merrigan.
Mr Ferrara is scheduled to meet with Goulburn Mulwaree Council to discuss his plans for redeveloping the site.
