Southern Cross Care celebrates Chapel Dedication and Golden Jubilee

September 28, 2022

Pictured left to right: Jason Kara (Director of Aged Care, Catholic Health Australia), Ant Dureau (Board Director, Southern Cross Care), Fr Sam French (Wahroonga Parish), Helen Emmerson (CEO, Southern Cross Care), Most Rev Anthony Randazzo (Bishop of Broken Bay), Fr Paul Durkin (Wahroonga Parish), Hon Paul Fletcher MP (Federal Member for Bradfield), Fr Robert Borg (The Lakes Catholic Parish) and Mike Christensen (Board Director, Southern Cross Care).

Southern Cross Care residents, families, Board, executive and staff gathered with the local community on Wednesday 21 September 2022 to celebrate the dedication of Nazareth House Chapel at our North Turramurra Home.

The dedication was presided over by the Most Reverend Anthony Randazzo DD JCL, Bishop of Broken Bay and representatives from the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, Catholic Health Australia, and Paul Fletcher MP – Federal Member for Bradfield joined the celebration. The mass was deeply moving for all those who attended in person and for those who joined virtually via the live stream.

Pictured Left: Fr Paul Durkin (Wahroonga Parish), Most Rev Anthony Randazzo (Bishop of Broken Bay), Fr Sam French (Wahroonga Parish) and Fr Robert Borg (The Lakes Catholic Parish) outside Huon House. Right: Most Rev Anthony Randazzo during the Dedication of Nazareth House Chapel.

Pictured Left: Most Rev Anthony Randazzo and Fr Robert Borg with Pymble Parish Eucharistic Ministers Paulette Awad and Carolyne Wawrzyniak. Right: Helen Emmerson with Most Rev Anthony Randazzo.

Pictured: Nazareth House Chapel

As there is so much history associated with the North Turramurra Home, it was a perfect setting to reflect on Southern Cross Care’s 50-year history and to celebrate the close of our Golden Jubilee Year.

The Nazareth House Chapel was opened by Cardinal Gilroy on 8 May 1966 and has been a spiritual centre for residents and the community for many years. 

Huon House, where guests gathered for morning tea, was constructed in the late 1890s as the home of Federal Parliamentarian George Edwards. In 1961, the building became a convent for the Sisters of Nazareth, who opened Nazareth House Hostel in 1964, followed by a nursing home in 1981.

In 2002, Southern Cross Care took over the site and, in 2019, commenced an extensive redevelopment to build a contemporary 113-bed residential care home and to refurbish the historic Chapel and Huon House. The redevelopment won the Urban Design Industry Award for Excellence in 2020.

CEO, Helen Emmerson personally thanked all guests in attendance and acknowledged all those who have supported Southern Cross Care over the past 50 years.  

“As we begin to look towards the next 50 years for Southern Cross Care, I would like to acknowledge the support we receive from our past and current residents and clients, their families, our Board, our industry partners and our passionate, dedicated team of staff and volunteers. They inspire us every day to help those we care for to ‘Live Life to the Full’,” she said.

Board Director, Ant Dureau also reflected on Southern Cross Care’s dedication to the community. “The word care is in our name because we care for people and we care about people. That is our true character,” he said.

Pictured Left: Southern Cross Care Board Directors Ant Dureau and Mike Christensen. Right: Southern Cross Care CEO, Helen Emmerson.

You can watch the dedication here.