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In 1788, the first catholics arrived in Australia. There were 300 Catholic Irish Convicts who arrived with the First Fleet in Australia.
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Father James Dixon led the first mass in Australia on the 15th of May, 1803. This was important as it started to stem all of the masses in Australia at this time, as everyone wanted to celebrate mass.
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In 1808, Father Dixon returned to Ireland after his time in Australia. He decide that being a priest in Australia was over, and he went back home to Ireland.
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Father Jeremiah O'Flynn became the new priest after 9 years of the colony having no priest. This was important as it reignited the Catholic lifestyle in the colony.
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In 1819, the first official priests for Australia's catholic church arrived in Sydney. Their names were Fr John Therry, and Fr Phillip Conolly.
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The Catholic Church came to be recognised and it was finally established in Australia. After many, many years of not being accepted, it finally became accepted in the colony.
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In 1822, Father Therry opened the first Catholic School in a town in Sydney called Parramatta. This was important as many schools were opened after this school was.
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In 1826, a new priest arrived to lead the way for Catholics in the colony, his name was Fr Daniel Power.
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One of the first priests who arrived in Australia was Father Phillip Conolly. He soon after died, after all of his service as the first priest.
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By 1864, there were 20 catholic churches and nineteen catholic schools.
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In 1884, the first Irish Bishop arrived in Australia to lead the way for the catholics. He was later a cardinal, going by the name of Patrick Francis Moran.
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The archbishop helped establish the St Vincent de Paul society in Australia and supported the workers. Now today, we see the Vinnies organisation helping many different people.
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In 1913, the Archbishop arrived in Melbourne. His name was Archbishop Mannix, and he started leading the Catholic religion in Australia.
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The first catholic radio station was born, and they spoke all about what Jesus taught. It was like a mass on radio.
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This was the year that Australian Catholics had established their place in Australian society, they were no longer outsiders.
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The proportion of Catholics in Australia grew to a massive 20.7%.
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Pope John Paul II travelled to Alice Springs to speak to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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Possibly the most significant event towards reclaiming the identity Aboriginal people lost in the colonisation.
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In 2016 around 15% of Australian's catholic believers attend church on a Sunday.
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In 2016 there are 146,000 Catholic Students in Victoria.
