Bridget Partridge

Bridget Mary Partridge (21 October 1890 – 4 December 1966), also known as Sister Mary Liguori, was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious sister who on the night of 24 July 1920 fled the Presentation Convent in Wagga Wagga dressed only in her nightgown. This act became a national sectarian scandal after the young nun took refuge with Protestants. Partridge was accused of being a lunatic by the local Catholic bishop, whom she subsequently sued in the New South Wales Supreme Court in 1921 for false arrest and reputational damage.

Early life and education Partridge was born on 21 October 1890 in Newbridge, Kildare, Ireland. Sources vary and refer to her as both Brigid and Bridget. Her mother was Anne (née Cardiff), an Irish Catholic, and her father was Edward Partridge, a corporal in the Royal Engineers and an English Protestant.

Partridge completed her schooling at the age of 14. In 1908, when she was 18, she entered the Order of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Bridget's Convent in Kildare. Shortly afterwards, on 25 December 1908, she set sail for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She became a novice with the Presentation Sisters on 21 February 1909, living at the order's mother house, Mount Erin, in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. When she was professed on 25 September 1911, she took the religious name of Mary Liguori, after 18th-century Bishop Alphonsus Liguori, who was the patron saint of confessors. She taught at a convent at Ganmain for around five years before coming back to the mother house in 1918. After her release she used her preferred name of Bridget Partridge and returned to stay with William and Laura Touchell. Seeking redress, and with the support of the Loyal Orange Lodge, Partridge subsequently sued Bishop Dwyer for £5,000 for false arrest and associated trauma, citing damage to her reputation. There was considerable media and public interest in the court proceedings, with hundreds lining up seeking admittance to the public galleries, many hoping to hear something sensational about the "mysteries of convent life". The trial lasted from 30 June until 13 July 1921. Partridge ultimately lost her bid in the Supreme Court when Justice (Sir) David Ferguson and a jury of four men found in the bishop's favour.

Death Partridge continued to live with the Touchells for the rest of her life, travelling with them over the years to various towns in New South Wales. William Touchell died in 1954. Partridge and Laura Touchell were admitted to Rydalmere Mental Hospital in Parramatta in 1962. Laura Touchell died there in 1963 and Partridge died there on 4 December 1966 at the age of 76. Partridge never married and had no relatives in Australia. Only one mourner attended her funeral. The book was reviewed in the Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society by Jeff Kildea, who had previously presented a paper about Liguori at the society's conference. Kildea's subsequent book about Partridge, published in 2024, represents the culmination of 25 years of research. It is reported that a screenplay is in production and negotiations are underway for a movie about Partridge's life.

Partridge's story was reinterpreted from a modern, feminist perspective in an art exhibition held in 2021. This exhibition drew attention to the story as one of scandal and abuse, with comparisons to modern feminist struggles, and not just as a tale of sectarian conflict. Artist Amanda Bromfield's installation at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery incorporated ceramics, found objects, and video performance. Sister Noella Fox, a Presentation Sister and historian, has said that while largely forgotten, Partridge's story is a very important part of the Presentation Sisters' family story.