the cathedral tower under restoration - roman catholic ...the first (2006) commemorates the presence...

Catholic Life, March, 201118

The Cathedral tower under restorationSt Carthage’s Cathedral, LismoreHeritage Restoration and Preservation Works by Fr Paul McDonald

Following the hail storm which caused extensive damage to the St. Carthage’s Cathedral in October 2007 a programme of repair and restoration commenced in mid-2008. The present works now reaching completion represent Stage One of a five-stage programme of restoration and preservation of the century-old Cathedral.

This work has progressed under the supervision and direction of the Cathedral Working Party, chaired by the Administrator of the Cathedral, Father Paul McDonald. Its members include the Bishop, Most Revd Geoffrey Jarrett, Mr Greg Isaac (Diocesan Business Manager), Mr Geoff Costello (Cathedral Parish Business Manager), Mr Frank Hannigan (Diocesan Solicitor), Mr Neil Manglesdorf (Project Manager) and Mr Bruce Finemore (Site Manager).

The first task undertaken was the repair of the stained glass windows in the principal façade of the Cathedral, above the main entrance. The rose window, with the figure of the Blessed Virgin in the centre, had to be entirely remade from its original drawings. The work was entrusted to Mr Kevin Little of Arncliff Studios, Sydney, whose family connections in the craft go back to the firm of Lyon & Cottier which made the windows in the Cathedral sanctuary in 1907. In 2010 the very fine eastern transept window made in 1936-7 by John Radecki of John Ashwin & Co. was removed and entirely restored by Rick Allen of Moss Vale Heritage Glass.

The major restoration of the roof, however, has been the principal work of this stage of the restoration project. Many of the original 1907 Welsh slates had been replaced over the century, but the damage in 2007 required a total replacement of the entire roof. The 66,000 new slates required were sourced from Newfoundland, Canada. The painstaking reslating of the sixty-degree pitched roof, to the most exacting health and safety standards, was undertaken by specialist tradesmen led by Mr Trevor White of Grafton, whose father had worked on extensive repairs to the roof twenty-five years earlier.

At the same time as the roof replacement, all lead flashings and copper gutters, rainheads and downpipes, the latter damaged beyond repair, were replaced.

Work on the roof also revealed that the original six principal gable crosses were badly deteriorated, some fractured and held together with steel bands. The blessing by Bishop Jarrett of each of the newly carved crosses in heritage quality white sandstone was witnessed by Cathedral Sunday Mass congregations before being placed in position in the later months of 2010. The two ornamental wrought iron crosses and ridge cresting above the sanctuary

and Bishop’s sacristy were also renovated and re-painted with gold highlights.

While the reroofing was proceeding, repair work and cleaning was carried out right around the exterior walls. Damaged bricks and terracotta facings were replaced by new bricks matched and manufactured in Grafton. Extensive repointing and complete steamcleaning has made the Cathedral gleam in all its original splendour. The cleaning of the tower will be completed by the end of March.

On the ground it was discovered that the original drainage system had largely silted up. A complete new system of underground stormwater drainage has been laid. At the same time it was revealed that it was necessary to replace the underground access of electric power to the Cathedral. An improved disabled persons’ access will be constructed to the eastern (Dawson Street) transept, with new pathways in that area. The brick perimeter fence will be repaired and cleaned.

Unrelated to the repair and restoration work of the past two years, four new stained glass windows have also been installed in St Carthage’s Cathedral, all designed and executed by Kevin Little of Arncliff Studios.

The first (2006) commemorates the presence and work of the Presentation Sisters in the Diocese of Lismore since 1886, the second (2009) the apostolate of the Marist Fathers at St John’s College, Woodlawn, the third (2010) depicting St Dominic and St Catherine of Siena in memory of Cecil and Vivienne Wallace and the fourth (2010) commemorating the place of St Vincent’s Hospital, Lismore, within the great tradition of the Church’s care of the Sick. A further window is proposed in 2011 commemorating the centenary of the educational ministry of the Marist Brothers in the Diocese of Lismore.

