In 1914, the Sisters of Mercy were invited to open a school in St Joseph’s Parish. There was no actual school building, so the Sisters had to use the Church as a school. After school on Friday the desks were removed from the Church, and the Church was made ready for Sunday Mass. On Monday morning, the Church was turned back into a classroom. The first Sisters to teach at the new St Joseph’s School were Sr Aquin, Sr Goodyer and Sr Gonzaga.

Finally in 1924 a new brick school with three classrooms was built. When the Mercy convent in Picton closed in 1969, a Sister of Mercy travelled everyday by car from Blenheim to teach at the school. Sisters did this until they finished teaching at St Joseph’s School in 1980.

www.stjosephsschool.co.nz

[autoGrid directory=”gallery/Wellington/St-Josephs-School-Picton”] When there was a water break at the school, a local hotel filled a beer tanker with water for the children