Item 138 - Reports by Fr John Ryan SJ following his visitations to the various houses and communities in Australia

Born: 27 October 1849, Limerick City, County Limerick
Entered: 22 April 1879, St Aloysius College SJ, Sevenhill, South Australia, Australia - Austriaco-Hungaricae Province (ASR-HUN for HIB)
Ordained: 01 November 1874, Rome, Italy - pre Entry
Final Vows: 15 August 1890, Australia
Died: 14 July 1922, Malvern, Melbourne, Australia

Part of the Manresa, William Street, Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia community at the time of death.

Superior of the Irish Jesuit Mission to Australia Mission : 30 September 1894; 11 February 1901-1908; 09 April 1913-1917

1879-1881: St Aloysius College SJ, Sevenhill, South Australia, Australia (ASR-HUN for HIB), Novitiate
1881-1883: St Ignatius College SJ, Riverview, Cove Lane, Sydney NSW, Australia, Teaching
1883-1884: St Mary’s, Miller Street, Sydney NSW, Australia, Curate
1884-1885: St Ignatius College SJ, Riverview, Cove Lane, Sydney NSW, Australia, Teaching
1885-1890: St Patrick’s College SJ, Cathedral Place, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Teaching, Curate
1886-1890: Rector from 01/01/1886, Procurator, Teaching, Curate
1890-1897: St Ignatius College SJ, Riverview, Cove Lane, Sydney NSW, Australia, rector from 13/04/1890, Mission Consultor
1894-1895: VICE-SUPERIOR OF MISSION from 30/09/1894, Rector from 13/04/1890
1895-1897: Rector from 13/04/1890, Editor of “Messenger”, Mission Consultor
1897-1901: Xavier College SJ, Barkers Road, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Rector from 16/06/1897, Procurator, Mission Consultor, Editor “Messenger”
1898-1901: Rector from 16/06/1897, Procurator, Mission Consultor, Prefect of Church, Editor “Xaverian”
1901-1903: Manresa, Burwood Road, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, `MISSION SUPERIOR from 11/02/1901
1903-1921: St Ignatius Church, Church Road, Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Mission Superior from 11/02/1901 to 14/06/1908
1908-1913: Curate, Spiritual Father
1913-1917: MISSION SUPERIOR from 09/04/1913 to 24/10/1917
1917-1918: Awaiting assignment
1918-1921: Mission Procurator, Spiritual Father, Curate
1921-1922: Manresa, William Street, Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, Curate at St Ignatius Church, Queen Street, Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, Spiritual Father

◆ Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University online :
Ryan, John (1849–1922)
by Daniel A. Madigan
Daniel A. Madigan, 'Ryan, John (1849–1922)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ryan-john-8314/text14581, published first in hardcopy 1988

Catholic priest

Died : 15 July 1922, Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

John Ryan (1849-1922), Jesuit priest, was born on 27 October 1849 at Limerick, Ireland, only child of Thomas Ryan and his wife Catherine, née Butler. He was educated at The Crescent, Limerick, and, having begun in 1869 his ecclesiastical studies at the Irish College, Rome, was ordained there on 1 November 1874. The training Ryan received there under Monsignor Tobias Kirby rooted him firmly in the tradition of Ireland's Cardinal Cullen and gave him much in common with Australia's Irish episcopacy. Early in 1872 he had been recruited for the diocese of Maitland, New South Wales, by Bishop Murray, but soon after his arrival there in August 1875, he was appointed president of the new St Charles' Seminary at Bathurst. To the delight of its founder, Bishop Matthew Quinn, he set about recreating his Roman Alma Mater in Bathurst. Ryan, who since 1873 had been considering joining the Society of Jesus, was accepted as a novice on 27 March 1879. He made his first vows on 27 April 1881.

By temperament and training Ryan had a concern for order and a talent for administration which proved a windfall for the Jesuit mission in Australia. Considerable expansion in the late 1870s, a shortage of capable manpower from Ireland and the financial burdens brought about by the depression of the 1890s all contributed to the poor state of the mission at the turn of the century. Quite soon after becoming a Jesuit, he was put in positions of authority and responsibility as rector of St Patrick's College, East Melbourne (1886-90), of St Ignatius' College, Riverview, Sydney (1890-97) and of Xavier College, Melbourne (1897-1900). He was often exasperated by the careless administration of his predecessors. During his two terms (1901-08, 1913-17) as superior of the Australian Jesuits his competent administration proved crucial to the survival of their enterprise.