In commenting on the work completed so far Bishop Jarrett said that many people had expressed their delight with the shining new appearance of the Cathedral. As a building it is a notable part of Lismore’s architectural heritage and a reminder of the huge courage and determination of the first bishop and his people who built it a century ago. It stands as a conspicuous symbol for Catholics of the presence of the Church, alive and active today, eight Popes and four local Bishops later, the same community passing on the tradition of faith in its worship of God and its works of education and charity.

The Bishop, Administrator and Cathedral community are most grateful to our Project and Site Managers and the tradesmen involved in keeping St Carthage’s fully operational for scheduled worship over the period of the works.

Bishop Jarrett and Neil Manglesdorf (Project Manager) with the new gable cross on the western transept.

20 CATHOLIC LIFE MARCH 2011

2010 Awards CeremonyJohn Paul College held its 2010 Awards Ceremony to celebrate the Academic successes for Years 7, 8 and 9. Father Peter Wood joined staff and students at a full College assembly, hosted by College Captains – Scott James, Madeline Mcfarlane and College Vice Captains, Alexandra Adams, Corey Underhill. The top 3 awards in each year for academic excellence are:

Year 7 Awards: 1st Place in Year 7 for 2010 is awarded to Caleb Niethe, 2nd Place to Daniel Medley, 3rd Place to Genevieve Muschal-Rooney

Year 8 Awards: 1st Place in Year 8 for 2010 is awarded to Madeline de Dassel, 2nd Place to Becky Amon, 3rd Place Brittany Hill

Year 9 Awards: 1st Place in year 9 for 2010 is awarded to Jordan Nieth, 2nd Place to Holly Rowe, 3rd Place to Chloe Demery

John Paul College is very proud to present College Dux for 2010 to Georgia Feltis. Georgia was born in 1992 and has come through St Augustine’s Primary School in Coffs Harbour. She is the eldest of 3, with proud parents Greg and Leanne Feltis, both Catholic Educators. In 2010, Georgia was College Captain and involved with student leadership and all aspects of College Life. Georgia attained the incredible ATAR result of 99.5.

SChoolSACroSSthedioCeSe

John Paul College Coffs harbourCollege Dux – Georgia Feltis and Mr Ian Walton

Year 7 top 3 – Genevieve Muschal-Rooney, Mr Michael Carniato, Caleb Niethe, Daniel Medley

Senior Soccer team – diocesan Champions 2010Recently, the Holy Family Team, representing the Richmond Zone, travelled to McAuley Catholic College in Grafton, to play in the Diocesan Championships. Holy Family defeated St Joseph’s Kempsey 3-1 in the semi-final to progress to the final to play Mt St Patrick’s Murwillumbah. Holy Family won 3 nil.

The quality of the soccer played by Holy Family in terms of skills, teamwork and sportsmanship was outstanding and all members of the team should be very proud of their achievement.

The school community applauds the commitment, effort and enthusiasm of all these students. Well done!

Australasian Social Science ChampsThe Holy Family Tournament of the Minds Social Science team was crowned Australasian Champions recently in Darwin. The tournament was host to teams from every state in Australia, as well as New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Tournament of the Minds (TOM) is an international interschool problem solving program designed to challenge minds of students from primary and secondary schools.

This year, both Holy Family Primary School’s TOM teams were very successful in making it through to the state finals in Sydney. The Holy Family Maths Engineering earned second place with Honours and the Social Science team winning. This was the school’s first win at National level, since it began competing about seven years ago.

The team would like to extend a big “THANK YOU” to all, for their invaluable support.

Australasian Champions! The Holy Family Social Science Tournament of the Minds Team are L-R: Mr Adam Sullivan, Christian Bowers, Ciarne Lancaster, Luke Bolger, Lucy Cornwell, Tom Harris, Audrey Campisi-Ross and Samantha Savage.

holy Family Skennars head

CATHOLIC LIFE MARCH 2011 21


St Mary’s Primary School Grafton

Front row L-R: Samantha Gobo, Bailey Holloway, Cassandra Elward, Ella Day, Matthew McMahon, Katisha Meaney

Back row L-R: Sharnee Magner, Taylor Corbacho, Daniel Norton, Brayden Jamieson, Oscar Dougherty Absent from photo, Falyn Doy

