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Growth of the Catholic Church in Australia

  • The arrival of the First Fleet

    The First Fleet mostly consisted of Christians from the British Isles. For the first few decades of the colony, Christians and Protestant groups had trouble establishing their Churches.
  • Period: to

    Richard Johnson

    The first chaplain of the colony who was an Anglican priest and managed a farm and served as a magistrate. Johnson used used his own money to build a church which opened in 1793 and it was burned to the ground in 1798, 1800 Johnson returned to England.
  • Fr James Dixon

    He was a Catholic priest that arrived at the colony as a convict. He was given permission by the Governor to say Mass for the Irish convicts.
  • Period: to

    First Catholic school opened

  • The first recorded Mass in Australia

  • Convict rebellion

    300 convicts rebelled against the harsh conditions and treatment they received
  • Irish Uprising

    The Irish rallied at Castle Hill but were then fired upon by the troops. Due to this uprising, Marsden believed that the Irish Catholics were using Mass to plot rebellions so then Catholic worship was banned.
  • Father Dixon returned to Ireland

  • Fr Jeremiah O'Flynn arrived at the colony

    He was a Catholic priest and was not authorised to conduct services or operate as a chaplain so in 1818 he was deported.
  • Fr John Therry and Philip Connolly arrived at the colony

  • Fr Therry opened a school

  • The Roman Catholic Relief Act

    Gave Catholics the same political rights as the Protestants and they were able to hold public office.
  • 10 Catholic schools have been established in the colony

  • Colony of Queensland was established

    Its population consisted of all the Protestant groups
  • James Quinn, the first Bishop of Queensland, arrived

  • Government funding to Church schools was stopped

  • Period: to

    Increase of nuns and brothers

    Late 1890s = 2000
    1910 = 6000
    1950 = 13000