The site of the present St Joseph's Spirtuality and Education Centre has a history which goes back to the late 1880's. It was in 1887 that Cardinal Moran invited the Sisters of St Joseph, led by Mary MacKillop, to bring twenty-two homeless boys from their overcrowded centre at The Rocks in Sydney to the country atmosphere of Kincumber - an aboriginal word meaning 'towards the rising sun' or ' tomorrow'.

St Joseph's Boys' Orphanage was destined to grow and change, and in eighty-nine years was a shelter for homeless children, with thousands of boys, and later girls, passing through its doors.

After the Home closed in 1976, St Joseph's became a centre for retreats, group gatherings, workshops, seminars, reflection days and a venue which generally catered for people's personal and professional needs. Close by is historic Holy Cross Church, the oldest Catholic Church in the area, built in 1842.