New Year leadersElected leaders of St Mary’s Primary School were inducted to office last Tuesday during the Beginning of Year Mass held at St Mary’s Church. Father Rex Hackett blessed the badges of office and led the Induction Ceremony. Mrs Yvonne Rincheval, Principal of St Mary’s presented the School Captains Cassandra Elward and Daniel Norton, Vice Captains, Falyn Doy and Brayden Jamieson with their badges. Sports House Leaders were also introduced and presented with their badges. Goretti: Katisha Meaney and Matthew McMahon, Regina: Ella Day and Oscar Dougherty Patricuis: Samantha Gobo and Taylor Corbacho Marian: Sharnee Magner and Bailey Holloway Parents and carers were part of this ceremony by pinning on the badges. All Year students are acknowledged School Leaders. They gave their pledge to set the right example and to assist their chosen leaders.

Di Hughes (St Peter’s Port) & Colleen McQueen (St Agnes’ Port)

rel8te Wellbeing Focusby Paul Thornton

Teachers, principals, schools, parents and community agencies, as well as children and young people themselves, have a significant bearing on wellbeing and on generating the kind of social capital in schools that result in happy, healthy, engaged, resilient and confident students. The fact that understandings, programs and services concerning student wellbeing remain so fragmented presents major challenges for schools and school systems. Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore are no different to schools across Australia however on Thursday 16 December 2010 over 830 teachers gathered in two venues in the diocese to participate in a significant educational event focusing on student wellbeing called ‘Rel8te’.

Rel8te refers to eight ways for a successful school approach to wellbeing:• Student and family support • Positive behaviour management approaches • Integrated approaches to student wellbeing • Working together as a Catholic community • Supportive school culture • Committed Catholic leadership • Effective teaching to engage learners • Proactive policies, plans, professional development, structures and procedures.

Experts from across Australia came together with our own staff presenters in Port Macquarie and Lismore to discuss various aspects of student wellbeing including: • Bullying • Anxiety • Boys education • Working with challenging behaviors • Cyber bullying and the law • Self care.

Rel8te organisers put together a challenging and productive conference. A team of staff from schools and the Catholic Education Office prepared and presented a quality conference experience for the huge number of teachers attending.

Special thanks to Barry Bermingham, Greg Colles, Gary Reen, Luke Brown, Janine Handley, Ali Hall, Margaret Bannon, Julie Ryan, Annette Reen, Melissa Bell and Jean Mackay. The keynote presenters Dr Marilyn Campbell (southern conference) and Dr Toni Noble (northern venue) were excellent and presented staff with thought provoking

Catholic education office real8te

input. They set the scene for the rest of the day which included elective workshops and whole staff sessions. Thank you also to the secretarial staff at the Catholic Education Office for the effort that went into planning and preparing for the conference.

St Peter’s principal Mr Luke Brown said “The day is another tangible example of the commitment of Catholic schools to the wellbeing of those in our schools. This day has provided our Catholic school staff with first class professional development that will ensure we are providing a safe and supportive environment for our greatest asset, our children”.

The organisers were anxious to ensure that all staff engaged fully with all aspects of the program. Attendance feedback provided the conference organisers with the satisfaction in knowing that the day was successful. During 2011 schools will continue to engage with the wellbeing agenda and build on the Rel8te conference theme.

The organisers thank the principals and staff from St John’s College Woodlawn (Glenn Roff) and St Peter’s Primary School Port Macquarie (Luke Brown) for their assistance both before and on the day. The hospitality shown to visiting staff was a feature of the day.

Captains Unite in Catholic educationOur students, captain Bradley Clark and Year 12 SRC member Courtney MacDade represented their College at the Lismore Diocesan Catholic School Leadership camp held at the Bonville Retreat Centre in Coffs Harbour on the 30th and 31st of last month. The aim of the camp was to further the participants’ student leadership skills whilst incorporating Catholicism and spirituality into the responsibilities of captaincy. Facilitated by the CEO (Catholic Education office) and a ‘first’ for the diocese, the students were given the opportunity to bond with other Catholic school captains and leaders from other diocesan secondary colleges. They did so whilst attending seminars and learning to live God’s word through their role in the College.

