Abstract
The purpose of this study is to place the work of the sisters at St Vincent's in Dunedin within the context of the work of their Order. Statistics for the period demonstrate why the Order was in this vanguard of social service - and why the Bishop of Dunedin chose this particular order for the task of caring for the girls here. Orphans and orphanage are emotive words, conjuring pictures of beaten, half-starved, unloved and ragged waifs, exploited by harsh authoritarians, placed at the bottom of the heap of society, destined to inherit the sins of their often unknown fathers and a bleak future of poverty and crime in their adult world. However the level of disadvantage of the Dunedin orphans of St Vincent's compared with that of other children from working class origins, is questionable. As children they enjoyed security, stability and comfort and their social status as young working women compared with that of many of their mothers, demonstrates a significant upward social mobility.
The success of this Catholic Community contributes to a later debate between the advantages of institutional life for orphans and the practice of boarding them out to private homes. The children and the reasons for admission to the care of the Sisters provide a valuable glimpse into the interlinear history of Dunedin at the turn of the century.
[Extract from Introduction]