Comments on: St Anthony’s – Coolgardie Convent

By: Moya Sharp

Moya Sharp — Mon, 18 May 2026 03:33:39 +0000

In reply to Jenny Young. I'm afraid that these were the only ones I could access from the Catholic archives.

By: Jenny Young

Jenny Young — Sun, 17 May 2026 09:54:30 +0000

Hi, so grateful for your work. My grandmother and siblings are likely to have been in this Convent up to 1910 (when they were taken out to go to NSW). Surname Ovington. Mother – Mary Ann, Father – Thomas.
Have you posted any other enrolments that I could check?

By: evelyn.g8@bigpond.com

evelyn.g8@bigpond.com — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 01:46:14 +0000

Hi Moya.. Extremely interested in stories of the Convent, as my mother was a boarder there for 6 years & I was in the convent for 1 year at the age of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 That was during the Depression & times were tough. The nuns taught me to sing, which I did for my parents when they came to visit from time to time. I could carry a tune & remember the words even as a 4 year old. . Io hope you can access more names & records as I would love to see my mother’s name. She left in 1916 aged 13 ./

By: Esther Grogan

Esther Grogan — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 02:28:01 +0000

I knew St Anthony’s Convent in Coolgardie very well. When I was married I lived there, and used to have a lot to do with the school,. I was President of a group that sent out religious correspondence to the children that lived on the Nullabour, and once or so a year the children would come in and stay at the boarding school and have workshops etc. The older girls were involved in this and would correspond with the children who lived out there. No FB or internet in those days. It would have been in 1960’s. . My daughter now the Hon. Kate Doust lived in Coolgardie and used to escape from where we lived at the beautiful building in the town – Law Court and one day go to the Government School, and then the next day turn up at St Anthony’s, so the Nuns decided to let her start school – no kindy’s in those days, and she did. By memory there was Sr Roberta, Mother Regina that I can recall. Sr Roberta worked in the kitchen – often see her chopping the wood for the stove.

We left Coolgardie as the town’s mine had closed and husband was in the Post Office, and the Post Office was downgraded. Great little place to grow up in.