At the same time Ryan continued to serve the Australian Catholic Church at large, which was also facing a period of consolidation. He shared Cardinal Moran's vision of a firmly established and organised Church in which the clergy were well trained and obedient to their bishops, and the laity were adequately cared for and regular in their religious practice—a similar transformation to that wrought by Cullen in Ireland after the famine. With Michael Watson, S.J., Ryan began a devotional magazine, the Australian Messenger of the Sacred Heart, in 1887. His help was enlisted by the Presentation Sisters and later by the Sisters of Mercy in attempts to amalgamate their disparate convents, which the bishops had founded rather haphazardly with sisters recruited ad hoc from Ireland. He was committed to the spiritual formation of the clergy and the religious, through an extensive retreat ministry, and of lay people through the fostering of sodalities and popular devotions. Although Ryan and Daniel Mannix held very different views, Ryan won the respect of the wily prelate in negotiations for the foundation of Newman College at the University of Melbourne. 'Ripe in years and ripe in work', said Mannix, he died at Malvern on 15 July 1922 and was buried in Boroondara cemetery, Kew.

Select Bibliography
U. M. L. Bygott, With Pen and Tongue (Melb, 1980)
Argus (Melbourne), 17 July 1922
Advocate (Melbourne), 20 July 1922
D. A. Madigan, John Ryan, S.J.—a Contribution to Australian Catholicism 1875-1922 (B.A. Hons thesis, Monash University, 1977), and for bibliography.

◆ HIB Menologies SJ :
Taken from the “Advocate” 20 July 1922
“Born in Limerick 1849, Father Ryan studied at the Irish College Rome, and on the completion of his ecclesiastical studies he came to Australia. There he was appointed President of St Stanislaus College Bathurst before that was handed over to the Vincentians. In April 1879 he was admitted to the Society of Jesus. While Rector in St Patrick’s College Melbourne in 1886, he took charge of a flourishing Sodality there, which included among its members many of the prominent Catholic laymen of the day. During his Rectorate he also established the :Messenger of the Sacred Heart”, which he supervised for many years, which owes much of its success to his careful management.
In 1890 he was transferred to Riveview, and was Rector there until 1897. In June of 1897 he was appointed to take charge of Xavier College, Kew. His period of office there coincided with the difficult times of the land boom, but he triumphed ..... by his sound administration and careful financing.
From 1901-1907 and again 1913-1917 he was Superior of the Australian Mission, and he carried out this office with conspicuous success.
When he finished as Mission Superior he worked in Parishes at Sydney and Adelaide.
In failing health he returned to Melbourne, and he died at Malvern. His friendliness and unfailing kindness won him many friends, and he commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact. His long experience and Theological attainments made his opinion of Church, education and general matters much sought for, and he was able to be of great service to the work of the Religious Orders and Church in Australia.
Dr Daniel Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne, presided at the Requiem in Richmond, and at the conclusion said ‘If Father Ryan had his own wish, no words would be uttered over his coffin but the words of the Liturgy. I am not going to violate the spirit of his desire. In Father Ryan we feel that we have all lost a wise counsellor and a trusted and faithful friend. He was well known to the people and Priests of Melbourne, and wherever he was known his character was revered and he was respected. He was not a man to seek popular applause or to attract attention, but, like his Master, he went about doing good unostentatiously and unselfishly, wholly devoted to the work to which his life was consecrated.
He was not an Australian by birth, yet I think that never have I come across any Australian who loved Australia more, or who had more hop in Australia’s future. He was not a Jesuit in the first years of his Ministry, yet I have never come across anyone more truly a Jesuit in heart, mind and soul, and more devoted to the interests of his Society. Were Archbishop Thomas Carr presiding here in my place, I can imagine the words of tender affection in which he would speak of his departed friend. Father Ryan and Archbishop Carr were closely united in their work for many years, and they were closely united in affection. I hope they have now met in a better land where there is no parting. Several times Father Ryan was raised by his own Superiors to the highest position in his Order here in Australia, and when the time came to lay down the burden of Office, he went back into the ranks, the humblest and most zealous of the Priests of the Society.
And so when the last call came for Father Ryan, there was no clinging to life. There was no desire to linger upon the stage when his part had been played. He felt that his work for his Master was done. .......... May we all, but especially the priests of the Society and Melbourne always revere his memory and profit by his example’.”

