BREWONGLE IS A SMALL VILLAGE JUST TO THE SOUTH-EAST OF BATHURST THAT HAS ESCAPED THE DEVELOPMENT WHICH HAS ENGULFED A LARGE PART OF BATHURST'S FORMERLY PRISTINE RURAL HINTERLAND. BREWONGLE WAS ORIGINALLY A STATION OF FISH RIVER PARISH AND THEN OBERON. FOR A FEW YEARS A PARISH SCHOOL WITH 35 PUPILS WAS HELD IN THE VILLAGE. IN 1893 BREWONGLE PASSED TO KELSO AND THEN THE CATHEDRAL WHO MAINTAINED A REGULAR MASS STATION IN THE VILLAGE THOUGH LOCAL CATHOLICS OFTEN WENT TO KELSO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS TO MASS. LOCAL LEGEND SAYS THAT A STAUNCHLY CATHOLIC LANDOWNER FROM BREWONGLE WAS NEARLY KILLED DUE TO A LIGHTNING STRIKE WHILE GOING TO MASS ONE DAY AND SO GAVE LAND FOR A CHURCH TO BE BUILT LOCALLY. WHATEVER THE TRUTH A PLAIN LITTLE IRON CHAPEL OF EASE WAS BUILT THERE IN THE 1930's. IT CONTINUED TO BE USED FOR SOME 30 YEARS BEFORE BEING SHUT DURING THE 1960's. THE OLD CHURCH IS NOW USED AS A STORAGE HUT.

EGLINTON WAS A SMALL VILLAGE JUST TO THE WEST OF BATHURST CITY THAT HAS RECENTLY BEEN ABSORBED INTO A FAST GROWING OUTER SUBURBAN FRINGE BELT.

DURING THE EARLY 1900's THE CATHEDRAL MAINTAINED A REGULAR MASS STATION IN EGLINTON. IN 1954 ASSISTED BY STRONG SUPPORT FROM A LOCAL CONGREGATION THE ATTRACTIVE LITTLE CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA WAS CONSTRUCTED. THE CHURCH WAS BUILT OF RED-BRICK WITH A TRADITIONAL DESIGN OF CHANCEL, NAVE, SACRISTY AND PORCH. IT WAS USED OVER ABOUT TWENTY YEARS FIRSTLY AS PART OF THE CATHEDRAL PARISH AND THEN OF THE NEW WEST BATHURST PARISH FROM 1964 ONWARDS. AROUND 1974 THE PARISH DECIDED TO CLOSE THE STATION AND THE CHURCH WAS THEN DEMOLISHED THE TWO STAINED GLASS WINDOWS BEING PASSED ON TO THE PARISH CENTRE IN BATHURST. THE LAND WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SOLD FOR A MODERN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.

DURING THE 1950's WHEN PLANS WERE MADE FOR THE RENOVATION OF THE CATHEDRAL THREE HUTS WERE BOUGHT FROM THE BATHURST MIGRANT CAMP AND ERECTED IN WEST, SOUTH AND EAST BATHURST PARTLY TO COPE WITH THE DISPLACED CONGREGATION BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE FOR THE GROWING POPULATION OF THE CITY. THE BUILDINGS WERE JUST WOODEN BARRACKS CONVERTED INTO CHURCHES. THE ONE AT GORMANS HILL (EAST BATHURST) WAS LOCATED OPPOSITE THE ENTRANCE TO ST VINCENT'S HOSPITAL FOR WHICH IT WAS NAMED. IT WAS A PLAIN OBLONG BUILDING SIMILAR TO THE OLD CUSA HUT IN THE PHOTO BELOW. RIGHT AND LEFT OF THIS CAN BE SEEN TWO PHOTOS OF THE WEDDING OF MR & MRS R WOODS SHOWING THE CHURCH IN THE BACKGROUND. THESE PHOTOS WERE KINDLY PROVIDED BY MR JACK HERSCHEL A LONG-TIME BATHURST RESIDENT. THE CHURCH CONTINUED TO BE USED AFTER THE CATHEDRAL RENOVATIONS WERE FINISHED AND IT WAS NOT FINALLY CLOSED UNTIL THE MID-1970's. WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW MACKILLOP COLLEGE NEXT DOOR TO THE HOSPITAL THE OLD BUILDING WAS FIRST PUT TO USE BY THE SCHOOL FOR SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE BEING FINALLY DEMOLISHED.

THE HISTORIC VILLAGE OF KELSO LIES TO THE EAST OF BATHURST AND WAS ONE OF THE OLDEST VILLAGES TO THE WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. IT CAN LAY CLAIM TO AN EVEN LONGER PEDIGREE THAN BATHURST CITY ITSELF. WITH NEWER TIMES MODERN DEVELOPMENT HAS AT LAST CAUGHT UP WITH KELSO AND TODAY IT IS A GROWING SUBURB ABSORBED INTO ITS NEIGHBOUR.

THE CATHOLIC HISTORY OF KELSO TOWN GOES BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNINGS OF THE CHURCH IN THE WEST. IT WAS HERE IN THE GOLDEN FLEECE INN THAT THE FIRST MASS TO BE CELEBRATED IN BATHURST TOOK PLACE THOUGH IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1886 THAT A PERMANENT PRESENCE WAS ESTABLISHED. IT WAS IN THAT YEAR THAT THE PERTHVILLE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH MOVED FROM WHITE ROCK INTO KELSO. IN 1893 KELSO BECAME A PARISH FOR SOME TWO DECADES WITH BOUNDARIES SET BY SUNNY CORNER KIRKCONNELL O'CONNELL BREWONGLE AND PEEL. A SMALL WOODEN CHURCH WAS ERECTED DURING THE 1880's AND SERVED KELSO TO THE 1960's. AFTER CLOSURE THE COMPLEX WAS AUCTIONED AND THE BUILDINGS USED FIRSTLY FOR AN ANTIQUE SHOP AND LATER A HOME (<<<<).

FOLLOWING A REVIEW OF PASTORAL CARE NEEDS UNDERTAKEN THROUGH BATHURST PARISH IN 1979 WITH THE AIM OF SERVING THE CHANGING POPULATION OF THE CITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE KELSO REGION WHICH HAD NOW BEEN ABSORBED BY BATHURST AND WAS IN THE MIDST OF A SIGNIFICANT POPULATION BOOM, IT WAS DECIDED TO RE-ESTABLISH A MASS STATION IN KELSO. A SHORT TIME PRIOR TO THIS REVIEW AND ALSO DUE TO THE POPULATION GROWTH IN THE SUBURB HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL HAD OPENED IN THE ONCE ANGLICAN MARSDEN COLLEGE AND ACCORDINGLY THE LOVELY OLD SCHOOL CHAPEL WAS CONVERTED TO SERVE AS THE NEW STATIONAL CHURCH.
NAMED AFTER THE SCHOOL OF WHICH IT WAS A PART, THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY LASTED ONLY ABOUT TEN YEARS BEFORE THE STATION WAS ONCE AGAIN CLOSED. TODAY IT FORMS A PART OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION CENTRE IN KELSO AS WELL AS BEING USED BY THE SCHOOL.

