Table of Contents

This year we will be welcomed by the Parish Priest, Father Bob Mutlow OP, who has graciously accepted joint patronage of our Association.

It is a morning to remember the Religious who instilled our faith and provided us with a Catholic education. The Committee looks forward to welcoming you to our sixth Mass at St. James’ Church, Forest Lodge. Brother Paul O’Keeffe (Provincial) and his fellow Patricians will join with us. 

As always, we compliment those who assisted by bringing along a plate for morning tea. Can we look forward to your help again? We express our sincere thanks.

Parking will be available in the playground located immediately behind the Church. Entry to the playground is by way of St. James Avenue off Woolley Street.
 

Over the past two years we have covered the history of the Patrician Brothers in NSW from their arrival in 1883 through to 1980. 

We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Provincial of the day, Brother Patrick Lovegrove for having the foresight to initiate the project and to Brother Paul O’Connor (RIP) and Brother Anthony O’Connor (RIP) for their assiduous application to their areas of research in compiling the history of the Patrician Brothers in Australia. 
 

Patrick Lovegrove	Paul O'Connor	Anthony O'Connor

In this issue we concentrate on the years 1886 to 1908 which deal with the foundation of the Patrician Brothers’ Inner Sydney Schools in the Parishes of Waterloo, Redfern and Forest Lodge.

Waterloo

Some may ask why the Parish of Waterloo is the first mentioned? Was it not the last of the three parishes to which the Patrician Brothers came? The answer is, no. 

It was to the Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Waterloo that the Patricians came to in Sydney in 1886 at the invitation of Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran to staff the school of St. Vincent de Paul in the suburb of Redfern which was then part of the Parish of Waterloo. The Parish of Redfern was created in 1890. Therefore for the first four years of its operation [1886-1889] the school has to be identified to the Parish of Waterloo. 

Archbishop Bede Polding, first Archbishop of Sydney laid the Foundation Stone of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on August 15, 1859. The solemn blessing and opening of the Church took place on April 7, 1861.

The history of the parish states, “His Grace performed the Service according to the Roman Pontifical and was assisted by the Very Rev. Dean O’Connell, the Rev. Fr. Corish (who has undertaken the building of the Church) ….and further on, “Fr. Corish [of St. Benedict’s, Chippendale] continued to look after the spiritual interests of the parishioners of Mt. Carmel until his transfer to Bathurst in 1864. After Fr. Corish’s departure from St. Benedict’s a French priest Fr. Garavel, in charge of Newtown, attended the needs of the parishioners of Mt. Carmel [until 1866].

“The first resident priest in the Parish of Waterloo [1866-1869] was Father Peter O’Farrell, OFM who lived in lodgings not far from the present St. Vincent’s Church in Redfern Street.” The fact that Father O’Farrell was a lodger, not the resident, makes it impossible to identify the address in the Sand’s Directories.

Father O’Farrell was followed by Father Myles Edmund Athy, OSB [1870-1872], Father J .Cunningham [1873-1878], Father John J. Carroll [1878-1881] and Father D. Placid Quirk, OSB [1881-1882]. 

Father Joseph Collins was the first Parish Priest of Waterloo from 1882 to 1926 and together with assistant priests Father Thomas Long and Father Edward Hanrahan [1885-1886], Father J. Hackett [1886-1887], Father M. Morrissey  [1887-1889] and Father Thomas Ryan [1887-1890] was responsible for the church school of St. Vincent de Paul, Redfern until 1890. 

To list the Brothers who taught in the Inner Sydney Schools in the article is impracticable, so for your information, the writer attached four pages, covering the years 1883-1895, of his own record based on the writings and list of appointments compiled by Brother Paul O’Connor and the Irish record provided by the Congregation archivist Brother Linus Walker and all the writer has researched over the past seven years. The Brothers, 99 in number, listed in alphabetical order, have been identified during the period 1883-1930. The complete file is of 24 pages. A second file for the period 1931-1980 covers 32 pages and identifies a further 149 Brothers. This is “a work in progress”. A total of 248 Brothers have been identified.
 

Click table to download Kevin Scott's table 1883 to 95 arrivals and communities. 272kb Word doc.

