History of the Church in Australia Timeline

By aurora boatswain

  • 1788

    La Perouse enters Botany Bay and his chaplain, Abbe Mones, celebrates the first
    Mass within Australian territory

  • 1791

    First Irish convicts transported to Botany Bay

  • 1792

    Catholic settlers in Parramatta petition Governor Phillip for a chaplain

  • 1817

    Fr Jeremiah Flynn, a Catholic minister, is arrested and deported after ignoring Governor Macquarie's instructions to not perform priestly functions, despite protests from Catholics and Protestant leaders.

  • 1822

    Father Therry founds the first Catholic school on Hunter Street, Parramatta

  • 1829

    Penal laws preventing Catholics holding Government positions ends

  • 1839

    The Australasian Chronicle, a weekly Catholic newspaper, is launched with former schoolteacher William as founding editor, advocating for the rights of small farmers, working men, and the dispossessed.

  • 1866

    Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods established the Sisters of St. Joseph, while Daniel Murphy appointed him as the second Archbishop of Hobart.

  • 1882

    St Mary's Cathedral is dedicated by Archbishop Vaughan, but its completion is still a long way off, with only the northern section opening and the nave still unfinished.

  • 1895

    Catholic Press prints and distributes its first issue

  • 1918

    World War I, Catholic influence in Australian Labor Party, St Patrick's College's Silver Jubilee, and land subdivision for college maintenance.

  • 1931

    Sydney Catholic-owned commercial radio station 2SM, with its call sign derived from St Mark's church, not St Mary's Cathedral, begins operations.

  • 1842

    Catholic Weekly prints its first issue

  • 1955

    Post World War II with the upsurge in births, Catholic schools are under pressure and overwhelmed by demand

  • 1972

    More than half, or 52%, of teachers in Archdiocese schools are now lay people

  • 1997

    Restoration of St Mary’s Cathedral begins.

  • 2008

    Pope Benedict XVI visited Australia for World Youth Day 2008, leading to the creation of Xt3, the fastest-growing Catholic website globally for young people.

  • 2014

    Pope Francis appoints George Cardinal Pell as Prefect of the new Secretariat for the Economy, while Anthony Fisher is appointed as the ninth Archbishop of Sydney.