MOUNT DAVID LIES MIDWAY BETWEEN ROCKLEY AND BURRAGA. IT WAS THE LOCATION OF A MAJOR COPPER MINE FROM THE EARLY 1900's. IN THE 1920's THE ORE BODY WAS EXHAUSTED AND THE MINE CLOSED. THESE DAYS THE ONCE THRIVING MINING SETTLEMENT HAS DWINDLED INTO A TINY HAMLET.

MOUNT DAVID WAS A MASS STATION OF ROCKLEY PARISH STARTING WITH THE OPENING OF THE MINE. MASSES WERE SAID IN THE CORRUGATED IRON CHURCH HALL UNTIL AN IMPRESSIVE CONCRETE CHURCH, CONSISTING OF A NAVE, A CHANCEL, A SACRISTY AND A PORCH WAS ERECTED IN 1919 TO SERVE THE CATHOLIC POPULATIONA.

THE MINE'S CLOSURE AND THE LOSS OF POPULATION LED TO THE MASSES BEING DISCONTINUED AT SOME TIME DURING THE 1960's. SUBSEQUENTLY THE CHURCH WAS SOLD AND TODAY IT IS USED AS A PRIVATE RESIDENCE.

THE LITTLE VILLAGE OF O'CONNELL LIES SOUTH-EAST OF BATHURST ON THE ROAD LEADING TO OBERON. ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS IN THE AREA, IT WAS ONCE A SERVICE CENTRE FOR A RICH FARMING AREA. AFTER SUFFERING FROM A STEADY DECLINE DURING THE 20th CENTURY IT HAS TODAY BECOME A GROWTH AREA OF THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING TOWN OF BATHURST.

IN 1864 O'CONNELL BECAME THE CENTRE OF THE FISH RIVER PARISH THAT COVERED A BROAD AREA SOUTHWARD TO PORTER'S RETREAT. AROUND 1880 THIS PARISH WAS RENAMED O'CONNELL PLAINS. FIVE YEARS LATER THE PARISH TOWN WAS MOVED TO OBERON WHERE IT HAS REMAINED TO THIS DAY. O'CONNELL THEN BECAME A STATION OF OBERON, KELSO AND LAST BATHURST. ST FRANCIS' WAS ONE OF TWO CHURCHES BUILT AROUND BATHURST IN THE 1860's BY DEAN GRANT, THE OTHER BEING AT PEEL. FINALLY IN 1877 A LITTLE CONVENT AND A CONVENT SCHOOL WERE FOUNDED BY THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH THAT LASTED TILL 1954. THE STATION ITSELF WAS CLOSED IN 1964. TODAY THAT CHURCH AND CONVENT ARE THE SOLE REMINDER OF O'CONNELL'S STRONG AND HISTORICAL CATHOLIC PAST.

THE BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI DATES AS FAR BACK AS THE 1860's WHEN DEAN GRANT, IN ADDITION TO RAISING MONEY FOR HIS NEW 'CATHEDRAL', BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN PEEL AND O'CONNELL.

THE CHURCH IS CONSTRUCTED FROM ROUGH-HEWN SANDSTONE AND MORTAR IN A TYPICALLY GOTHIC STYLE WITH NAVE AND CHANCEL. ENTRANCE IS VIA AN IMPRESSIVE SPIRED SOUTH-WEST TOWER WITH THREE NARROW LANCETS MARKING THE ENGLISH PERPENDICULAR STYLE EASTERN END. THE LANCET MOTIF IS RETAINED IN THE NAVE WALLS AND WEST END WHICH ALSO CONTAINS A SMALL EYE-WINDOW. THE NAVE WALLS AND TOWER ARE SUPPORTED BY PLAIN BUTTRESSES IN THE EARLY ENGLISH STYLE.

BOTH IN ITS DESIGN AND ATMOSPHERE O'CONNELL RESEMBLES AN ENGLISH COUNTRY CHURCH WHICH HAS BEEN TRANSPORTED INTO THE ANTIPODES - A RARITY IN THE PREDOMINANTLY IRISH AND FRENCH INFLUENCED ARCHITECTURAL STYLES MORE USUAL IN 19th CENTURY AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES.

PEEL IS A SMALL AND HISTORIC VILLAGE ROUGHLY 15KM NORTH OF BATHURST AND WAS THE SITE OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST STATIONS OPENED UNDER DEAN GRANT. TODAY THE TINY VILLAGE IS LITTLE MORE THAN A RURAL DORMITORY SUBURB FOR GREATER BATHURST. FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE EXCEPT FOR A SHORT TIME AS PART OF KELSO PARISH, PEEL WAS A STATION OF BATHURST BUT WAS TRANSFERRED IN 1964 TO THE PARISH OF WEST BATHURST. THE STATION WAS CLOSED AROUND 1973.

IN THE 1860's A SMALL RED BRICK CHURCH WAS BUILT IN PEEL AT THE SAME TIME AS THE CHURCH AT O'CONNELL. IT WAS QUITE AN ATTRACTIVE LITTLE STATION CHURCH CONSISTING OF A NAVE WITH A BIG WEST PORCH. FOR OVER A CENTURY ST MARY'S SERVED THE CATHOLIC FAITH COMMUNITY OF PEEL. THE CHURCH WAS EXTENSIVELY RENOVATED FOR ITS CENTENARY IN 1961 BUT SAD TO SAY WITHIN A DECADE IT WAS CLOSED. IT WAS LATER SOLD AND, MUCH ALTERED, IS NOW A PRIVATE RESIDENCE.

THE AREA WHICH IS KNOWN TODAY AS PERTHVILLE AND WAS FIRST CALLED QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S VALE IS A SMALL RURAL HAMLET JUST TO THE SOUTH OF BATHURST OF WHICH IT IS A STATION. IN THE 1870's IT WAS CHOSEN BY BISHOP QUINN TO BE THE NEW HOME FOR THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH AND TODAY ST JOSEPH'S CONVENT COMPLEX STILL DOMINATES THE VILLAGE. IN 1964 PERTHVILLE PASSED BRIEFLY TO THE NEW PARISH OF SOUTH BATHURST ONLY TO BE RETURNED TO THE CATHEDRAL PARISH IN THE COURSE OF THE PARISH REORGANISATION OF 1979.

