Mary Mackillop was born in 1842 in Fitzroy, Victoria to Scottish parents and went on to become one of Australia's greatest contributors to the Catholic Church. She founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Australia's first order of nuns, and worked tirelessly to establish schools across Australia to provide education to children in remote areas regardless of their family's means. She faced opposition but persisted in her mission and is now recognized as the first Australian-born saint.
2. Mary Mackillop 1842 - 1909
• On January 15, 1842 Mary MacKillop was
born of Scottish parents, Alexander
MacKillop and Flora MacDonald in Fitzroy,
Victoria. This was less than seven years
after Fawkner sailed up the Yarra, when
Elizabeth Street was a deep gully and
Lonsdale Street was still virgin bush. A
plaque in the footpath now marks the place
of her birth in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.
