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Windfall bequest for Hutt St Centre

Apr 07, 2014
The Hutt Street centre for the homeless.

The Hutt Street centre for the homeless.

Adelaide’s Hutt St Centre for the homeless has received its largest-ever bequest – almost half a million dollars from a benefactor it hardly knew.

The $454,000 bequest came from 97-year-old Catherine O’Connor, who died in May last year.

The bequest was approved by the Supreme Court this week after some minor legal deficiencies in the will were overcome.

“It’s the most sizeable and generous bequest we’ve had at Hutt Street,” the Centre’s CEO Ian Cox told InDaily.

“We were invited to Mrs O’Connor’s funeral last year by friends of hers and were told that a bequest was in the offing.

“It turned out to be a most generous gift – well beyond our expectations.”

Cox said that while the current staff knew little of the O’Connor’s, one of the previous Sisters of the Daughters of Charity had dealings with the family.

“As I understand it, the O’Connor’s didn’t have any children and this was the extent of their estate.”

The Supreme Court documents show that Catherine Elizabeth O’Connor lived on Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Cowandilla.

Mrs O’Connor made out her will in July 1989.

Her husband, Timothy Francis O’Connor, died in December 1998.

Mrs O’Connor’s will stated: “In the event of my husband failing to survive me I bequeath the whole of my real and personal estate to my trustee…to pay my funeral and testamentary expenses and debts and the residue upon trust for Charity Daughters of 258 Hutt Street, Adelaide.”

The court file shows there no debts or significant expenses.

The Public Trustee had to apply to the court to vary the terms of the will to reflect the correct name of the charity.

The windfall comes 60 years after the Daughters of Charity began work at 258 Hutt Street.

At that time, the Daughters of Charity’s house at Hutt Street was known as St Louise’s House.

They began their service at St Louise’s House by visiting people in their homes and when people arrived at the back gate looking for food they were provided with sandwiches and a jar of tea. Initially the Daughters of Charity did not employ any staff at St Louise’s and all the work was performed by the Sisters themselves and volunteers.

St Louise’s House relied on the Sisters and volunteers to provide the services and voluntary fundraising to fund the operations.

Fundraising activities such as an annual fete, an annual concert and raffle were used to raise funds.

Over time, St Louise’s House became very well known in the Adelaide community and demand increased.

Police, the Department of Social Security and many other agencies often referred people who were hungry or in need to St Louise’s House.

In 1987 the facilities at St Louise’s House were upgraded to provide a kitchen and meal centre as well as showers and toilets for people who needed assistance.

It was not until about the early 1990s that paid staff first worked at St Louise’s House.

St Louise’s House has since received government funding and developed a day centre providing a TV room, a quiet room and a shower block for the benefit of people in need.

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