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PARISH MEMORIES Banyo

Nundah

Sisters of Saint Joseph

PARISH MEMORIES

Banyo

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ALEXANDER Memories of Ursula Alexander

Holy Trinity Prayer Group – “Scripture in Song”

I was part of a prayer group which was held in the Holy Trinity Church and led by Pat Latimer. This was to me, and I am sure to all those who came to it, a source of prayerful strengthening of Faith with singing our “Songs of Praise” (very catchy tunes) and words which were very meaningful. To this day I often think of, or sing, a few of the short acts of Faith learnt at that group. Our prayers were said for various causes and people’s intentions – worrying situations in life and other problems were either spoken or unspoken or written down and later burnt. The group seemed to be united in praying which made for an uplifting of our Faith and spirit. Alas due to a number of members moving away from Banyo, the few remaining did not feel that had the expertise or talents to try and carry on as a group. I am sure though, that they still recall the powerful impetus of Faith that this “prayer and hymns of praise group” had on them.

The Choir

Among my memories, too, is that of the choir who practised for Easter and Christmas celebrations. Pat Latimer was “conductor”, Rita Bennett, the Organist. Father Kiley who was very musical and a good singer would come over to the church and listen to judge if we were up to a standard befitting such feasts as Easter and Christmas. Quite a good number of women and men regularly attended practice.

I still remember the late Jack Grundy, at Easter time, singing “A Blessing Cup is a Communion with the Blood of Christ” and “Keep me safe oh God you are my hope”. Many appropriate hymns were practised and sung on the great Feast Days. The congregation seems uplifted in singing with the choir and we all seemed to be so happy celebrating the birth of Christ and His Resurrection – our most important beliefs. The hymns seemed to linger in our minds uplifting our spirits and beliefs.

Thanks

It seems only right that acknowledgment and thanks should be recorded for all the clergy and the sisters of St Joseph who all worked so hard over many years. Their efforts were outstanding. Many parishioners, who have now gone to their eternal reward, were very strong in their Faith and also “worked” for the parish. May they rest in peace. Their friendship is missed too.

On many occasions ceremonies and homilies were very special and memorable. Also memorable was the first “Passion Play” arranged by Glad Collie. The crucifixion scene was very impressive. It could be seen by “passersby” travelling along St Vincent’s Road. I can still “see it”.

I consider I have been very blessed in the sixty years I have been a parishioner at Banyo – during happy and sad times. The graces I have received and all I have learnt have helped me a lot on “My Way to God”.

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FATHER O’KEEFE Memories of Paul Coghlan

A Priest Ahead of His Time

Mr Paul Coghlan, a parishioner in Father O’Keeffe’s time, has supplied the following account of Father O’Keeffe who he regards as “a priest ahead of his time”.

“As an eight year old, I remember his first sermon which included two stories. One I have forgotten, the other was “One night two frogs fell into a bowl of cream. They paddled furiously to get to the top, to no avail in the thick cream. One frog eventually gave up, but the other persevered and kept paddling. Next morning found him sitting on a bowl of butter”. The moral being to persevere in our religious life. (This same story appeared in the Sunday Mail in 2014. Even his stories were ahead of his time over 70 years later).

It was the war years and Father O’Keeffe immediately set about erasing the parish debt. The chief method was the Friday night parish dance in the school hall. The school was designed so that classroom partitions folded back to create the hall with a stage at one end (which also was a class room). The dances were either weekly or fortnightly and were organised in turn by the parish and the United States servicemen. The US servicemen had taken over Tufnell Home, a Church of England Orphanage on Buckland Road on the next hill west of the church. It was a Rest and Recreation Centre for the servicemen.

To organise the dances when it was the parish’s turn, Father O’Keeffe divided the Parish into zones and each zone took its turn adopting a theme for the night, decorating the hall accordingly, providing and serving supper, collecting the admission fee, selling cordial drinks etc. Zones competed with each other to see who could make the most money, with the parish debt benefiting accordingly.

For mums and dads who chaperoned their daughters to the dances (you had to watch those Yanks), there was organised Euchre in a room under the hall for a fee, with prizes and supper, which also contributed to the fund raising. Dad was the convenor of the Euchre.

Years before the Wells Organisation came to Brisbane with parish planned giving programs, Father O’Keeffe introduced his planned giving program to Nundah. I remember that sermon also – telling the parish it was inefficient for people to put all the effort into fund raising functions, making goods, cakes, etc then buying them back again. Functions would be abolished, so too the quarterly collection. He would assess each family for their annual giving and they could raise or lower it as thought fit.

There was no official parish register at the time. To make his assessment, Father O’Keeffe mentally went up and down every street in the parish and assessed each family. He was a great priest for family visits and knew where each one lived. From memory, I think his biggest assessment for a yearly family donation was ten pounds ($20.00) circa mid to late 1940’s.

COGLAN

As well as his parish visits, he always patrolled the front of the church before each mass, welcoming parishioners and immediately pouncing on any new face to welcome them and asked where they lived. In his last years when he was not well, he used to sit in a canvas armchair at the front of the church – still welcoming everyone.

In the days of the Latin Mass, the congregation could not take part. Father O’Keeffe, recognising that the congregation should be involved, taught them to say the Gloria and the Creed in Latin and to accompany the priest. This was years before Vatican II when it became the practice for congregations to participate by saying the Gloria and Creed in English.

Father O’Keeffe was noted for his religious instructions for converts. People from all over Brisbane would come for private instructions in the Presbytery. Not only with adults, he was also good with children. Every Friday the children from St Joseph’s school would assemble in the church for Benediction at 11.45am after which the senior classes (to Grade 7) would stay in church for religious instructions by Father O’Keeffe. His instructions were mixed with entertaining stories as a bush priest. ‘How do you baptise a dying baby in the bush with no water around? – he got the water out of the radiator of his car’. Father O’Keeffe grew up in the bush in a relatively large family he said it was always understood in his family that he would be a priest. He was the only one in the family who wore shoes.

A year before he dies, he took suddenly ill and nearly died. When he took ill again about 12 months later, he said ‘I was not ready to die last year, but I am now’. He died on the Feast of the Archangel Michael on 29 September 1956. How do I know? He was to marry me and my wife on that very morning, but as I knelt at the altar waiting for Joan, I was informed of his death. As the wedding celebrations were taking place in front of the church after the Nuptial Mass, I could hear the Sisters of St Joseph gathered in the church saying the rosary for the repose of his soul. Father Carew, his nephew, celebrated our Nuptial Mass.”