In the column headed “Arrival” the date shown is that of arrival from Ireland. Where the year only appears such is the year of arrival where the vessel has not been identified, or the year of entry to novitiate in NSW. 

It is important to remember that those entries shown as Redfern in 1886 to 1889 [inclusive] relate to the Parish of Waterloo. 

However a commentary on the first Patricians appointed to each particular parish is considered essential.

For the period 1886-1890 the personnel of the Redfern house is the least known The first Brothers who came to the Redfern school in the Parish of Waterloo were Brother Ignatius Price (Superior), Brother Albert Hanley and Brother Sylvester Harmey. It seems Brother Albert Hanley left the Order circa 1887 and it is believed Brother Sylvester Harmey went to Maitland in 1887 and left the Order at the end of 1888 when the Brothers withdrew from Maitland and transferred to Armidale. 

On November 29, 1888 Brother Austin McGrath and Brother Baptist McGrath arrived and were appointed to Redfern. Brother Baptist went to Bathurst in 1890 and Brother Austin to Dubbo in 1891. Also identified to Redfern in 1889, were Brother Dominic O’Neill and for a period of that year Brother Ligouri Higgins and Brother Columba O’Reilly. Brother Ignatius Price remained at Redfern until the end of 1889. 

And so in 1889 Father Collins bade farewell to the Patrician Brothers. In 1908 he would welcome their return. But of that we will write later in this article. 

Redfern

We come now to the Parish of St. Vincent de Paul, Redfern, created in 1890

Father G. Tuckwell was appointed to the Parish of Redfern from 1890 to 1893. However he was not appointed as Parish Priest. 

That honour goes to Father Richard O’Regan who was Parish Priest from 1893 to 1936.

Brother Paul O’Connor records, “The first two pages of the Redfern house are unfortunately missing, and the first entry bears the date August 21, 1892. The Annals, the Provincial Council records and the archdiocesan archives supply little information of the Redfern school for any period, but particularly for the early years. Apparently Brother Ignatius Price spent most if not all of his time as Superior of Redfern ? we read of no other superior  until 1891 when Brother Stanislaus Bergin spent a short time there.” Be that as it may, Brother Paul O’Connor identifies Brother Ignatius at Ryde/Orange in 1890. Such is supported by the Irish record. Who then was Superior at Redfern in 1890? Alas, the Irish record identifies only Brother Austin McGrath at Redfern. Brother Paul O’Connor identifies only Brother Columba O’Reilly, yet the Irish record places him at Dubbo. Perhaps Brother Columba spent part of that year at each school.

In 1890 Cardinal Moran extended an invitation to the Brothers to take charge of St. Charles Villa, a home for aged and invalid priests at Ryde. In January 1891 they opened a boarding school at the Villa and called it Holy Cross College. Over the next four years the effect on the Redfern Community was to be dramatic.

 In 1891, Brother Ignatius Price was appointed by the Irish Regime as Head Superior. At some date that year, probably at the end of November, the Redfern Community left their address at Redfern to live as a separate community at Ryde where they remained until some date prior to August 21, 1892 when Brother Ignatius returned with the Redfern Community to Redfern at 21 Pitt Street [east side] five doors south of James Street.

Brother Paul O’Connor records: “The first entry in the Redfern council Minutes dated August 21, 1892 reads: “Things were fairly satisfactory, the community has been residing in Ryde where they paid one Pound per week each for clothes and maintenance. This is the first council meeting held after returning to Redfern. The community consists of four Brothers viz. Brothers Ignatius Price, Bernard Ryan, John Lee and Bernard O’Toole; Brother Ignatius Price being Local Superior as well as Head Superior for all the Branch Houses in Australia”

In 1893, Brother Ignatius was appointed as Provincial, no doubt immediately following the General Chapter that began in October that year with Brothers Stanislaus Bergin (Bathurst), Eugene Ryan (Armidale) Jerome McAuley (Goulburn) and Andrew Dwyer (Ryde), all Superiors, as his assistants.  The records show that in 1894, Brother Stanislaus Bergin joined Brother Andrew Dwyer and Brother Ignatius Price (Provincial) at Ryde. Brother Jerome McAuley was appointed Superior of the Redfern Community. Also transferred to Redfern was Brother Eugene Ryan. In all probability these transfers occurred in December 1893. However it is known that Brother Eugene Ryan left Armidale in mid-February 1894 

