ST Joseph's Orphanage old girl, Gail Favaloro, admitted a return to her childhood home from 1958-1962 still brought back mixed memories.
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Pointing to a paddock on the southwestern side of the main building, Mrs Favaloro recalled how nuns would awaken her during the early hours of the morning to assist with lambing.
Pointing to another open paddock on the northern side where a vegetable garden once stood, she revealed hunger often drove her to raid the turnip patch because "I was so hungry!"
Mrs Favaloro is one of a number of old girls promoting the building's centenary with a Mass in its chapel, followed by a picnic, next Sunday. Originally from Cooma, Mrs Favaloro was brought to St Joseph's at the age of eight along with her nine-year old sister, due to a family problem. Her four-year old brother was conveyed to St John's Orphanage then located on Goulburn's southern side.
"At the time, St Joseph's boasted a classic mix of youngsters aged from four to 14 years, including some Aboriginal children from the classic 'Stolen Generation'," she said.
"Whilst it was hard to adjust to an institutional life, we had to get on with life.
"The nuns provided our basics such as food and clothing in addition to discipline and values.
"By the same token we were expected to work, for apart from keeping our own space tidy, we would all have specific chores like washing up, milking the cows, bringing in the fuel and general farm work," she recalled.
Asked to detail a typical week day in the orphanage Mrs Favaloro said the girls would attend a 7am Mass, assemble afterwards for breakfast and then undertake a wide range of domestic chores.
"With three teaching nuns on staff, we would be educated on the premises.
"After school there was milking to be done along with other duties followed at 5pm with study time, tea at 6pm and lights out at 8pm.
"On Sundays we had to attend two masses at the orphanage along with another at nearby Kenmore Hospital's chapel.
"I learned to pick mushrooms in the paddocks while walking across to Kenmore," she quipped.
Whilst it was generally a mundane life, with little love present and food available, Mrs Favaloro agreed there were some memorable things.
"During holiday times or when the nuns went into retreat, the children would be fostered out all over the southern region.
"I recall also how the nuns taught us to dance and about twice a year would take us to St John's Orphanage to put our new found skills to the fore.
"This also enabled those of us with brothers to meet up again.
"They were terribly poignant and emotional gatherings and I must admit, I can not bear to set eyes on the old St John's building these days," Mrs Favaloro said.
But life since the orphanage has been relatively kind to Mrs Favaloro.
After sharing a flat with a sister in Melbourne, she eventually "took herself" to university where she majored in applied science and nursing. She has been working in that field ever since.
Married with two daughters, the Favaloros have a weekend property outside Goulburn.
Another who remembers life in the orphanage well is Goulburn lady Judy Moran.
She arrived at the orphanage from West Wyalong with her three sisters in June 1948 due to the state of her young mother's health. Her father had been fighting in World War Two, had "simply not returned".
"My sisters and I arrived at tea time and I remember looking around the dining room seeing faces of many children I already knew," Mrs Moran said.
"The men folk of the Kenmore area were very kind to the orphanage, regularly volunteering their time to help out where necessary.
"One of my first experiences was helping to stack an enormous pile of wood these men had cut and delivered.
"Another duty that befell me was to help clean the children's Sunday-best clothes. Because they were made from serge, we cleaned them with cold tea.
"Then they discovered that I could sing so I was drafted into the chapel choir.
"The parish priest of the era, Father Marcus Crowe used to have a regular monthly segment on Radio 2GN so the choir used to go along and provide the music," Mrs Moran recalled.
Upon discharge in August 1951, her mother had arranged a job for her in a Burragorang Valley guesthouse. She returned to Goulburn in 1953, found employment in several hotels, married and now has six children.
"Despite the early hardships, life has been good to me," she mused.