EDUCATION: CARMEL COLLEGE
Foundation Sisters of the Mt Carmel Convent (from left): Sisters Cordelia, Alacoque and Marguerite, March 1922.
An artists impression of the original Shakespear villa.
Sr Anna and Mia Harvey on the front porch of the newly renovated convent.
An artists impression of the restored Carmel Convent.
Restoration of the Carmel College Convent The recent restoration of this heritage building has been a reminder of Carmel College’s history. The building will be used for special projects at the College and will include a visual display of the history of the Villa/Convent. Our History While some might link the history of Carmel College to the opening in 1957, the beginnings of our school stretch back to 1827, when the first school in the Mercy tradition opened in Dublin, Ireland. Carmel College is part of a network of hundreds of primary and secondary schools and universities, in over 20 countries, established by the Sisters of Mercy. So, what connects these schools? In 1827 Catherine McAuley, an Irish Catholic woman who had inherited a fortune (the equivalent of about NZ$8 million today), chose to use her wealth to alleviate the needs of poor women and children in Dublin. She built a house that she named the House of Mercy, started a school and provided shelter for homeless women or women in vulnerable situations. While she, and the women who joined her in this work, met the temporary needs of the women, their goal was to give them skills so that they could be independent and escape the cycle of poverty that was prevalent at the time. A few years later, Catherine McAuley started the Sisters of Mercy, a religious congregation who felt called to serve those
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in need and create a climate where the potential of women could be attained. A cholera pandemic led the Sisters into nursing and healthcare, and social work was another area in which the Sisters were involved. It was not long before Bishops around the world were asking Catherine to send Sisters to their countries to serve. In 1849, Bishop Pompallier, the first Catholic Bishop of New Zealand, asked Sisters to come to New Zealand, particularly to respond to the call of the Māori women for Wāhine Tapu - holy women. The Sisters accepted the invitation, and in April 1850, Sisters arrived in Auckland. Meanwhile, the area around Lake Pupuke was beginning to be farmed, with Thomas and Mary Poynton the first Pākeha family to farm by the lake. Their daughter Catherine married Michael Shea, and they farmed the area on which Carmel College now sits. In 1884 the Sheas sold part of the property to William and Harriet Shakespear. The Shakespears built the villa that has recently been restored and lived in it until 1922 when they sold it to the Sisters of Mercy, who had previously purchased the other piece of land from the Sheas. Shortly after the first community of Sisters moved into the newly named Mt Carmel Convent, they welcomed boarders, and by 1925 a small school of 13 students had opened under the headteacher, Sr M. Dymphna. The Sisters taught music and cared for elderly or convalescent women in the Convent until the College opened in 1957.