DURING THE MID 1800's A SMALL WOODEN CHURCH / SCHOOL WAS ERECTED IN PERTHVILLE (LEFT). FROM 1872 UNTIL 1886 THIS TINY CHURCH SERVED AS THE ORATORY FOR THE SISTERS, A SCHOOLROOM FOR THE LOCAL CHILDREN AND A SUNDAY MASS CENTRE FOR THE POPULATION OF PERTHVILLE. IN 1886 THE BUILDING WAS RELOCATED TO ANOTHER SITE NEXT TO THE NEW CHURCH WHERE UNTIL IT WAS FINALLY DEMOLISHED IN 1957 IT WAS USED AS THE PRIMARY SCHOOL AND WHERE A STATUE OF OUR LADY NOW MARKS THE SITE OF THE FORMER CHURCH/SCHOOL.

IN 1886 THE OLD CHURCH WAS REPLACED BY A MUCH LARGER STRUCTURE. THE NEW ST JOHN'S WAS AN IMPRESSIVE RED BRICK BUILDING WITH A PRETTY CREAM TRIM. AS FIRST ERECTED THE CHURCH CONSISTED OF JUST A NAVE AND CHANCEL BUT IT WAS EXTENDED THROUGH THE ADDITION OF A SACRISTY AND WEST PORCH IN 1912 (>>>).

ST JOHN'S CHURCH SERVED THE LOCAL PERTHVILLE COMMUNITY FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS. BY THE EARLY 80's THE NUMBERS ATTENDING HAD REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY AND THE CHURCH WAS PROVING TOO BIG AND DRAUGHTY FOR THE SMALL NUMBER ASSISTING. IN DUE COURSE THE CHURCH WAS THEN CLOSED AND LATER REPLACED AS LOCAL MASS CENTRE BY THE LARGER CHAPEL OF ST JOSEPH AT THE CONVENT.

AFTER ITS CLOSURE THE OLD CHURCH LAY IDLE FOR SOME YEARS UNTIL IN 2000 IT WAS FULLY RENOVATED AND CONVERTED INTO TWO UNITS FOR USE AS A HOME FOR THE PERTHVILLE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH.

RAGLAN IS A SMALL VILLAGE LOCATED ON THE HIGHWAY TO THE EAST OF BATHURST AND KELSO. FOR MOST OF ITS EXISTENCE IT WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A WHISTLESTOP ON THE WESTERN RAILWAY BUT THE RECENT RESIDENTIAL EXPANSION OF BATHURST CITY HAS SEEN THE SETTLEMENT DRAWN INTO THE GREATER BATHURST CONURBATION.

IN THE 1950's A CHAPEL OF EASE FOR THE CATHEDRAL PARISH WAS BUILT OPPOSITE THE RAILWAY GATES NEXT TO RAGLAN STATION AND THEN USED AS A MASS STATION FOR SOME 15 YEARS BEFORE BEING CLOSED DOWN. IT WAS A SIMPLE TIN SHED SIMILAR TO THE CHURCHES FOUND AT BREWONGLE AND VITTORIA AND WAS DEDICATED TO ST ANTHONY OF PADUA. AS A RESULT OF THE CHANGES IN POPULATION AND TRANSPORT ATTENDANT ON BATHURST'S EXPANSION THE STATION WAS CLOSED IN THE EARLY 1970's AND THE SITE SOLD FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.

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HISTORIC CHURCHES

SOUTH BATHURST

THE BRICK CHURCH / SCHOOL OF ST PHILOMENA WAS ERECTED IN SOUTH BATHURST IN 1901 AND FOR SIXTY YEARS WAS A STATION OF THE CATHEDRAL BEFORE BECOMING A NEW PARISH IN ITS OWN RIGHT WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR PERTHVILLE AND THE LAGOON IN 1964. THE AREA COVERED BY THE PARISH WAS EXTENDED ca 1975 BY THE AMALGAMATION WITH ROCKLEY PARISH. JUST FOUR YEARS LATER THE PARISH WAS SUPPRESSED AND THE AREA REABSORBED INTO THE CATHEDRAL PARISH. IN 1988 THE STATION WAS CLOSED.

ST PHILOMENA'S IN SOUTH BATHURST WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED AS A CHURCH / SCHOOL IN 1901 BY THE BISHOP OF BATHURST DR DUNNE TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF MILLTOWN AS IT WAS THEN KNOWN. IT CONSISTED OF A SINGLE HALL-TYPE STRUCTURE USED DURING WEEKDAYS AS THE SCHOOL AND ON SUNDAYS AS THE CHURCH. IT WAS HOWEVER TO BE JUST THE BEGINNING.

IN 1912 AN APSIDAL CHANCEL WAS ADDED TO THE CHURCH / SCHOOL AS A PERMANENT SANCTUARY (LEFT). THIS ADDITION, CORRECTLY ORIENTED TO THE EAST AND THUS ABUTTING DIRECTLY ONTO THE STREET, COULD BE CLOSED OFF DURING THE WEEKDAYS WHEN THE CHURCH FUNCTIONED AS A SCHOOL THUS PERMITTING THE HOLY SACRAMENT TO BE RESERVED (BELOW RIGHT). IN 1922 AND 1936 FURTHER EXTENSIONS WERE MADE BUT THESE WERE ADDITIONAL TO THE PRIMARY SCHOOL ITSELF RATHER THAN THE CHURCH (LEFT).

DESPITE THE EXTRA CLASSROOOMS SPACE WAS STILL LIMITED AND WHEN IN 1960 A NEW ST PHILOMENA'S CHURCH WAS TO BE ERECTED AROUND THE CORNER THE ORIGINAL CHURCH BECAME SIMPLY ONE OF THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS. IN 1989 FOLLOWING THE RELOCATION OF THE SCHOOL IN 1983 AND THE CLOSURE OF THE CHURCH IN 1988 THE BUILDINGS WERE SOLD AND ALL BUT ONE DEMOLISHED. THE ORIGINAL 1901 BUILDING STILL REMAINS HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH NOW CONVERTED INTO A POPULAR BED AND BREAKFAST (BELOW LEFT).

THE IMPETUS FOR A NEW CHURCH IN SOUTH BATHURST WAS A DIRECT OUTCOME OF THE DECISION TO REFURBISH THE CATHEDRAL. TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONGREGATION THUS DISPLACED FROM THEIR NORMAL PLACE OF WORSHIP THREE FORMER BARRACKS WERE PURCHASED FROM THE BATHURST MIGRANT CAMP AND RELOCATED TO EAST, WEST AND SOUTH BATHURST FOR USE AS CHURCHES. HERE THE FORMER BARRACKS WERE FULLY RENOVATED AND REFURBISHED FOR THEIR IMPORTANT NEW ECCLESIASTICAL USAGES.

