On 19 March 1866, the feast of St Joseph, in a converted six-stalled stable at the corner of Queen and Bowden Streets in the small South Australian town of Penola, a young woman named Mary MacKillop put on a black dress and opened a school for the children of the rural poor. She was twenty-four. The parish priest, Fr Julian Tenison Woods — who had arrived in Penola on the same feast day nine years earlier, in 1857 — had shared with her a vision of free Catholic education for the scattered settlements of the colony. That morning, with thirty-three pupils in a stable renovated by her brother John, they took what Mary later called the first steps toward the foundation of the Institute of Saint Joseph.
Penola sits in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, roughly halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne, at the gateway to the Coonawarra wine country. The town has fewer than two thousand people. Its Portland Street and Petticoat Lane heritage precinct preserves the stone buildings where the Josephite story began — and where, on 17 October 2010, an estimated six thousand people gathered to celebrate the canonisation of the woman who had taught in those rooms, Australia's first and only canonised saint.
The 1867 Woods–MacKillop Schoolhouse — a three-room gabled building of roughly struck rubble masonry, hardwood floors, and blackwood shingles, commissioned by Woods for £290 — stands at the entrance to the Petticoat Lane State Heritage Area. Beside it, a purpose-built Interpretive Centre opened in 1998 to mark the beatification and holds a reliquary with a strand of Mary's hair. A short walk away, the Stable School memorial park marks the corner of Queen and Bowden Streets where the first school met.
📜 History & Spiritual Significance
Fr Julian Edmund Tenison Woods, an English-born priest ordained in 1857, arrived in Penola on 19 March 1857 — the feast of St Joseph — as the second resident priest of a parish covering some 57,000 square kilometres of the South East district. He built St Joseph's Church, holding the first service on Easter Sunday, 24 April 1859. The parish was vast; the Catholic population was scattered; and the children of the rural poor had no access to schooling.
Mary Helen MacKillop first came to Penola in 1860, aged eighteen, to work as governess to the children of her aunt and uncle, Margaret and Alexander Cameron, at Penola Station. She included the other farm children in her teaching and, riding to Mass, met Fr Woods. Together they planned a free Catholic education system for the disadvantaged children of the colony. Mary left Penola in 1862 to teach at Portland, Victoria, where she opened her own boarding school, Bay View House, in 1864. She returned to Penola in January 1866, after the departure of the lay Johnston sisters who had been running the cottage school in Petticoat Lane.
On 19 March 1866 — the feast of St Joseph — Mary opened the first St Joseph's School in a converted six-stalled stable at the corner of Queen and Bowden Streets, rented from William McDonald and renovated by her brother John. Thirty-three pupils attended by that day. Mary wore a black dress marking her dedication to God through service to the needy. She and Woods took what the Sisters of St Joseph's own founding narrative calls the first tentative steps toward the foundation of the Institute of Saint Joseph.
On the feast of the Presentation, 21 November 1866, Woods gave Mary a short Rule to follow and addressed her as "Sister." She adopted the religious name Sister Mary of the Cross. The small group began calling themselves the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Their charism was poverty: no personal property, dependence on divine providence, willingness to go where needed, and living in small groups in rural areas where there was no established Catholic structure, educating the rural poor.
The purpose-built stone schoolhouse — the building that survives today as the Woods–MacKillop Schoolhouse — was commissioned by Woods in 1866, with plans by a local parent, Thomas Artaud, and a building contract won by James Stark for £290. A building loan through the National Bank of Australia was secured with five parishioners as guarantors. Mary and her sister Annie moved into the schoolhouse with their pupils before the examination held on 15 June 1867, reported in The Border Watch. The schoolroom measured forty feet by twenty feet, approximately fourteen feet high. Woods had left Penola early in 1867 for Adelaide, where he became the inaugural Director-General of Catholic Education in South Australia.
In June 1867, Woods invited Mary to move to Adelaide. The work prospered; by the end of 1867, ten other women had joined the Josephites, who adopted a plain brown habit and became colloquially known as the "Brown Joeys." The congregation received papal approval as a Regular Congregation in 1888. Mary MacKillop died on 8 August 1909 in North Sydney. Pope John Paul II beatified her in Sydney on 19 January 1995. Pope Benedict XVI canonised her in St Peter's Square on 17 October 2010, proclaiming her Saint Mary of the Cross — Australia's first and only canonised saint.
The Interpretive Centre at Penola was built in 1998 to commemorate the 1995 beatification and refurbished in 2024. Its exhibitions trace Mary's whole life with a focus on the Penola years and the century-long canonisation process, alongside a gallery on Fr Woods — priest and scientist — whose fossil collection and natural history work are part of the Centre's "Ten Years in the Bush" display. A reliquary holds a strand of Mary's hair, similar to the one presented to Pope Benedict XVI at the canonisation in Rome.
☩ Pilgrimage Sites in Penola
The pilgrimage covers two sites in the town centre: the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre on the Portland Street and Petticoat Lane heritage precinct, and the MacKillop Stable School memorial park a short walk away at the corner of Queen and Bowden Streets.
