Victims of a decades-long "reign of terror" conducted by nuns at a central Queensland orphanage are due
to tell their stories at a royal commission.
The Neerkol orphanage near Rockhampton has previously been exposed by the Forde Inquiry in 1998 and 1999 as a place where physical, sexual and psychological abuse was rife.
The home, also known as St Joseph's Orphanage, was operated by the Sisters of Mercy until 1978. About nine former residents are expected to detail their experiences at a public hearing of the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Rockhampton this month.
The scope of the hearing includes their experiences and the responses of the Sisters of Mercy, the Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton and the Queensland government to complaints of child sexual abuse.
The Forde Inquiry into the abuse of children in Queensland institutions found the orphanage operated in a climate of fear in the period from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Children were subjected to a process of de-personalisation and at times harsh or degrading discipline, including isolation and floggings.
There were reports of sexual abuse from members of foster families, male orphanage workers, visitors, nuns and priests.
The estimated two-week public hearing begins on Tuesday at the Rockhampton Courthouse.