THIS CHURCH IN SOUTH BATHURST (RIGHT) PROVED ITSELF SUCH A SUCCESS THAT IT WAS THEN MADE A PARISH CHURCH IN 1964. SADLY THIS YEAR PROVED TO BE THE PEAK AND WAS FOLLOWED BY A STEADY DECLINE IN NUMBERS AND VOCATIONS. THUS IN 1979 THE PARISH WAS RE-AMALGAMATED WITH THE CATHEDRAL PARISH AND IN 1988 THE CHURCH WAS CLOSED. IN 1989 THE CHURCH WAS SOLD AND DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR MODERN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.

TRIANGLE FLAT IS A TINY RURAL LOCALITY ON THE ROAD BETWEEN TRUNKEY CREEK AND ROCKLEY WHERE A SMATTERING OF FARMHOUSES ARE THE ONLY INDICATIONS TODAY THAT YOU HAVE ARRIVED THERE.

IN THE EARLY 1900's TRIANGLE FLAT WAS A STATION OF THE ROCKLEY PARISH AND BY THE 1930's A CHURCH HAD BEEN BUILT. IN THE MID-60's THE CHURCH WAS CLOSED.

AS WAS THE COMMON PRACTICE AT THE TIME THE CHURCH WAS JUST A PLAIN IRON STRUCTURE CONSISTING OF A NAVE AND A PORCH (LEFT). FOLLOWING THE CLOSURE OF THE CHURCH IT WAS PUT UP FOR SALE. THE NEW OWNER TRANSPORTED IT A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD TO HIS PROPERTY IN ROCKLEY WHERE IT WAS REDEDICATED AS GOOD SHEPHERD ANGLICAN CHAPEL (<)

A SPECIAL FEATURE OF INTEREST IS THE PRE-VATICAN II CONFESSIONAL BOX BUILT INTO THE REAR PORTION OF THE CHURCH.

THE VILLAGE OF VITTORIA LIES ON THE HIGHWAY WESTWARD OF BATHURST AND WAS ONCE AN OUTSTATION OF CARCOAR. IT HAD A CHAPEL OF EASE BUILT AROUND 1883 AT THE NORTH END OF THE TOWN BY FATHER RYAN WHICH IN 1918 BECAME PART OF BATHURST CATHEDRAL PARISH.

THE CHURCH WAS A VERY BARE BUILDING CONSTRUCTED OF CORRUGATED IRON AS WAS COMMONLY THE CASE WITH SMALL STATION CHURCHES OF THE PERIOD. IT CONSISTED OF THE BAREST ESSENTIALS NAMELY A NAVE WITH A PRIEST'S ROOM EQUIPPED WITH A CHIMNEY TO PERMIT A PRIEST TO STAY OVERNIGHT FOR EARLY MASS. IT SERVED THE VILLAGE WELL FOR OVER A CENTURY. IN THE 1960's IT WAS PASSED TO WEST BATHURST BUT IT WAS EFFECTIVELY CLOSED FROM 1961. AFTER SOME YEARS OF NEGLECT IT WAS SOLD AND TODAY THE DERELICT CHURCH SITS ABANDONED BY THE ROADSIDE AS A SAD REMINDER OF PAST CATHOLIC HISTORY.

