About us

The Friends Childcare Centre is part of St Vincent’s Private Hospital Lismore, a Catholic Hospital owned and operated by the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church of the Diocese of Lismore. The Diocese is a body corporate in the State of NSW created by the Roman Catholic Church Trust Property Act of 1936, as amended.

The centre, a part of the hospital, was established by The Friends of St Vincent’s, a voluntary group attached to the hospital. The centre is licensed for 39 children daily with access priority given to employees on the campus.

The logos below represent the entities that are part of the childcare centre. The Friends Childcare centre; St Vincent’s Private Hospital our broader campus community. The Diocese of Lismore; connection to the Lismore Catholic Diocese.

The “Five nations” artwork is by Uncle Richard Campbell. The artwork is commissioned by the Lismore Catholic Schools Office, representing the five traditional nations across the Diocese of Lismore, shown by the five smaller circles around the outside of the painting. Bundjalung, Yaegl, Gumbaynggirr, Dhungatti/Thungatti and Birpai. The large ring of circles in the centre of the painting represents never-ending learning that is passed on from generation to generation. Learning and living traditional ways whilst embracing western education, that is never-ending. The Muurrbay tree running through the background of the painting is one of the dreaming stories of the Gumbaynggirr nation and is significant to the artist who is of Gumbaynggirr heritage. The three U shaped symbols in the centre of the large circles represent the Trinity and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is very significant in Aboriginal culture. The Spirit runs deep, and you are connected to a set of ideas, rules, norms and morals that are binding together. The Southern Cross and the Milky Way represent one of the dreaming stories of the Bundjalung Nation, the migration of the black swans.