Friars in Australia

Franciscan Friars have been involved with Australia almost since the start of its European history. When the French explorer La Perouse sailed into Botany Bay just a few weeks behind the first fleet, he had Friars on board working as chaplains and scientists. One of them, Friar Louis Le Receveur was wounded in Polynesia and died offshore near Botany Bay. His memorial gravestone is to be found today at La Perouse in Sydney, the first European grave in Australia.

Friar Bonaventure Geoghegan

As the new colonies began to expand, there was an urgent call for missionaries to minister to the convicts and free settlers. Among the first to respond was Friar Bonaventure Geoghegan, an Irishman. He arrived in 1839 and was sent to take charge of the new colony of Melbourne as its first (and at that time the only) priest. His "parish" covered all of present Victoria and neighbouring territories as well.

He was a tireless worker and traveller; he built the first churches in the colony including St Francis' Church in Lonsdale Street, Melbourne and St Mary of the Angels' Church in Geelong. He built the first Catholic school and his skill at building up the Church led to his appointment as Bishop of Adelaide and later Goulburn.

 

Soon other Franciscans came to the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria from Ireland and elsewhere. They worked as missionaries establishing the Catholic Communities in these colonies. Living the life of solitary missionaries, there was no possibility for a Franciscan community life together. Many of these Friars could only dream for such a chance.

Friar Peter O'Farrell

The most important of the pioneering Friars was Peter O'Farrell, who began ministering in Sydney in 1854. Throughout his ministry he encouraged the Archbishop to make arrangements to establish the Franciscan Order in this land and he himself, in the course of his work, accumulated funds to provide the finance for such a venture. Peter O'Farrell is looked upon as the founder of Franciscan life in Australia but it was not until 1879, four years after his death that the first Franciscan Community was established in the Sydney suburb of Waverley.

The Friars arrive in New Zealand

Meanwhile, in Aotearoa-New Zealand, Italian and Irish friars had arrived in the 1860's to work with the fledgling European settlements around Auckland and as missionaries amongst the Maori. As in Australia, it was not possible for them to live Franciscan community life and with regret they withdrew from New Zealand in the 1880s.

First Community at Waverley - NSW

In 1879 the first Franciscan community began with three Irish Friars, Peter Hanrahan, Augustine Holohan and Paschal McGinley. They worked among the poor Irish settlers in the slums around the eastern suburbs of Sydney and persevered through various hardships. On a number of occasions they came close to giving up for lack of interest from the early settlers. In 1904, the first Australians entered the Order and from that date, the Franciscan presence in Australia expanded swiftly. By 1939 the number of Friars had increased sufficiently that Australia was able to became an independent Province in its own right. Soon after, Franciscan communities were established in every state of Australia.

Expansion overseas

By the end of the Second World War, there was a strong push for Friars to work in a foreign mission. The War had decimated the missionaries in Papua New Guinea, so the Friars responded to this need. In 1946 the first missionaries were sent to northern Papua New Guinea to work in the Aitape region. Friars also returned to New Zealand in 1939, succeeding their predecessors of the prior century. The Bishop of Auckland, James Liston, had invited the Friars to establish a retreat centre in his Diocese.

In 1969, Australian Friars assumed responsibility for the Order's presence in Singapore, undertaking a parish there and providing for the formation of young local Friars from Singapore and Malaysia who wished to follow the way of St Francis.

Most recently in 2000, the Friars have begun ministering to the people of East Malaysia in the Diocese of Kuching. They minister to about forty communities of native people who live in surrounding villages.

In more recent years, Friars from this Province have worked as missionaries in various parts of the world: Singapore/Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia.