A place to call home

8 December 1913. Benefactors, Rev. Father Edward Gell and Miss Frances Gell, present two cheques to Eileen O’Connor and Father Rev. Edward McGrath msc to purchase 35 Dudley St, Coogee, from the estate of the late Mrs Hughes. For the past eight months, benefactors have been contributing £16 per month to rent the timber cottage and its sprawling grounds, which boast magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding suburbs. Ownership of the property is transferred to Eileen and Father McGrath nine days later. Their joint ownership of the property, now known as Our Lady’s Home, will soon become a major source of concern among church authorities.