AS ONE OF THE OLDER PARISHES IN AUSTRALIA BATHURST HAS A RICH HERITAGE OF CATHOLIC BUILDINGS FURTHER INCREASED BY SUCCESSIVE AMALGAMATIONS WITH PARISHES AT KELSO, ROCKLEY, SOUTH BATHURST AND WEST BATHURST IN ADDITION TO STATIONS FROM SEVERAL OTHERS. THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST FIVE CATHEDRAL PRESBYTERIES AS WELL AS PRESBYTERIES AT WEST BATHURST, SOUTH BATHURST AND ROCKLEY. THE PARISH PRIESTS OF THE FORMER PARISHES OF FISH RIVER (O'CONNELL PLAINS) AND KELSO ALSO RESIDED AT THE BATHURST PRESBYTERY. UNTIL 1965 WHEN AN EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE WAS BUILT BY BISHOP THOMAS THE CATHEDRAL PRESBYTERIES WERE ALSO THE HOME OF THE BISHOP. CATHOLIC EDUCATION WAS IMPORTANT FROM THE VERY EARLY DAYS AND SEVERAL DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS OPERATED IN THE PARISH BETWEEN THE 1840's AND 1870's WITH SOME CONTINUING INTO THE 1880's. AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF THE EDUCATION ACTS OF 1866 AND 1880 MOST WERE TAKEN OVER BY RELIGIOUS ORDERS. AMONG THESE SCHOOLS THE MOST IMPORTANT WAS THE SCHOOL WHICH OPERATED IN BATHURST FROM 1842 TO 1872 BUT OTHERS EXISTED AT TRUNKEY CREEK, PERTHVILLE, WATTLE FLAT AND BREWONGLE. DUE TO THE LACK OF FACILITIES THE MAJORITY OF THESE WERE HELD IN THE LOCAL CHURCHES. BECAUSE OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE AS THE DIOCESAN SEAT BATHURST WAS ESPECIALLY BLESSED BY THE PRESENCE OF SEVERAL RELIGIOUS ORDERS. THE FIRST OF THESE ORDERS TO ARRIVE IN BATHURST WERE THE SISTERS OF MERCY WHOSE CONGREGATIONAL MOTHERHOUSE ST JOSEPH'S MOUNT IS LOCATED IN SOUTH BATHURST. DURING THEIR 140 YEARS AT BATHURST THE SISTERS OF MERCY HAVE OPENED FIVE CONVENTS (ST MARY'S, ST JOSEPH'S, ST JOSEPH'S MOUNT, ST AGNES' AND ST CATHERINE'S), THREE SCHOOLS (ST MARY'S, ST PHILOMENA'S, HOLY FAMILY) AN ORPHANAGE (ST JOSEPH'S), AN AGED CARE FACILITY (ST CATHERINE'S) AND ST AGNES HOSTEL. DURING 1872 THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH OF THE SACRED HEART ARRIVED IN QEEN CHARLOTTES VALE (LATER PERTHVILLE) TO FOUND A NEW BRANCH OF THAT ORDER. BETWEEN 1872 AND THEIR DEPARTURE IN 1876 THEY FOUNDED NEW SCHOOLS AT PERTHVILLE, WATTLE FLAT, TRUNKEY CREEK AND EVANS PLAINS. IN 1875 BISHOP QUINN ESTABLISHED HIS OWN DIOCESAN INSTITUTE OF THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH WITH THEIR MOTHERHOUSE AT PERTHVILLE. THEY WENT ON TO TAKE CHARGE OF FOUNDATIONS AT WATTLE FLAT AND EVANS PLAINS AS WELL AS FOUNDING IN THEIR OWN RIGHT CONVENTS AND SCHOOLS AT ROCKLEY, PEEL, O'CONNELL, WHITE ROCK, KELSO, LOCKSLEY AND WEST BATHURST. OTHER ORDERS ADDED, EACH IN THEIR OWN SMALL WAY, TO THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN BATHURST. THESE INCLUDED THE DOMINICAN SISTERS WHO OPENED A CONVENT AND SCHOOL IN SOUTH BATHURST IN THE 1920's AND THE SISTERS OF CHARITY WHO OPENED ST VINCENT'S CONVENT AND HOSPITAL AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. BOY'S EDUCATION WAS NOT NEGLECTED EITHER AND THE PATRICIAN BROTHERS AND DE LA SALLE BROTHERS WERE BOTH RESPONSIBLE FOR ST PATRICK'S BOYS SCHOOL AT VARIOUS TIMES. THEIR FORMER MONASTERY IS TODAY THE CENTREPIECE OF THE DIOCESAN CHANCERY. CERTAINLY THE MOST IMPOSING SCHOOL IN BATHURST IS ST STANISLAUS' COLLEGE, FOUNDED BY BISHOP QUINN IN 1867 AND RUN BY THE VINCENTIAN FATHERS SINCE 1889. IN 1875 BISHOP QUINN ALSO FOUNDED THE DICESAN SEMINARY OF ST CHARLES BORROMEO OF THE SACRED HEART WHICH WAS FOR SEVERAL YEARS ATTACHED TO ST STANISLAUS' COLLEGE. DURING RECENT YEARS THE VINCENTIANS HAVE ALSO OPENED A SMALL COMMUNITY HOUSE IN SOUTH BATHURST. WITH THE DECLINE IN VOCATIONS MANY OF THE WORKS OF THE CHURCH ARE NOW HANDLED BY LAY PEOPLE UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIOCESE. AMONG THESE RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE CATHOLIC HERITAGE OF THE TOWNSHIP ARE THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOL AND DIOCESAN CATHOLIC GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL WHICH WAS LATER RENAMED MACKILLOP COLLEGE, HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL AT KELSO, AS WELL AS THE MACQUARIE CARE CENTRE. AS THE DIOCESAN TOWN BATHURST IS ALSO THE HOME OF THE DIOCESAN CHANCERY AND SUCH DIOCESAN OFICES AS CENTACARE, THE CATHOLIC DEVELOPMENT FUND AND THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION CENTRE. AMONG THOSE MINOR STRUCTURES TO BE FOUND IN THE PARISH WERE PAROCHIAL HALLS AT BURRAGA, MOUNT DAVID AND WEST BATHURST AS WELL AS MORE RECENTLY THE PARISH CENTRE. DURING THE WAR YEARS A CUSA HUT WAS OPENED AT THE ARMY CAMP. THIS WAS LATER MOVED TO ST JOSEPH'S COLLEGE AS A RECREATIONAL HALL. THE ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY MAINTAINS TWO RETAIL OUTLETS IN BATHURST. THE AFTERLIFE WAS ALSO PROVIDED FOR WITH THE BUILDING OF THE MORTUARY CHAPEL AT BATHURST CEMETERY AND THE EXISTENCE OF THREE HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT GRAVEYARDS AT O'CONNELL, WATTLE FLAT AND ARKELL.

GIVEN BATHURST IS APPROACHING ITS SECOND CENTURY AS A PARISH IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THE HOMES USED BY PARISH PRIESTS AND DIOCESAN BISHOPS SHOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH SEVERAL INCARNATIONS. THE EARLIEST KNOWN PRESBYTERY WAS DEAN GRANT'S DEANERY BUILT AROUND 1853. ON THE COMING OF BISHOP QUINN AND THE COMMENCEMENT OF SEVERAL BUILDING PROJECTS ABOUT THE CATHEDRAL THE PRESBYTERY WAS MOVED TO VARIOUS LOCATIONS UNTIL BISHOP DUNNE ERECTED THE MAGNIFICENT BISHOP'S HOUSE IN 1904. IN 1991 A MODERN PRESBYTERY WAS BUILT WHICH RETURNED TO THE MODEST STYLING MORE REMINISCENT OF THE EARLIEST DAYS.

LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THE EARLIEST LIVING ARRANGEMENTS OF THE PRIESTS ASSIGNED TO BATHURST UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF DEAN GRANT IN 1853. THE DEAN HAD HAD A HOUSE CONSTRUCTED BESIDE THE CHURCH IN KEPPEL STREET KNOWN AS THE DEANERY (ABOVE LEFT) AND IN 1865 THIS WAS MADE THE FIRST CATHEDRAL PRESBYTERY AS WELL AS THE FIRST BISHOP'S RESIDENCE. IN 1867 THE BISHOP EXCHANGED HOMES WITH THE SISTERS OF MERCY AND RESIDED IN THE FORMER CONVENT AT 100-102 GEORGE STREET (ABOVE RIGHT) UNTIL 1873 WHEN THE SISTERS OFFERED TO THE BISHOP A HOUSE IN WILLIAM STREET (BELOW LEFT) WHICH THEY HAD PURCHASED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION.

THE FORMER DARGAN HOUSE (ABOVE LEFT) WHICH WAS PURCHASED BY THE SISTERS OF MERCY IN 1873 BECAME THE THIRD HOUSE TO BE USED AS A PRESBYTERY AND RESIDENCE. IT SERVED AS SUCH UNTIL BISHOP DUNNE BUILT A NEW PRESBYTERY AND RESIDENCE IN 1904. IT WAS BUILT ON THE SITE OF THE OLD DEANERY AND WAS USUALLY REFERRED TO AS BISHOP'S HOUSE (ABOVE RIGHT). IN THE 1960's BISHOP THOMAS DEEMED BISHOP'S HOUSE UNINHABITABLE AND HAD A NEW EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE BUILT IN BENTINCK STREET THUS SEPARATING THE BISHOP'S RESIDENCE AND PRESBYTERY. BISHOP'S HOUSE WAS DEMOLISHED AND THE CLERGY WERE THEN ACCOMODATED FIRST IN ST AGNES HOSTEL AND LATER AT THE FORMER ST JOSEPH'S ORPHANAGE UNTIL THE NEW CATHEDRAL PRESBYTERY WAS COMPLETED IN 1991.

