Ensuring the legacy of the Josephites’ presence in Numurkah is very important to Sr Janet Nolan who’s influenced in Numurkah for the last fifteen years extended well beyond the Catholic Community. She is pleased fellow Josephite, Sr Marianne Zienstra has now moved to Numurkah and is looking forward to seeing the Mary MacKillop/Josephite Heritage Project come into fruition.
“Loving God is doing what he wants you to do”
Sr Janet Nolan recalls that at no time in her childhood did she have any intention of being a nun. However, there was one resonating voice, which came to the forefront later in her life.
Born and raised in Yarram, South Gippsland, she was educated by the Josephites in her primary school years, where Sr Nolan says, “I didn’t know much about them and had no intention of joining them.”
In her secondary school years, she was taught by the Presentation Sisters at Windsor, where she laughs, “I didn’t know much about them and had no intention of joining them!”
“We were on Retreat in Year 8,” says Sr Janet, “and I remember a priest saying – ‘Loving God is doing what he wants you to do,’” explains Sr Janet.
“God was nagging at me all the time,” explains Sr Janet. I wasn’t particularly wanting to become a sister or a nun, but I knew in time, that was what God wanted of me.”
Sr Janet’s first involvement with the Diocese of Sandhurst was when she moved with her family to Wangaratta in 1953. “Monsignor Hussey was the Parish Priest at the time,” says Sr Janet. “It was a very busy parish, and life was busy within the parish.”
Sr Janet left school at “15 or 16” to start working at the ESA Bank* where she worked for eight years. “I enjoyed working as a bank officer. In those days a bank was a big part of the community and bank officers really valued their customers.”
While working at the bank, Sr Janet enjoyed the freedom and fantastic social life a country town like 1960s Wangaratta afforded. Volunteering for the National Catholic Girls Association, which later became the Young Catholic Women’s Association. “At that time Wangaratta had a very active Youth Group, Fr Peter Quinn, the chaplain, was a marvellous man and Monsignor Hussey was fully supportive,” explains Sr Janet.
It was at that time, that Sr Janet says she had what you could call a ‘God moment’. She was at a Saturday night dance in the Wangaratta Church Hall, a wallflower looking at people on the dance floor. “There was a lovely couple I knew who just looked so in love and I thought to myself, “I wish I could feel love like that,” and then I heard a voice say “I love you”. It was another dig from God for me to get on with it,” she laughs.
Sr Janet entered the Sisters of St Joseph community in 1964 at the “old age” of 24 and was professed in 1967. Sr Janet can’t explain why she chose the Sisters of St Joseph, but it was the only religious community she felt called to, mainly because they are “out amongst the people,” she says. “I didn’t know much about Josephite living, except that, I can remember Dad saying when I was a kid, “One day, Mary MacKillop will be a saint!”
After years of teaching in Catholic schools mainly in Gippsland, Sr Janet moved to Numurkah where she was a Josephite presence for fifteen years. “I wasn’t well enough to work when I moved there, so I wasn’t actively working. The congregation had bought a unit when they moved out of the convent and I moved in with another Sister.
In Numurkah Sr Janet became involved not only in parish life, but the life of the town including Ladies Probus, Meals on Wheels and the Gardening Club. “Being involved in community beyond the parish was very enriching for me,” says Sr Janet.
When Sr Janet left Numurkah at the end of 2022 after a “health incident”, she was concerned she would be the last Josephite in the town and thinking of the legacy, suggested to fellow parishioners that something needed to be done to recognise the Sisters of Saint Joseph and their presence in Numurkah. Hence the Mary MacKillop Indigenous Garden project was born. “There have been over 100 sisters of Saint Joseph who have lived in Numurkah, so that’s a pretty good innings.”
“St Joseph’s Primary School has a plaque which reads – “Founded in 1890 by Saint Mary MacKillop” – it’s the only school in Victoria that can say that. So, keeping the Josephite legacy alive in Numurkah is very important.”
“Saint Mary MacKillop has walked the streets of Numurkah. Numurkah was the first foundation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Victoria, not Melbourne. That’s a very good claim to fame. Mary MacKillop brought four sisters from Sydney to start the school. She didn’t stay for months and months – but she helped the sisters settle in, and often returned to see how they were getting on.”
Sr Janet is very pleased that another Josephite is now living in Numurkah, and that a project to recognise Mary MacKillop and the Josephites’ contribution to Numurkah will be recognised through the Indigenous Garden Project.
She has come full circle and now lives at Mary MacKillop Nursing home, in the same place she entered professed live more than fifty years ago – although this time “I’m facing a different street!” laughs Sr Janet.
Janet grew up in Yarram in Gippsland and worked in a bank before entering the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephite Order) where she taught for several years before assisting at the Mary MacKillop Home for the Aged in Hawthorn.
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By Marian Houghton and Annette Cope.
“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”
(Eleanor Roosevelt)
The Josephites have had a constant presence in Numurkah, meeting the pastoral and educational needs of St John’s Parish since Saint Mary Mackillop opened the first Josephite school in Victoria here in 1890.
With warmth, humility and dedication, Sr Janet took up the role as a pastoral member of our parish in 2008 and immersed herself, in a quiet, gentle way, into our faith Community. She shared herself, her great love of Jesus, her vast experience of life and her example as a human being. She was present for anyone in Numurkah, not just the faithful of St John’s parish. As Numurkah parishioner Marianne Houghton writes:
“Sr Janet took me under her roof when my husband died. She did this every Sunday by inviting me to join her for lunch at the Telegraph Hotel. Gradually I began to learn about her life’s work. She would invite all kinds of people to join us. They were special times for me because she began to integrate me into this beautiful town. I met such a perse group of people, but at the same time she opened up about her background and I realised that I had met a kindred spirit. Our backgrounds were so similar, our experiences of life matched, from our parents’ expectations, our boarding school life, although with different Orders of nuns we had the same rules, and our naivety of life in general.
Our friendship took off. We became constant companions. She corrected me, quietly, when she thought I had been too brash. I always laughed but took her advice on board. We did lots of things together, laughed a lot, took on each other’s worries. I was blessed to have found this special human being in this little town."
Sr Janet has always shown resilience. She is adaptable, acted to make a difference in the lives of others and has been discerning in response to unprecedented change. What a great legacy she has enjoyed and has passed on. It is a rare privilege to have been in her company. She, in times past, has had a lot of contact with young people, teaching guitar and forming a guitar group. Hopefully, with the encouragement she gave them, these young people will pursue their dreams, and do so, with hope and optimism.
Sr Janet came to Numurkah in 2008 and was immediately involved in supporting the Parish Priests, especially Fr Frank Jones, and being a supportive presence in the parish including the Majellan Club and St Joseph’s School. She regularly drove people to church and visited those in need.
Her influence extended well beyond the Catholic community. She was active in the Numurkah and District Garden Club and her exhibits in the Numurkah and District Agricultural Show were very successful. She loved her involvement in the Ladies Probus Club and invited newcomers to town to join. Her presence is missed by so many people in this town.
