Significant individuals and groups significant developments and events impacts on society and identity as australians

Year 5: c 1850CE -1900 CE: Year Level Focus: Christianity in the Australian Colonies
1850’s Polding’s “Benedictine Dream” and his Irish Nightmares An increasingly “Australian” church by the end of the century	The period 1850- 1900 was a time of significant growth and consolidation for the institutional Catholic Church and a period where the Catholic laity faced the dual and sometimes conflicting challenges of being loyal members of a more structured, hierarchical Church and being accepted as “ordinary” members of Australian society. Archbishop Polding continued his quest to model the Church in the Australian colonies on Benedictine values and principles. In 1849, Dr Joseph Serra, a Spanish Benedictine, was consecrated Bishop of Port Victoria (Darwin) and Vicar Apostolic of the Northern Territory, but a month later was appointed coadjutor to Bishop Brady in Perth. Dr Salvado, another Benedictine, was ordained bishop of Port Victoria. 1850: Foundation stone laid for St Patrick’s church (later cathedral) Melbourne. 1850 Government grants for a catholic “temperance hall” in Hobart. 1850 Polding embarks on wide ranging tours of NSW; Goold sets out on a missionary journey up the Murray. 1851 Fr McEnroe petitions Rome to “Hibernicise” the church in Australia, due to the conflict between Irish clergy and Benedictine bishops. 1853: Bishop Willson was one of the Victorian age’s most colourful and socially progressive clerics. He was one of the main campaigners for better conditions for convicts transported to Australia and it was partly because of his efforts that transportation to Tasmania was discontinued in 1853. Ill-treatment in penal colonies produced significant numbers of psychologically damaged people and Bishop Willson became one of the world’s leading mental health reformers — pioneering a more humane approach to mental patients. 1854 ordination of first Australian born priest Fr John Fitzgerald, in Rome. Caroline Chisholm back in Australia to found Family Colonisation Society and helps settle 11,000 women migrants in Australia. 1856 Bishop Serra OSB claims Sisters of Mercy in Perth are stirring discontent against him among Irish Catholics. Sisters leave Perth for Melbourne in 1857. 1857 Sisters of the Good Samaritan founded to respond to social needs of colonial Australia. “Friendly Brothers” (forerunner of SVDP) helped run orphanage opened in Melbourne in 1857. 1857 Fr McGinty of Ipswich travels to Grafton, ministering to isolated families on the way. 1859 James Quinn consecrated first Bishop of Brisbane in Dublin. Arrives in Brisbane 1860 with five priests, one brother and seven Sisters of Mercy including Mother Vincent Whitty.	The Anglican prelate of Melbourne responded to the establishment of the Catholic diocese of Port Phillip in 1849 by attacking the Catholic church as “apostate and idolatrous”. 1851 Schism in Perth diocese between Bishop Brady and Bishop Serra. 1853 Bishop Salvado arrives in Perth with Spanish missionary artisans. 26 artisans at Aboriginal missions at New Norcia and 15 at Subiaco. 1853 Lyndhurst, Australia’s first Catholic secondary college, opens in Sydney with 35 students. Dr Polding, was keen to organise his Catholic community along Benedictine lines. To cater for the education of Catholic boys he established Lyndhurst College in Glebe, a suburb west of Sydney. From the outset there were difficulties about obtaining suitable staff from the English Province of the Order, and there was the constant worry of finance. 1857 St John’s College, University of Sydney, established. 1857 Polding, Goold and Willson issue a Pastoral Letter warning Catholic laymen acting as judges of the Bishops of the Church. 1857 “Children of Mary” first reception in Melbourne. 1857 St Vincent’s Hospital opens in Sydney. 1857 new parish of New England extends from Armidale to Qld border and Pacific Ocean. 1858 Polding visits Moreton Bay district in Qld. People of all denominations attend his confirmations at St Stephens. Polding lays foundation of new church in Ipswich. 1859 Catholic William Archer appointed Registrar General of Victoria.	1854: Army storms Eureka Stockade. May Catholics involved. Peter Lalor hidden by priest and friends. Elected to Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1855. 1854 Governor of Victoria urges Bishop Goold to go to goldfields to help heal divisions. 1862 Bishop Willson praised in Melbourne Press for his advocacy for the insane in asylums in Victoria 1860 Bishop Goold issues a Pastoral Letter against anti-Catholic and Godless education. 1863 Abolition of state aid to NSW clergy. 1866 Bishop Quinn censured by Legislative Council of Qld for his “catastrophic” debts. 1868 Polding attends a Public education meeting at Cooma, NSW to criticise recently passed Public Schools Act as unfair to Catholics. 1868 Irish madman O’Farrell shoots at Duke of Edinburgh. Premier Parkes claims a Fenian plot. Some catholic bishops condemn Fenians and assure loyalty to British Crown. 1876 Archbishop Vaughan gives a lecture on the evils of Freemasonry with anti-Catholic repercussions. 1878 Opening of Xavier College, Kew by Jesuits interpreted as an aspect of the “war” between Catholics and the secular government education system. 1888 Lord Carrington, Governor of NSW presides at a meeting of 12 bishops and 7 colonial governors to celebrate centenary of Australia and promote the completion of St Mary’s cathedral. 1898 Cardinal Moran addresses the Bathurst Convention on Federation. Alleges anti-Catholic bias in Australia.
