History Of The Catholic Church

First catholic school

1845

In 1845 couple Mary and Michal Burge began the first story establishing the first catholic school funded entirely by money collected from local catholic settlers.

First Permanent Church

1850

The settlement had its first permanent church "Saint Stephens"

Boarding the Yarra Yarra

1861

Bishop James Quinn, 5 priests and six sisters of mercy made there way to Brisbane aboard the Yarra Yarra

The Saint James School for Boys

1868

The saint James school for boys was established staffed entirely by lay teachers it was a unique model with both religions

Time of Growth

1870

The 1870 was a time of growth on the back of the divide between the Irish catholic and English protestants came a push to keep church and states separate.

Archbishop James Chui

1919

In 1919 Archbishop James Chui a visionary with an Entrepreneurial spirt could see the growing need for catholic schooling he invested in.

Australia Suffer

1929

In 1929 to the end of world war 2 saw Australia suffer the challenges of wide spread poverty and unemployment, catholic education was effected by lack of teachers growing class sizes and economic challenges but catholic education persevered through these hard times.

Establishing 28 New Schools

1930

Large tracks of land around Brisbane and by 1930 they had established 28 new schools

Bernard O'shea

1943

Bernard O'shea was appointed as diocesan inspector in 1943

The Great Depression

1945

The period from the great depression in 1929 to the end of world war 2 saw Australia suffer the challenges of widespread poverty and unemployment

Strain In The Catholic Education

1960

1960 was a decade of strain for catholic education lay teachers were battling with stifling conditions and only were equipped with two years of training before entering the classroom