IN 1991 THE CATHEDRAL PRESBYTERY CAME HOME TO THE SITE OF THE OLD CONVENT AND SECOND RESIDENCE WITH THE OPENING OF THE PRESENT MODERN BUILDING (ABOVE). THIS BUILDING INCLUDES THE PARISH OFFICE AS WELL AS A SMALL WEEK-DAY CHAPEL (RIGHT).

ROCKLEY HAS THE OLDEST PRESBYTERY IN THE CATHEDRAL PARISH HAVING BEEN BUILT IN THE 1870's AT THE TIME WHEN ROCKLEY WASAA MADE A PARISH.IT IS CONSTRUCTED OF LOCAL SANDSTONE AND BRICKS WITH THE WIDE VERANDAH TYPICAL OF AUSTRALIAN COLONIALAAAA HOMES (ABOVE LEFT). A SPECIAL POINT OF INTEREST IS THE ORIGINAL STABLES WHICH STILL STAND BEHIND THE PRESBYTERY (ABOVEAAA RIGHT). THE OLD PRESBYTERY BUILDING IS STILL OWNED BY THE CHURCH BUT IS CURRENTLY RENTED OUT PRIVATELY BY THE PARISHAAAA.

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OTHER BUILDINGS

SOUTH BATHURST PRESBYTERIES

WHEN THE PARISH OF SOUTH BATHURST WAS FORMED IN 1964 IT BECAME NECESSARY TO FIND A PRESBYTERY FOR THE NEW PARISHAAAAA PRIEST. THE FIRST PRESBYTERY (ABOVE LEFT) WAS A FIBRO / TIMBER COTTAGE LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF LEWIN STREET. THIS WASAA SOLD WHEN A PERMANENT PRESBYTERY (ABOVE RIGHT) WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1973 IN VINE STREET. THIS BUILDING, A PLAIN 1970's STYLE BRICK DOMESTIC STRUCTURE, WHILE NO LONGER A PRESBYTERY IS STILL USED AS A RESIDENCE BY SOME PRIESTS OF THE DIOCESEAAAA.

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OTHER BUILDINGS

WEST BATHURST PRESBYTERY

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW PARISH OF WEST BATHURST INAA 1964 REQUIRED THE SETTING UP OF A PARISH INFRASTRUCTUREAAA INCLUDING NATURALLY A RESIDENCE FOR THE PARISH PRIEST. INAAA CONSEQUENCE A HOUSE FOR THIS PURPOSE WAS BUILT ADJACENT TO THE JOSEPHITE CONVENT AND OLD CONVENT SCHOOL (LEFTAAA).

THIS FINE TWO-STORY BRICK HOUSE TYPICAL OF THE 1960'S STYLE OF DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE WAS A FITTING HOME FOR PASTOR OF THE CHURCH AND IS A REMINDER THAT EVEN AS LATE AS THE 1960's THE PRESBYTERY WAS CONSIDERED THE ADMINISTRATIVE NERVEAA CENTRE OF A CATHOLIC PARISH AND NOT JUST A CLERGY HOUSEAAA.

WITH THE CLOSURE OF THE PARISH IN THE EARLY 21st CENTURY THE PRESBYTERY WHICH STILL STANDS WAS RENTED OUT AS A PRIVATE RESIDENCE BEING THEN SUPERFLUOUS TO PARISH REQUIREMENTS.

A MODERN DIOCESE NEEDS A MUCH LARGER ADMINISTRATIVE CADRE THAN WAS SO WHILE MOST WERE RUN FROM THE BISHOP'S HOUSE WITH THE AID OF A FEW PRIESTS. INEVITABLY THIS HAS LED TO THE MOVING OF DIOCESAN CHANCERIES INTO MODERN OFFICES. THOUGH BATHURST WAS NO EXCEPTION TO THIS IT HAS NONETHELESS BEEN BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THE HISTORIC ST PATRICK'S MONASTERY AS THE CENTRE PIECE WITH TWO UNOBTRUSIVE BRICK WINGS ERECTED IN THE 1980's ON EITHER SIDE TO ACCOMODATE THE EVER EXPANDING REQUIREMENTS OF A DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATION.

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CATHOLIC DEVELOPMENT FUND

THE OFFICES OF THE CATHOLIC DEVELOPMENT FUND ARE LOCATED IN A WING OF THE CHANCERY COMPLEX FACING KEPPEL STREET. THE BUILDING IS A 1980's DOMESTIC STYLE REDBRICK OFFICE STRUCTURE WHICH IS SITUATED ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOL AND THE EARLY ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH. UNTIL RECENTLY IT WAS THE BATHURST HEADQUARTERS OF CENTACARE ALSO BEFORE THAT ORGANISATION MOVED INTO THE FORMER ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL BUILDING ROUND THE CORNER IN WILLIAM STREET. THE CDF IS AN IMPORTANT ADJUNCT TO THE CHURCH'S WORK AS IT PROVIDES FINANCING FOR PARISH AND DIOCESAN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

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PARISH CENTRE

DURING THE 1970's THE FORMER STUDENTS OF ST MARY'S COLLEGE ERECTED A NEW CHAPEL IN THE GROUNDS OF COLLEGE FOR THE USE OF BOTH THE STUDENTS AND THE SISTERS OF MERCY AS A MARK OF APPRECIATION OF ALL THE SISTERS HAD DONE FOR THE COLLEGE.

AFTER THE SUBSEQUENT CLOSURE OF THE COLLEGE AND CONVENT AND THEIR DEMOLITION IN 1983 THE CHAPEL WAS CONVERTED INTO A HALL AND PARISH CENTRE FOR THE CATHEDRAL PARISH. ITS MOST NOTABLE FEATURES ARE THE TWO STAINED GLASS WINDOWS WHICH WERE TAKEN FROM THE FORMER CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA AT EGLINTON AND INSTALLED IN THE WEST WINDOW OF THE CHAPEL.

TODAY THIS INTERESTING DIAMOND-SHAPED BUILDING IS PRIMARILY USED TO HOST PARISH MEETINGS, PARISH GROUPS AND SOCIAL GET-TOGETHERS. IN CONTRAST TO THE CONVENT AND COLLEGE WHICH IT WAS ERECTED TO SERVE THE OLD CHAPEL HAS FOUND A NEW LEASE OF LIFE TO CARRY IT FORWARD INTO THE 21st CENTURY. BELOW CAN BE VIEWED THE HALL INTERIOR AND THE BEAUTIFUL STAINED GLASS WINDOWS BROUGHT FROM THE FORMER EGLINTON STATION CHURCH.

MOUNT DAVID IN ITS HEYDAY WAS AN ACTIVE STATION OF ROCKLEY PARISH. FOR SEVERAL YEARS THIS TIN HALL SERVED AS THE MASS CENTRE UNTIL THE BUILDING OF THE NEW CHURCH IN 1919. TODAY IT IS USED FOR STORAGE BY THE OWNERS OF THE OLD CHURCH.