In 1893 the Redfern Community resided at 269 [now 245] Cleveland street near Castlereagh [now Chalmers] Street. The writer has found no record of the Redfern Community being at Ryde in 1894 to 1895, but the evidence is there to see. The 1895 Sand’s Directories, for which entries closed at the end of October 1894 does not identify a community at Redfern, nor does the 1896 edition. This indicates that the community had left Redfern some date between November 1, 1893 and October 31, 1894. 

Where had they gone? It only could be back to Ryde where Brother Ignatius was in residence as Provincial following his appointment in late 1893. As goes Brother Ignatius so, too it seems, went the Redfern Community. The effect of this action brought the Provincial and all the members of his Council to Ryde. 

The Redfern Community remained at Ryde possibly until the arrival of Brother Alphonsus Delaney in November 1895. The effect of this arrangement on the members of the Redfern Community teaching at Redfern and Forest Lodge could only be described as shattering. On some date in 1894 Brother Ignatius Price resigned as Provincial .

Brother Paul O’Connor writes of the ‘Crisis of 1894’ which led to three Brothers, Eugene Ryan, Laurence Ryan and Xavier Dwyer leaving the Order. The writer’s opinion is that the action in bringing the Redfern Community to Ryde had to have had some influence on the matter, which was only exacerbated by the failure of a direction to return to reside at Redfern following the resignation of Brother Ignatius as Provincial. This situation seems to have continued until the arrival of Brother Alphonsus Delaney in November 1895 when the community, with Brother Jerome McAuley as Superior, returned to take up residence at 67 George Street, Redfern. (Click here for more on where the Brothers resided in the inner city in these early years.)

Strangely, it is during the period of Brother Alphonsus Delaney’s administration that the appointment records are of their worst. The records of Brothers Anselm Kavanagh, Clement Howlin and Aloysius Ryan who arrived with Brother Alphonsus aboard the S.S. Austral on November 2, 1895, provide fine examples. 

Brother Anselm Kavanagh was identified to be at Ryde in 1896 as “Anselm (not Casey)”. Brother Anselm Casey had died at Wagga in 1892. In 1897, Brother Anselm Kavanagh is simply recorded as “Anselm”. Brother Clement Howlin was not identified to any appointment until 1900 at Redfern. He had spent the previous years at Albury. Of Brother Aloysius Ryan all that is known is that he left in 1897 to join the priesthood. Indeed he is not mentioned at all in the Irish record.  Such were the records Brother Paul O’Connor had to interpret. Only the search of the shipping records provided Brother Anselm Kavanagh’s surname. 

But Brother Alphonsus Delaney had more important work to occupy him. He did not come to record history; he was here to create it!

In 1902/3 Brother Baptist McGrath was Superior at Redfern, followed by Brother Stanislaus Bergin in 1904/5 and Brother Bernard O’Toole 1906/7. In 1908 Brother Baptist McGrath returned as Superior until June 1917.

As with the Parish of Waterloo, the Parish of Redfern provided no Monastery for the Brothers and the Community continued to rent at various dwellings until 1904 when Brother Stanislaus Bergin (Provincial 1899-1911) built St. Patrick’s Monastery at 109-111 George Street, on the corner of Turner Street, Redfern. The Brothers then had immediate access to the Church and school.

Forest Lodge

It was to the Parish of Forest Lodge that the Patrician Brothers next came in 1892 at the urgent request of Cardinal Moran and the Parish Priest Father Patrick Coonan. 

The Parish of St. James, Forest Lodge is in the heart of the suburb of Glebe.

Again we find another puzzle. What caused the parish to be called Forest Lodge? 

A glebe is ‘land set aside for the benefit of the incumbent’ and Glebe relates to 400 acres granted to the Church of England on August 20, 1789. No further explanation is needed to comprehend why the name of an estate located perhaps no more than 150 yards from the Church of St. James was adopted as the name of the Catholic parish. 