Note from John Francis O’Brien Entry :
1902 He succeeded Carl Dietel as Superior at Sevenhill. John Ryan Sr wrote “He is very kind and gentle and will look after the old men. He was Superior until 1906.

◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280

Among the outstanding Jesuits who established the Society in Australia during its early years was John Ryan, a former priest of the Bathurst diocese who joined the Jesuits on 22 April 1879 at the age of 30. He had been principal of St Stanislaus' College and St Charles Seminary and had studied for the priesthood at the Irish College, Rome.

In his earlier days he had been educated at the Crescent, Limerick, and studied for the secular priesthood at the Irish College, Rome, where he was ordained in 1872. and then returned to Ireland. In 1875, Dr Matthew Quinn, bishop of Bathurst, being in Ireland looking for priests persuaded Ryan to volunteer for Bathurst and to be principal of his projected college and seminary.

Ryan did his noviceship at Sevenhill, 1880-81and then taught at Riverview 1881-1883. After a year living in the parish of North Sydney preparing for his ad grad examinations, he returned to to Riverview teaching Latin, Greek and Italian. However his administrative and financial talents were quickly recognised and he was appointed rector of St Patrick's CollegeEast Melbourne, 1885-90, where he was also prefect of studies and director of the Apostleship of Prayer and the Sodality of Our Lady He also founded the “Australian Messenger of the Sacred Heart, a periodical that continued until the 1970s, and the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary for gentlemen.

He was next appointed rector of Riverview1890-97where he taught for the public examinations and was a mission consultor. From there he went as rector to Xavier College, Kew 1897-1901, and was then appointed superior of the mission1901-08, living at Richmond. After five years working in the parish of Richmond he was appointed superior of the mission for a second time, 1913-17, and then returned to Richmond and parish duties for a second time.

His final residence was in the parish of Norwood where he worked during 1921-22. During his administrative years he also controlled the finances of the college or mission. Few men in the Society were given so many administrative responsibilities.

Ryan's leadership of St Ignatius' College Riverviewwhich coincided with the 1890s Depression, was a time of academic achievement and sporting success. He founded the debating society in 1881. However, there were declining numbers and in 1890 a debt of£25,000 which lasted for many years.

The transfer of Ryan to Xavier College came at one of the most difficult periods in the history of the school. There were only 34 boarders and 40 day boys in June 1897, as well as a debt of £204,000, and an annual deficit of£2000. In a short timethe debt was reduced and the number of students increased. He avoided the mistake that a smaller man might have made. He did not check development in the pursuit of economy The grounds were improved and a new pavilion was built. The college joined the Public Schools of Victoria at this time displacing St Patrick’s College. Ryan also launched a new school journal the Xavierian and began the Old Xaverians' Association.

In dealing with the boys, we are told that he was “firm but urbane”. He impressed all by the quiet strength of his manner and though he made a point of leaving details to his subordinates, when he saw fit to act he was determined and unswerving in his decisions. He kept contact with former students, and had a sound knowledge of their future careers.

As superior of the Irish Mission he negotiated due amalgamation of the Austrian and Irish missions, established the Jesuits in the parish of Toowong, Brisbane and founded Newman College, The University of Melbourne. In addition, he moved St Aloysius' College from Bourke Street, Sydney, to Milsons Point, and negotiated very complex and sensitive questions with the Cardinal-Archbishop of Sydney without making an enemy of Cardinal Moran, which showed great wisdom and tact.

Ryan never considered himself suitable for work in schools and asked to be relieved of his leadership position several times. He preferred parish work and enjoyed a fine reputation as a preacher. At these times he particularly worked as a canonist for various religious orders, especially the Sisters of Mercy. He gave retreats and missions as often as the demands of his position permitted.

