Completed 2003 programme.

COMPLETED 2003 PROGRAMME

9 February        The President, John Luttrell, gave his Report in
                  which he reviewed the 2002 programme and thanked
Annual General    the members and Council for their support and
Meeting           interest over the year. Elections saw the return
                  of the previous Council.

                  Br Gerald Burns fms then gave a paper on the history
                  of St Vincent's Boys Home at Westmead. He outlined its
                  foundation by the St Vincent de Paul Society at Surry
                  Hills, its eventual move to Westmead and the transfer
                  of management to the Marist Brothers. After seven
                  decades as a large boarding school the institutional
                  model was considered inappropriate. St Vincent's was
                  gradually downsized to a cluster of homes and became
                  part of a larger network of Marist Youth Care.

9 March           Brian Keating was at the forefront of the lay
                  committee in Goulburn in 1962 which won the support of
State Aid--the    Catholic parents and persuaded Bishop Cullinane and
Goulburn Strike   Archbishop O'Brien to close Goulburn Catholic schools
                  over the issue of State Aid. At St Mary's Cathedral
                  he recounted the events of 1962, their repercussions
                  then, and in the forty years following. The large
                  attendance and forceful responses from the floor
                  demonstrated how much the 'Goulburn Strike' has
                  remained a live issue in the history of the
                  Australian Catholic Church.

13 April          Rosebank College, founded by the Sisters of the Good
                  Samaritan in 1867 in the inner-western suburb of Five
Visit to          Dock, was the venue for a pleasant Sunday visit,
Rosebank          arranged by Sr Lia van Haren sgs. Alter a prayer
College           service in the historic chapel and picnic lunch, we
                  heard a talk by Sr Marie McGlynn sgs on the history
                  of the complex through its various stages as a
                  novitiate, boarding college, regional college for
                  girls and eventually a congregational, co-educational
                  college. Impressive features were the 1879 chapel and
                  Rosebank cemetery where many Good Samaritan Sisters
                  were buried.

18 May            While 'The Movement' was his overall topic, Dr Bruce
                  Duncan gave some emphasis to his experiences in
The Movement      writing Crusade or Conspiracy? (2001) and in
                  digesting the widespread and sometimes puzzling
                  reviews this book provoked. His main focus was an
                  analysis of the political thought of B. A. Santamaria
                  and the appropriateness of his programme for
                  Australia after 1945. Some lively discussion followed
                  from the large audience.

8 June            When Rosemary Goldie addressed us at St Mary's
                  Cathedral, we had glimpses of a remarkable and
Fifty Years of    significant life: schooling at Our Lady of Mercy
Service to the    College Parramatta, study at the Sorbonne, work for
Holy See          the Grail, overseas again with Pax Romana. And then
                  fifty years serving the Holy See--on missions to many
                  nations, being an auditor at Vatican II, meeting
                  popes and senior clergy. She is now retired in
                  Sydney. Her reflections on the workings of the Church
                  over those years were imbued with wisdom, whimsy and
                  affection.

13 July           The organised reaction of the Catholic Church to the
                  large groups of migrants who settled in Australia
Migration and     after World War II was the subject of the talk by
the Church        Fr Frank Mecham at St Mary's Cathedral. Following
since World War   advice from the Federal Catholic Immigration
II                Committee in 1947, Catholic Immigration Bureaus were
                  established in each Australian capital and official
                  church documents were written on migration issues.
                  Fr Mecham also spoke of his personal involvement as
                  chaplain on migrant ships and in ministering to
                  Italians in Haberfield parish.

10 August         Irish immigrants were a substantial proportion of
                  Sydney's population 1850-1900. Damian Gleeson has
The Sydney        conducted a detailed analysis of this group, mainly
Irish 1850-1900   by using parish marriage registers. A very large
                  audience at St Mary's Cathedral heard some of his
                  findings regarding their economic status, skills,
                  literacy, religious background and marriage patterns
                  in relation to other groups. Extensive discussion
                  followed.

21 September      A packed and significant decade in the life of his
                  great-grandmother provided the subject of the talk by
Catherine         Fr George Connolly at St Mary's Cathedral. Daughter
Heydon: from      of the influential Jabez King Heydon, Catherine
Subiaco to        between 1858 to 1868 rose from trainee teacher to
Carcoar           Headmistress of the Girls' School at Fort Street
1858-1868         School, tried out her vocation with three religious
                  congregations in Europe and Sydney, established a
                  private school in Sydney, and finally moved to
                  Carcoar as a governess. The talk showed the potential
                  for biographical studies in 19th century Catholic
                  history.

12 October        This bus excursion was to the Mater Dei property at
                  Narellan, of which a central feature is 'Wivenhoe',
Excursion to      originally owned by Charles Cowper in the 1830s.
Mater Dei,        'Wivenhoe' was purchased by the Good Samaritan
Narellan          Sisters in 1910 and transformed into Mater Dei
                  Orphanage. The orphanage and property developed and
                  in 1957 was again changed so as to become the first
                  Catholic residential school for intellectually
                  disabled girls. Sr Mary Gregory sgs, first principal
                  of this school, outlined the continuing history of
                  Mater Dei from 1957 to the present. Our day was
                  enhanced by Mass celebrated by Fr Peter Blayney and
                  by tours of the historic buildings and grounds
                  conducted by Sisters Judith and Vivienne and their
                  volunteer guides.

9 November        Dr Sophie McGrath rsm analysed the published
                  proceedings of the Australasian Catholic Congresses
Australian        of 1900, 1904 and 1909. She showed how women were
Catholic Women    involved in the congresses and were gradually given
of the            some recognition. She gave particular attention to
Federation era    the role of the three Golding sisters--Annie, Belle
                  and Kate.

14 December       The year ended with Mass in the Blessed Sacrament
                  Chapel of St Mary's Cathedral, followed by luncheon
Christmas         at St Mary's Cathedral College hall. After-dinner
function          speaker, Sr Vivienne Keely chf, examined the
                  background to the conviction in Ireland of Fr James
                  Dixon, who said the first official Mass in Australia
                  two hundred years ago. Her title to the talk, 'An
                  Innocent Abroad', reflected her view of the trial and
                  conviction.