While the Parish of Forest Lodge was established on July 8, 1877 it was not the first Catholic presence in Glebe.

In 1828 part of the 400 acres of the glebe was sold by auction. One portion of property from this sale was later named Lyndhurst. The Lyndhurst Estate was originally bound on the west by Glebe Road, on the north by Kennedy Street on the east by the foreshores of Blackwattle Bay and on the south by Denham Street. There seems to be some confusion in respect to the name of Denham or Denman Street. The Sand’s Directories consistently identified it as Denman Street, renamed in 1905 to form the eastern section of St. John’s Road from Glebe Point Road to Wentworth Park Road 

The 1877 issue of the Sand’s Directories, page 160 identifies the street keys as follows:

 Glebe Road [now Glebe Point Road] ? from Parramatta Road to Johnston Bay [now Rozelle Bay];
 Kennedy Street [no longer exista] ? from Leichhardt Street to Johnston Bay [now Rozelle Bay];
 Denman Street [now eastern part of St. John’s Road] ? from Glebe Road [now Glebe Point Road];
to Broughton Street. [Beyond Broughton Street to the foreshores of Blackwattle Bay, later reclaimed as Wentworth Park, the property probably would have been defined by survey mark or fence.] 

The entry to Lyndhurst Estate was by way of Lyndhurst Street, identified in the 1877 Sand’s street keys as;

Lyndhurst Street [now forms part of Pyrmont Bridge Road] ? from Glebe Road [now Glebe Point Road] to Broughton Street. Lyndhurst Street now runs from Colbourne Avenue to Bellevue Street.

In 1851, the Lyndhurst Estate [now somewhat reduced in area] was identified by Archbishop Polding for purchase and surveying. It was acquired by the Benedictines in 1853 for 4 000 Pounds. 

The Catholic Weekly, February 14, 1957 published an article on St. Mary’s College, Lyndhurst which included a description of the house on the estate and its surrounds.

‘St. Mary’s College, Lyndhurst, was a famous Catholic school for boys in the 19th century. It was conducted by the Benedictine Fathers from 1853 to 1877.

‘The mansion had a wide hall, and on the right of the hall, a drawing room, and a smaller ante room known as the music room. There was also a room for the Prior of the college.

‘On the left of the hall was a large dining-room for the Community only, a pantry and a huge room for a library. The latter was the glory and the chief feature of the school.

‘At the rear of the mansion was a large cloistered courtyard extending to the south. On the western side ranged the large kitchen premises. Beyond these were the bedrooms of the lay brothers of the Benedictine Order and at the end of the pile of buildings a stable with stalls.

‘On the eastern side of the courtyard was the housekeeper’s office, the school refectory, the college chapel, though the last mentioned was not entered by the school from that approach. Between the refectory and the housekeeper’s office was a domed passage, in which hung a bell, which was tolled from morning to eve: each day’s progress was punctuated by the sound of the belfry’s bell.

‘At the end of the large courtyard was a double gate, which was usually closed. The school quarters embraced three class rooms and a spacious study with a stage and scenery at the eastern end. Over these class rooms the whole of the upper storey provided a dormitory divided into cubicles, all numbered and separated into privacy by curtains drawn on ringed rods.

‘ The chapel was a model of Puginesque decoration, and the rich colours, draperied patterns and Gothic lettering made a direct appeal to the aesthetic sense.’

[English architect and designer Augustus Pugin (1812-1852) never visited Australia but his ideas were very influential here. The great passion of his life was medieval architecture and he urged the English to embrace Gothic design and return to the simple yet strong Catholic faith of their ancestors. Through the first Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Polding, and the first Bishop of Hobart Town, Dr Robert Willson, Pugin’s designs came here ? not just plans for churches but vestments, ceramics, altars, tiles and chalices. Among his churches were St. Benedict’s, Broadway [Chippendale], and St. Charles Borromeo’s, Ryde and his pupil Wardell designed the great Gothic cathedrals of St. Mary’s Sydney and St. Patrick’s Melbourne. ? Our thanks to Kevin Hilferty]

St Mary’s College closed at the end of the first term on June 21, 1877.

