With the establishment of the Abbotsford Convent, Magdalen Asylums began to be founded in more rural surroundings, such as the St Aidan’s Orphanage and Magdalen Asylum in Bendigo, Victoria. This institution was established in 1904 by a selection of sisters from the Abbotsford Convent (Heritage Council 2004).

Similar to the founding of its Abbotsford equivalent, the orphanage at St Aidan’s was a request from the Bishop of Bendigo to restore order to the town (ibid). The complex, which was the first and only Good Shepherd’s convent to house both girls and boys, has significance to the local community as being one of the largest and most charitable of institutions in the state (ibid).