Completed 2001 programme.

COMPLETED 2001 PROGRAMME

11 February           The retiring President, Elizabeth Johnston, gave
                      her Report in which she reviewed the programme of
Annual General        the previous year and thanked the members and
Meeting               committee for their support and interest over
                      five years. Elections saw the re-election of the
                      previous Council, apart from Pauline Dawson (who
                      did not stand for election), and with the
                      addition of Br Frank Cruice cfc. Br John Luttrell
                      fms was elected President.

                      Perry McIntyre then gave a paper on government
                      schemes to reunite convicts with their families
                      in the early nineteenth century. She discussed
                      the working of the schemes by reference to
                      examples of the original correspondence between
                      convicts and the authorities. In the following
                      discussion some members were able to provide
                      examples of convict reunions from their own
                      family histories.

11 March              Dr Brian Croke had been a research assistant to
                      Archbishop James Carroll and so was well
Prelates and          qualified to sketch the Archbishop's political
Politics: the         stance and style. He reflected particularly on
Carroll Style         his role in the campaign for State Aid from 1954
                      to 1972, and presented Carroll as sensitive,
                      balanced, focussed on the ultimate needs of
                      Catholic schools, and anxious to win support from
                      all the main political parties. He wished to
                      avoid the danger of Church hopes of State Aid
                      being dependent on the success of one political
                      party.

9 April               Class and culture were themes of Tom Campbell's
                      paper on the significance of nuns in the Armidale
Nuns in the Diocese   diocese. Dominicans and Ursulines provided
of Armidale,          education for the wealthier classes in large
1890-1940: their      towns like Tamworth and Armidale. In the poorer
significance          areas and many small towns the Sisters of Mercy
                      and the Sisters of St Joseph set up their
                      schools. Their impact on the towns was much
                      broader than schooling. It came from their
                      challenging lifestyle, their work for the poor,
                      their home visits, their cultural contributions
                      in music and other arts.

20 May                About forty Society members attended St James
                      Church for a talk and tour given by Rosemary
Tour of St James      Annable, archivist of the parish. Dr Annable
Anglican Church.      explained how the building was intended by
Sydney                Governor Macquarie as a courthouse, redesigned as
                      a church by Greenway, and consecrated by Samuel
                      Marsden in 1824. The development of the parish
                      and changes to the building and its fittings were
                      outlined. The tour included a visit to the crypt
                      and Children's Chapel.

10 June               The origin of the commonly called 'Rum Rebellion'
                      of 1808 was the subject of the eleventh Gavin
The Trial of          Cashman Memorial Lecture. Dr George Parsons
Michael Dwyer and     argued that the fundamental reasons lay in the
the Rebellion of      conviction of military officers that Governor
1808                  Bligh lacked honour and respect for justice. He
                      had shown this by his intervention in the trials
                      of the Irish political rebel, Michael Dwyer and
                      of John Macarthur.

8 July                From 1862 to 1873 Roger Bede Vaughan was Prior
                      of the House of Studies for Benedictines in
Archbishop            Belmont, England. In his paper Dr Peter Cunich
Vaughan's Early       maintained that this experience was influential
Educational Career    in Vaughan's years as Archbishop of Sydney.
                      Polding was impressed with Vaughan's achievements
                      as prior and campaigned strongly for his
                      appointment to Sydney. As Archbishop, Vaughan
                      won similar respect from his clergy as at
                      Beaumont, but found that the challenges were
                      markedly different.

12 August             Members first gathered for Mass in the recently
                      renovated monastery chapel. Fr Tony Caruana msc
Visit to Sacred       was our host, speaker and guide for the
Heart Monastery,      afternoon. He outlined the various functions of
Kensington            the monastery from its opening in 1897: msc
                      mission centre, formation house, base for retreat
                      work, seminary for 'late vocations', msc
                      retirement centre, publishing house, and various
                      other functions. All of this was enlivened by
                      anecdotes of personalities and a tour of the
                      buildings and site.

9 September           The partnership of architects John Hennessy and
                      Joseph Sheerin in Sydney coincided with the
Sheerin and           arrival of Cardinal Moran and so they were soon
Hennessy,             contracted to design St Patrick's College, Manly
Architects of St      and the archbishop's residence nearby. Rod
Patrick's College,    Howard, in a paper effectively illustrated with
Manly, and other      slides, recounted their vast contribution to the
buildings             Catholic and secular landscape of Sydney up to
                      1912: churches, colleges, monasteries, large
                      houses and commercial buildings.

14 October            Fifty-five members journeyed by bus and car to
                      the Benedictine Abbey set in the Jamberoo hills.
Excursion to          Our host, Sr Hildegard Ryan osb, outlined the
Benedictine Abbey     history of the Abbey and explained the
Jamberoo              architecture of its church. Enhancing the talk
                      were other memorable images and experiences: Mass
                      in the Abbey church with a backdrop of
                      rainforest; reminders of the earlier Benedictine
                      sites at Subiaco and Pennant Hills; the gold
                      chalice of Bishop Charles Davis osb; and the
                      presence of the distinguished Benedictine
                      historian, Sr Marie Gregory.

11 November           Br Patrick Harty was novice master in the
                      formation of Christian Brothers for thirty years
Morris West may       and Morris West portrayed him very critically in
have been wrong.      his autobiographical A View from the Bridge
                      (1996). In this talk Br F.D. Marzorini, addressed
                      the various West criticisms and provided a
                      contrasting sympathetic interpretation of the
                      formation provided by his former novice master in
                      the context of the Church of those times.

8 December            Our final Mass and luncheon were at St Charles
                      Borromeo Church Ryde. It was a most fitting and
Christmas function    historic venue as the parish was celebrating the
                      sesquicentenary of the founding of St Charles
                      Parish in 1851. After Mass celebrated in the
                      historic church by Fr Max Barrett cssr, our
                      luncheon was enhanced by two short talks by local
                      historians, Julie Dawson (on the development of
                      the Ryde district) and Margaret Farlow (on the
                      beginnings of the St Charles parish and church).