The sale of Lyndhurst raised 30 000 Pounds. It is believed 6 000 Pounds went to the Jesuits for the formation of Riverview [College], the remainder to finance the building of St. Patrick’s College, Manly. The splendid Lyndhurst library was housed in St. John’s College in the University of Sydney until the completion of St. Patrick’s College. 
The greater part of the above with reference to Lyndhurst was obtained from “Lyndhurst and Benedictine Education” by M. Forster, B.A. Dip. Ed., which appeared in the Australian Catholic Record, October 1946 - July 1947, held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney. 

The article from The Catholic Weekly was provided to the writer by the archivists of the Institute of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order St. Benedict, St. Scholastica’s College, Glebe Point, NSW. 

On July 8, 1877, only 17 days after the closure of St. Mary’s College, Archbishop Roger Bede Vaughan blessed and laid the foundation stone of St. James’ Church in the newly created Parish of Forest Lodge. The solemn opening took place on September 1, 1879 with the celebration of High Mass by Father John S. Vaughan. His Grace Archbishop Bede Vaughan, delivered the sermon.

The foundation stone of St. James’ School located on the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Rosebank Street was blessed and laid by Archbishop Vaughan on October 12, 1879

[The information in the two paragraphs immediately above, except for the reference to the closure of St. Mary’s College, has been taken from St. James’ Church, Forest Lodge ? A Chronicle of Parish Life (1877-1977) compiled by John Fletcher, to whom we ever shall be grateful.]

It was to this building that the Brothers came to teach in Forest Lodge in 1892. For the next 31 years the Brothers would walk from and to St. Patrick’s Monastery, Redfern each day, until the opening in May 1923, of the Blessed Oliver Plunkett Monastery at 165 Pyrmont Bridge Road, Glebe. In May 1940 the Brothers moved into the new school located on John St [now St. James Lane] and Woolley Street. The school was adjacent to the church and the Brothers had direct access to the school from the Monastery grounds.

It was believed that Brothers Bernard Ryan and Bernard O’Toole were the first Brothers to teach at Forest Lodge. This cannot be so. The school is said to have opened in January 1892. Brother Bernard O’Toole arrived in the company of Brother Dominic O’Neill and Brother Fintan O’Neill aboard the S.S. Ophir on April 21, 1892. Therefore it had to be another Brother. But who? 

Brother Bernard Ryan of the Redfern community arrived aboard the S.S. Orizaba on June 21, 1891. Brother Paul O’Connor records the Brothers of the 1892 Redfern Community as; Brothers Ignatius Price (Provincial and Local Superior), Bernard Ryan, John Lee, James Ryan, Bernard O’Toole. It is the opinion of the writer that, in all probability, it was Brother James Ryan, the other junior member of the Redfern community, who had arrived on the S.S, Orizaba on January 31, 1890. It is highly probable that Brother James Ryan was replaced by Brother Bernard O’Toole following his arrival in April 1892. 

From possibly November 1891 to some date prior to August 1892, perhaps at the end of May, the Redfern community resided at Ryde. As mentioned earlier, a similar situation arose from perhaps late 1893 to late 1895.

It was a long journey from Ryde to Forest Lodge and Redfern. Horse and buggy would have seen the Forest Lodge Brothers set down at Glebe, the remainder continuing on to Redfern, where the horse would be tethered until the journey back to Ryde.

In 1893, Brother Dominic Bourke replaced Brother Bernard Ryan. Others known to have taught at Forest Lodge up to 1908 were Brothers Alphonsus Eviston, Clement Howlin, Basil Cassidy, Austin McGrath, Dominick Rickerby and James Long

Forest Lodge was regarded as a branch school of the Redfern Community until the Forest Lodge Parish provided a Monastery. The first Superior of the Forest Lodge Community was Brother Cyril Boland.

And so, Easter 1908 saw the Brothers returned to the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Waterloo where Father Collins was still in residence as Parish Priest.

We again are provided with a puzzle as to who were the first Brothers to teach at Mount Carmel in 1908? 

In The Green Sash, Volume 6 Issue I, March 1999 we gave the answer and reproduce it below.