CRIBB ISLAND PARISH HISTORY Memories of Theresa Appleton (nee Monaghan)

(Courtesy of Nundah & Districts Historical Society, 2005)

Memories of St. Martha’s Church & School Elmslie Street, Cribb Island

We moved to Cribbie when I was 10years old in 1957. My sister Leonie 3 years younger than me, and I, previously attended St. Joachim’s in Holland Park, a fairly large school. It was so easy to be welcomed into our new school as there were only approx. 76 children , 2 nuns to teach us everything, and of course only two class rooms each containing 4 classes. I remember the majority of pupils being in grades 1 to 4. And in my classroom were grades 5 to 8. Our desks were arranged so that the teacher could move across the room and write on 4 different blackboards as she taught us at our individual levels. When we had any important visitors you could open the sliding wall, turn the chairs around and the whole lot of us could be together (no hall needed for us)

Parents often think they are hard done by today if children are in composite classes. I think it was a wonderful experience as you could tune into what the other children were learning, which sometimes covered things you had previously missed. In grade 8 our teacher decided to give us extra lessons on a Saturday morning in order to help us pass our Scholarship Exams. The father of one of our 4 (yes four) grade 8 students had a Humber Hawke car (very flash), so on Saturday morning we would pile in and take the drive to Banyo. Our extra class was held under the parish house (now the meeting room) the floor was dirt, there were the usual palings that enclosed the area and timber table and benches much like you would find in a public park in those days.

Each school day we children would play while waiting for the two nuns to drive down from Banyo Convent. We loved watching out for the car to come down the road, we thought it funny when at one stage with the younger nun driving and often arriving late we observed the much older nun madly using her rosary beads. The beads must have been clearly visible though the car window as I think we were too young to have imagined that. That little car did always seem to take the corner incredibly fast if they were running late. I now wonder at how a group of 70 odd children could survive without supervision. Not one injury or argument, all the age groups just played together, no such thing as being called a buddy, you just naturally looked after the younger ones.

APPLETON

The homes of most us were close by so it wasn’t too far I guess if we did need help. Father Landenar was our priest during that time, so very friendly to both students and parents alike, really a down to earth man. In those days when it was rare, at school mass we often had girls as altar servers because we didn’t have enough older boys at the school. On one occasion I had the opportunity to be Godmother to a baby Father decided was overdue for Baptism, I was chosen as I was the oldest child (only by a couple of months) in the whole school. I was probably all of 13 yrs.

When we did have tuckshop it was some trestles set up under the usual pine trees most schools had for shade. We had a wonderful local cake shop so pies and cream buns came via the horse and cart. No hotbox needed just deliver at the time arranged.

No I am not mistaken, or that old, it just made sense in a small flat area to use a horse and cart rather than stop and start a car. I must say though that even in hilly Greenslopes in those days the bread was delivered by horse and cart also, I guess because it was so much easier.

We used to have midnight mass at Christmas, so many locals turned up, the odd one not quite completely sober, to the amusement of us children, our mother said at least they came and everyone was happy. One Christmas night Father decided to give a sermon on how people needed to be a bit more regular with giving money to keep the church going. That created a bit of a complaint as to it not being nice at Christmas, but Mum said that was the only opportunity to get the people to listen. There was no such thing as the organised giving as there is now with envelopes. School fees consisted of the nuns taking up a collection at school each week and hoping people would choose to pay .I remember paying two shillings, maybe that covered both my sister and I for one or two weeks.

Next door to the school was a small ice works building, I have an idea it no longer operated as fridges were well and truly in vogue. I mention this because the house next door to that was rented by the Gibb family of Bee Gees fame. They said they would be famous, did we really believe them? I remember that period of my life as being my first taste of becoming ecumenical. The little Methodist church at the end of the street always had Christmas carols. Everyone who wished to, turned up and all joined in. I remember the general consensus was that it was all good because we didn’t really go inside to worship. How times have changed (for the better).

I hope this little piece will bring back happy memories for those who attended our little school and maybe add some of their experiences.



CARROLL Memories of Angela and Mary Carroll

Our family moved into 29 Forrest Street Nudgee on September 29th 1950. Mum and the girls came from Indooroopilly in a taxi with the dog panting near the open window, and the cat, which vomited on someone’s dress. We arrived before the furniture, the dress was washed and the key-minding neighbours, Mr and Mrs Crawford, brought Mum a cup of tea and some fruit cake. The previous Carroll house-moving had taken place in 1941, before my time, but oral tradition had marked this moment, this before- the- furniture- arrived interlude. It was 7th December, and the radio announced the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

In 1948, our Dad, Teedie (Thaddeus) Carroll opened a chemist shop in Banyo near the railway station. At that stage, we were living in Indooroopilly, the two boys going to Rosalie and the four girls to the local Brigidines. One Sunday afternoon in 1948, I think, my younger sister and I went on the train with Dad to an event at Banyo Parish, which might have been the opening of the convent – not very entertaining for a 5 year-old, but a first immersion in this new community. Two things about this school I recall Dad praising at that time –one was the fact that boys could go to school without shoes, the other being school picnic at Shornecliffe (or Sandgate) the whole school went to on the train. I also remember being tricked by his telling us there were two women in the shop, at the same time, wearing exactly the same dress! Same colour? Yes. Exactly the same? Yes. We heard about the Sisters of St Joseph before we ever met them.

So it was that another Sunday two years later, the two “little girls” went with Mum and Dad to Nudgee to look at some houses. We two awarded points to the ones we saw, the highest score going to the house on the corner of Hayden Street and St Vincent’s Road, which had a sun dial! The Forrest Street house we eventually moved into had a front path, a “fernery” along the side, and out the back, mango, Brazilian cherry, poinciana and mulberry tree in the corner. It was Mr Eden from over the back told us about the trees and showed us their custard apple, one I had never heard of. Coming from the station, the first attraction was a building with the name School of Arts, a school that wasn’t a school. Somewhere we saw St Ach’s Street, which gave my sister the idea we might be going to the School of St Ach’s.

The Parish priest was Fr Vince Carroll but since there was a mission on at the time, a Redemptorist Mission, other priests were around. The four of us turned up for school on Monday morning, but I think all the children were in the church for a session so we had to hang around. Sr Juan was the principal and Sr Christopher and Sr Maria Therese and Sr Marie des Anges were other teachers. Being only seven, I was totally absorbed in the process of fitting into a new class room, teacher- perhaps one of the hardest challenges ever. First Communions were on the Feast of Christ the King, 29th October, so luckily I didn’t miss out, though there are many faces I don’t recognise in the group photo. I do hold lovely memories of the breakfast held under the presbytery, which was like a real party. Perhaps it was there I first felt surrounded by the loving supportive parish community. Certainly those faces became oh so familiar over the years and we knew these people cared about us and somehow we belonged.

