SISTER MARY NATALIE - Margaret Teresa MEARA (O'MEARA)
Born 15 November 1885; died 13 November 1918; buried 14 December 1918; age 34
Sister Mary Natalie was a nun with the Catholic Order, the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, known as Sisters of Compassion, a Catholic order of nuns founded in Jerusalem on the Wanganui river in 1892 by Suzanne Aubert, a French woman who came to New Zealand with a group of missionaries in 1860. In Wellington the Sisters established a Home for people with incurable illness, a soup kitchen and a crèche. The Home of Compassion at Island Bay opened in 1907, later becoming the headquarters of the Sisters of Compassion, and the formation house where the Sisters did their religious training.
Sister Mary Natalie was named Margaret Teresa by her parents Catherine Theresa (nee KENNEDY) and Michael MEARA (often spelt O’MEARA) after she was born at Totara Flat, Reefton, on the West Coast of the South Island. Her birthdate was 15 November 1885, and she had 9 siblings born between 1882 and 1897. The oldest of these – twins called John and Cornelius - died shortly after birth. Her father farmed at Totara Flat which is just over halfway between Greymouth and Reefton heading north along the grey River. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts] published in 1906 has a lengthy section of Totara Flat and its facilities:
“ …..so called from the Totara timber once obtained there—is situated on the southeast bank of the Grey river, twenty miles distant from Reefton, and twenty-seven miles from Greymouth, on the Grey-Reefton section of New Zealand railways. It is in the Waipuna riding of the county of Grey, in the electorate of Grey, and in the provincial district of Nelson. To the north and north-east of the settlement are the Paparoa ranges, with numerous peaks, one of which, Mount Pecksniff, is 4,250 feet high. Totara Flat is the centre of the farming industry in the Grey county, and as an agricultural district is second to none on the West Coast. The land consists of from 10,000 to 15,000 acres of rich pasturage, most of which is perfectly flat. The Grey river runs through the valley, and alluvial mining is extensively carried on, but principally at Half Ounce, Noble's, Duffer's Creek and Granville. There are two hotels. The butter factory, which was commenced a few years ago, has been of considerable benefit to the district. There is an excellent State school, with an attendance of forty children. Potatoes and oats are the chief articles of cultivation, and stock are fattened for local use. A post office and telephone are attached to the railway station, and there are also refreshment rooms. Totara Flat has two churches— Roman Catholic and Presbyterian— and there is also a miniature public hall. The settlement has also two stores, a butchery and a bakery. About two miles away, at Granville, there is a small public school. Good fishing and shooting can be obtained in the neighbourhood. At the census of 1901, Totara Flat had a population of sixty eight.”
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc05Cycl-t1-body1-d1-d2-d66.html
Margaret seems to have lived at home with her parents until she entered the Order in Wellington in 1910. Two of her brothers, William and John Joseph were also resident in Wellington, both appearing on the Electoral Roll for Wellington North in 1911. William James was a clerk and lived in the Metropolitan Hotel, Molesworth Street, and his younger sibling, John Joseph was a compositor and lived at 66 Hill Street. William was apparently very athletic so features in sports reports in local papers from time to time. It can be assumed he worked for J. Staples and Co. (later part of New Zealand Breweries), whose brewery was a short distance up Molesworth St. He was a clerk with this company when he enlisted for military service in 1916. John may have worked for the Government printer. The Staples brewery site is now New World Thorndon.
According to the archives of the Order, Margaret entered the Sisters of Compassion at Island Bay on 27 July 1910. “On entrance to the novitiate she received her religious name, Sister Mary Natalie. She was 25 years old.”
On 6 November 1918, the Sisters Leadership Team elected Sister Natalie to the role of Novice Mistress. The appointment was pro tem pending the General Chapter to be held when Mother Aubert, the founder of the Order, returned from Rome where she had been since 1913 to obtain the Decree of Praise which would ultimately give her order independence from the church in New Zealand. Mother Aubert was ultimately successful in her mission when Pope Benedict granted the Decree of Praise to the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, making it the only Catholic congregation born and growing to maturity in New Zealand, and the smallest congregation in the world ever to have attained this status.
