Welcoming the newcomers, Sister Wauchope and the Catholic Parish held social activities in the church hall.

She taught multi-cultural classes however most were English-speaking children.

On the move

After retiring from teaching she moved to Logan City on the outskirts of Brisbane, to a retreat house in the rain forest with a chapel built into the side of a bank.

Logan City had many people living in poverty and had a high rate of unemployment.

The families had little or no back up support and there was nothing for the people in the community to do.

So Sister Wauchope assisted in helping the families to form a committee to get a community centre, which would give them ownership and somewhere to go.

“They had choices to make, obstacles to overcome choices, which determined their direction,” she said.

With great community spirit they lobbied for the right to have a drop-in centre and battled with the council, their plea falling on deaf ears.

Sister Wauchope was the instigator in their dream being realised and a plaque on the building commemorates her work.

“You have to let people know they can believe in something,” said Sister Wauchope.

After six years at Logan City, this compassionate Nun decided to move on, because she said she was afraid of building her own kingdom.

At the age of 60 she returned to Sydney to a Missionary Order, which has people from missionary countries throughout the world, for a renewal of the spirit.

The next part of her amazing journey took her to Mount Magnet in the West Australian gold fields, 600km north of Perth and 300km inland from Geraldton.

She would travel alone once a month to Leinster on a dirt road for 320km to visit isolated families for religious classes and pastoral care.

Then on to Leonora towards Kalgoorlie then a further 120 km east to Laverton, keeping her away from home for a couple of weeks.

“I love the bush and never once felt afraid of travelling on my own,” she said.

New horizons

She could have stayed longer but after six years in the outback she decided to return to South Australia to be nearer her mother who lived to the age of 104.

She spent eight years in Whyalla before retiring and moving back to Port Pirie in 2009.

It was a very profound and significant time during her appointment in Whyalla when she visited the refugees at the Baxter Detention Centre, at first with great trepidation.

This eventuated in the production of the film ‘A Nun’s New Habit’ which was launched recently in Melbourne during Refugee Week.

It follows the story of Sister Wauchope and her plight of refugees and her concern about the on going psychological damage and trauma suffered after their release.

She saw their hardship and knew how important it was to maintain a sense of love, compassion and humanity in today’s world.

The refugees that she regularly visited called this gem Auntie.

They were not allowed reading material and Sister Wauchope confessed that the cakes she would take for afternoon tea were wrapped in lots of smuggled newspapers.

“I played cards with the inmates and took them flowers,” she said.

“They loved flowers because it indicated someone cared.”

The caring nun

The thing that distressed the caring nun was that the only thing they could see outside their locked enclosures was a patch of sky from the small courtyard.

Reflecting on her spiritual journey Sister Wauchope said that each pathway, each door has taken her to amazing people.

“Lots of people I love and who really love me,” she said.

“How enriched my life has been.”

“I have had great opportunities to go to places, not as a tourist but live in the heart and sole of the community.”

This compassionate woman believes the most important thing on earth is the human being.

“Every human being is worthy of respect,” she said.

PHOTO :FULL LIFE...Sister Carmel Wauchope has lived all around Australia, going where her missionary work took her , but she returned to her birthplace of Port Pirie this year.