The convent : a city finds its heart / Stuart Kells.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kells, Stuart, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historic buildings--Australia--Melbourne (Vic.).

Historic buildings.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 193 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Carlton, Victoria : The Miegunyah Press, [2020]

Summary:

What was behind the wall and the wire? The local people knew... fine courtyards... an old swimming pool... dilapidated tennis courts and a remnant garden, now wild and sprawling. The Abbotsford Convent was this haunted place, left to languish for years after the last of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd had gone. In its prime it had been a school, a refuge, a retreat, a workhouse and a prison-the single largest charitable institution in the southern hemisphere.In the late 1990s a proposed high-density development threatened the idyllic riverside location, sparking outrage in the local community and further afield. Years of protesting, negotiating and fundraising followed and the convent, now on Australia's National Heritage List, has started a new life as a vibrant centre for art and culture. The Convent: A City Finds its Heart tells the story of the site's rich history and the efforts to preserve it. It is an uplifting tale of community activism-a tangible reminder that the magic of the past can endure and what people-power can achieve.

Contents:

Intro

Title

Copyright

Contents

Acknowledgements

1. A secret, magical place

2. It began with lava

3. Sue's kitchen

4. Neither pot nor pan

5. A positive alternative

6. Growth

7. A social enterprise

8. A noble cause

9. Basket weavers

10. Flooded

11. The Great and the Good

12. Life at the convent

13. The legacy

14. Coming and going

15. Implacable

16. The end of an era

17. A gem

18. Everything you wanted

19. Saved

20. Open

Timeline

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780522876604

0522876609

OCLC:

1493621956