To purchase a CD of the texts of most
of the papers presented at the conference, click on order conference papers.
Article supplied by Tom Campbell
(ACHS member)
Sixty-four historians and history lovers
from five States and the ACT took part in
a day long Australian Catholic History conference at Mount St Benedict Centre, Pennant Hills, on Saturday, 3 September 2005. It was organized jointly by the Australian Catholic Historical Society (ACHS) and the Broken Bay Institute.
All participants rated it very highly.
The broad theme was 'The Catholic Impact on Australia' and Emeritus Professor Bruce Mansfield gave the keynote address in the opening plenary session. He posed questions about lessons to be learnt in writing Catholic church history, and the validity of work done by contemporary historians who revisit published material
and look afresh at all source material used by others. Professor Mansfield stressed
that all historians are obliged to study all subjects in the context of their times.
Columban priest historian Fr Cyril Hally responded by reminding the audience
how history has gone through three ages
of interpretation in our own lifetimes. He called them the 'kings and queens' age, the 'industrial' age, and the 'anthropology' age, and highlighted how the study of any one subject can come out differently if looked
at through each of those three prisms.
Thirteen papers on diverse subjects were discussed during the day in concurrent sessions, with participants moving between adjacent rooms to take in subjects of most interest to themselves. The papers were of excellent standard and highlighted new
work being done on the importance of
key Australian church figures, Catholic
lay women in particular.
The range of subjects covered in such a short time span was remarkable: on bishops like Cardinal Moran of Sydney, Guilford Young of Hobart, Matthew Beovich of Adelaide and James Quinn of Brisbane interacting with their communities; stories
of Jesuit military chaplains Bergin and
Sydes who died on active service in
World War I; graphic episodes of
sectarian debate; the work of religious orders running orphanages; and the pioneering role of Catholic women in the growth of professional social welfare.
One interesting paper looked at how the Australian church paid lip service to instructions from the Vatican about
religious education for children in
non-Catholic schools in the period to
1920, regarding the instructions as completely unworkable in the Australian context. It was given by Ann Maree Whenman, CCD Director in the Diocese
of Broken Bay.
Closing the conference was a panel presentation by three historians from Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide on
the question: ‘Australian Catholic history – developing or declining’. Broad discussion by participants was the result. Brother John Luttrell fms, ACHS President, then expressed delight at how the day had exceeded everyone's expectations.
He praised the quality of papers and
the active involvement of everyone in subsequent discussions.
Mass followed in the impressive Mount St Benedict Chapel, with Bishop David Walker and three priest participants concelebrating and splendid singing by the Grail Choir. Many stayed for a delightful conference dinner in the evening. It concluded with a lively talk by the singing/acting Dr Jeff Brownrigg on a little known Australian singer, Amy Castles, whom the Catholic Church unsuccessfully attempted to promote as a rival to Melba.
A compact disk giving the text of most of the papers is available. Send a cheque for $15 payable to;
Australian Catholic Historical Society,
Br John Luttrell,
Broken Bay Institute,
PO Box 125, Wahroonga 2076
;)