Sadly, Sister Natalie was never able to be confirmed in her new role, as she became ill on 3 December. According to the Home of Compassion records it was thought she might have caught it through visiting her brother (either John or William) who had it severely.[1]
“Although Sister Natalie was a nurse she did not attend the victims of the epidemic, as she and her novices were in charge of the Nursery, and every precaution was made to keep the children isolated from the rest of the house for fear of any infection reaching the babies. Infection did reach the nursery, through the admission of an infant who had brought the germ with her, and all the toddlers caught it severely, entailing grave anxiety and much work.
Dr Mackin pronounced five days later Sister dangerously ill. She received Holy Viaticum at 11.30 p.m. on the night of the 12th - she had previously taken her Perpetual Vows and had been anointed. The Community were with her until she breathed her last at 20 minutes to one on the morning of 13 December 1918.
The evening before Sister Natalie died, Father Cullen had consecrated the Home of Compassion to the Sacred Heart. Whether owing to the Consecration or to Sister Natalie’s intercession, the epidemic abated at the Island Bay Home almost from the moment sister died.” (Home of Compassion Archives)
Two funeral notices were inserted in the Evening Post on 13 December, one on behalf of her father and the other by E Morris jun. the funeral director. These advised there would be a Solemn Requiem Mass at 8.30am in the Private Chapel of the Home of Compassion at Island Bay, followed by departure for Karori Cemetery at 10.00am. Sister Natalie was the fifth nun of the Sisters of Compassion to be buried in their multiple plot on the top of the hill in the first Roman Catholic section. The Sisters of Mercy and the Marist Brothers have large multiple plots immediately adjacent.
Research undertaken by Penny Holden
Grave Information:
Section: S COMPAS 3
Plot: 51-69a
[1] William and another brother Patrick Cornelius both signed up for military service in 1916 and 1917 respectively. Both got as far as England, but neither saw active service. William, who was promoted to Sergeant, had damaged a knee in a sporting accident in 1912, and was unable to march or spend time on his feet without his knee swelling and becoming too painful. He was repatriated to NZ in March 1918. Patrick hadn’t arrived in England until late in 1918, and then caught the measles and was returned to New Zealand in July 1919.
Born 15 November 1885; died 13 November 1918; buried 14 December 1918; age 34
Sister Mary Natalie was a nun with the Catholic Order, the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, known as Sisters of Compassion, a Catholic order of nuns founded in Jerusalem on the Wanganui river in 1892 by Suzanne Aubert, a French woman who came to New Zealand with a group of missionaries in 1860. In Wellington the Sisters established a Home for people with incurable illness, a soup kitchen and a crèche. The Home of Compassion at Island Bay opened in 1907, later becoming the headquarters of the Sisters of Compassion, and the formation house where the Sisters did their religious training.
Sister Mary Natalie was named Margaret Teresa by her parents Catherine Theresa (nee KENNEDY) and Michael MEARA (often spelt O’MEARA) after she was born at Totara Flat, Reefton, on the West Coast of the South Island. Her birthdate was 15 November 1885, and she had 9 siblings born between 1882 and 1897. The oldest of these – twins called John and Cornelius - died shortly after birth. Her father farmed at Totara Flat which is just over halfway between Greymouth and Reefton heading north along the grey River. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts] published in 1906 has a lengthy section of Totara Flat and its facilities:
“ …..so called from the Totara timber once obtained there—is situated on the southeast bank of the Grey river, twenty miles distant from Reefton, and twenty-seven miles from Greymouth, on the Grey-Reefton section of New Zealand railways. It is in the Waipuna riding of the county of Grey, in the electorate of Grey, and in the provincial district of Nelson. To the north and north-east of the settlement are the Paparoa ranges, with numerous peaks, one of which, Mount Pecksniff, is 4,250 feet high. Totara Flat is the centre of the farming industry in the Grey county, and as an agricultural district is second to none on the West Coast. The land consists of from 10,000 to 15,000 acres of rich pasturage, most of which is perfectly flat. The Grey river runs through the valley, and alluvial mining is extensively carried on, but principally at Half Ounce, Noble's, Duffer's Creek and Granville. There are two hotels. The butter factory, which was commenced a few years ago, has been of considerable benefit to the district. There is an excellent State school, with an attendance of forty children. Potatoes and oats are the chief articles of cultivation, and stock are fattened for local use. A post office and telephone are attached to the railway station, and there are also refreshment rooms. Totara Flat has two churches— Roman Catholic and Presbyterian— and there is also a miniature public hall. The settlement has also two stores, a butchery and a bakery. About two miles away, at Granville, there is a small public school. Good fishing and shooting can be obtained in the neighbourhood. At the census of 1901, Totara Flat had a population of sixty eight.”
