Eileen Heath

Sister Eileen Heath (29 November 1905 – 22 October 2011) was an Anglican Deaconess who worked as the superintendent of St. Mary's Hostel in Alice Springs from 1946 - 1955 and was a tireless campaigner for Aboriginal Welfare who took a stand against her own church in the 1940s.

[1] Heath moved the Alice Springs to Work at St. Mary's Hostel, where she was the first superintendent, in 1946 alongside her friend Lillian Schroder who would serve as the housekeeper and seamstress.

They welcomed their first residents on 2 March 1946, four children (two girls and two boys) from Newcastle Waters Station and from there the numbers continued to grow.

[3] It is said that Heath took a very active interest in the children and that they lived a relaxed and carefree existence; playing sport, climbing trees and riding donkeys.

[3] Throughout her time in the Northern Territory she was also an active member if the local Girl Guides Association and helped establish a number of packs.