A scandalous 100-year old tale that "parallels the treatment of women today" is the inspiration of a new exhibit at a Wagga art gallery.
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In July 1921, Brigid Partridge, formerly sister Mary Liguori, took her claim for five thousand pounds damages for alleged wrongful arrest and imprisonment to the Supreme Court of NSW.
For two years, Amanda Bromfield has researched the life of this "incredible woman" and the story that almost seems unbelievable.
"I was looking for stories about women that had never been told," she said.
"I came across this one and thought, 'this links back to Wagga and where I went to school', and I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it.
"My mother in law had heard of the story because she also went to Mount Erin, but she thought it was a myth."
Ms Bromfield decided the "nun in the nightgown" story was one that needed to be told.
So she created an installation that incorporates ceramics, found objects and video performance to tell the tale of Ms Partridge.
The young woman, who ran away from Mount Erin Convent in Wagga in 1920 dressed only in her nightgown, was the face of a national sensation.
Ms Partridge found shelter with the Order of the Orange Lodge, a Protestant institution, which only fuelled rising tensions between Protestants and Catholics.
She was soon taken against her will to a refectory to determine her mental health.
Then the Orange Lodge backed Ms Partridge in filing a suit against the Wagga Bishop, citing damage to her reputation. She lost her bid in the Supreme Court.
"She lost because she couldn't prove the bishop acted with malice, and it was in front of an all-male jury," Ms Bromfield said.
"It's an amazing, powerful story that is not known.
"She was standing up to the church. She was standing up to misogyny. She was standing up to the patriarchy."
Ms Bromfield said while she was researching, it became abundantly clear how little the world has changed in its treatment of women.
That's why part of the installation quotes women like Julia Gillard, Brittany Higgins, Christine Holgate and Grace Tame.
"Our world has not changed, and I get very angry and exasperated by how we are not changing," Ms Bromfield said.
"It happened 500 years ago, 100 years ago and is happening today, so by bringing out these stories I hope people start to talk about how far we have to go."
The Nun in the Nightgown is on at the Wagga Art Gallery until October 3.