By Marco Ceccarelli
A group of 36 ladies who attended New Norcia’s St Gertrude’s College between the years of 1946 and 1980 recently returned to the monastic town to reunite and relive some of the memories they shared together.
Over the weekend of 15 to 17 April, the ladies attended Mass, toured the town and gave their experience of life at St Gertrude’s boarding school in their respective time brackets.
Three of the women involved joined the group after undertaking the Camino Salvado, an annual 160km pilgrimage from the Perth suburb of Subiaco to New Norcia, while another flew from Queensland just to be present for the reunion.
Ex-student Sue Hackett, who attended St Gertrude’s between 1963 and 1966, spoke to The eRecord about the significance of the event and the captivating discussions had by women who experienced the college in different time brackets.
Some of the older ladies, in fact, attended the school when many of the commodities offered to the younger generation were simply not there.
“It was so interesting to hear stories from the younger girls, who often had horrified looks on their faces when hearing of the privations and lifestyle of the earlier students.
“Hand washing of our uniforms in buckets, one bath a week in water from the dams, nightly ablutions using a bowl of tepid water, class times of six days a week all year, and seven days in Term Three… not to mention the public examination in Years 10 or 12.
“How it altered over time with a tuck shop, weekends spent in leisure, full laundry facilities, daily showers and much more,” Ms Hackett said.
While Ms Hackett has returned to New Norcia on different occasions with her class group, many of those who attended the reunion had not been back in decades.
Tours of the town were therefore held to guide the ladies through buildings which have since become redundant, and those still in full functioning order.
St Gertrude’s itself, which opened in 1908, was eventually closed in 1991 and is now used primarily as a venue for school camps.
The reunion concluded with a Mass at New Norcia’s Abbey Church, which contains the tomb of Rosendo Salvado, the founder of New Norcia.
Ms Hackett summed up the reunion with comments which reflect the bond established by many of those who over the years had the privilege of walking through St Gertrude’s doors.
“We bade farewell to both new and old friends with much affection, looking forward to the next time we gather as one… regardless of where our lives have taken us, we are St Gertrude’s Girls.”