His main skills were administrative and financial. He was an extremely meticulous person, and even considered himself “fussy” by insisting on correct procedures and religious discipline among the Jesuits. Ryan capably dealt with the financial problems in every house, and highlighted the problems of manpower and staffing. His work contributed significantly to the consolidation of the Irish Mission at the turn of the 20th century.

As a person he defended those in need and, while even severe with himself, was generally large-hearted with others. He was also a man of great faith and devotion. Finally, he had an eye to history, leaving excellent diaries and notes, encouraging Michael Watson to write a history of the mission. He, himself, wrote the narrative of the Richmond Mission. He was a priest of no mean stamina.

Note from Patrick Keating Entry
John Ryan, mission superior, did not lavish praise upon him. He believed him to be good at administration, but not with finances, not overly strict in discipline; firm and decisive, but easily influenced by anyone of strong mind, cool of temper, but not fatherly or sympathetic, somewhat superficial, cold and at times sarcastic, discouraging more than encouraging.

◆ Irish Province News

Irish Province News 6th Year No 1 1931

From 23 to 27 August, Riverview celebrated the Golden Jubilee of its foundation... The College was founded in 1880 by Fr. Joseph Dalton, He was “wisely daring enough” to purchase a fine property on Lane Cove from Judge Josephson, The property consisted of a cottage containing eight or nine rooms with substantial out offices, and 44 acres of land, at a cost of £4 500. 54 acres were soon added for £1 ,080, and an additional 20 acres later on completed the transaction. This little cottage was the Riverview College of 1880. The modesty of the start may be measured by the facts, that the founder of Riverview, and its first Rector, shared his own bed-room with three of his little pupils , and when the College played its first cricket out match, it could muster only ten boys to meet the opposing team. By the end of the year the number had increased to 15.
In addition to Fr. Dalton's, two other names are inseparably connected with the foundation of Riverview. The first is that of His Grace, Archbishop Vaughan, who invited the Jesuits to Sydney, formally opened the College and gave the Fathers every encouragement.
The second is the name of the great Australian pioneer, the Archpriest Therry. “One hundred years ago”, says one account : “Fr Therry was dreaming of a Jesuit College in Sydney... and when he went to his reward in 1865 he gave it a special place in his final testament”. Fr Lockington called Frs. Dalton and Therry the “co-founders” of Riverview, and added
that it was the wish of the latter to see Irish Jesuits established at Sydney.
An extract from the Catalogue of 1881 will interest many. It is the first time that Riverview is mentioned as a College in the Catalogue :
Collegium et Convictus S. Ignatius
R. P, Josephus Dalton, Sup a die 1 Dec 1879, Proc_ Oper
P. Thomas Gartlan, Min, etc
P. Joannes Ryan, Doc. 2 class. etc
Henricus O'Neill Praef. mor. etc
Domini Auxiliairii duo
Fr. Tom Gartlan is still amongst us, and, thank God, going strong. Soon a brick building (comprising study hall, class rooms and dormitories) wooden chapel, a wooden refectory, were added to the cottage, and in three years the numbers had swelled to 100, most of them day-boys.
The first stage in the history of Riverview was reached in 1889, when the fine block, that up to a recent date served as the College, was opened and blessed by Cardinal Moran.
The second stage was closed last August, when, amidst the enthusiastic cheering of a great gathering of Old Boys, the splendid building put up by Fr. Lockington was officially declared ready to receive the ever increasing crowd of boys that are flocking into Riverview. The College can now accommodate three times as many students as did the old block finished in 1889. Not the least striking part of the new building is the Great Assembly Hall erected by the Old Boys as a memorial to their school-fellows who died during the Great War.

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973

Father John Ryan 1849-1922
Born in Limerick on October 27th 1849, Fr John Ryan studied in the Irish College Rome, and on the completion of his theological studies, came to Australia. He was appointed President of St Stanislaus College Bathurst, before that institution was handed over to the Vincentian Fathers.

In April 1879 he was admitted to the Society of Jesus. While Rector of St Patrick’s College Melbourne in 1886, he took charge of a flourishing Sodality there, which included among its members, many of the prominent Catholic laymen of the day. During his Rectorate he also established the “Messenger of the Sacred Heart”. He became successively, Rector of Riverview and Xavier Colleges. He was Superior of the Mission for two periods, 1901-1907 and 1913-1917. On relinquishing office he returned to parochial work at Richmond and Adelaide.

