Abbotsford Convent

The Breezeway was restored in 2009–2010 to increase access between the east and west sides of the Abbotsford Convent and it allows people to see inside the Magdalen Laundries for the first time in over a century.

Each summer, we seek community support via our annual ‘Keep it Green’ appeal to help protect the Convent’s 6.8 hectares of precious green open space, and to enable us to take important steps towards a greener future at the Convent.

The generosity of our community enabled us to kick-off the reinvigoration of Mercator Grounds – an under-utilised and neglected green space in the north-western corner of the Convent. 

The Oratory was restored in 2013 and it has been designed to be used to present music, theatre, installations, projections and immersive experiences.

Thanks to the support of our community of donors and our generous funding partners, our heritage-listed rotunda underwent significant urgent restoration work in spring 2017 to secure and protect its structure from further ruin. This important piece of history was reopened and reactivated in December 2017 in time for a warm summer.

The Rosina Building was restored in 2009 thanks to the generosity of a number of donations. The rooms in Rosina are used by arts organisations and individuals who come here to practice and rehearse. It is also used by Bursaria for private functions and weddings.

In 2013 the Abbotsford Convent Foundation undertook a number of effective projects to make the Convent more environmentally sustainable.

In June 2017, the Abbotsford Convent installed its first solar energy system, after embarking on an ambitious public fundraising appeal and delivering Australia’s largest successfully-crowdfunded campaign for solar energy to date. With the generous support of the community in 2016, this important project is now a reality.

Thanks to the support of our community of donors, our funding partner FDC Construction & Fitout, and heritage conservator Penny Byrne and her team, the Convent’s heritage balcony and 115+ year old tessellated tiling underwent significant conservation and restoration work in summer 2018. The Convent’s balcony will be opened to the community for the very first time in April 2019.

The Windows to Worlds restoration project will safeguard and protect the fragile heritage windows of the Convent Building.