Bucasia Orphans Memorial

Mackay Regional Council has approved a memorial to the 33 orphans who died from illnesses after being admitted to the Bucasia orphanage between 1880 and 1885.

Father Pierre Bucas arrived in Mackay in 1869 and brought the first nuns to the area, the Sisters of St Joseph, who ran the orphanage from 1876 to 1879. They were then replaced by the Sisters of Mercy who ran the orphanage from 1880 to 1885.

Many children were later found to be suffering from a malarial condition due to the location of the orphanage in a swampy area where disease-carrying mosquitoes bred in profusion.

Nineteen of the orphans were recorded as buried at Merara (now known as Bucasia) but the exact location of the site is unknown.

The memorial will be placed adjacent to the Fr Bucas Memorial on the esplanade and the Orphans Memorial Group are raising funds to cover the cost of the memorial. The memorial to the orphans will be unveiled at 2pm on Sunday, October 20 at the Esplanade Park, Bucasia.

Mental Health Support

St Dymphna’s conference of St Vincent de Paul Society, Mackay, conducted an information morning at St Joseph’s Parish Centre Hall following 9am mass on Sunday, September 8.

The conference supports people suffering from some form of mental health problems and outlined the work of the conference to those interested in the hope of boosting their numbers in the hope of coping with current needs of the conference.

A morning tea was provided.