1860’s	1864 Fr Therry, pioneering priest, dies. Fr Joseph Ah Lee, only Chinese priest in Australia in 19^th Century, arrives in Melbourne. 1866: First presentation Sisters (9) arrive in Hobart. 1867: Mother Mary of the Cross and Fr Julian Tenison Woods found Sisters of St Joseph of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Adelaide. Sir John O’Shanassy three times Premier of Victoria receives Papal knighthood in 1867. 1868 Four Christian Brothers, led by Br Ambrose Treacy, arrive in Melbourne.	1863 Polding attempts to meet and minister to Ben Hall and other bushrangers. 1863 All Hallows school Brisbane opened. St Stephen’s Cathedral foundation stone laid, Brisbane. 1865: 6 catholic churches in Qld. 1000 children being taught by religious sisters and laity at Brisbane and Ipswich. 1865: St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, destroyed by fire. 1867: Catholic and Presbyterian leaders hold an ecumenical discussion in Melbourne to secure separate Catholic schools for Victoria. 1867 Formation of Catholic Association of NSW to protect Catholic Education. 1869 Provincial Council of Australian Church deplores the evils of “mixed schools”. 8 bishops sign Joint Pastoral Letter reflecting Polding’s concern for the education of Australian Aborigines and their rights to tribal lands. 1869 Australian bishops attend opening of First Vatican Council in Rome.
1870’s	1871 Three prominent Melbourne laymen receive Papal Knighthoods. 1874 Fr Julian Tenison Woods founds Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Brisbane 1875 : Loreto Sisters arrive in Ballarat, Melbourne and Brisbane 1877 Death of Archbishop Polding in Sydney. 100,000 attend funeral.	1870: Brisbane diocese reports 30,000 Catholics, served by 40 priests and 30 nuns. 1875 Christian Brothers come to Brisbane. 1873 Sisters of Mercy build convents in Rockhampton and Toowoomba. 1878: Sisters of Mercy arrive in Townsville.
1880’s	1881: Bishop James Quinn of Brisbane dies. 1882 Ursuline Sisters and Sacre Coeur Religious arrive in Australia 1884 Patrician Brothers, Little Sisters of the Poor; Poor Clares and Vincentian Fathers arrive in Australia. 1885 Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart arrive in Australia. 1885 Archbishop Moran created first Australian cardinal in Rome 1885 Carmelite Nuns, Little Company of Mary sisters arrive in Australia. 1889 St Patrick’s Seminary opened. 1886: Brigidine Sisters arrive in Australia 1889 Golden Jubilee of profession of Mother Xavier Williams, (Sister of Charity) first religious sister professed in Australia. Dies in 1892.	1882 Rockhampton Diocese established in Qld. Christian brothers open St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace (1880) Maryborough (1888), Nudgee (1890), Ipswich (1892), Brisbane (1893), Townsville (1895). 1889: Missionaries of the Sacred Heart found Annals magazine to publicise mission work.
1890’s	1892 Mother Vincent Whitty, who brought Sisters of Mercy to Qld, dies. 1897 First Australian born bishop: Patrick Vincent Dwyer consecrated.	1893: Aboriginal Mission at New Norcia faces collapse.
Skills Sequence some key people and events (religious and secular) in the Australian colonies (c.1850 CE – c.1900 CE) and recognise their significance in bringing about change. Develop historical narratives and descriptions about some key events and people’s experiences in the Church in the Australian colonies (c.1850 CE – c.1900 CE) using source materials and appropriate historical terms and concepts. Locate information about the contribution or significance of Catholics (laity, clergy, religious) to the shaping of particular communities, including Indigenous communities (c.1850 CE – c.1900 CE).
Summary	Tension between Irish clergy and Polding’s Benedictine clergy First cardinal (Moran) Key Religious emerge: Mary MacKillop; Ellen Whitty; Key Lay Catholics: Caroline Chisholm Rapid growth in numbers of religious running schools, institutions, missions Few priests facing huge pastoral challenges- distance, lack of education, access to sacraments By century’s end, a growing Australian religious and clergy seek distinction from an Irish Church.	Catholic life centres around establishment of parishes, schools, institutions Access to Catholic life still very difficult for people outside metropolitan areas. Bishops decrees make life harder for Catholics to integrate into “ordinary” Australian society- on schooling, mixed marriages Some statements by bishops revive old sectarian wounds	Catholics find a “normal” place in society. Positions in business, government, education, health. In some ways, sectarianism abates, but at other times, it is re-ignited. Bishops’ hard line on separate Catholic Education a major cause of sectarian sentiment. Freemasonry a point of sectarian tension.