Brief History

The Logan Brae residence was built in the 1870’s by John Busby for his wife Harriet and his eleven children. After an interim period, when it was used as accommodation for Agriculture College students, the property was bought in 1909 by Mr John Meagher MLC and donated to the Sisters of Mercy for use as a formation house and teacher training facility for young Mercy novices. It was renamed St Joseph’s Mount. The property has been in constant use as a convent residence, administration and education centre for the Sisters of Mercy for 100 years this year.

From 1995 to 2007 St Joseph’s Mount was also the home of the Mercy & Justice Centre, coordinated by Sr Pat Linnane rsm. Underprivileged and suffering people in our local area were assured of advocacy and support from the Centre’s outreach programs.

In 2006, the Sisters of Mercy dedicated this property to earth care awareness – exploring new ways of doing the works of mercy for people in the context of comprehensive compassion for the whole earth community. Our desire is to nurture an ecological learning community where we can share that exploration with experts and novices alike.