Four sources were used to establish the first Brothers at Waterloo in 1908. All agree that Brother Alphonsus Eviston was Principal. But who was his assistant?

Mt. Carmel Centenary Booklet and The Patrician Brothers in Australia ? The First Hundred Years identify Brother John Lee. However, the Irish record shows Brother John Lee in 1908 at Bathurst [Superior to July], Orange [Superior from July].

Brother Paul O’Connor has no record of Brother John Lee being either at Redfern or Ryde in 1908. His only record of Brother John Lee is as Superior at Orange from July

Brother Paul O’Connor records, “the new monastery [St. Patrick’s at Redfern] was used as a novitiate until 1908 when the number of Brothers had to be increased to cater for the new school at Mt. Carmel, Waterloo, opened at Easter 1908. Brother Alphonsus Eviston, assisted by Brother Regis Hickey, took charge of it on Tuesday, April 21, 1908.”

Both the Irish record and Brother Paul agree that Brother Regis Hickey was at Redfern in 1907 only. The Irish record shows Brother Regis in 1908 at Bathurst. Yet, Brother Paul includes him also at Ryde in 1907 and 1908. In both instances Brother Regis is set apart from other members of the Ryde Community. In 1907 he appears as (R. Hickey) and in 1908 appears (I. Hannigan, B. McGrath, temp. R. Hickey left July). 

Brothers Ignatius Hannigan and Baptist McGrath are listed also by Bother Paul at Redfern in 1908. Brother Baptist’s presence at Ryde is explained. “That year the first Holy Cross Annual was published, edited by Brother Benignus Kealy and Brother Baptist McGrath.’ Brother Regis’ name is followed by ‘left July’; no doubt to go to Bathurst as shown in the Irish record. He remained at Bathurst until 1909. A change of location mid-year, particularly in the month of July was a common occurrence at the time and followed the Irish practice.

The next clue is from Extracts from Patrician Annals ? Redfern [part of the Irish record] -“ Brother Austin D. O’Connell lived at Redfern in 1908 while teaching at Mt. Carmel.”

Could it be that in 1908, Brothers Regis Hickey and Ignatius Hannigan of the Redfern Community were housed at Holy Cross College, Ryde because of overcrowding at St. Patrick’s Monastery? Brother Regis, from Ireland in 1907 and Brother Ignatius, a novice in 1904, probably were the most junior of the Redfern Community. Brothers were required to travel in pairs. “The Brothers attending the Forest Lodge school are to be together both going and coming from the school.” [July 17, 1902]. It was not unusual in those days for Brothers to reside at Ryde and teach at Redfern. Mt Carmel would be a similar circumstance.

The writer has accepted Brother Paul O’Connor’s record of Brother Regis Hickey as Brother Alphonsus Eviston’s assistant at Mt. Carmel from April 21, 1908. Two months later, Brother Regis transferred to Bathurst and was replaced by Brother Austin O’Connell who had arrived from Ireland that year. 

Other Brothers known to have taught at Mount Carmel in the early years are Brothers Basil Cassidy, John Lee and Albert Small.

Mt. Carmel, the smallest of the three schools, remained a branch school of the Redfern Community until its closure in 1963.

The Patrician Brothers taught in each of the three parishes longer than any other. We exclude Holy Cross College, Ryde from this comment as it was not of a parochial concept. Overall their presence from 1886 to 1967 covered 82 years, of which the Patrician Brothers taught in the Parish of Mt. Carmel, 1886-1889 and 1908-1963 = 60 years, Redfern 1890-1963 = 74 years and Forest Lodge 1892-1967 = 76 years.

Note 1:  In previous years the Guessing Competition prize has been deducted from Function Contributions and Donations. It is considered more appropriate to report this amount separately.

Note 2: While many attendees provided sandwiches etc. towards the Morning Tea, for which the Committee extends its sincere thanks, expenditure was incurred in the provision of tea, coffee, paper plates, drinking cups, table clothes, etc.

Note 3:  The Committee resolved that a nominal donation be made to the Parish of OLMC, Waterloo for the use of the hall and equipment. A similar donation will be made to the host Parish each year.