Law change allows Marcia Rivett to seek compensation after lifetime reliving ‘convent hell’

In Marcia Rivett’s popular tourist attraction garden, everything’s coming up roses. But life hasn’t been a bed of roses for the 73-year-old who has spent the past 67 years waiting for justice.

Marcia and John Rivett take to their custom-built dancefloor in a shed at their tourist attraction Joncia Gardens at Logan Reserve.

MARCIA Rivett is 73 years old and for 67 of those years, she’s been waiting for justice.

The great grandmother said that from the age of six to 12, she was physically and mentally abused at the Sisters of Mercy Sacred Heart Convent at Sandgate.

Now because of a change in state laws, she has the chance of recompense.

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Mrs Rivett, from Logan Reserve, said she was six when her father left her and her younger sister Roberta at the convent in 1952.

It is where she said she was locked away, beaten, humiliated and neglected.

Marcia Rivett with husband John love dancing and turned their shed into a retro dance floor.

In October, State Parliament reformed the child protection laws.

It removed limitation periods for people to take action against an institution allowing survivors of abuse to pursue incorporated and unincorporated institutions.

Before that, only survivors of child sexual abuse were able to launch historical civil claims in Queensland.

Under the new rules, institutions such as the Sisters of Mercy, must prove they took all steps to keep children in their care safe from serious physical and psychological abuse.

The Sisters of Mercy Sacred Heart Convent at Sandgate.

The law changes do not allow victims of psychological and serious physical abuse to access compensation under the National Redress Scheme.

Instead, they can seek compensation through a civil claim.

Mrs Rivett, who has sought solace in dancing and turning her garden into a popular tourist attraction, said she was now “courageous enough” to put her best foot forward.

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Along with her lawyers, she plans to expose the injustices and hopes she will help others abused as children at Queensland orphanages and juvenile detention centres.

“They used these wooden coat hangers and would grab our fingers and whack us so hard on the back of our knuckles — the coat hangers would often break, that happened regularly,” she said.

“I was so nervous constantly that I would bite my nails until they got infected.

“If I got caught biting them, I would get belted again. My nerves were then so bad that I would wet the bed.

“Then, if we wet the bed we were punished and humiliated. You would have to wear your sheet over your head and would be paraded through the dormitory.”

Marcia and John Rivett spent years converting their back yard into a major wedding venue and tourist attraction.

To keep her mind off her childhood horror, Mrs Rivett took up dance classes and spent thousands of hours turning her garden into one of the state’s most popular wedding venues.

“I love my garden and dancing — that is how I cope,” she said.

“I have the grand champion garden of Brisbane and we even built this dancefloor in our shed so I can come out here and really escape.”

Her lawyer Leanne McDonald, from Shine Lawyers, said the legislation was justice at last for all who were physically abused.

“It has been a long time coming,” Ms McDonald said.

“Finally, they can seek compensation for what happened to them and hold these institutions to account.

“It’s been soul destroying as an abuse lawyer to hear of the beatings these people were subjected to, yet having to then tell them that I can’t help as the law didn’t allow me to.

“Some of the abuse these people were subjected to as children is inconceivable.

“The scars are one thing, but the psychological injuries are all encompassing.”