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ASSUMPTION HALL

ASSUMPTION HALL IS PART OF THE PARISH COMPLEX AT THE CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION IN WEST BATHURST. BUILT IN A SIMILAR STYLE AND WITH SIMILAR MATERIALS TO THE CHURCH ITSELF IT SERVES BOTH THE SCHOOL AND THE PARISH AS A MULTI-PURPOSE FACILITY.

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EDUCATION CENTRE

IT WAS AROUND 1980 THAT THE NEED FOR A LOCAL SCHOOL IN KELSO BECAME CLEAR. KELSO WAS A MAJOR GROWTH AREA WITH A CONCENTRATION OF YOUNG FAMILIES. ACCORDINGLY THE NOW DISUSED MARSDEN GIRL'S SCHOOL IN GILMOUR ROAD WAS PURCHASED AND BECAME HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL.

IN THE 1990's A NEW SCHOOL WAS BUILT MORE APPROPRIATE FOR A PRIMARY SCHOOL AND THE FORMER MARSDEN SCHOOL WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TAKEN OVER AS THE NEW HEADQUARTERS OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE FORMED IN 1983 TO ADMINISTER ALL THE DIOCESAN PARISH SCHOOLS.

THE CENTREPIECE OF THE COMPLEX IS HEREFORD HOUSE (LEFT) ERECTED BY JAMES RUTHERFORD IN 1880. THIS MAGNIFICENT VICTORIAN MANSION WAS PURCHASED BY THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN 1925 FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A SCHOOL. TODAY IT IS THE LOCATION OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE FOR THE WHOLE DIOCESE OF BATHURST.

NEXT DOOR TO HEREFORD HOUSE IS THE MERRICK BUILDING ORIGINALLY USED AS CLASSROOMS FOR THE MARSDEN SCHOOL AND THEN LATER FOR HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL. THIS IMPRESSIVE BUILDING WITH ITS DOMINANT TOWER IS A VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE STYLE OF INTER-WAR PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE.

WITH THE TAKE OVER OF THE FORMER SCHOOL COMPLEX BY THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE THE BUILDING WAS RENOVATED AND CONVERTED FOR USE BY THE CATHOLIC RESOURCE CENTRE, A RESEARCH LIBRARY FUNDED BY THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE FOR THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF BATHURST DIOCESE.

SET ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HEREFORD HOUSE IS THE ORIGINAL SCHOOL CHAPEL WHICH WAS USED FORMERLY AS THE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH AND STILL SERVES AS THE CHAPEL FOR HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL.

THE ROOTS OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN BATHURST REACH BACK TO 1842 WHEN A DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOL WAS ESTABLISHED USING THE CHURCH AS THE SCHOOLROOM. AS WAS THE CASE AT THE TIME THE SCHOOL WAS STAFFED BY LAY TEACHERS WHO WERE PAID BY THE NEW SOUTH WALES GOVERNMENT. WHEN THE NEW CHURCH WAS BUILT THE OLD CHURCH CONTINUED TO BE USED AS A SCHOOL FOR SOME YEARS UNTIL REPLACED IN THE MID-1860's BY A NEW SCHOOL BUILDING (ABOVE). THE DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOL WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO SECTIONS - THE BOY'S SCHOOL FACING KEPPEL STREET AND THE GIRLS SECTION FACING GEORGE STREET (ABOVE LEFT). THE PASSING OF THE PUBLIC INSTRUCTION ACT BROUGHT IMPORTANT CHANGES, MOST NOTABLY THE TRANSFER OF TEACHING TO RELIGIOUS ORDERS. THE SISTERS OF MERCY TOOK OVER TEACHING IN THE GIRL'S SCHOOL IN 1866. WHEN THE MASTER AT THE BOY'S SCHOOL RETIRED IN 1872 AND THE SECONDARY BOYS WERE MOVED TO THE NEW ST STANISLAUS' COLLEGE IN 1873 THE SISTERS OF MERCY THEN TOOK OVER THE TEACHING OF THE PRIMARY BOYS UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF THE PATRICIAN BROTHERS AND THE FOUNDING OF ST PATRICK'S SCHOOL IN 1884 .

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CATHEDRAL SCHOOL

FOLLOWING THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE SISTERS OF MERCY FROM TEACHING IN THE EARLY 1980's AND THE DEMOLITION OF ST MARY'S COLLEGE AND CONVENT THE QUESTION OF HOW TO CONTINUE THE EDUCATIONAL WORK OF THE CATHEDRAL PARISH WAS ADDRESSED BY THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOL TO CATER FOR THE PRIMARY EDUCATION OF BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS. IN A RETURN TO THE EARLIEST BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION AT THE CATHEDRAL THE SCHOOL WAS LAY-STAFFED. INITIALLY THE SCHOOL USED SOME OF THE REMAINING BUILDINGS OF THE OLD SCHOOL BUT IN 1999 A NEW SCHOOL COMPLEX WAS COMPLETED ON THE CATHEDRAL SITE (ABOVE).

TO THE LEFT CAN BE SEEN THE NEW QUADRANGLE SURROUNDED ON THREE SIDES BY THE MODERN BRICK SCHOOL BUILDING FORMALLY OPENED BY BISHOP DOUGHERTY IN 1999 (ABOVE). BELOW CAN BE SEEN SOME OF THE OLDER BUILDINGS STILL IN USE BY THE SCHOOL. THESE BUILDINGS INCLUDE AMONGST OTHERS A CLASSROOM BLOCK (LEFT) AND, THE OLDEST BUILDING STILL IN USE, THE SEVERELY PRACTICAL CLOTHING POOL (RIGHT).

IN 1957 THE SISTERS OF MERCY OPENED A SMALL PRIMARY SCHOOL IN EAST BATHURST DEDICATED TO THE HOLY FAMILY. LOCATED IN ST VINCENT'S PARK IT WAS INTENDED TO CATER FOR THE GROWING POPULATION OF EAST BATHURST. TWO FACTORS THEN INTEREVENED TO CHANGE THE HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL. IN 1967 THE DIOCESAN CATHOLIC GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL OPENED ON THE SAME SITE AND THE FOCUS OF POPULATION GROWTH SHIFTED TO KELSO. AS A RESULT THE SCHOOL WAS CLOSED AND IN 1980 A NEW SCHOOL DEDICATED TO THE HOLY FAMILY WAS OPENED IN THE FORMER ANGLICAN MARSDEN GIRLS SCHOOL (BELOW). THE SCHOOL WHILE AN ADEQUATE STOP-GAP WAS NOT TRULY SUITABLE AS A PRIMARY SCHOOL AND IN THE 1990's A NEW SCHOOL (ABOVE & BELOW) MORE SUITED TO THE AGE GROUP WAS BUILT BEHIND THE ORIGINAL MARSDEN SCHOOL WHICH THEN BECAME THE LOCATION OF THE DIOCESAN CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE.

