Founded on 11 September 1907, Iona Presentation College is named after the Scottish Isle of Iona. Five Presentation Sisters followed a call in the 1900s that brought them to Western Australia.
Learn more about Iona's history here.
Founding of Iona Presentation College
The Presentation Sisters were founded in 1775 in Ireland by Nano Nagle.
They came first to Richmond, Tasmania in October 1866, to Melbourne, Victoria in 1873 and to Wagga Wagga, New South Wales in 1874. The Sisters that founded Wagga Wagga came from Kildare in Ireland.
Two Australian born women, Mary Treacey, known as Mother Angela Treacey, entered Wagga Wagga, New South Wales in 1877, followed by Rose Jones, known as Mother John Jones, entered at Hay, New South Wales in 1888. Three young Irish women followed: Catherine O’Dowling, known as Mother Joseph O’Dowling, entered at Wagga Wagga in 1877; Teresa O’Halloran, known as Mother Paul O’Halloran entered at Hay, New South Wales in 1891; Brigid Moynihan, known as Mother Columba Moynihan, entered at Hay in 1891.
These pioneering women left Hay, New South Wales, on 29 January 1900 bound for the Western Australian goldfields. After setting up foundations in Southern Cross (1900), Collie (1902), Cottesloe (1905), they founded Buckland Hill (Mosman Park) in 1907. Mother Angela Treacey was the initial foundress of the Perth Congregation.
Bishop Gibney, who was then the Bishop of Perth, remarked that the site in Mosman Park, situated on a rise with the Swan River on one side and the ocean on the other, reminded him of the Isle of Iona, and he hoped that Iona would become a centre of learning and a centre from which the Gospel would be spread. Additionally, as one of the founding Sisters was Mother Columba, it was decided an appropriate name for the College would be Iona.
The College was founded on 11 September 1907 and opened its doors to students on 2 February 1908.
In 2017, the Presentation Sisters transferred the governance of Iona Presentation College to the Archbishop of Perth. It remains a priority for the Archdiocese and the College to preserve the tradition, charism and story of the Presentation Sisters that has transformed Iona from its humble beginnings to the highly sought-after Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12 educational facility that it is today.
Foundress of the Presentation Sisters, Nano Nagle
Born in 1718 in Ballygriffin, near Mallow, County Cork, Honora (Nano) Nagle is fondly remembered as the foundress of the Presentation Sisters.
Listen to Presentation Sister, Sister Anna Fewer pbvm recount Nano’s life story as Station 1 of our Presentation Reflection Walk. [Insert Link to Page]
Nano's congregation spread throughout Ireland and throughout the world and Nano's mission continues to this day. There are Presentation Sisters and Presentation people on six continents. The first mission outside of Ireland was to Newfoundland, Canada, in 1833 and the first Presentation mission to Australia was to Hobart, Tasmania in 1866. The fruit of Nano's union with God, her choice of education as a vehicle of liberation for the vulnerable and the powerless, and her compassionate love for those in any kind of need found itself mirrored in the lives of Sisters and their companions down through the years and across five continents since the founding of her Congregation in 1775.
The ministry of Nano Nagle reveals a woman committed to God's mission. Her style of service was profoundly relational, inclusive and radical. Her action was a living witness to the Gospel of Jesus and a realisation of the Kingdom of God in her time and place. Australian Presentation Sister Raphael Consedine PBVM described Nano as a woman who took the road less travelled:
"In the face of fear, she chose to be daring.
In the face of anxiety, she chose to trust.
In the face of impossibility, she chose to begin".
In 2003, Nano Nagle was declared the 'greatest Irish person of all time' and in 2013, Nano Nagle was declared Venerable by His Holiness, Pope Francis. This announcement brings the canonization of Nano Nagle one step closer as it is the second of four stages in the Canonisation Process.
The Presentation Sisters in Western Australia
Western Australia witnessed the establishment of the Presentation Sisters through two distinct founding stories in 1891 and 1900. These narratives predated the union of the Geraldton and Perth congregations in 1969, which marked a significant milestone for the Sisters.
During the 1800s, Geraldton prospered as a prominent port town due to its thriving wool and grain exports, as well as mining activities in Northampton. Bishop Matthew Gibney of Perth recognised the necessity for a convent and school in Geraldton and sought assistance from various religious orders. The Presentation Sisters from Sneem and Michelstown in Ireland responded to this call and agreed to venture to Western Australia. Arriving in July 1891, they wasted no time and began their work immediately.
Over the following 78 years, the Geraldton Sisters established an additional 21 schools in remote regions of Western Australia. Their dedication led them to follow the mining towns, opening schools wherever the need arose. They even transported their convent and school using a wheeled conveyance called a jinker, allowing them to relocate from one mining town to another. In their mission, they reached out to children from rural areas, including Indigenous communities and migrant groups, offering Catholic Faith instruction, education and boarding facilities.
Simultaneously, the Perth Congregation was formed, as the gold rush sparked the establishment of new towns in Perth, in the south west and in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. In the late 1800s, Bishop Matthew Gibney invited the Presentation Sisters from Hay, New South Wales, to contribute to the education and pastoral care needs in these areas. The Hay foundation originated from Kildare in Ireland and later Wagga Wagga in NSW. The founding Sisters reached Southern Cross on 14 February 1900. Despite encountering extreme heat and an unfinished convent, they found temporary accommodation and proceeded to open the school and convent on 26 February of that year.
Undeterred by challenges such as isolation, climate, distance and limited resources, the Sisters persevered. Over the next 70 years, they established an additional 18 schools, exemplifying their entrepreneurial spirit and fostered cultural pursuits, particularly music, speech, drama and commercial. The Sisters made a significant contribution to the Catholic instruction in regional towns through the establishment of the motor mission, always demonstrating an unwavering commitment to serving those in need.
The culmination of their efforts occurred in December 1969 with the union of the Geraldton (Stella Maris) and Perth (Iona) congregations, forming the Congregation of Presentation Sisters WA (Inc).
Following the union, the Sisters extended their mission to various locations, including Papua New Guinea and Thailand, engaging in diverse ministries such as education, governance, pastoral care, prayer experience, justice and congregation.
Today, the Sisters persist in their dedication to serving the marginalised and in their deep commitment to faith, justice, education and the preservation of human dignity for all. Underlying all the Sisters’ works and prayers throughout the years, is the central place of Jesus Christ, and the call of the Gospel, in their lives.