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first fleet
On May 13, 1787, a group of over 1,400 people in 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth, England. Nearly all of the voyagers survived and arrived in Botany Bay several months later. The first Catholics to arrive in Australia arrived with this first fleet in 1788. English and Irish people made up the bulk of the ship's passengers. Half of the prisoners were Catholic and 10% of them were Irish natives. There were no churches and few priests to promote religion at this time. -
first priest to arrive
the first priest to arrive came with the first fleet such as James Harold, James Dixon and peter O'Neil. There were no churches and few priests to promote religion at this time. On May 13, 1787, a group of over 1,400 people in 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth, England. Nearly all of the voyagers survived and arrived in Botany Bay several months later. -
First mass botany bay
By 1803, a total of 2086 Irish convicts has arrived at Botany Bay (Sydney). Most of these criminals were catholic. Soon After, catholic convicts Fr James Harold and Fr James Dixon speak the first public mass. -
first school
The Parramatta Marist High School is a boys-only independent Roman Catholic secondary school in the Westmead area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was the first Catholic school established in Australia and the second-oldest school in the country when it was founded in 1820 by John Therry. -
10 catholic schools
By 1833, 10 catholic schools had been built in Australia. The schools relied on government assistance to run campaigns and compulsory education. -
first bishop of Australia
John Bede Polding was an English Benedictine monk who became the first Catholic Bishop of Australia. He was concerned for the plight of the convicts. He was responsible for the emergence of the Good Samaritan Sisters, whose institute he founded in 1857. -
first bishop of melborne
James Alipius Goold (1812–1886), first Catholic bishop and archbishop of Melbourne, volunteered for service in New South Wales having studied in Rome and Perugia. He arrived in Sydney in early 1838, three years after his ordination. In five years at Campbelltown he built schools and churches before being appointed bishop of Melbourne in 1847. -
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
The Sisters of St. Joseph originated in Penola in the Southeast of South Australia in 1866. The group "The Sisters of St Joseph" founded by Fr Julian Tenison Woods and Mary Mackillop formed in this year. Mary Helen MacKillop (1842 1909) was born on 15 January 1842 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. At the age of 24 she dedicated her life to God as a religious sister and took on the name “Mary of the Cross.” Julian Edmund Tenison Woods (1832-1889), was born on 15 November 1832 in Southwark, England. -
The growth of catholic schools
With a total of 815 sisters teaching in schools, the Sisters of St. Joseph (also known as the Josephites) started running 35 different schools in the Adelaide diocese. The sisters also started smaller parish schools across Australia, providing education to children living in the bush. Catholic schools were influenced by the religious orders to expand for a very long time. -
Thomas carr 2nd Archbishop of Melbourne
Thomas Joseph Carr was born in Moylough, County Galway, Ireland, in 1839. He was educated at a Catholic college and was ordained as a priest in 1866, at the age of 27. Carr was offered the position of Archbishop of Melbourne and set sail for the Colony, arriving in June 1887. He was warmly received, and a medal was produced inscribed 'one hundred thousand welcomes'. -
Death of Mary Mackillop
At the age of 60, Mary MacKillop suffers a stroke and becomes paralyzed on her right-hand side. She is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Mary MacKillop dies aged 67, on August 8, 1909. She is buried in Gore Hill Cemetery She died in North Sydney on 8 August 1909 and was canonized as a Saint on 17 October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.