THIS UNUSUALLY SHAPED BUILDING WAS ONCE THE CHAPEL OF MARSDEN SCHOOL AND LATER BECAME HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH

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MACKILLOP COLLEGE

DURING THE LATE 1960's THE DIOCESE OF BATHURST BEGAN A MAJOR REORGANISATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES IN THAT CITY. THIS WAS PROMPTED BY SIGNIFICANT DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH IN THE AREA AND THE INCREASINGLY CRAMPED SITE OF THE OLD ST MARY'S COLLEGE IN THE CATHEDRAL GROUNDS. THE FIRST STEP IN THIS RE-ORGANISATION WAS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW CATHOLIC GIRL'S SCHOOL ADJACENT TO ST VINCENT'S HOSPITAL IN EAST BATHURST. ORIGINALLY NAMED THE DIOCESAN CATHOLIC GIRL'S HIGH SCHOOL IT WAS A DIOCESAN VENTURE STAFFED JOINTLY BY SISTERS OF MERCY AND THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH. FOLLOWING THE CLOSURE OF ST MARY'S COLLEGE THE SCHOOL BECAME THE ONLY CATHOLIC GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CITY. SINCE THE LATE 1980's THE SCHOOL HAS BEEN LAY-STAFFED. ITS NAME WAS CHANGED IN 1995 TO MACKILLOP COLLEGE TO HONOUR THE FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH.

THE NEW COLLEGE WAS A TYPICAL LATE 60's STYLE UTILITARIAN EDUCATIONAL CAMPUS COMPRISING SEVERAL SINGLE-STORY WINGS SET IN SPACIOUS GROUNDS. THE CONSTRUCTION WAS OF RED BRICK AND LACKED THE RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM WHICH IS USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE OLDER STYLE OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS ERECTED IN THE 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURIES. IT THUS REFLECTS THE POST-CONCILIAR ETHOS OF THE CHURCH SCHOOL.

MACQUARIE CARE CENTRE WAS BUILT AND OPENED IN 1948 BY THE NSW DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. IT WAS OPERATED BY MID-WESTERN AREA HEALTH SERVICE AND ADMINISTERED BY THE BATHURST BASE HOSPITAL UNTIL 1985. FOLLOWING THE RATIONALISATION OF HEALTH SERVICES, MACQUARIE CARE CENTRE WAS PLACED UNDER THE CARE OF ST VINCENT'S HOSPITAL. CATHOLIC HEALTHCARE WAS APPOINTED MANAGER OF MACQUARIE CARE CENTRE BY THE DIOCESE IN OCTOBER 1996. IN THE LATE 1990S, MACQUARIE CARE CENTRE WAS REBUILT. THE FACILITY WAS HANDED OVER TO CATHOLIC HEALTHCARE IN OCTOBER 2004. MACQUARIE CARE CENTRE IS A RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE COMMUNITY. THE RESIDENTIAL SERVICE OFFERS A HOMELIKE ENVIRONMENT WITH A COTTAGE FEEL. ALL ROOMS HAVE VIEWS OF THE GARDEN, WHICH IS PLANTED TO ENCOURAGE BIRDS TO VISIT. FLOWERS ARE GROWN FOR PICKING AND FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS, WHICH ARE PLACED THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY. THERE IS ALSO A PRODUCTIVE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND ORCHARD TENDED BY THE RESIDENTS.

IN AN EARLIER AGE FUNERALS WERE OFTEN CARRIED OUT AT THE CEMETERY AND WHERE THE CEMETERY WAS SEPERATED FROM THE CHURCH A MORTUARY CHAPEL WAS FREQUENTLY BUILT TO PERMIT THE FUNERAL RITES OF THE CHURCH TO BE HELD IN SITU. A FINE EXAMPLE IS THIS PRETTY LITTLE CHAPEL, NOW SADLY CLOSED, BUILT IN 1901 IN THE CATHOLIC SECTION OF BATHURST CEMETERY.

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O'CONNELL CEMETERY

DATING BACK TO THE 1850S WHEN O’CONNELL WAS THE PARISH CENTRE OF THE FISH RIVER DISTRICT AND CLOSED FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS THIS CHURCHYARD CEMETERY CONTAINS MANY OF THE DISTRICT'S PIONEERS. MOST OF THE MEMORIALS ARE OF SANDSTONE, SOME OF WHICH ARE STILL IN EXCELLENT CONDITION FOR THEIR AGE, SKILFULLY ENGRAVED IN QUALITY STONE. INDEED, SOME OF THE ORNAMENTAL ENGRAVING IS PARTICULARLY BEAUTIFUL. THE MAJORITY OF THE STONES ARE HOWEVER BADLY ERODED BY WEATHER AND VERY DIFFICULT TO READ. AMONGST THE INSCRIPTIONS ARE THREE COMMEMORATING PERSONS WHO WERE KILLED IN A RAILWAY ACCIDENT ON 25 APRIL 1890 WHEN A RUNAWAY TRAIN FROM THE RAGLAN STATION CRASHED INTO ANOTHER TRAIN CLOSE TO THE BATHURST STATION. TODAY THE CEMETERY IS LOCATED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY BUT THE OWNERS HAVE TAKEN THE TROUBLE TO MAINTAIN THE CEMETERY IN A FIT STATE

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WATTLE FLAT CEMETERY

WATTLE FLAT WAS NOT ONLY AN IMPORTANT GOLD-MINING CENTRE BUT AN EARLY STRONGHOLD OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH. THE CATHOLIC CEMETERY WHICH IS LOCATED BEHIND THE SMALL CATHOLIC CHURCH OF BLESSED MARY MACKILLOP CONTAINS THE GRAVES OF MANY OF THE CATHOLIC PIONEERS IN THE AREA DATING BACK TO THE 1860's. THIS WELL MAINTAINED GRAVEYARD IS STILL IN ACTIVE USE TODAY.

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RELIGIOUS ORDERS

PARISH DIRECTORY

I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO THE NUMEROUS PEOPLE, LAY, CLERICAL AND RELIGIOUS WHO HAVE GIVEN OF THEIR TIME TO HELP PREPARE THIS PAGE. A SPECIAL VOTES OF THANKS IS DUE TO MRS JACKIE GRANT, DIOCESAN ARCHIVIST, FOR HELP ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY AND FOR HER UNSTINTING SUPPORT FOR THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT.