> Port MacDonnell jetty
Port MacDonnell Jetty.
On 21 June 1867, Mary MacKillop began the next chapter in her journey to sainthood at Port MacDonnell jetty.
The 25 year old was Adelaide-bound after accepting an invitation from Father Julian Tenison Woods to move to the city to help expand their revolutionary Catholic teaching principles beyond the south-east of South Australia.
Arriving from Penola in a buggy driven by her Uncle Donald MacDonald, she boarded a small lighter which took her to the steamship SS Penola anchored around 100 metres offshore. At the time, Port MacDonnell was the state's second busiest port, shipping wheat and wool from the local area to destinations around the world.
The bustling crowds on the jetty would have been oblivious to the life-long journey which lay ahead for one particular passenger dressed in a simple black dress, yet the significance of that journey is now steeped in history.
After arriving at Port Adelaide, Mary MacKillop went on to establish the Cathedral Hall School. On 15 August 1867, she became Sister Mary of the Cross after taking her formal vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.