So, as the years passed we became part of the Catholic community of Nudgee and Banyo, half of which lived in or around Forrest Street. My memory lists the various Conways, Grensills, Flemings Hartens, Burgesses, Scotts, Gibbings, Wards (our neighbours), Russels, Bennets, Cooks, and the extended families of Hatton, Boult, Maltmann, Gon Chees, Streets, Wrafters, Kreutzers, Deveney and Connollys, Staffords, Wilsons. That was just Nudgee. Banyo was another treasure house of families, met through the school

(Cont’d CARROLL) In 1950, the Cribb Island and Nudgee beach children, alias ‘the Cribbie kids’, came to school on a special bus, sometimes running late. This was only until the catholic school opened in Cribbie 1951? Then we would occasionally see the two Sisters who travelled from Banyo each day. Sr Anne Bartholomew and Sr Claver, Sr Brian and Sr Anne Mills? At first they walked down to Nudgee station to catch the bus from there to Cribbie. Later, a taxi took them down.

I can remember some sports we played against the Cribbie kids, because they had a fawn or beige sports uniform with red trimmings. Some children continued to come to St Pius – from Nudgee Beach at least, as I have recently met one man who did this for a few years. The children would get the bus to Nudgee station and walk up to school. In the afternoon they would wait around Hedge’s butcher shop in Oakmere Street, waiting for the return trip.

When Mary O’Gorman and I lived in Cribb Island from 1977 to 1979, a boy from my Grade One class still lived there, though most of the other families had moved. The school room (which the Josephites had left in 1967?) formed an L-shape with the Church and was being used as a kindergarten. The little children who frequented our house would often say of our picture of Mary MacKillop, “She in our kindy”. After a couple of years, I had occasion to go into that room and found that indeed she was. Our house also sported a LARGE statue of St Joseph and the Child Jesus which stood on a sort of pedestal in the corner of the narrow lounge room. Hendra convent was being dismantled at the time and someone decided this statue would be just right for Cribb Island.

Two of the Banyo Vinnies ladies, Glad Collie and Ivy Hayes, gave lots of time and energy to the families in Cribbie, often finding them emergency food and other help. They filled out this demonstration of God’s love and other important tenets of the faith with some holy pictures. After our first Christmas there, I was in the kitchen and one of the local kids, Frankie M, who was rather artistic and no chatterbox, said shyly, nodding towards the lounge room, ‘You know them in there? I got a picture of ‘em.” ‘Have you now?’ I probably said, ‘Have you really?”, then he added – “but there’s a girl with ’em”. We did have picture of the child’s mother, on the facing wall, but not beside her family.

Back to Banyo in the 1950s. When we moved, the two boys who were doing junior and Scholarship, kept going to Rosalie for the next two years. The four girls who ranged from Preps to Grade 5, were destined to occupy desks in St Pius’s school for a combined 21 years until the end of 1958.

When Fr Vince Carroll was moved to Kingaroy, Fr Vincent Wheeler, then Fr Vincent Landener and later Fr Vincent Kiley. During Fr Wheeler’s time, about 1954, Sr Finbarr was teaching grades Five and Six under the presbytery. When we had any ’loud’ lessons, we would hear the footsteps as the Parish priest headed for his car. One day, Sister got a message to say that the car carrying Cardinal Gracias, visiting from India, had stopped outside. We were urged out while Sister went to notify the principal, I imagine. In any case, we found ourselves un- chaperoned and looking through the passenger window at this important personage. He had a lovely face, surprising me that people from India could be so dark, and his hand was resting on the open window edge – I saw the big ring and guessed we should kiss it, but I wasn’t game to. I am reliably informed, this 62 years later, that Fr Wheeler had his movie camera at hand capturing the blessing His Excellency gave us. Classes from the main school building got to the big green gates too late.

A different visit organised during Fr Wheeler’s time was that of the world famous Fatima statue. My sister remembers that mum got a taxi to take our Granma up to be there, and that there is a photo of Mr (Snow) Conway et al carrying the and with its precious load down the church steps.

Probably in 1951, the school held a St Patrick’s Day concert at the Nudgee school of Arts. I was included in a troupe doing an Irish reel, choreographed by Sr Finbarr. There were 12 or 16 involved and I was one of the smallest, certainly the least qualified. The rhythm was not a problem but the criss-crossing the circle as you grabbed hands in the middle was a “new thing”. Outside Sr Finbarr’s control, and certainly mine, was the way my tongue came out as I concentrated on getting it all right. For this public performance, our neighbours, Betty Carroll and Fay Burgess curled my hair – another first. They were such lovely women. Faye was a milliner who once gave us a box of beautiful scraps of coloured velvet and bits of ribbon to play with. Betty went off to join the Sisters of St Joseph in Bathurst now part of the one congregation Gen and I belong to.

(Cont’d CARROLL) At some early part of the 1950’s one way of making money for the parish was the holding of house parties. One was held at our place, where the garage was done up as a haunted house you walked through in pitch dark and were meant to be scared by skull and unidentified hairy things touching your face. Mary remembers Kathleen Feeney made waffles. Part of the planning involved clearing space for the dance line to go in a full circle through dining room, lounge, front verandah and Mum and Dad’s bedroom. The dining room of 29 Forrest Street boasted seven doorways.

Other families put on these house parties and they were good fun. Another time, the house party was in Scott’s place down the road. Mum gave me something to take down to Mr Russell – ‘You will know him by the map of Ireland on his face’. I couldn’t see anyone so afflicted and returned with the missive undelivered. (Reminds me of a story from our St Margaret’s maternity hospital in Sydney. The famous Dr Rumble MSC used to offer Mass there weekly, probably on Sundays. One time, because of some extreme emergency Mass was cancelled. He went back to Kensington and declared himself ‘the only person to have gone to St Margaret’s prepared and come away undelivered’.)

Because one of the priests decided that just the fete once a year would be enough for the Sisters’ needs, there was a stage when the parishioners began to take food to the convent, though many already were doing that. Our dad could get tins of food through the wholesale reps who came to the shop and I recall a strange trip up St Vincent’s road with my father pushing a wheelbarrow with some cartons on board. Mary and I could play in the convent yard while the grown-ups chatted inside. Years later, when Gen and I belonged to the Josephites, we heard that some cartons contained those oval tins of herrings in tomato sauce, which the sisters would gladly have swapped for something simple like baked beans.

In the school there were plenty of children who found it hard to acquire the few text books needed and I watched teachers making every effort to get hold of them. More than once I was asked if we might have an extra arithmetic book or English book at home, but as ours came down the line from above I couldn’t help. We hung our hats and jumpers on hooks along the corridor beside the classrooms. Any garments left there for a longish time would be whisked off and given to a needy child. The Sister on playground duty must have kept an eye out for those who were hungry. Once, I don’t remember why, I had no lunch or looked hungry and was fed at the convent door, sitting on the step!

We had drill teachers coming each year from Graham Burrows group. It must have been good for us. For a number of years the Catholic schools put on a huge night show at the exhibition grounds, involving crepe paper costumes, coloured skirts at least, and sometimes torches – during the “Waltz of the Flowers” and probably ‘Glow little Glow-worm”. Mary was in” Waterlilies floating on a Pond”. The story was that we did this so the Ekka would allow Catholics to use the grounds for Corpus Christi.