His geniality and unfailing kindness won him many warm friends, and he commanded great respect in all ranks of society. His long experience and theological attainments made his opinion on Church, educational and general matters much sought for, and he was of great service to the work of the Religious Orders and the Catholic Church in Australia.

Archbishop Mannix said of him in his funeral oration : “He was not a Jesuit in the first years of his ministry, yet I have never come across anyone more truly a Jesuit in heat, mind and soul, and more devoted to the interests of the Society”.

He died at Melbourne in July 1922.

◆ The Xaverian, Xavier College, Melbourne, Australia, 1922

Obituary

Father John Ryan SJ

Father John Ryan was a native of Ireland, having been born at Limerick in 1849. He made his studies for the priesthood at the Irish College, Rome, and after his ordination he came to Australia. He had experience in administration at St Stanislaus' College, Bathurst, of which he was appointed President before the college was handed over to the direction of the Vincentian Fathers. In April, 1879, he entered the Society of Jesus. In 1886 he became Rector of St Patrick's College, Melbourne, where he took charge of the sodality, which included amongst its members many of the prominent Catholic laymen of the city. There he founded the “Messenger”, a permanent apostolate that lives after him. In 1890 he went as Rector to St Ignatius' College, Riverview, Sydney, where he remained for seven years. In June, 1897, he was appointed Rector of Xavier College. He came at a time when his administrative ability was particularly called for. The Melbourne schools were all suffering as a result of the depression consequent on the land boom. Numbers had fallen with startling suddenness, and financial difficulties were grave. He brought the school through these difficult years with the greatest skill, and in a short time under his government, difficulties were overcome and the school began to grow again. But he avoided the mistake that a smaller man might have made. He did not check development in the pursuit of economy, Believing that the future of the school was assured, he did not hesitate to make ready for the coming years. Under his Rectorship the grounds were greatly improved. The new pavilion was built near its present site. The staff was also steadily strengthened. It was during his time that the step was taken of joining the Associated Public Schools of Victoria and finding that the school journal, “Our Annals”, had ceased to appear, he brought “The Xaverian" into existence and was practically Editor of the first number. He also promoted the foundation of the Old Xaverians Association and was present at the gathering which brought it into being. It is only in these later years that one can see how far-sighted he was and how thoroughly he appreciated the place the school was destined to hold. Īu all these efforts he had the constant help of Mr, now Fr Bernard Page SJ, who shared with hith his wide views of the school's future. With the boys he was firm but urbane. While he lacked the dignified presence of his predecessor, the Rev Thomas Browne SJ, he impressed by the quiet strength of his manner, and though he made a point of leaving details to his subordinates, when he saw fit to act, he was determined and unswerving in his decisions. In 1901, after four years of fruitful work, he was appointed Superior of the Australian Jesuits, a post which he held till 1907, and which he again filled from 1913 to 1917. During these years he remained in very close touch with the school, and took the greatest interest in its general and athletic progress. He kept always a great interest in the boys who had passed under him, and had a most accurate knowledge of their careers.. When not engaged in government, he was occupied in the parishes of Richmond and Norwood, and had much to do as a canonist with the work of various Religious Orders. His health failed in Adelaide, and he was for some time seriously ill. When better he was transferred to Sydney, but while in Melbourne on the way to Sydney he again became seriously ill. He was placed in St Benedict's Hospital, Malvern, with the Sisters of Mercy, in whose work and organisation he had always been specially interested. There he sank gradually and died on July 15. A very large gathering attended the Office at St. Ignatius' Church, Richmond, the boys being represented by the school prefects. After the Requiem, His Grace the Archbishop spoke feelingly of the work Fr Ryan had done for the Church in Australia, and then gave the Final Absolution. Fr Ryan was buried in Booroondara Cemetery, Kew, May he rest in peace.

