A PROJECT to restore the St Aidan's grave at Bendigo Cemetery has received praise from one of the former orphans who lived there from 1947 to 1951.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The former resident, Michael, lived at the home until he was 11-years-old.
"I had a younger brother there and his twin sister and an older sister who later became a nun," he said.
A plot for 52 women and children who lived at the orphanage had fallen into disrepair, its concrete cracked and fencing falling over. People had been buried there between 1907 and 1977.
St Aidan's Grave Restoration and Beautification Group chair Len Williams said he had visited the cemetery, looking for the resting place of some of his relatives, when he first learned of the condition of the grave.
"I thought it was sad and I heard that other people felt the same way," he said.
Lead researcher Kath Martin identified each person interred so they could have their names marked on new steel pointers to show their dates of birth and death, indicating the position where they were buried.
The restoration project was completed last year.
Michael, who did not want his last name to be used, said his parents had died when he was a young boy and he had grown up in two orphanages including one that was operated by St Vincent's.
"There are three good reasons to go into an orphanage and three bad ones," he said.
"I went in for a good reason."
He acknowledged that there were children in the orphanages who had living parents, but were removed from their care, and who were very distressed by their experiences.
"A good reason to place children in an orphanage is because some children never knew their mother or father - others because their parents couldn't cope or because their parents had died."
Michael said he enjoyed his years at St Aidan's Orphanage and his later time at St Vincent's in Melbourne.
"I've seen the grave restoration and I like it," he said.
"I think they've done a good job."
Committee member Helen said she had joined the grave restoration project to honour her mother who had been at the orphanage as a child in the 1920s-30s. Her mother married in 1938.
"Her mother had died and she was one of five children. There was no government assistance for single parents and my grandfather needed to go to work," she said.
Helen said her mother Teresa had enjoyed her time at St Aidan's Orphanage and had taken Helen there as a child to visit regularly in the 1950s and 1960s.
"It was the same as going home to grandma," she said. "We called (one of the nuns) grandma because St Aidan's was grandma's home to us."
Margaret, who was also on the committee, said her mother had entered the St Aidan's Orphanage in 1906 and her aunt in 1907, and both enjoyed their time there.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Download our app on iOS and Android
- Bookmark bendigoadvertiser.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter @BgoAddy
- Follow us on Instagram @bendigoadvertiser
- Join us on Facebook
- Follow us on Google News