The History of the Catholic Church in Australia By justin4241 1788 The First Fleet The first catholics to reside in Australia 1800 The first priest arrived in the colony 1803 Over 2000 Catholic convicts arrived in Botany Bay Period: 1803 to 1804 James Dixon had permission to say Mass on sunday's 1820 Mass legally celebrated by chaplains 1820 Therry and Connolly arrived in Australia 1833 Ten Catholic schools were established in Australia 1835 First Catholic bishop arrived in Sydney 1836 The formal establishment of the Catholic Church 1857 Good Samaritan sisters founded 1860 'free, secular and compulsory' education began 1866 Josephites' were running 35 schools in the Adelaide diocese Period: 1872 to 1893 Education Act was passed 1880 815 sister from all orders teaching in schools 1900 115 brother teaching in thirty schools 1910 Over 5000 sister from all orders teaching in schools 1950 Numbers of Catholic grew rapidly Period: 1960 to 1970 Post-war influx of non-English-speaking immigrants Period: 1962 to 1965 The Second Vatican Council was held in Rome