We were lucky to have Mrs Leggatt coming to teach elocution for many years and can still remember poems or bits of them she taught us. There was even an extract from “Green Mountains” by Bernard O’Reilly. Mary’s class learnt “The Splendour falls on castle walls’ and ‘Bredon Hill’ (where ‘my love and I did lie’ on Sunday morning instead of going to church) for the Nundah Eisteddfod. Sr Veronica also taught us beautiful poems, some of which we wrote into an “anthology” in our very best writing and graced with a picture stuck on the other page. Here were enshrined ‘I see his blood upon the rose’ as well as ‘A garden is a lovesome thing ‘.

Sports days provided a change from the weeks of classes. Some years at least, there was an intra-school sports day, the Greens vs the Golds, with the whole school picked for one or the other. This was a great lesson in leadership for the older kids who had to make sure the Grade Ones and Twos practised. The big play-off was held on Saturday morning then other schools came in the afternoon for the interschool part, that is, the inter-Josephite – school show. A marchpast opened both sessions with marks awarded.

These sports days were held in the other schools as well, and it was nothing for Sr Veronica to mention on Tuesday or Wednesday, that Hendra or Windsor or Nundah was having their sports day this Saturday. It was up to the bigger kids to rustle up those who could go and get together senior intermediate and junior teams. Sandshoes had to be whitened and sports dresses ironed and transport sorted out. No one had cars to be running us around either.

(Cont’d CARROLL) Nundah was a cinch, but Windsor and Hendra were trickier. The ball games were always important but the flat races were State of Origin crucial there was no cheating, or it was pretty difficult. Our best runners were the Doolans, but since they had been to school at Nundah, the O’Gormans knew their ages and v.v. In my memory, the Sisters who went to these days were nowhere to be seen. I imagine they were having cups of tea and a chat up in the convent.

A long-time volunteer at the school was Mr Geddes. His son Larry was in Gen’s class. For years he would come and coach us in readiness for Sports Day. He also took the boys for football each week – while us girls stayed behind… doing schoolwork!”

Geraldine Fleming and I had for several years the privilege of seeing to the marching-interschool music, which issued via a microphone from vinyl placed near the window of the Grade One room. When all classes had marched in, we positioned ourselves at the end of the long corridor to await the sign from the principal at the opposite end. We hastened to the piano to play the Morning Offering hymn, ‘O my God to thee I offer all that I shall do this day’ followed by “Hail Holy Joseph, Hail’ and ‘Take us St joseph to thy care”. For this, the microphone was held over the open back of the piano. Later in the day –after lunch? After the Angelus? we sang the hymn of the day – St Joseph on Wednesday, Sacred Heart on Friday, Guardian Angels Monday? Holy Souls on Tuesday, Blessed Sacrament Thursday.

Somewhere along the line, the new rooms were built on the end of the original school by the Fleming brothers, in that lovely knotted wood I believe is cypress pine. This got those classes out from under the presbytery, but not into the new rooms which were for the top classes. The Grade names had all been changed at the beginning of 1952, so that scholarship was now Grade Eight. Reaching the scholarship class meant entering a sort of boot camp for the year. All of the Carroll girls studied under Sr Veronica McDonald, one of the whizzbang scholarship teachers reigning in the Brisbane schools (as we heard later). Among them they accounted for the Frank McDonnell medal several times. Aiden Scott had his photo on the wall up that end of the school, later joined by my sister Barbara in 1955. At Banyo, the Grade Sevens and Grade Eights were taught in the same room. This gave us two years’ exposure to the Scholarship syllabus in Social Studies, Maths and English. Only the Eights, however, began school at 8 am, came in from big lunch at 1 o’clock instead of half-past, and stayed until 4.45 in the afternoon every day. On Saturday mornings we trooped up again, with homework from the night before all done, had classes until around noon, and went home with another lot of homework ‘for the weekend’.

As my sister Mary recalls, we soon enough sorted out that Banyo seminary was actually in Nudgee, Nudgee College was in Boondall and Nudgee state school was in Banyo. Also the difference between a cemetery and a seminary. Once our brother went to the seminary in 1953, we were allowed to visit a few times during the year, taking a picnic lunch which we ate in a spot in the almost bushland east of Nudgee state school. In the afternoon the younger ones climbed the hill to roam around the grounds, meet our cousins who were visiting Danny Carroll (present PP of Darra- Jindalee) and get up to the bell tower to enjoy the view. One time a complaint reached our ears that someone’s visitors had been making too much noise on the stairs going up, but the lady-like Carrolls denied any part in this and suspected some other family with lots of kids. Though in adjoining years at Banyo, Dan and Anth were not allowed to speak to each other once Dan moved up the scale from Philosophy to Theology. What was the great fear, we wondered. Bill Burgess and Barry McMahon also from the parish, were in Dan’s year. I recall a time before we had a car when Dad paid the taxi that took us all to the seminary in the morning to return at 5 o’clock. Families had been invited to stay and hear Tenebrae sung. When that was over, we waited for the taxi that never came outside the hermetically sealed institution and of course with no phone.

Dad would sometimes ring the house in the late afternoon to ask us to deliver a parcel to the seminary. A parcel was a bottle or packet of medicine. Since we lived in Nudgee, this involved a bike ride up and over the hill in St Vincents Road, down to the shop near the railway station, along Tufnell Road to Earnshaw St, into Approach Rd then up the hill past the convent to the boiler room. Here one entered and slunk up the cement stairs into the back of the kitchen. With the big steamers puffing away in the kitchen, the FMM Sisters couldn’t hear a knock, so one was required to sidle up to the nearest and make one’s presence known. Sometimes Sister would tell me to put the parcel in the economo’s place at the table in the huge dining room. This done, one skedaddled and did the downhill ride home. Once there was money involved. I had no pocket and dropped the coins crossing the cattle grid at the entrance near the state school. Luckily they all landed on the road.

(Cont’d CARROLL) Since several seminarians lived relatively close to the seminary, the Rector, Dr Roberts, sometimes rang for their help in watering new trees or mowing the lawns during the Christmas holidays. One unsuspecting chap when answering the phone to the rector was quite sure it was a confrere having him on – and said so. I went with my brother once and he chatted to the friendly cow man, the only human being in that huge expanse.

Another institution in the area was St Vincent’s orphanage. During holidays from the seminary, when there was no Mass in the parish, I went many times with my seminarian brother to the 6.15 am Mass at the orphanage. From the back seat I saw the little children come into the seats, many with hair cropped. I see their expressions these days on some refugees. The sorrow of not having parents at hand was beyond my imagination, though I tried to grasp it. In early 1958, some of us went to a fete there with a school friend from St Rita’s. We were allowed to select a little one and I carried around a small person of about 18 months, who remained completely unreactive all day – until it was time to go. When I put him back in his cot he began to cry, and I did too, all the way home.

