Saint Johns Reformatory Saint Johns was a joint project of both Mary Mackillop and Archbishop O'Reily. Mary Mackillop started the reformatory with good intentions, believing the Sisters of Saint Josephs could re-educate and rehabilitate the girls in a controlled environment, so they could have a fresh start in life. Unfortunately this was not to be, as the reformatory became a major headache for the Catholic Church and the South Australian Government.
Mary Mackillop arrived at Saint Johns in early 1897 and stayed there for three months to supervise the renovations and to get the reformatory up and running. During the early part of her stay she wrote a letter to Gertrude Mary about the home for young girl prisoners: "This is the place which so long being haunted, but I have seen no ghosts though there are plenty of graves near us - the cemetery is quite close and nice too". According Mary Mackillop Saint Johns speared to already have reputation for being haunted long before the reformatory was established. The first Matron of Saint Johns was Miss Mary O'Brien, also known as Sister Helena. She was in charge from the 4th June 1897 until June 1908 when she was transferred to a new posting in Victoria. Prior to her taking over Saint Johns she had considerable experience in education and welfare work but no experience with teenagers that had come through the court system . Her successor was Miss Mary Coxs also known as Sister Berchmans. She remained in charge until its closure on November 29th 1909. All Catholic Reformatory's at the time had a resident Chaplin, Saint Johns was no exception. Archbishop O'Reily sent Fr. James Martin to Saint Johns in early 1897 when the reformatory was established. He stayed until the reformatory closure in November 1909. Fr. Martin was to become a major concern to the Children's Department of South Australia and eventually would be one of the reasons the reason the reformatory to close. This is the priest that many refer to as the "crazed priest". Yes he was mentally unstable and most probably physically abused the female inmates but there is no evidence that he killed any of female inmates, nuns or babies and bury them near the reformatory. The reformatory did not have a happy history according to the book titled "The History of Kapunda". Newspapers at the time were continually reporting the names and descriptions of escapees, several whom walked to Gawler before being recaptured. Although a direct telephone line was established between Saint Johns and the Kapunda Police Station, the girls came up with the clever scheme of cutting the wires as a preparatory step to assist in their escape attempts. Escapes were so common in the early days of the reformatory that the Sisters found it necessary to convert two rooms in to cells to act as a deterrent. About 120 girls passed through the reformatory before its closure in November 1909. I found an interesting passage in a book entitled "History of Kapunda": " The ruins of the reformatory still stand at Saint Johns although the roof has been removed and they, with the crumbling remnants of the church are a forgone reminder of a less happy aspects of Kapunda's early life. |