◆ Woodstock Letters SJ : Vol 31, Number 2

“The Union of Our Missions in Australia - A Letter from V Rev John Ryan SJ, Superior of the Australian Mission” p214

Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin, May 3, 1902

Rev and Dear Father, PC,

On my arrival in Dublin from Australia to assist at the Provincial Congregation, which took place in Easter Week, I found your letter of the 17th March awaiting me. You desire me to send you some account of the Union of our Australian Missions which has recently. taken place, together with other particulars. I regret that my time is so limited and occupied that I am unable to do more than send you a few scattered notes.

As most of the readers of The Woodstock Letters are aware, the Society had three Missions in Australia - the South Australian Mission, the Daly River Mission in the Northern Territory, and the Melbourne Sydney Mission. The two former belonged to the Austrian Province, but were two distinct missions. The Melbourne-Sydney mission belonged to the Irish Province.

The foundation of the South Australian Mission came about in a rather curious way. It dates back beyond the middle of the last century where the colony of South Australia, which was established in 1836, was still in its infancy. The made steady progress from the start and attracted considerable attention by the quantity and superior quality of the grain which it exported to Europe. It also received an additional advertisement by the discovery of Copper mines at Kapunda and Burra Burra. Encouraged by the Government large numbers of miners, mechanics, and farmers, came from Europe and settled in the Colony. A Catholic farmer of Silesia, Mr Francis Weikert, hearing of the progress and prosperity of South Australia, determined to establish a Catholic settlement there. Possessed of considerable means he collected a band of one hundred and thirty emigrants, and arranged to pay their passages to Adelaide provided they undertook to refund the money as soon as their circumstances would allow. Having made all preliminary arrangements he tried to get a priest to accompany the emigrants. He made several applications to different Bishops, but in vain. At last he applied to the Austrian Provincial, and two young Fathers - Father Aloysius Kranewitter, and Father Maximilian Klinkowstroem - were appointed to accompany the emigrants.

On the feast of Our Lady's Assumption 1848 the party set sail from Hamburg on board The Alfred, and, after a long voyage of one hundred and fourteen days, arrived at Adelaide on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. That same evening the Fathers paid a visit to the Most Rev Dr Murphy, first Bishop of Adlelaide, and received from him a cordial welcome.
The party heard that a colony of Germans had already settled near a town called Clare about eighty miles north of Adelaide. Francis Weikert purchased some land there; Fr Kranewitter accompanied him, and, at the Bishop's request, looked after the spiritual wants of the district. After a short stay in the colony Fr Klinkowstroem's health broke down, and he had to return to Europe. He was afterwards well known in Vienna as a very effective preacher. In the April of the following year (1849) two lay brothers from Innsbruck - Brother Schreiner and Brother George Sadler - joined Fr. Kranewitter. All three lived under the same roof with Weikert and his family in rather primitive fashion. The Weikerts became very poor and helpless. The emigrants failed to keep their promises; Mr Weikert's health began to fail, and his children were of tender age. The consequence was they were for a period of two years totally dependent on the labors of the good Brothers, who had to prepare the soil, sow the seed, feed the cattle and sell the produce in the neighborhood and elsewhere. The copper mines of Burra Burra were twenty-five miles distant, and Brother Schreiner had to carry there on his shoulders, the butter, eggs aud other articles he had for sale.

In the beginning of 1851 Fr. Kranewitter rented some land four miles south of Clare on which he intended to erect a residence. On the Feast of the Annunciation of that year, Brother Schreiner, or as he was popularly called, “Brother John” took possession of the land, and conveyed there, in a wheelbarrow, the goods and chattels of the new community. In a short time he erected a rude shelter aginst heat and rain, and this was the humble commencement of the well known college and church of Sevenhills. As years rolled on a steady supply of Fathers and Brothers came from Austria, and several residences were erected throughout the northern part of the colony. The Bishop had no priests to send to these primitive and thinly populated districts, and at his request our Fathers threw themselves heart and soul into the Apostolic work. They were the pioneers of Religion throughout the North of the colony, and even still their memory and their names are held in veneration by the settlers. Only a few months ago I happened to meet in Adelaide an old Irishman who had lived for years in the North. I asked him whether he remembered Father Pallhuber. ‘Father Pallhuber!” said he in a voice of deep emotion. “Look here your Reverence”, he continued, “every morning and night of my life I pray for the repose of my poor mother's soul, and I never fail to couple Father Pallhnber's name with hers”. I have also heard the present Archbishop of Adelaide, the Most Rev Dr O'Reily, speak in the most eulogistic terms of the Apostolic zeal and labors of the Austrian Fathers in the North. He knew them well; for when the vast region which they had evangelized was converted into a diocese in 1887 under the name of Port Augusta, he was appointed its first Bishop.