We recently spoke with both Bradley and Courtney to find out their highlight of the experience. “Learning to correspond the religious side of things with leadership was definitely the greatest part of the whole retreat” says Bradley Clark, whilst Courtney notes that “Getting the whole board together to share ideas and get to know each other” was the finest element, but added “and also learning not just to be a good leader of the SRC but to be a great captain of the College”.

The students have not only walked away with a sense of encouragement that they are representing and leading their school with pride, but have formed a rare connection with other leaders which will last throughout their endeavours of Year 12. They are currently in the midst of forming an online communication forum where the leaders can share ideas and seek advice from each other in this diocese-wide student initiative. And this goes hand-in-hand with sharing the word of God through their Year 12 leadership experience.

Article by Shay Langley

Shay is a Year 11 Journalist from the Student Media Centre (S.N.AZZI. Unit.) Photograph] also produced by the S.N.AZZI Unit


St John’s College Woodlawn


New Year leadersAs with every new year, we are once again blessed with the opportunity to guide yet another group of Year 6 students through the various roles of student leadership. At Our Lady Help of Christians Parish School, South Lismore, we have just elected our school captains for 2011 and appointed eight sports captains and seven committee leaders.

On Saturday 19th February, our parish community welcomed the 2011 school captains as Fr Peter Karam gave the blessing at our annual Induction Mass. The two captains, Dane Pratt and Paige Higgins-Powell, with the vice captains, Marcus Dowling and Tara Collins, expressed their commitment to their roles as leaders of the student body. Congratulations to these children and to the following children for their respective appointments:

• Logan Fraser and Sarah Williams, captains of Jacaranda House;

• Billy O’Mealley and Jacinda Hackett, captains of Waratah House;

• Peter Mills and Carly Taylor, captains of Banksia House;

• Ethan Poole and Lily Folpp, captains of Wattle House;

• Robyn Flynn, Catholic Ministry Leader;

• Olivia Harvey and Kodey Wilford, Environment Committee Leaders;

• Meg Flynn and Julia Romilio, Social Committee Leaders;

• James Gallagher, ICT Committee Leader

• Cheyenne Balzer, Communications and Library Committee Leader.

The students presented themselves very proudly in their applications. We now look forward to seeing their enthusiasm transpose into a range of fantastic projects throughout the year. All other Year 6 students have nominated to work on one of the committees, taking on roles of responsibility in various different ways and setting a positive example for the younger children. Congratulations to you all. Article by Mr Dan Gubby (Acting Principal)

our lady help of Christians School Sth lismore

Miss Kasey Miles (Acting Assistant Principal), Tara Collins, Dane Pratt, Fr Peter Karam, Paige Higgins-Powell, Marcus Dowling and Mr Dan Gubby (Acting Principal)



Welcomes Kindergarten 2011St Brigid’s kindergarten class of 2011 commenced the school year filled with excitement and enthusiasm. On the first day of school a vibrant group of 22 students greeted their teacher, Mrs Morabito, for their first look at their brand-new learning centre.

The Kindergarten children were thrilled with their new learning space, especially with the brightly coloured surroundings! With innovative furniture for their learning space, a wet area to get messy during art activities, a withdrawal space for some quiet time or individual instruction and their very own bubbler and toilet these Kindergarten students are off to a wonderful start to their learning journey at St Brigid’s!

The fun continues outside the classroom with an enclosed turfed yard, their very own vegetable garden and a rainwater tank.

Four other learning spaces in the double-storey building were also ready for the first day of school. The parents, students and teachers were all amazed by the 21st century learning spaces which were designed to accommodate new technologies and new understandings about how students learn. The vivid colours and new layouts provide stimulating areas for children to learn individually or collaboratively.

During the first few weeks of February the new air conditioning units have been a real blessing in the extreme conditions and intense heat in Kyogle. The cooler environment has added to student productivity during the hot afternoon sessions.

Another two learning spaces for stage 3 are still being constructed in the single storey building of the school. These spaces will be finalised by the end of term one.

The final stage of our building program will include an update to the front entry to the office and to the library learning centre. The 2011 school year continues to be a year of exciting change and new beginnings at St. Brigid’s.

St. Brigid’s Primary Kyogle

L-R: Seth Merenda, Archie Clark, Tom Reardon, Alexander Clark, Chelsea Copeland and Hannah O’Reilly (front) enjoying their new learning centre

learning and Growing togetherSt Carthage’s school prides itself on being an inclusive school where all children are welcomed and made to feel safe. A huge part of the settling in program for kindergarten children revolves around the children being allocated a buddy from Year 6. Teachers, parents and students have always seen the benefits of this for the kindergarten children. This year the Year 6 children have shared their thoughts and feelings about the program. Here is a snapshot of their reflections.

“….I heard my buddy laugh. It was great to see a smile on his face. My buddy and I threw a soft ball to each other”. Oshea.

“My favourite time with my buddies was when we sat down in a circle and played ‘Duck, Duck, Goose, Goose’’. Mollie

“Our buddies can be quite a handful sometime’s like they’re walking beside you one minute and next they have run off to play. Now I know how mum feels with 4 kids.” Caitlin

“I love working with my buddy because we get to do lots of things together. We read, glue things, make things, eat together and play together.” Kaila

“I have already helped my buddy make a friend. I’m happy now I know she has someone to play with and isn’t sitting by herself.” Gabby

“I think so far my buddy has been so awesome. He’s not much of a handful because I get to share him with a girl called ‘Olivia’ who is really good and absolutely adores my buddy. So in the long run I’m coping fine. It’s kinda cool to have all that responsibility because I didn’t get someone when I was in kindergarten so I bet they feel welcome.” Kallum

“I enjoy spending time with my buddy. He’s always happy and excited to see me. In saying that, he is also in a wheelchair so he is not able to do things that others can but he inspires me to never say I can’t because seeing him having a great time even in his wheelchair makes me have a great time. My goal is to be more like him.” Zaeden.

St. Carthage’s Primary School lismore

2nd in the hSCWe are extremely pleased with the excellent results obtained in the 2010 Higher School Certificate Exams. Xanthe Eppelstun gained second place in the State in General Mathematics with a mark of 99. She received a Band 6, a mark of 90 or above, in every subject and made the Board of Studies Top Achievers List. Xanthe received an ATAR of 99.1.

Two other students received exceptionally high ranks in the State. Elle McDonald was fourth in the State in Earth and Environmental Science while Stephanie Browning was ranked ninth in Community and Family Studies.

Mt St Patrick College was placed eightieth in the Top 100 Schools List and was the highest ranked Catholic school in the Lismore Diocese. Students were mentioned sixty seven times on the Board of Studies Distinguish Achievers List for obtaining a mark of 90 or above in a subject. Only sixty five students sat for the HSC in 2010. Nominations were received for Artexpress, an exhibition of the best Visual Arts Projects in the HSC and for Onstage, a showcase of the best Drama Performances in the HSC.

Mt St Patrick College


Xanthe Eppelstun

Flood FundraiserAs part of our Ministry and Values work, St Augustine’s Primary School Coffs Harbour has been fundraising for a small Catholic School in flood devastated Laidley in Queensland. The students held a mufti day where they wore maroon and made a donation to the appeal. Following a whole school Liturgy, each class had the opportunity to cover the words St Mary’s Laidley with coins. The school raised a total of $934.20. It is hoped that the money raised can assist the school in purchasing resources and sporting equipment which were lost during the January floods.

St Augustine’s Primary School Coffs harbour Murwillumbah

Churches of the World

The history of Canterbury Cathedral goes back to 597AD when St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary, established himself in Canterbury. Augustine’s original building lies beneath the present floor of the nave. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims and is a beckoning sign of Unity. In 1173 Pope Alexander III canonized Thomas Becket. One tradition is that three days after Thomas’ death, there began a series of miracles that surrounded his martyrdom. These are depicted in the miracle windows of the Trinity Chapel. © Patrick Angevare | Dreamstime.com

Canterbury Cathedral


official opening of the New library and Administration AreaThe 7th December was a day to celebrate not only the first sunny morning after weeks of wet weather but also the official opening of the new library at Our Lady of Lourdes Infants School, East Lismore.

The school was buzzing with excitement as the official dignitaries, invited guests and members of the school community gathered in the new building to witness this special event. The official party included Janelle Saffin MP, Federal Member for Page, Most Reverend Geoffrey Jarrett DD, Bishop of Lismore, Fr Paul McDonald, Parish Administrator and Dr Anne Wenham, Director of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lismore.

