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The first Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition to come to Australia arrived in 1855, just over twenty-three years after the foundation of the Congregation by Emilie de Vialar. The four sisters were French and made some effort to acquaint themselves with the English language on the four-month voyage, studying the English Grammar books that Dr Serra had provided for them along with the French Grammars they themselves had brought.

Monsignor Serra, Administrator of the diocese of Perth, who had travelled overseas, seeking missionaries for the purposes of education and other pioneering missionary work in the new colony, specifically Fremantle, accompanied the sisters on the Lady Amherst together with eleven other missionaries, mainly Benedictines.

The four sisters chosen for this foundation were:

Sister Julie Cabagniol aged 25 who was to be in charge, Sister Lucy Fieuzet, aged 44, Sister Zoë de Chamouin, aged 20, and Sister Emilie Petit aged 22; [the last two were novices and pronounced their first vows in 1856, shortly after Easter].

(In a letter to Mother Emilie de Vialar dated 30 September 1856, Bishop Serra advised her "... It was on Low Sunday that I myself received with pleasure the profession of Srs Zoë and Emilie in the presence of a large crowd including Catholics and Protestants. The ceremony was very impressive...")

It is impossible to imagine the horrendous conditions on board ship on the long tedious voyage. Passengers shared the space with animals, with all that this entails! Food was scarce, water was rationed, comforts were nil. Rough weather kept passengers below deck for lengthy periods; in the first days out from port, many people suffered from seasickness. What faith and dedication must have been needed in the midst of the stench and the filth, the discomfort and the anxiety experienced on this voyage!

At the time of the sisters' arrival in the Swan River Colony, Fremantle could scarcely be called a town; it had a few scattered houses - merely stringy-bark cottages - occupied mainly by prison warders and settlers and was certainly a dismal sight; sand dunes, stunted bushes interspersed with sandy tracks between the few dwelling places and the glaringly white limestone roadways. The only building of any size was the "Convict Establishment." Most of the inhabitants were convicts or the officials and soldiers in charge of them, while aborigines were constantly in and around the settlement.

On arrival, the sisters were accommodated in a small dwelling belonging to the mission that was also to serve as a school. The Sisters of Mercy, who had arrived in the colony nine years earlier had previously taught in the school but were now based in Perth. The school was then given in charge of a young woman who was paid by the mission, but gave up this position with the arrival of the "French Ladies." They opened their school on 1 July 1855, just five weeks after coming to the colony giving the assurance of ongoing Catholic Education. Nine months later, a young lady of Irish parentage joined the sisters as a postulant. Her name in religion was Sister Josephine Smith who died in 1896.

In 1856 shortly before the Foundress's death she arranged for two more sisters to travel from France to the Australian mission. They were the two Hennessey sisters, one a professed sister and the other a novice - Sisters Veronica and Margaret. However, they both left the Congregation within the next two years, so numbers were down to five. A few months before Emilie de Vialar's death she received a letter from the Secretary of the Propagation of the Faith dated 30 April 1856 which reads: "I have just received a letter from his Lordship, Dr Serra in which he states that he rejoices at the results obtained by the religious of your house already established in Fremantle. The classes are frequented by young girls, Protestants as well as Catholics, and the former are as eagerly welcomed as the latter."

Like the Sisters of Mercy in Perth, the Sisters in Fremantle soon established a reputation for the quality of education offered and children came from all over the colony to benefit from it. In 1870, the Governor of Western Australia, F.A. Weld sent his two daughters to board and be educated at the Fremantle Convent.

In 1865 a young Irish girl came as a postulant. Taking the name Sister Clare Butler, she laboured tirelessly for fifteen years under many privations and difficulties finally succumbing to tuberculosis, thus depleting the little band of workers once again. Yet another young Irish girl entered in 1875, taking the name of Sr Agnes Cantwell. She died in 1884, at the age of 25.

In 1881 the foundation was blessed with a visit from the Mother House. Sr Marcelline Loubet, the General Secretary arrived bringing reinforcements with her in the persons of Sisters Cecilia David and Matilde Dauriac. The latter went to the Albany mission but returned to France in 1909.

In 1877 and 1878 respectively, two young women entered, Sr Gertrude Campbell and Sr Magdalen Cootes and the following year Sr Therese Milligan.

By the end of 1881 the Fremantle community consisted of six sisters with Sr Teresa McKenzie from Burma in charge. In 1882 Sister Celestine Stecerviez, a Polish Sister arrived in Albany also from Burma. She stayed there a year and then joined the Fremantle community. In 1883 Sr Margaret Kollath (German) joined the Albany community, where she stayed for two years before moving to Fremantle.

In spite of the isolation and hardships another foundation was made in the small country town of Northam in 1886 with three sisters.

At the time of Mother Teresa's death on 18 August 1898, the community in Fremantle was composed of 15 professed sisters, three novices and five postulants.

As well as education the missionary efforts of these pioneer sisters included frequent visits to families, to hospital patients and to the female inmates of the large prison at Fremantle.

On Sunday, June 17, 1855, the Sisters were present with the Sisters of Mercy in St John's Cathedral in Perth for a unique ceremony. On that day Bishop Serra read the Papal Bull concerning the Immaculate Conception of Mary and then celebrated a Pontifical High Mass to honour the new Dogma of Faith. He then declared that henceforth, the Cathedral would be known as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

These early pioneers have been and are an enduring source of admiration and inspiration to those who have followed in their footsteps. What courage, what faith, what selflessness, what zeal for the glory of God and the spread of the Kingdom!

Sister Julie Cabagniol
Sister Lucy Fieuzet
Sister Zoë de Chamouin
Sister Emilie Petit