Mary recalls that after I left home and Mum got her licence, the Mercy Sisters would sometimes ring her and ask to be driven somewhere. Women from the parish also helped with sewing little clothes for the children. Mum thought it would be good to make overalls for the crawlers and toddlers, but the sister in charge said there was no point because they couldn’t take children out of their cots because the floor was too old and full of splinters.

We joined the Children of Mary Sodality, which involved finding your veil and blue cloak once a month on the correct Sunday. The Holy name and Sacred heart sodalities catered to our fathers and mothers. Our meetings were after Mass on that Sunday. I don’t remember much about these except that once we went over to the convent to meet the sisters.

Each year there was a parish fete where the community got mobilised. There was a sewing stall, a cake and lolly stall, a chocolate wheel and things like get rich quick, sometimes Evens –under- evens- over. One year the Fleming brothers donated the contents of an old house they had acquired and we had great fun setting up a dreadnought stall. The articles had numbers on them, the ones ending in zero indicating a better quality prize. I don’t know who won the china cup with the bar across for protecting a moustache, but it was a magnificent object. I might be the only person ever asked to go away from the get rich quick board. Mr Tim Wrafter made this request late one fete day when I kept winning little amounts of money (and buying more tickets).

We smaller kids went with my Dad to many fetes around the place, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, Nudgee state school. He said, they support me so I support them. Mary remembers that Dad asked the local Anglican priest what he wanted to be called. When he said, ‘father’, that’s what Dad called him – which upset our parish priest. I remember that dad said he missed he chocolate wheel, which qualified as a game-of-chance so was unacceptable in what were called Protestant circles.

Dad had his own sort of ministry at Banyo with the arrival of the long-awaited migrant families after the war. He was able to help with writing letters and such. He didn’t like to hear us throwing off at people who were different. I recall a couple of quiet explanations about the good person Celie Connolly was to her brother. It turned out, though he didn’t know it, that she and her brother were Dad’s second cousins. Another lady who worked at the cannery and bandaged her leg was nick-named Pharlap, which I thought very funny until he talked about the hard work she was tackling every day. (More than 20 years later when I did a stint at the cannery, I learned that a lot of pineapple juice found its way down the big waterproof aprons onto or into one’s footwear. This was not all I learnt, but that is for another volume.)

There were attempts to get something going for the youth. A tennis club emerged called the Forresters, though for older ones than I. The dances down in Nudgee School of Arts were great, we thought, and drew a crowd. Gen remembers going around Banyo with our cousin Peter Wilson selling tickets to the dance. She says Mrs Dan McQuillan would buy one and come up by train and attend the function in support of the group, just until the next train back.

Kath Conway always played, as far as I remember, the music flowing from her fingers while she chatted or not. This might have been where I first heard the Bullimore children performing, with their Dad on the guitar, ‘These Boots were made for walking”. I thought they were marvelous.

(Cont’d CARROLL) It is often the little things, the random acts of kindness that help to knit together a community such as the Banyo parish. Of course having in common the Catholic faith is a great bond, with the holy things, like the celebration of sacraments, but the living out of love is the best teacher and we children experienced that on all sides and were nourished by it. Here were many valiant women, as Mary says, and these have been models for all of us. Thanks be to God.

PS Many years later, in the 1990’s, I believe, Edith Street and a sewing circle of women met weekly and made lovely pieces. These they sold to make money for the Josephite mission to Peru. This gesture both touched my heart and that of the people there and continued in a very concrete way the support that always surrounded us as members of this vibrant parish. Not so- random acts of kindness!

Here are some of Mary’s other memories from Banyo years.

When Dad died in 1961, his funeral was held the following day, the newly ordained seminarians in soutanes and surplices and carrying lighted candles, accompanied the hearse from St Pius’ Church to the Cemetery

What about that football match between Banyo and Indooroopilly soon after we got there? The Indoos couldn’t wear their boots because the Banyos didn’t have any. I wonder what side Dominic Jones was on.

There were so many valiant women in Nudgee and Banyo. One was Margaret Cook who brought up her five children on her own after Lenny died. I can remember the bigger children being called out when we were lined up before school, because their father had died suddenly. Kevin or Michael told us that when they were little, their mother had them include ’Please make me Father Cook’ in their bedtime prayers. They wondered why their father had to cook for them.

Frank Feeney mentioned his aunt and uncle, the Adermanns who lived door. When Genny was entering in 1955, Mum didn’t feel up to sewing her trousseau, mainly because she found it difficult to sew black fabric. Mrs Adermann was a dressmaker so Mum arranged for her to do it. When the sewing was finished, Mrs Adermann refused payment, a kind and generous gesture. Several years later about 1988, my friend’s son was very sick and depressed but was persuaded by his mother to wear a light coloured vest rather than his usual black one. My friend was working fulltime so I offered to make it for her. When done, instead paying me, I told her about Mrs Adermann’s generosity and asked her to pray for her instead. A few years later, I happened to see Mrs Adermann’s funeral notice in my friend’s Courier and was about to repeat the story, when my friend said, ‘I know who you mean, I pray for her everyday’. Now that’s not the end of the story because later again, I met Helen Feeney at a Banyo Reunion where she told me that before Aunty died, she (Helen) told the priest that Aunty always wanted to become a Catholic but her husband disagreed. Because by these stage Aunty was losing her memory, Helen thought it was too late. The priest, however, said it wasn’t and baptised her then and there. (I hope the Feeneys read this story and in turn pray for my friend.)

Dad made many friends through the shop. One was Mr Kausus who, with his wife and son Vitus, had left Europe after the War and come to live in Banyo. Mr Kausus had the upright bearing of an army officer but Mrs Kausus was very quiet and withdrawn. Sr Veronica recognised Vitus’ abilities and after Scholarship arranged for him to attend Nudgee College. Vincent Robinson and Vitus were friends, both at Banyo and Nudgee, so when Vitus’ father died suddenly, Vitus asked Mrs Robinson to look after his mother, which she did. Vitus became a doctor and went to South America.

At one stage Mrs Gilroy came to teach us to sing. We weren’t impressed with the version of Waltzing Matilda she wanted us to sing which clipped short the words such as ‘camped’ as ‘campt’ that we were used to dragging out. There was another word completely changed to a more refined version. We had to say ‘stowed’ not ‘shoved’ in his tucker bag.

One of my personal memories of Sr Veronica was when I was in Grade Eight she trusted me with this responsibility. The Retrot family had recently migrated from Holland. Robert was a big strong boy in Grade Seven who had an excellent singing voice and could whistle well. He was to sing ’I Whistle a Happy Tune’ at an Eisteddfod in the city, so my role was to escort him there on the train to Central Station and along Anne Street to the hall. I don’t think Robert or I said a word to each other the whole way but we survived, though he didn’t win. The last I heard of him was that he was an Assistant Police Commissioner in North Queensland.