Jan Condon, Principal of the school, warmly welcomed everyone and began the proceedings. It was a day to give thanks to the Federal Government for this wonderful gift of funding – a gift given to all students and school communities to enhance learning experiences and to assist in the development of knowledge, skills and inquiring minds in our young individuals – our nation’s future.

Janelle Saffin MP, officially opened the building and the Most Reverend Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett conducted the blessing.

Mrs Condon offered thanks to all involved and was happy with the completed project and the ease in which it all came together. “We are lucky to have such wonderful facilities at our school and the new library will enrich the learning opportunities of our 21st century learners as we offer a strong education in a faith filled community”.

The students from Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 were praised by so many for their attention and excellence in singing the National Anthem and the School Song.

Mrs Condon said “We are proud of our school community and the new facilities but our richest resource is our students. God bless them in their quest to become life-long learners and in light of the school motto, may they ‘Celebrate Life’ and give thanks for the gifts they have been given”.


our lady of lourdes infants School east lismore

Marist Brothers return to CasinoAfter a twenty-five year absence, there is again a full-time Marist presence at St Mary’s High School, Casino, with the appointment of Br Paul Turner to the staff of the school community in 2011. The Marist Brothers previously withdrew from St Mary’s in 1985 at the end of Br Dominic O’Sullivan’s Principalship.

Current Principal of St Mary’s, Mr Aaron Beach, said that Br Paul’s appointment was ‘a real coup’ for the School and would add immeasurably to the School’s already strong Marist connections. ‘We rejoined AMSA in 2007 and since this time have been very fortunate to have participated in many wonderful inservice opportunities for both students and staff’ Mr Beach said.

Br Paul’s appointment was made after a request to the Provincial from Fr Peter Slack and Mr Beach and is fully supported by the Lismore Catholic Education Office. Brother Paul was formally welcomed and inducted at the School’s Opening Mass on February 17.

St Mary’s high School Casino

Br Paul and Mr Aaron Beach in the McKenna Centre, which is the original Brothers’ Monastery, now used by the School as an Additional Needs facility

Despite the continual heavy rain on the North Coast in the later months of 2010 and the increased demand for materials following the Queensland and New South Wales floods, the school building projects under the Building the Education Revolution Program in the Lismore Diocese are progressing well.

The thirty four parish Primary schools in the diocese have shared funding of $69 million under the P21 BER Program. Sixteen of the Primary schools’ projects are now complete and occupied by students. Another nine projects will be completed and in use by the schools during March and April. The remaining nine projects will continue into term two.

The five Secondary school projects under the Science and Language Centre element of the BER Program shared total funding in excess of $10 million. Four of the projects are now complete and the fifth project will continue in construction into term two.

Catholic education office Ber



Saint Joseph’s Catholic Primary

Artist Camilla Connolly, Elijah Devlin, Well Being Co-ordinator Barb Quinn, Daniel Pouloudis, Darcy Livesey, Ruby Livesey, Principal Paul McDermott and Sophie Pouloudis in front of one of the murals

Murwillumbah

Making Jesus realThere has been an explosion of winking, thumbs-up high-fiving, ‘Cheers!’ and Manners – especially on Mondays running through the school as the Making Jesus Real programme begins to take on a life of its own. Students and staff are enthusiastically embracing the ideals and concepts ranging from ‘happy chappy’ vs ‘nastie pastie’ to E.A.S.T. vs W.E.S.T., behaviors which are fun ways of encouraging positive relationships and actions within the school.

Michael Piccoli (RECMin) described to students that the Making Jesus Real (MJR) programme was really just a positive way of living their daily lives, a way of showing others the face of Jesus through their actions. We are all made in the image of Jesus. We are His representatives and the way we act should reflect the way Jesus would act. MJR is as simple as being positive when we MEET, GREET and SPEAK to others. Remember to look for God moments in your day.

St. Mary’s Primary CasinoSemester 1 SRC Members

Value in MuralsOur school recently completed murals that reflect the values in their Social and Emotional Learning program. Principal Mr Paul McDermott said that the school focuses on developing the ‘whole child’ and that enhancing the emotional intelligence of students was crucial in later life.

