A cropped shot of the Mary Mackillop Chapel in North Sydney
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Newly-released historic property deeds bearing Mary MacKillop's signature reveal that she was a savvy investor in numerous properties around the state to help carry out her spiritual vision.
Old System deeds released by the Land and Property Management Authority show how Australia's first saint used her business skills to transform blocks of land and small buildings into schools, orphanages and convents, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Congregational Leader Sister Anne Derwin rsj said Mary MacKillop used her business savvy to serve the disadvantaged.
"Mary was a reluctant property investor, preferring to rely on the providence of God and to live with her Sisters among the poor," she said.
"Mary used her entrepreneurial skills not for personal profit but for the benefit of others."
There are records for iconic Sydney sites, including the Catholic Church in Mount St, North Sydney, where Mary MacKillop's remains are buried. They also show deeds for a convent on Fore St in Canterbury purchased in 1901 and land at Waverley St - now Bondi Rd - bought in 1892 to build a convent.
The first property she bought in 1882 - used as a home for poor women on Fort and Cumberland Sts in The Rocks - was destroyed when the Sydney Harbour Bridge was built.
But other properties at Kincumber, Hunters Hill and St Marys continue to serve communities as their original leader intended.
FULL STORY
Property was a saintly business for Mary MacKillop (The Daily Telegraph)
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