Catholic Church Australia

  • First Fleet

    Irish convicts arrive in Australia aboard the First Fleet
  • Catholic Burial

    La Perouse buries a monk at Botany Bay, the first noted Catholic ceremony in Australia
  • Frs Dixon, O'Neill and Harold

    Father Dixon, Father O'Neill and Father Harold come to Australia
  • Fr Dixon celebrates mass

    Governor Macquarie allows Father Dixon to celebrate a public mass for the first time in the country's history
  • Dixon's right revoked

    Castle Hill RebellionMacquarie revokes Dixon's right to celebrate mass after the Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804
  • Priests allowed into Australia

    Two Catholic priests are allowed to travel to Australia- Father John Terry and Father Philip Connolly
  • St Mary's Cathedral

    The construction of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney begins. This is a milestone for the Catholic Church in Australia
  • Anglican Church Disestablished

    Church ActIn 1836, in accordance with the Church Act, the Church of England was disestablished from the NSW colony.
  • Christian Brothers

    The Chrisitan Brothers travel to Australia. They established our school, as well as Lewisham and Burwood.
  • School established

    The sisters build a school in Tasmania.
  • Jesuits establish premises

    The first order of priests in the country settle in South Australia
  • Sisters of the Good Samaritan

    The Sisters of the Good Samaritan are formed.
  • Schools built

    St Igantius College at Riverview, St Aloysius and Xavier Colleges are built.
  • Constitution

    The Australian ConstitutionThe Australian Constitution of 1901 contained the Freedom of Religion Act, which allowed anyone to worship their own faith. This also meant that the Government was no longer associated with a paritcular Religion.
  • After the Second Vatican Council

    After the Second Vatican Council, the number of priets dropped.
  • Sisters of Charity open HIV/AIDS ward

    The first HIV / AIDS ward in Australia is established in St Vincents Hospital, Kings Cross.
  • SMCC

    As of the 2000's, St Mary's Cathedral College remains the only Catholic school with a Christian Brother as the headmaster.