Saint Joseph’s introduced the focus on Social and Emotional Learning in 2008 across all year levels. The approach now permeates through all aspects of school life and is supported by a very active parent group within the school. Well Being Co-ordinator Barb Quinn highlighted one of the great benefits being that our students are better equipped to cope with life which prepares them better to cope with learning.

Camilla Connolly, renowned artist in the area and parent at Saint Joseph’s created the murals which are erected throughout the school.

Catholic Life, March, 201128 All photos and images used in “Catholic Life” are copyright. No permission to reproduce these photos or images is given.

As ItWas

Uki Church, Convent & School

St. Columba’s Church Uki – in Murwillumbah Parish – will celebrate its cente-nary in June this year, with a combined re-union of the church and ex-pupils of the convent school, together with the local hall which also celebrates its centenary this year.

The foundation stone of the church was laid on the 9 June, 1911 – the Feast Day of St. Columba, by the late Bishop Carrol of Lismore.

The church was built with locally grown and sawn timber and although some renovations have been car-ried out in recent times, the church remains in its origi-nal style. The financing of the building was made pos-sible by the generosity of a few local pioneer farmers.

Lighting was by acetylene gas lamps (characterised by the historic “Gas House” at the back of the church, which served as an ideal hiding place for the occa-sional ‘illegal’ smoker – to which many an ex-school boy will attest).

The first priests to minis-ter to the congregation were Archdeacon Dalton and Monsignor Quinn who trav-eled from Murwillumbah by horseback. Altar boys from Murwillumbah accompa-nied the priest on these oc-casions, the first Altar Boy was Patrick J. Reynolds – who would later become the local and much loved local baker. The various branch-es of the Reynolds family would become synonymous with the district for five gen-erations.

An important lifeblood of the church was the existence of several sodalities, The Hibernian and Holy Name Societies, Sacred Heart and Children of Mary Sodalities.

The faithful members of these sodalities would re-main strong and upright members of the faith com-munity for many years.

The first wedding cel-ebrated was that of William Mills and May Askew – the first of four generations to be married there. Daughter of William and May, Mrs. Joy Armour currently residing in Uki, recalls that she received the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation and Holy Mat-rimony in St. Columba’s. Joy is our treasure trove of his-tory and all things Uki.

The church, like all coun-

try church’s of the time, played a vital role in the Catholic community, provid-ing not only a spiritual pres-ence, but also an integral so-cial one.

Many a convent ball meeting was held outside the church before Mass and the inevitable ‘said Han-rahan’ meeting among the men would all but resolve the drought problem and various crises of the dairy industry.

The original statues and holy water fonts remain a nostalgic reminder of those early days.

1922 saw the building of St. Joseph’s Convent and the arrival of the St. Joseph Sisters who taught school in the back of the church and in the weather shed until the school was built in 1930. The first sisters to take up residence were Sister Aveli-na, Sr. Theodore and Sr. Ju-lita. As was the experience of all the St. Joseph sisters in rural Australia, the good sisters endured many hard-ships. They lived out their vocations in the true sense of their mission – dependant mostly on meager school fees and the generosity of parishioners’ gifts in kind.

Sadly, the school was closed in 1963, due to lack of enrolments and this of course also saw the de-

parture of the sisters. The School building was moved to Kingscliff, becoming one of the first classrooms for this newly formed parish school. The convent build-ing was later sold to private enterprise and converted to rental accommodation.

A very nostalgic re-union of church and school was held in 1986 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of St. Columbas and many of those who attended are on our contact list for the 100th celebration. It will be held on the long weekend in June, 11 and 12 with some activi-ties in the hall on Saturday 11, a country style dance on the Saturday night,

Morning Mass in the church on Sunday 12, fol-lowed by morning tea and lunch in the hall.

Ex parishioners and ex students of the school, as well as current residents and parishioners are invited to attend and organisers are very interested to hear from you. Photos and memorabil-ia are much sought after.

Contact: Secretary,Barbara Cook 02 6672 3377 Email: [email protected] Marion Rob-erts 02 6672 2501 Email: [email protected]

the cathedral tower under restoration - roman catholic ...the first (2006) commemorates the presence...

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