Church of the Immaculate Conception, Abb…

Colonial engraving of the Good Shepherd Chapel at Abbotsford, Victoria.

In 1863, four Good Shepherd Sisters sailed from France to Melbourne to provide support and safe housing for women and girls experiencing hardship and exclusion. The Sisters found a suitable site in Abbotsford. The Abbotsford Convent was officially opened on 25 August 1863 and the Good Shepherd community began to grow. By 1869 it was recognised that a church was needed to accommodate the large community of Sisters and all the women and girls living at the Convent. Originally known as the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the Chapel was designed by Mr Thomas A Kelly, modelled on the mother house of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Angers, France. The foundation stone was laid in 1870 and the building was officially opened on 30 April 1871. It is the second oldest building in the Abbotsford Convent precinct.

From the original edition of the Illustrated Australian News. 

Collections:
University Queensland: Identifier 991000982479703131
State Library Victoria: PCINF IAN 04-09-76 P.133
National Library Australia: Bib ID 2495305
State Library New South Wales: CALL NUMBERS F079/55, TN380
Royal Geographic Society SA: RGS Special Coll. 079.94 I29d

References:
Syme, E. & D, Illustrated Australian News. ISSN 2208-5386.