At the urgent and repeated requests of our Fathers, the present Bishop of Port Augusta, the Right Rev Dr Maher, has gradually taken over the various missionary districts from us as soon as they were sufficiently devel- oped to support a sufficient number of secular priests. At present we have but two houses in South Australia, Sevenhills and Norwood.

Sevenhills is situated in a very healthy district. The property consists of about two acres of land, including thirty acres of vineyard. It has a very handsome church dedicated to St Aloysius, which is attended by the peasants of the surrounding district. For several years Sevenhills was used as a boarding college and had at one time over forty resident pupils. But as it is over eighty miles away from Adelaide, and about fifteen from the nearest railway station, and as other schools were available in Adelaide, the number of pupils gradually decreased, and in 1885, by order of Fr General, the place was closed as a college and converted into a residence. Several Fathers and Brothers reside there. The Brothers work the vineyard, and the Fathers attend the churches in Clare and the surrounding country.

Norwood, a handsome suburb of Adelaide, was given to the Society in 1869 by the Right Rev Dr Shiel OS F, Bishop of Adelaide; and Fr Hintoroeker, well known as a natural scientist, was appointed its first Superior. The handsome Church of St Ignatius owes its existence chiefly to his zeal and energy. It was solemnly opened and blessed on the 17th of August 1870.

The Daly River Mission for the conversion of the Blacks, as I have already said, also belonged to the Austrian Province, but was quite distinct from the Mission of South Australia. It was established by Fr Anthony Strele in 1882. The account of this Mission would require a paper altogether to itself. It will be sufficient here to say that after great labors and hardships on the part of our Fathers and Brothers for the space of seventeen years, the floods destroyed their station utterly, and the Mission had to be abandoned, or rather handed over to the Vicar Apostolic in 1899.

We now come to the Australian Mission of the Irish Province. In 1865 the Right Rev Dr Goold OSA, of Melbourne, wrote to our Very Rev Father General (Beckx) inviting our Fathers to settle in Melbourne and to take charge of St Patrick's College in that city. He also promised to hand them over the parochial district of Richmond, an important suburb, including Hawthorn and Kew, and a large country district. Fr General accepted the Bishop's invitation, and by his direction two Fathers of the Irish Province, Father Joseph Lentaigne, and Father William Kelly, were sent out to begin the important work. They landed in Melbourne on the 21st of September 1865, and took charge of the college. The college had been in existence for some years under the charge of secular priests. It had not proved a success; it was heavily embarrassed with debt, and it had but fifty pupils on the roll. Within a year the number increased to a hundred.

In the September of the following year (1866) Father Joseph Dalton, Father Edward Nolan, and Father David McKiniry (who died a few years ago in New Orleans) arrived in Melbourne. Father Dalton, who had been appointed Superior of the Mission, concluded all business matters with Dr. Goold, and took charge of the parochial districts already mentioned. Fr Dalton secured a magnificent site on Richmond hill and commenced the Church of St Ignatius, which is now one of the finest churches in the Commonwealth. We have also a very handsome church and presbytery at Hawthorn which was separated from Richmond in 1881. The church was built by Fr Edward Nolan, a man of singular taste, and the presbytery by Fr Oliver Daly, the first local Superior at Hawthorn. The other districts of Kew, Caneluwell and Nunmawading were given over to the Archbishop some years ago.

As the accommodation in St Patrick's College was insufficient for the increasing number of pupils, Fr Dalton purchased a large paddock of seventy acres in the suburb of Kew about four miles from the General Post Office, Melbourne. It is on this splendid site that St Francis Xavier's College now stands. About £70,000 has been expended on the purchase of the land and the erection of the college buildings. When the land was purchased in 1871 it was in quite a rural district surrounded on all sides by gigantic gum trees. Fr Williarn Kelly, who preached at the opening of the college in 1878, took as his text - Quid existis in desertum videre? But such has been the rapid growth of the place that it may now be regarded as part of the great city of Melbourne, and the value of the property increased to such an extent that in the time of the land boom some years ago portions of the land were sold at£4000 an acre. At present then we have in Melbourne St Patrick's College in the heart of the city for day boys, St Francis Xavier's Boarding College in the beautiful suburb of Kew, St Ignatius parochial church and residence in the suburb of Richmond, and the church and residence of the Immaculate Conception in the adjoining suburb of Hawthorn.

