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La Perouse enters Botany Bay and his chaplain, Abbe Mones, celebrates the first Mass within Australian territory
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First Irish convicts transported to Botany Bay
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1820
Fr John Therry and Fr Philip Conolly, Australia’s first official priests, arrive in Sydney. Fr Therry opens the first Catholic school in Parramatta and lobbies Governor Macquarie for land on which to build the settlement’s first Catholic church. -
1829
Penal laws preventing Catholics holding Government positions ends -
1834
Benedictine priest, John Bede Polding is consecrated (ordained as Bishop) in London and appointed Vicar Apostolic with jurisdiction over what is now the Commonwealth of Australia. -
1840
Transportation of convicts to New South Wales is suspended -
1862
The NSW Government passes a bill to abolish State aid to religion -
1867
Mary MacKillop becomes the first Sister and Mother Superior of the Sisters of St Joseph -
1877
Archbishop Polding dies at Sacred Heart Presbytery in Sydney aged 85. -
1909
Death of Mother Mary MacKillop -
1914
World War I declared. Catholics become influential in the Australian Labor Party with the rise of figures such as Ben Chiffley and James Scullin. St Patrick’s College seminary at Manly celebrates its Silver Jubilee. An Act of Parliament permits the subdivision of 21 acres of land above Shelly Beach and Fairy Bower to help meet the cost of the college’s upkeep -
1922
Formation of the Catholic Teachers’ Federation -
1955
Post World War II with the upsurge in births, Catholic schools are under pressure and overwhelmed by demand -
1976
Rome declares that Australia is no longer a mission country -
2008
Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to Australia when the Archdiocese of Sydney hosts World Youth Day 2008. WYD08 is a huge success and as a result the social networking website, Xt3 is created for young people not onl;y in Sydney but worldwide. It quickly becomes the fastest growing Catholic website worldwide