Mary was born on January 15th 1842 in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy Melbourne. Her father studied priesthood in Rome but her father had went back to native Scotland because of his ill health at 1835. In 1838 he decided to migrate to Australia. Mary’s mother, Flora MacDonald arrived in Melbourne in 1840. It was that year that her mother and father decided to marry and eventually had seven children.
Mary was the eldest of their children and she was educated in private schools and also by her father. Her father left his family behind in 1851 and made a trip back to Scotland which lasted 17 months. He was unsuccessful in making the farm work and at any job he did. The family had to survive on small wages that the children could bring home. Mary made her First Communion at the early age of 9. She started work at the age of 14. Mary took a job of a governess in 1860 for her Aunt and Uncle in South Australia. She looked after their children and taught them. She was set on helping the poor wherever possible and this brought her in contact with Father Julian Edmund Tension Woods. He was a priest in South East Australia. He was very worried that there was not enough education in South Australia. He started a school and became the founder, with Mary who taught at The Sisters of St Joseph. In 1867 she became the first Sister and Mother Superior of the Sisters of St Joseph and moved into the new convert. She dedicated her life to the education of the children of the poor and founded the first Australian religious order.
In 1869 in Brisbane Mary and several other Sisters set up an Order in Queensland. Over the next few years she set up Orders in Port Augusta and Burra. During 1871 Mary was wrongly excommunicated by Bishop Sheil. He was against most things that Mary had fought for. Just before his death in 1872 he instructed Father Hughes to lift the excommunication on Mary. Mary left shortly afterwards to go to Europe to visit as many schools as possible to observe their teaching methods. Mary was to spend almost 2 years there and she brought approval back from Rome for her Sisters and the work they did. In 1877 the Order operated more than forty schools in and around Adelaide, as well as New South Wales and Queensland. Mary was now known as Mother Mary and she was able to continue her Religion and other good works which included visiting people in prison.
Father Joseph Tappeiner had given a solid support to Mary. She had also the support of Bishop Reynolds of Adelaide. Archbishop Vaughan of Sydney who was appointed in 1877 made life a little easier for Mary and her sisters. However, when Vaughan died in 1882, Bishop Reynolds had one aim and that was to destroy Mother Mary. He was successfully in exiling Mary. He was however unsuccessful in crushing her. Mary continued with her work in Sydney and tried to provide as much support to those in South Australia. In 1883 the Order was successful in setting up in New Zealand, where Mary stayed for 3 years.
Mary supported the Sisters of St Joseph by writing letters of support, advice and encouragement and sometimes just to keep in touch. Mary was back in South Australia in 1896 and in the same year set up an Order in South Island of New Zealand. It was then she became faced with many health problems. She suffered from rheumatism and after a stroke in New Zealand in 1902, Mary became paralysed on her right side. From then on Mary was in a wheelchair, but her speech and mind remained in good health. In 1905 the Sisters had enough confidence in Mary and re-elected her.
Unfortunately Mother Mary died 8th August 1909. She was laid to rest at the Gore Hill Cemetery at North Sydney. 27th January 1914 she was transferred to a vault before the alter of the Mother of God in the Memorial Chapel in Mount Street, Sydney.
One hundred years after her death, the Sisters are still working in many towns in South Australia.
Mary spent her life listening to the word of God and trusted in God. She understood that God would provide and prayed for help in her work. Mary had an understanding towards the poor and with the help of the people around her she was able to follow her destiny in the calling from the Holy Spirit.
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