The next story we share from our 125 stories of MLMC book celebrating the College’s 125th anniversary this year is from 1902 and it features the Ryan family. Local licensees of the Lilydale Hotel, Daniel and Mary Ryan sent their younger girls to the Convent and their descendants then attended the College, one of whom is an inductee on our Mercy Honour Roll.
1902 — THE RYAN FAMILY
In 1902, Daniel and Mary Ryan came from Melton to Lilydale to take over as the licensees at the Lilydale Hotel, later to be known as the White Dog Hotel. The Ryans had 10 children and the eldest was Minnie, being 19, and the youngest, Irene, three years old. They were all involved with St Patrick’s Parish with Mrs Ryan being described as one of “its most ardent workers”.
The older children assisted their parents at the hotel while the younger girls, Margaret (10), Vera (8), Evelyn (7) and Monica (5) all attended the convent school. Irene would attend later when she was older.
In 1902 Mrs Ryan created a beautiful dress for her daughter Monica to wear that contained an embroidered kangaroo and emu holding a shield and British and Australian flags (pictured in the gallery below). Called the ‘Empire Day Dress’, it was more than likely created for the children’s celebrations in Lilydale to mark the Coronation of King Edward VII held in June 1902, as there were no Empire Day celebrations that year.
The family left Lilydale in 1907 and moved to Caulfield. One son, James, was killed at Gallipoli during WWI, while another, Charles, served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Their descendants would continue to be connected to the school, most notably Peter and Helen Wood and their children and grandchildren. Their daughter Angela Wood (Class of 1987) (pictured below) was inducted onto the Mercy Honour Roll in 2014.