In 1878 the Most Rev Roger Bede Vaughan OSB, Archbishop of Sydney, invited our Fathers to open a college in Sydney. Fr Joseph Dalton was commissioned by Very Rev Fr General to accept the invitation and to make the necessary agreement with the Archbishop. A day school was opened without delay in the city, and soon after, Fr Dalton, with his usual good fortune, purchased the site of Riverview College, of which it has been said that perhaps in the whole Society there is no site to surpass it in beauty and picturesqueness. The property consists of 120 acres, and is a kind of peninsula between two bays. It is situated on the Lane Cove River, an arm of the famous Sydney Harbor, and is about three miles from the city as a bird would fly. The land rises precipitously from the water on three sides; and the wild fantastic appearance of the beetling rocks together with the foliage of which there is an abundant supply presents apicture of wierd beauty which competent judges have pronounced to be charming. Lookmg towards the city from the college grounds the parts of the winding river and harbor that are visible look like a collection of lakes which have reminded many of Killarney when seen at its best.

Archbishop Vaughan gave to the Society the extensive parochial district of North Sydney which was then very thinly populated, but which has since become one of the most promising and beautiful suburbs in all Australia. I have often heard the venerable Fr Joseph Dalton (who, thank God! is still with us in his 85th year) tell of his first experiences in North Sydney. He had no money, and had with his companion to live in a very small shanty made chiefly of Kerosine tins, and which he consequently named “Kerosine Lodge”. Having secured the house and put into it the necessary articles of furniture which he purchased on credit, he advertised for a domestic who should prepare the meals and keep the place in order. An elderly woman presented herself in answer to the advertisement, but when she saw the house she indignantly put an end to further negotiations by telling Father Dalton she had been accustomed to live with decent people. The dining room was a “lean-to”, and when Archbishop Vaughan (who was over six feet in height) turned up one day for lunch, Father Dalton had to place him on his left as his head would be against the Kerosine-tin-ceiling on the right. These difficulties, however, came to an end, and we have now a suitable residence and several churches in this important district. We have also in the North Sydney district a Novitiate House, called “Loyola”. It is beautifully situated, and most of our Australian Novices have been trained there under Fr Sturzo. But as the number of vocations is small it has been considered advisable to send them in future to Ireland, and Loyola has been closed for the present as a Novitiate, and serves as a residence and House of Retreats. We have then in Sydney St Ignatius College Riverview, St Aloysius' College in the city, Loyola, and the parochial residence and district of North Sydney.

As to the Union of the two Missions the question was raised over and over again for several years. Every one saw it was sure to come about sometime, but no one could say when. The present Archbishop of Adelaide, the most Rev Dr O'Reilly a very sincere friend of the Society, was anxious to have it take place in his time, and expressed himself as willing to give our Fathers any concessions in his power in order to make the Union an accomplished fact. After many consultations the matter was referred to Fr General, and I was commissioned by His Paternity to deal with the Archbishop and to unite the Austrian Mission of South Australia to the Irish Province. The Archbishop gave us permission to open another residence together with a church and day school within the boundaries of the Norwood parish but very near the city and the University, also permission to open a boarding school in a suitable locality in the suburbs whenever we may consider it opportune. A deed of agreement embodying these concessions was duly signed by the Archbishop on the 14th of April 1901, and it was announced in our houses that the Austrian Mission of South Australia was a part of the Irish Province.

All the Fathers and Brothers of the Austrian Mission were left quite free to return to their Province. But only three, as far as I remember, did so.

Such, dear Father, is the hurried and jumbled account which I have to give in reply to your kind invitation. You may, of course, make what use you please of it, and if it finds its way to your waste paper basket I shall not inquire why you have not returned the MS.

Rae Vae Servus in Xto,

John Ryan SJ