Alumni Profile SISTER HERMENILDA
After I graduated from St Aloysius, I completed a six-month course in Commercial Studies which included typing, shorthand and bookkeeping. We had an excellent teacher, Sr Barbara Hill. I then worked for British Products as a junior. During the war, I was asked to do the accounting work because a lot of the men were called to service. What influenced you in becoming a Mercy Sister? Well, I was sick of people telling me I had a Mercy face! One day I got word the Rev Mother of the Coburg Convent wanted to see me and I was so angry because I thought she was going to ask me join, so I piled on the lipstick and did up my hair. When Rev Mother asked me, I said “No I’m going to get married and have a big family like my mother”. I knew Rev Mother would keep at me so I made up my mind to join, but also that they would kick me out smartly! Two of my sisters and my aunt were also Sisters of Mercy, so it was in the blood I had no hope of getting away. I entered the convent when I was 21. Study/Career/Travel highlights?
Sr Hermenilda was born on 7th March 1921 and recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Hermie, as she is affectionately known amongst the Sisters, is the third eldest in a family of eight, she was born in North Melbourne and was four when her family moved to Brunswick. What year did you graduate? I completed the Leaving Certificate in 1936 which was equivalent to the current Year 11. Back then most students completed the Merit Certificate (Year 8) and left school to enter the workforce. What study/work did you undertake after your time at St Aloysius?
14 Always Aloysius – Winter Edition, 2021
I worked for 12 years in Tasmania. I taught in Deloraine for six years, where I was Junior of the House. Then I moved to Burnie as Superior for another six years, I was 31 years old at the time. I still keep in touch with quite a few past pupils. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome? After my appointment as Superior in Burnie, I taught and held positions as Principal in over 20 schools across Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales including St Mary’s in West Melbourne and St Anges in Geelong. Many parents didn’t think girls ought to be educated and I used to feel so sorry for them because they were clever girls and we would have got scholarships for them to come to St Aloysius but they weren’t allowed to stay on. It was a very unjust system which made me very sad.