(Cont’d CARROLL) Some of the contributors mentioned retired men who voluntarily cleaned the school toilets. In the early 1950’s, dear Sr Avitus would hitch up her habit and hose and scrub out the toilets on Fridays. I think we were more fascinated with seeing a nun’s petticoat, than appreciating her hard work.

Sr Francis McGinley ran a very tight ship but sometimes she would do her Irish crotchet while we worked. The idea was to crotchet individual motifs, in her case bunches of grapes, a cross and perhaps a chalice. Later I saw she joined the motifs together with a net of crotchet. It turned out that it was for an altar cloth which the sisters at Mount Street decided to keep for Mary MacKillop‘s canonisation day.

Two things I remember about my First Communion Day was that Anthony doubled me to church on his bike and that Mum made my petticoat out of his Altar Boy surplice. (Fr Wheeler insisted on plain surplices so this one with lace was redundant. I remember Duhig coming to examine us for Confirmation in 1956. I was sitting in the front row not far from him and managed to answer nearly every question he asked. I thought I was clever until years later I realised he only asked me because I was close enough for him to hear the answer! O’Donnell came on the following Sunday to confirm us.




COLLIE Memories of Kev Collie - 65 years in Banyo Parish

We came to Banyo in December 1950 in time for midnight Christmas Mass with the wonderful choir in the choir loft at the old wooden church. The Parish Priest was Fr Vincent Carroll. The story of the choir is in the book of St Pius parish printed some years ago. In Father Vincent Kiley’s time the Holy Name Society was strong with approximately 70 members attending in a body at the front right side at the 7am Mass every second Sunday of the month. One highlight was to assist in organisation of the annual Corpus Christi celebrations at the Exhibition grounds. On Palm Sundays Catholics and Anglicans met in Banyo Memorial Park for pre-Mass ceremonies complete with palm branches after which the Anglicans would proceed to Froude St. And we would go up the hill with our branches singing to celebrate Mass. Vince Kiley always promoted friendship with other denominations and regularly organised luncheons with the other ministers of religion in our district.

A strong bond existed among men of the parish as they would volunteer for maintenance of parish buildings often under the guidance of our skilled tradesmen. Dennis Wrafter was invariably in charge of concreting. Andy Ward often gathered a group for carpenter jobs. When the new church was built after the fire, gardening became more ne3cessary and there was always someone like Dennis Talbot, Ted O’Neill, Arnold Lobb, Col Bennett, Kev Hardy and many others pottering around.

A group of men (about 10) would disappear on camping trips a couple of times a year. One trip we invited Fr Vince Kiley and explored the Hawkesbury River. While these were not parish events it was through their involvement in the parish that they maintained their bond. There was an annual sponsored walk from St Pius to Nudgee Beach with sports day that was a big event to raise money for the school.

At one stage in this area there were the following:

1. Pius XII Seminary2. St Joseph Convent of French Missionary Nuns

and Seminary Staff3. St Pius V Parish and Presbytery

4. St Joseph Convent of the Sisters from our school(St Pius)

5. St Pius V School

This caused quite a bit of confusion for mail delivery. So when the new church was built after the fire, Fr Kiley addressed the problem by changing the name of our Parish to Holy Trinity.

When the seminary was in full swing with 130 students these seminarians were a big part of our parish life. They were not allowed motor vehicles so those who had them parked their motor bikes and cars at parishioners’ houses. When on their walks in small groups they were not allowed to stop and converse so parishioners would leave afternoon snacks and notes in letterboxes. When rules relaxed they became regular visitors and firm friends. Towards the end of their studies and getting close to ordination they would assist the parish priest on the altar at Sunday Mass and practise giving the sermon so as to familiarise themselves with normal parish life.



COLLIE Memories of Glad Collie - A lot can happen in 45 years!

The Way of the Cross:

I was involved in directing and producing the “Way of the Cross” from 1969 to 2006 with only a few years missing in this period. The script was given to me by Sr. Leonard while I was working at the Banyo Seminary. It is based on a meditation in Michel Quoist’s “Prayers of Life”. I approached Fr Kiley asking for permission to present the “play”, but never dreamed of the outcome. The first production was held on the top terrace of St Pius’ Primary School, (where the new carpark now stands) in 1969. It was later presented on the school’s lower terrace. It was always held on Good Friday evening at 7:00pm. I passed the script onto Sylvia Boewick of St Dympna’s Parish at Aspley and helped them present the play. We also helped Sr Martin RSJ present it at Mooloolaba. The cast, consisting of between 20 and 30 people, was made up of the wonderful men and women from the Banyo Parish and there was always a child included. I recall Jeff Valentine and Graham Farrell operating the spotlight for the cross, others helped drag the poles for the Crosses, some made costumes – there were endless helpers – perhaps 50 all told including the players.

St Vincent de Paul Society:

When Ivy Hayes’ husband Terry (who was a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society) went to God, Ivy was asked to join the Parish men’s only St Vincent de Paul Society and she then asked me to join her. We became involved in food parcels (no dockets). When we visited families I used to ask them for help to carry in the food or clothing. Our involvement included caring for women at Cribb Island, some of whom suffered from domestic violence. There are many stories.

Banyo Catholic Church Youth Group:

The youth group started with Fr Joe Duffy. The first camp was at Binna Burra. I was the cook. Tom Long and Margaret Wrafter attended. There were about 30 youth. After that we went on a camp to Duckadang (1988). Peter and Rita Robinson came as leaders on this camp. Fr McCarthy also attended and we made our own hosts for the open air mass. We also went to Stradbroke Island, Camp Cal and Burleigh. Keith Stafford was also one of the leaders of the Youth Group. Activities of the Youth Group included attendance at mass on the first Friday of the month, cutting palms for Palm Sunday, participating in two Spring Hill Fair stalls, Care for Kids at Cribb Island, walkathons, hikes to Petrie, bottle and paper drives, car washes, writing letters to youth in hospital, attendance at Boys Town football and cricket. I think that in over 4 to 5 years, approximately 150 youth participated, however the records are now lost


COLLIE

Nativity Tableau:

This was done from 1975 to 2010. Fr Kiley suggested that we present a tableau to accompany the gospel reading. It was performed a Midnight Mass at Banyo for a number of years and when the parishes were combined it was performed at Midnight Mass at Nundah. In later years it was performed at the vigil mass in both Churches. Costumes were brought from St Vincent de Paul, Op shops or made by Rita and Peter Robinson and Margie and Val Stafford and Margie Webb. Ross Bourke was the first Joseph and Janet Nagley was the first Mary. There was always a real baby Jesus, 9 angels, 3 wise men, 3 gift bearers and 5 shepherds. People from various nationalities, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Celonese, Indian, Australian Aboriginal and Papua New Guinean have played the roles of Joseph and Mary over the years. Beth Hart used to always iron the angel costumes.

