Tangaroa G33K, history and family history: Update on Eileen Dudson or Sister Sylvia, cemetery and retirement home

Earlier in 2017, I had written about searching online records for the family member Eileen Mary Brett Dudson who had also been known as Sister Sylvia. I had wondered if I could have time to search for her in the cemetery within Panmure and I thought I should update the progress on what I had found. Sometimes a physical search for things provides more details than what is on paper

I will start with the cemetery in Panmure, which I will include the Youtube link I made of walking through the cemetery. The cemetery was relatively easy to find, but Eileen’s headstone was not as I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find. I think I was lucky due to the time of day I was there as the cemetery and church was next to a pre school, which had finished for the day. Many of the people buried here seemed to have been prominent clergy for the Catholic church. I had not done any research on this place other than looking at the map to see where I was heading.

I found her after searching the small cemetery and looking at nearly every headstone. I made sure I looked wherever I had seen markings for the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and there were a few there in various parts of the cemetery. I do not know if there are triple burials as there are three names on some headstones especially the one I was looking for. I walked past the headstone three times before I realised, I had what I was looking for. The sun was shining on it and the glare made it hard to read. I knew I had the right person due to the sate and the Surname, but here is the headstone: Sr M. Sylvia Dudson, 9.6.1984. Her middle name was Mary so that part explains the whole story when I asked some people at university what the M stood for as I had forgotten about her middle name. I found her, but this was not quite what I had expected as it raises some more questions.

The next stop several days later was in Mission Bay next to Bastion Point in Auckland. It was a Mission in the early days of Auckland where the Anglican Mission was constructed to teach Melanesian students who would return to the islands after their completed training. Could be why there is a retirement home for the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart – Mary Mackillop Centre. I was not sure if the centre still existed until I found it. There were people still residing here and I did not want to linger or else I might have gotten into trouble. There were views from the hill of the Mission Bay area and would have been relaxing for the residents. I could see Eileen happily spending her last years in this place.