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Arrival of First Fleet at Sydney Cove
The first fleet lands on Australia with ships full of convicts because the prisons in England were overflowing. They were mostly Irish convicts, together with a few Royal Marines. One-tenth of all convicts transported to Australia were Catholic, and half of these were born in Ireland. -
Foundation of Christian Brothers by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Ireland
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a Roman Catholic lay congregation founded in Waterford, Ireland in 1802 for the purpose of educating poor Catholic boys in the area. Its founder was Edmund Ignatius Rice, a wealthy local businessman -
First public Mass said by Fr. Dixon
Fr. Dixon presented the first public mass on Australian soil on May 15th 1803 at Port Jackson followed by Mass at Parramatta on May 22nd and at Hawkesbury on May 29th. -
Rum Rebellion in New South Wales
The 1808 'Rum' Rebellion. On 26th January 1808, officers and men of the New South Wales Corps marched to Government House in Sydney in an act of rebellion against Governor William Bligh. Bligh was arrested and the colony was placed under military rule. -
Arrival of Fr. Jeremiah O’Flynn “Prefect-Apostolic of New Holland”
Fr. Jeremiah O’Flynn came to Australia to help to publicize the needs of Catholics in New South Wales and to influence the British government in 1820 to allow the first official Roman Catholic missionaries to be sent to Australia -
Fr. O’Flynn deported after the British Colonial Office opposes his appointment
By promising not to carry out his functions as a priest O'Flynn persuaded the governor to allow him to remain until he heard from London. He may have genuinely believed that his mission would be officially sanctioned, but meanwhile, he did not keep his pledge, for he performed many baptisms and marriages as well as celebrating Mass secretly in private homes. Macquarie again ordered him to leave, arrested him and placed him forcibly in the David Shaw. He sailed on 20 May 1818. -
Frs. Therry and Conolly, the first official priests arrive
Recommended by his own bishop as a capable, zealous and 'valuable young man', Therry sailed from Cork under a senior priest, Father Philip Conolly, in the Janus, which carried more than a hundred prisoners. They arrived in Sydney, authorized by both church and state, in May 1820. -
Construction of first Catholic church at Richmond, Tasmania
It's still in use today by locals and students of the St John's Catholic Primary School. While there were a small number of churches built before St John's -
Fr. Ullathorne arrives in Sydney as Vicar-General
Ullathorne sailed for Sydney, empowered to act there as Morris's vicar-general. -
Bede Polding becomes Australia’s first Catholic bishop
first Roman Catholic bishop in Australia (from 1835), where eight years later he became the first archbishop of Sydney. Polding joined the Benedictine order in 1811 and was ordained priest in 1819 -
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Patrick Francis Moran appointed Archbishop of Sydney and Archbishop Moran made Cardinal
Patrick Francis Moran (16 September 1830 – 16 August 1911) was the third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney and the first cardinal appointed from Australia. -
Fr. Ullathorne publishes book criticising harsh treatment of convicts
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Arrival of Fr. Patrick Geoghegan in Melbourn
Fr. Geoghegan arrived at Sydney, New South Wales on the 370 ton barque "Francis Spaight" on 31 December 1838. He spent some months in New South Wales before being transferred to Melbourne in May 1839 by Bishop John Bede Polding. -
Appointment of Robert Wilson as first Archbishop of Hobart
Robert William Willson (11 December 1794 – 30 June 1866) was an English Roman Catholic bishop, the first Bishop of Hobart -
John Brady appointed Bishop of Perth
John Brady was appointed Bishop of Perth in 1845 and was responsible for building St John's Pro-Cathedral. -
James Alepius Goold becomes first Catholic bishop of Melbourne
James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812 – 11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding Roman Catholic Bishop and Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia. -
The Catholic Church in Australia is divided into provinces and dioceses
The church in Australia has five provinces: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It has 35 dioceses, comprising geographic areas as well as the military diocese and dioceses for the Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite and Ukrainian rites. -
Mercy Sisters arrive in Queensland
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Completion of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat and Timothy O’ Mahoney appointed first bishop of Armidale
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Diocese of Sandhurst established and Rev. Martin Crane O.S.A. appointed as Bishop and Diocese of Ballarat established and Rev. Michael O’Connor appointed as Bishop
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Roger Vaughan O.S.B becomes Archbishop of Sydney
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Fr. E. Torreggiani O.F.M. appointed second bishop of Armidale
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Death of Mary McKillop
At the age of 60, Mary MacKillop suffers a stroke and becomes paralysed 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 -
Arrival of Archbishop Daniel Mannix in Melbourne
Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia -
James Duhig becomes Archbishop of Brisbane
On 26 February 1912, he was transferred to Brisbane, where he became the coadjutor archbishop to the elderly Archbishop Robert Dunne. On 13 January 1917 he succeeded as Archbishop of Brisbane, a position he held for 48 years until his death in 1965. -
Monsignor Francois-Xavier Gsell appointed as Bishop of Darwin
In 1936 Gsell was appointed O.B.E. Two years later he left Bathurst Island to be consecrated bishop of Darwin. -
Arrival of Ivan Prasko, first Bishop for Ukrainian Catholics
Ivan Prasko was consecrated bishop, and an exarchate, to which he was appointed, was established in Sydney, that the Ukrainian Catholic Church became an entity in its own right in Australia. -
Archbishop James Robert Knox appointed Archbishop of Melbourne
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Appointment of Dr. George Pell as Archbishop of Melbourne