Coffee Brigade:

Glen Latimer invited men and women to join the Coffee Brigade and to drive a bus and give out food to the homeless in city parks etc. Women cut the sandwiches and fruit and made coffee and donated clothes and blankets etc. I helped with the Outreach Programme on Monday mornings under the Anglican Church in Ann Street, Brisbane




CROWLEY Memories of Frank Crowley

Joan and I came to live in Redhill Road, Nudgee with our eldest child, Mark in 1958. I was 33 at the time and have lived in this Parish ever since. Shortly after arriving I went up to the Presbytery to find out about Mass times etc., and asked a man working in the garden if he would enlighten me. This ‘man’ was Fr. Landener who introduced himself and welcomed me into the Parish.

Not long after arriving in the Parish Stan Fleming approached me to assist with the collection. His brother, Les Fleming, lived on the farm which abutted our back fence and stretched from St Vincent’s to Earnshaw Roads. Les used to grow veggies as a way of supporting himself and keeping his rates down and frequently shared some of his crop with us. I remember on Melbourne Cup days Les always had a mandatory keg of beer to assist with the celebrations and invited many of us to join him.

I recall meetings in the Presbytery during Fr. Kiley’s time. This was before the rooms were built under the Presbytery. Sometimes after these meetings we would enjoy a quiet Scotch or beer with Fr. Kiley, and his sister, Rita would provide the finger food. Rita and their mother Mrs Kiley, lived on the corner of St Vincent’s and Redhill Roads, diagonally opposite the Presbytery. Everyone got on well with Fr. Kiley because he was a very easy-going priest. He was very good to the altar boys and would take them down to the Gold Coast for a day during the Christmas holidays, ‘shouting’ them all lunch and treats during the day.

I can still clearly remember the sound of the church bell tolling on the day of the fire, which destroyed the old church. Joan suggested I go up to the church, which I did. Graham Joyner and Frank Heeney were already there and one of us went into the front of the church to retrieve the collection plates. Within the next couple of days, there was a hurried Parish meeting about where Mass would be celebrated and it was decided that the canteen of the Golden Circle Cannery might be a good venue. It was celebrated there only once; after which it was celebrated in the building now known as the School Hall. I remember assisting with the setting up of chairs for weekend Masses that were held at 6:00pm on the Saturday evening and 7:00am on the Sunday morning. This continued until the new church was built. I remember collections in the School Hall being very difficult because of the number of people attending. Frequently people spilled out onto the area abutting the swimming pool.

Joan used to play the organ at Sunday Mass. Rita Bennet was in charge of the organists and it was she who invited Joan to play. Joan often played at the 6:00am Mass on Sunday mornings which meant getting our five kids out of bed, dressed and up to Church well before 6:00am. This was ‘no mean feat’ especially in winter!

I was involved in the local conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society from 1995 to 2003. I, like others, took my turn as President of the Society. Others who took on this role during my time with the Society included Glad Collie and Patsy Ryan. The term of each President was 4 years. Eric Gilligan was elected President after I retired in 2003.



FEENEY Memories of Frank Feeney



FLEMING Memories of Bernadette Fleming - Memories of Banyo Parish

Background to the District

The Nudgee/Banyo district had a Catholic ‘history’ long before the beginning of the Banyo Parish. The Crown sold land in the Parish of Toombul in 1863 at which Bishop James Quinn(O’Quinn) purchased extensively. As the first Bishop of Queensland, he was developing the Catholic community. The land included extensive land at Nudgee Beach and into the Nudgee district. St Vincent’s Orphanage, under the care of the Sisters of Mercy was transferred to Queen’s Road Nudgee in 1867, having previously been established at New Farm. The Nudgee Cemetery is on land purchased by Bishop Quinn and initially was regarded as a Catholic cemetery. The land was purchased in 1863 with the first recorded burial on 8 June 1867. The Banyo Provincial Seminary stands on what was once known as ‘Beehive Hill’. The history of Pius X11 Provincial Seminary, now known as Holy Spirit Seminary Banyo, goes back to 1863 when the Bishop acquired the 125 acre property. However, the land was not bought for the purpose of establishing a seminary, as Bishop Quinn was considering the foundation of a seminary on Mater Hill, South Brisbane. It was Archbishop Duhig who built the Seminary in 1939-1940 and it was opened in 1941. Nudgee College run by the Christian Brothers, was established on the western side of the district in 1891 when Bishop Dunne was the Bishop of Brisbane.

So since the late 1800s, this district had opportunities for both worship and schooling at St Vincent’s Chapel, St Vincent’s School and Nudgee College. The local Catholic people were buried at the cemetery. When St Joseph’s School Nundah, opened in 1916 children from the Nudgee/Banyo district went to school at Nundah. Both my parents went there, I think to make their First Communion, but they also went to Nudgee Orphanage. In the 1930s and 1940s many children from the area travelled to Nundah on the train to go to St Joseph’s. When St Pius School opened in 1947, the children went to school in their own district. Children from Cribb Island and Nudgee Beach came to the school in the parish bus, I think driven by Fr Carroll.

I understand that Bishop Quinn went back to Ireland and encouraged families to come to his Diocese. Irish Catholics came to the district in the 1860s and settled in Nudgee. Nudgee has good soil so farmers readily adapted to the area and grew crops such as pineapples and vegetables. So by the 1920s descendants of these early settlers formed a Catholic community. Other settlers, some of German descent were also part of this community. Hence names such as Conway, Carey, Ryan, Fleming, Brown, Kreutzer, Wrafter, Street, Drake, Carew, Bennett were common in the area. The McMahon, Nolan, Drake and Kenny families later settled on the hill near the church while the Russell and Scott families settled in Nudgee. I’m sure there were others such as the Station Master, MacQuillan.



FLEMING

Parish life under Dean Brady

Dean Patrick Brady encouraged strong parish bonds and was a very pastoral man. The parishioners had great respect for him and sort his advice on issues related to their everyday life. Sundays were an occasion of community gathering. People stood around outside the church after Mass and shared the events of the week. Often they walked home together as well. Ernest and Bill Carter from the Nundah parish led a vibrant choir. Some members were Mr McGuinn, Mr Drake, Mr Kenny, Mr Street, Mr Russell, Mr Nolan, Mrs McMahon, Mrs M Fleming, Mrs B Fleming? Bill Carter was the conductor.

The Dean encouraged Catholic interaction by building two tennis courts and the young people formed a tennis club and enjoyed regular play. Young Catholics met and married in the district and many continued to live in the area. Courting went on after Mass, after Benediction and at the tennis club. When the first school opened at Banyo in 1947, descendants of the earlier pioneers were common and many of the children were related in one way or another.

