Gawler Underground - Good Samaritan Convent

St Joseph’s Good Samaritan Convent

6 Porter Street

St Joseph’s Good Samaritan Convent was built in 1910, opening on October 3rd. The first nuns moved in on 11 November 1910. It served as a school for Sisters of the Good Samaritan and could house twelve female boarders. The chapel, rectory, music room, dormitories, lavatories, bathrooms, community room, sacristy and staircase hall were on the upper level. The north wing contained a reception room, refectory, scullery, kitchen, laundry, cellar, and another outer office.[1] Past students speak of the honour of polishing the cedar staircase and chapel, or ringing the Angelus Bell, all of which still stand intact today.

Music was a large part of instruction in the Convent, with many important musicians being classically trained here, including internationally renowned musician Brenton Langbein OAM, who went on to study at the University of Adelaide. He would later play with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and become a star of the classical music scene in Europe, and a theatre in the Barossa is named after him.

In 1973, the convent and the smaller convent next door were sold to Hristos (Kristos) and Mavis Zisimou. The Zisimou’s, for a while, ran the property as a boarding house. According to her son, Mavis helped people turn their lives around with tough love, an iron fist, and a loving heart. The convent was sold to Dr Naomi Rutton in 2022, who has plans to turn it into a health retreat.

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researched and written by Allen Tiller




[1] 'The New Samaritan Convent, Gawler.', Southern Cross, (7 October 1910), p. 8.