Mary MacKillop Penola Centre
The precinct comprises three structures a pilgrim walks between. The purpose-built Interpretive Centre, opened in 1998 and refurbished in 2024, houses the "Mary MacKillop: Penola — Where It All Began" exhibition, which traces Mary's life with a focus on the Penola years and the century-long canonisation process, alongside a gallery on Fr Julian Tenison Woods — priest, scientist, and fossil collector. A shop and a research room with local Catholic records and a schoolhouse-pupil database are on site. The 1867 Woods–MacKillop Schoolhouse, a State Heritage-listed stone building of three rooms — schoolroom, bedroom, and kitchen — with a gabled roof, roughly struck rubble masonry, hardwood floors, and original blackwood shingles, stands at the entrance to the Petticoat Lane heritage area. St Joseph's Catholic Church, built in 1924 to replace Woods's 1859 stone church, holds a stained-glass window of Mary MacKillop in a blue glass shrine.
MacKillop Stable School
The memorial park at the corner of Queen and Bowden Streets marks the site of the first St Joseph's School — a converted six-stalled stable rented from William McDonald and renovated by Mary's brother John, where Mary and Woods opened the school on 19 March 1866 with thirty-three pupils. It was here that Mary wore the black dress marking her dedication, and here that the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart took their first steps. The stable no longer stands; the site is preserved as a memorial park with interpretive signage, a short walk from the Portland Street Centre.
🕯️ Annual Feast Days & Celebrations
Solemnity of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop — August 8
The anniversary of the saint's death on 8 August 1909, and a solemnity in the Australian liturgical calendar. The Mary MacKillop Penola Centre and Penola parish hold a special Mass at St Joseph's Church, 5 Portland Street, followed by morning tea. The heritage precinct — the Schoolhouse, the Interpretive Centre, and the church — is open for self-guided and guided tours. Pilgrims come from across Australia to pray at the founding place and seek the saint's intercession.
🛏️ Where to Stay
Lodging in Penola is limited and concentrated on Church Street, the main street, all within a short walk of the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre.
Alexander Cameron Suites ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — A 4-star motel in the centre of historic Penola, named for Alexander Cameron, Mary MacKillop's uncle, who founded the township. Continental breakfast included; suites, queen and king deluxe rooms, and a 2-bedroom option. A short walk to the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre. Website ∙ Reserve this hotel
Coonawarra Motor Lodge (hotel) — A clean, modern motel on Church Street in the heart of Penola, a short walk to the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre and St Joseph's Church. Well-appointed rooms with BBQ and laundry facilities. Website ∙ Reserve this hotel
Prince of Wales Hotel Motel (hotel) — A classic country pub on Penola's main street with ten comfortable motel rooms and a bistro serving pub fare and local Coonawarra wines. Good value, with parking for larger vehicles. Book direct. Website
🚗 Getting There
By Air: The nearest airport is Mount Gambier (MGB), approximately 50 km south, with Regional Express (Rex) flights from Adelaide. Adelaide Airport (ADL), approximately 400 km northwest, offers broader domestic and international connections.
By Car: Penola is on the Riddoch Highway, approximately 400 km southeast of Adelaide via the Dukes and Riddoch Highways — a drive of about four hours. From Melbourne, it is approximately 500 km via the Great Ocean Road, a drive of about five hours.
By Bus: Premier Stateliner coach services run from Adelaide to Penola.
On Foot: The Aussie Camino pilgrim route runs from Portland, Victoria to Penola — approximately 193 km, about eight days on foot.
📚 Further Reading
Books:
Paul Gardiner SJ. An Extraordinary Australian: Mary MacKillop — The Authorised Biography — The only biography authorised by the Sisters of St Joseph and the standard life of St Mary of the Cross. Covers the Penola years — her work as governess, the meeting with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, and the 1866 co-founding of the Institute.
Marie Therese Foale. Never See a Need (Josephite) — The history of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in South Australia from the 1866 Penola foundation through the 2010 canonisation. ATF Press, 2016.
🎥 Recommended Videos
Penola at Last | Mary MacKillop Centre & Dinner — A pilgrim walking the Aussie Camino arrives in Penola and visits the Mary MacKillop Centre. The Walk World Films, 16 min.
Mary MacKillop's SA story — ABC News Australia's concise telling of her South Australian years, including the Penola founding of the Josephites. 9 min.
🔗 Useful Links
Mary MacKillop Penola Centre — Official site with visiting information, exhibition details, and the Plan Your Visit page.
Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart — The congregation's official site with the founding story and timeline.
The Aussie Camino — Official site for the Portland-to-Penola pilgrim route.
🥾 Pilgrim Routes
The Aussie Camino — A pilgrim route from Portland, Victoria to Penola, South Australia, following in the footsteps of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods. Modelled on the Camino de Santiago with a credential, scallop shell, and guidebook, the direct path covers approximately 193 km; guided groups walk it in about eight days. All walks end in Penola, with the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre as the final destination. aussiecamino.org
🧭 Nearby Pilgrimage Destinations
Sydney (1,015 km east-northeast) — The tomb of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop rests in the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in North Sydney, the complementary shrine to Penola's founding place. The national saint's story begins here and ends there.
Portland (126 km south-southeast) — The Victorian seaport where the young Mary MacKillop worked as governess to the Cameron children in 1862, and the starting point of the Aussie Camino pilgrim route to Penola.
🪶 Closing Reflection
"…we first kept up St Joseph's day as the special feast of our proposed Institute, and little did either of us then dream of what was to spring from so small a beginning."
— St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, recalling the founding at Penola, 19 March 1866
