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Vatican II
Vatican II is convened in 1962, to tackle contemporary religious issues relating to the relationship between the church and the new ideas of the modern world -
Caritas begins in Australia
Caritas began in Australia in 1962 as the Catholic Church Relief Fund, and then changed its name to the Catholic Overseas Relief Committee in 1964. Its name became caritas in 1996 -
Elizabeth Durack
Australian artist Elizabeth Durack, who successfully painted with a fusion of Western and Aboriginal art styles to much acclaim, receives and Order of the British Empire in 1966 -
Fr John Brosnan
Fr John championed human rights and was the vocal opposition toward capitol punishment and the hanging of Ronald Ryan in 1967. His advocacy in part contributed to this form of punishment being discontinued -
End of the white Australia policy
Under the leadership of Gough Whitlam of the Labor Party, the white Australia Part was finally completely dismantled and migration was now officially open to people of all colour -
Kathleen Mary Egan
After her life serving as a Catholic Dominican sister teaching in schools, Kathleen Mary Egan dies in 1977 -
Edward Bede Clancy
In 1983 Edward Bede Clancy is appointed to the position of cardinal -
Catholicism becomes largest religious group
Catholicism became the largest religious group at the 1986 census, registering 26% of the population as believers as opposed to the 23.9% who said that they were Anglican. At the previous census in 1981 the figure was 26.1% Anglican, 26% Catholic. -
Fr Frank Fletcher
Fr Frank Fletcher establishes the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry for Koori people from south Sydney in 1989. -
Mabo
Torres Strait Islander land rights advocate Eddie Mabo becomes the leader of a push to return Murray island to its original owners, aiming to overturn the principle of Terra Nullis. His dream was finally recognised by the Australian High Court in 1992 -
Native title
After the victories of such landmark title cases as the Mabo vs Qld case, the National Native Title Tribunal was created 1993 as a manager of applications for and administration of native title in Australia. -
Wik people
The Wik Peoples of Northern Queensland win a landmark court case that resulted in the formal recognition of their native title rights in 1996. -
Buddhism on the Census
Like Hinduism, Buddhism was first officially declared on an Australian census in the 1850’s in small numbers, and it too has experienced growth, with the number of Australian Buddhists doubling between 1996 and 2006. -
WYD 2008
World Youth Day, a day for catholic youth celebrated throughout the world, is held in Sydney, Australia -
Hinduism on the census
Hinduism was first recorded on the Australian census in 1857, which showed only a mere 277 Hindus in Victoria. Since then the amount of Hindus has grown, and in 2016 the number of Hindus jumped 60 per cent from its 2011 figure -
Islam on the census
Followers of Islam in Australia were first declared in Australian censuses in the late 1820’s, with the 1828 NSW census stating 10 ‘Mohammedans’ (old word for Muslims). The population has like other minority religions increased since the 80’s, and culminated with a 15% increase between the 201a and 2016 censuses.