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc05Cycl-t1-body1-d1-d2-d66.html
Margaret seems to have lived at home with her parents until she entered the Order in Wellington in 1910. Two of her brothers, William and John Joseph were also resident in Wellington, both appearing on the Electoral Roll for Wellington North in 1911. William James was a clerk and lived in the Metropolitan Hotel, Molesworth Street, and his younger sibling, John Joseph was a compositor and lived at 66 Hill Street. William was apparently very athletic so features in sports reports in local papers from time to time. It can be assumed he worked for J. Staples and Co. (later part of New Zealand Breweries), whose brewery was a short distance up Molesworth St. He was a clerk with this company when he enlisted for military service in 1916. John may have worked for the Government printer. The Staples brewery site is now New World Thorndon.
According to the archives of the Order, Margaret entered the Sisters of Compassion at Island Bay on 27 July 1910. “On entrance to the novitiate she received her religious name, Sister Mary Natalie. She was 25 years old.”
On 6 November 1918, the Sisters Leadership Team elected Sister Natalie to the role of Novice Mistress. The appointment was pro tem pending the General Chapter to be held when Mother Aubert, the founder of the Order, returned from Rome where she had been since 1913 to obtain the Decree of Praise which would ultimately give her order independence from the church in New Zealand. Mother Aubert was ultimately successful in her mission when Pope Benedict granted the Decree of Praise to the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, making it the only Catholic congregation born and growing to maturity in New Zealand, and the smallest congregation in the world ever to have attained this status.
Sadly, Sister Natalie was never able to be confirmed in her new role, as she became ill on 3 December. According to the Home of Compassion records it was thought she might have caught it through visiting her brother (either John or William) who had it severely.[1]
“Although Sister Natalie was a nurse she did not attend the victims of the epidemic, as she and her novices were in charge of the Nursery, and every precaution was made to keep the children isolated from the rest of the house for fear of any infection reaching the babies. Infection did reach the nursery, through the admission of an infant who had brought the germ with her, and all the toddlers caught it severely, entailing grave anxiety and much work.
Dr Mackin pronounced five days later Sister dangerously ill. She received Holy Viaticum at 11.30 p.m. on the night of the 12th - she had previously taken her Perpetual Vows and had been anointed. The Community were with her until she breathed her last at 20 minutes to one on the morning of 13 December 1918.
The evening before Sister Natalie died, Father Cullen had consecrated the Home of Compassion to the Sacred Heart. Whether owing to the Consecration or to Sister Natalie’s intercession, the epidemic abated at the Island Bay Home almost from the moment sister died.” (Home of Compassion Archives)
Two funeral notices were inserted in the Evening Post on 13 December, one on behalf of her father and the other by E Morris jun. the funeral director. These advised there would be a Solemn Requiem Mass at 8.30am in the Private Chapel of the Home of Compassion at Island Bay, followed by departure for Karori Cemetery at 10.00am. Sister Natalie was the fifth nun of the Sisters of Compassion to be buried in their multiple plot on the top of the hill in the first Roman Catholic section. The Sisters of Mercy and the Marist Brothers have large multiple plots immediately adjacent.
Research undertaken by Penny Holden
Grave Information:
Section: S COMPAS 3
Plot: 51-69a
[1] William and another brother Patrick Cornelius both signed up for military service in 1916 and 1917 respectively. Both got as far as England, but neither saw active service. William, who was promoted to Sergeant, had damaged a knee in a sporting accident in 1912, and was unable to march or spend time on his feet without his knee swelling and becoming too painful. He was repatriated to NZ in March 1918. Patrick hadn’t arrived in England until late in 1918, and then caught the measles and was returned to New Zealand in July 1919.
