MONSIGNOR LANE AS PARISH PRIEST A month before the termination of the Second World war, Father Michael Francis Lane was appointed Parish Priest of St Mary’s in July, 1945, following periods at Urana and Henty. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND Father was born at Koroit, Victoria, on October 29, 1906, and educated at Lockhart, Goulburn, Springwood, Manly and […]

THE SISTERS OF MERCY AND EDUCATION [Featured photo is a portion of St Mary’s children in 1978; complete photo is at end of chapter.] MERCY BEGINNINGS In 1859 Mother Ignatius Murphy with her little community of six left their Convent home in West Point, County Mayo, Ireland, and founded the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy […]

THREE COUNTRY CHURCHES ARE BUILT When Father Lovat, parish priest of Yass from 1840 to 1849, came through Corowa on his journey back to Yass from Wangaratta in 1845 – the first occasion when the district was visited by a priest – there was no township with a group of people to greet him. There […]

FROM FATHER HICKEY TO MONSIGNOR LANE The passing of Father Hickey after a span of a third of a century (1895 to 1928) as pastor of the parish of Corowa literally brought to an end an era in the life of the Parish and District. Catholics and non-Catholics alike had grown accustomed to the ways […]

COROWA’S NEW CHURCH Visit of Archbishop Mannix to Corowa From the “Corowa Free Press” and Melbourne “Tribune” Without a doubt, the highlight of the years spent by Father Hickey at Corowa was the visit made by the illustrious Archbishop of Melbourne on the occasion of the opening and blessing of the new church on November […]

THE DAYS OF FATHER HICKEY The departure of Father O’Shaughnessy for Borowa brought to Corowa a priest who was to spend here a period of thirty-three years, almost one third of the twentieth century. Reverend Patrick Hickey, an Irish writer of note, was born in the main town of Thurles, Tipperary, on September 25, 1857. He […]

C   Featured image above: 1880s photo of the 1875 church and (1878?) presbytery. Priest and parishioner chatting. Bell tower at left. CHAPTER 5 – THE MISSIONARY DISTRICT OF COROWA On January 18, 1878, Bishop Lanigan and his twenty-three priests commenced a retreat in Goulburn. At the end of the retreat the bishop announced that […]

CHAPTER 4 – GOULBURN HAS A BISHOP – COROWA A CHURCH Archbishop Polding had wanted Dean Hanley to be appointed Bishop of Goulburn, the Bishops of Brisbane, Bathurst and Maitland recommended Fr McAlroy. Had it been left to the priests of the district, Father McAlroy, who had played such an important part in the development […]

  CHAPTER 3 – SETTLEMENT ALONG THE MURRAY RIVER Regular visits to the settlers north of the Murray River by Father Charles Lovat SJ, following his initial return journey from Wangaratta, became a feature of his pastoral work. He learned at first hand the influence exerted by explorers on the early settlement of inland Australia. […]