I think Father Carroll established sodalities later. I remember first Sunday was Holy Name for the men, second Sunday was Sacred Heart Sodality, third Sunday was Children of Mary for the young women and fourth Sunday was children’s Sunday. The St Vincent de Paul Society was active in the 1950s. It may have started earlier.



FORBES (nee KENNY) Memories of Helen Forbes (nee Kenny) - Memories of Banyo Parish

The Seminary: The seminary played a big part in our parish lives. The Angelus bell would ring every day at midday. We had some great priests from the seminary who came to participate in our lives. Dr. Young (who later became Bishop of Hobart) lead the Y.C.W in the parish. (Young Christian Workers) for boys & the N.C.G.M. (National Catholic Girls Movement) for girls. It was not only a meeting time for prayer life but also many marriages came through these groups. Hector Hogan who grew up at Nudgee Beach was a member of the Y.C.W. He was a contender in the Olympics running the 100 yards & other sprints. He died at the age of twenty-nine from leukemia. His father was a storekeeper at Nudgee Beach.

Father Wallace was another priest from the seminary who frequented our altar. He later became Bishop in the north. Father Dan Grundy was always a welcome visitor. Local families hosted many meals for seminarians, providing a “home away from home”. As there was no pool at the seminary in the early days, the seminarians would walk down Red Hill Rd crossing the railway line to swim in the Nundah creek. This was a great ritual every Sunday – we would watch them walk by.

Early memories: There was always a real country feel in the Banyo area – families supporting one another. I remember a vacuum cleaner doing the rounds with neighbours, thus saving the expense for any one person. Dad was a keen swimmer and taught many kids to swim in the Nundah Creek. There was always great rejoicing when one managed to swim across it. After rain many families walked over the seminary hill filling their billycans with mushrooms, picking only those that were a good pink colour underneath. This was before the seminary was built.

The Bennetts played a big part in the community. Firstly, as they owned a dairy, Cess Bennett delivered milk daily. Dad had a hook attached to the tank stand (outside the laundry) where we hung the billy. Rita was the official organist at the church. Monica taught many local girls ballet and tap dancing. Classes were held in the Banyo and Nudgee School of Arts halls, one afternoon a week and Saturday mornings. Monica prepared the stars for ballet exams. Rita was the accompanist on the piano. Rita taught many kids the piano and was very involved in the “Children of Mary” solidarity. Cess trained many horses in the trots. These races were held at Kedron where the Kedron high school is today. My husband, Kev spent a lot of time with Cess as he owned a horse which was housed at the Bennett stables.

Dad played saxophone and clarinet for the local dances in the halls in the early fifties. They were great social successes, people arriving by train from all over Brisbane. In father Carroll’s time fundraising was a big thing. He held “Queen competitions” to find who could raise the most money. Certain areas were represented by a female whose job it was to raise money within a certain time. Madonna Hickey (née Ryan) Elaine Bein, Monica Bennett to name a few, participated. The prize was to be crowned “Queen” the following year. Luckily we weren’t old enough to represent.


FORBES

There were many concerts held under the presbytery. Dad loved to write and perform in skits with other locals. The Bennetts (Rita & Monica) played piano duets. The Banyo choir under the baton of Mr. Carter from Nundah was always on the programme. IN the early forties, Christmas time was another time for families to gather with Father Christmas handing out gifts to the children from under the decorated tree.

During the war years we had air raid shelters in our back yards. As Jim Drake was our neighbour he and Dad built a large shelter in the back yard of Mrs Brown’s house (Jim’s mother in law) on the corner of Redhill and St Vincent’s Rds. Of course the walls were decked with holy pictures and the rosary was recited any time we had to use it. Dad was an air raid warden walking the streets to make sure no light was visible when the sirens wailed and the sky was lit with search lights. It must have been a worrying time for our parents to send children off to school armed with a piece of rubber (to bite on when the bombs fell) name tags, whistles & gas masks.

As Banyo primary school was not yet built we travelled to St Joseph’s at Nundah by train and trench practice was a daily occurrence. The school ground was a maze of trenches. We were issued with sugar bags to cover our heads when we were in the trenches. Gas producers were in place on the back of cars as petrol was rationed. Ration cards were also given to families to procure food such as butter, sugar etc. This would have been around 1942-43. There was a water trough on the corner of St Vincent’s and Redhill Rds where the local farmers would come and pump water into their tanks on the back of their Utes. My brother Dave and his mates would sail their boats in the trough. They also delighted in putting pennies on the train line and waiting for the train to flatten the coins.

St Pius’ School: Stan Fleming built St Pius’ School and the convent. Len Kreutzer, Ken Earner (my cousin) and George Walker were employees of Stan’s. They built our first home in Walton Street in 1957. Stan purchased the land for his home in St Vincent’s Rd from Bill Forbes. We were always thankful to the Josephite nuns who travelled from Nundah daily when St Pius School did finally open. They not only taught us in the classrooms but prepared us for holy communion and confirmation. Communion breakfasts were held under the presbytery. St Pius’ school was not ready for the first day of schooling in 1947, so classes were held under the presbytery and on the verandahs of the presbytery. Father Vincent Carroll was the priest at the time. Father O’Hallarian was curate. Father Carroll bought a parish bus to pick up children from Cribb Island and bring them to school at St Pius’. Later St Martha’s School was opened in Cribb Island. An end of the year picnic was held at Shorncliffe with all travelling there by train. After races were held we lined up to get a small bucket of ice cream which came with a small wooden spoon. Dad was often spokesman on sports days and fetes at the school…And when my own children were attending St Pius, Mum taught sewing at the school which led to the sewing ladies group who ran the sewing stall every year at the fetes…She was the first president of the Ladies Auxiliary (before there was such a thing as a parish council) and was at the beck and call of the priest. She joined the Nudgee/Banyo C.W.A (Country Women’s Association) and later moved to the city to become State secretary, State president & voting delegate at overseas conferences. She was awarded an MBE for her many years of involvement in this Association. Dad also taught pubic speaking and debating at St Pius’ while my kids were there.



FORBES

St Pius Catholic Church: The two architects who designed the Holy Trinity Church were Charles Ham & Peter McDougall. They were house fathers at the orphanage at the time and as far as I know, refused payment for their services. As a gesture of thanks to these men, Banyo parishioners helped in the dismantling of a stone house which they had bought at Hamilton/Ascot, and its reassembling at Mt. Nebo. The Church bell came from East Brisbane. Kev dismantled it & erected it where it is today. Val Stafford has more on the bell. Parish activities

One of the best things the parish did was in Fr. Kiley’s time. A house in St Vincent’s road was left to the Brisbane archdiocese and after a visit to Wacol with a few parishioners, Fr Kiley decided to house a Vietnamese man, his wife and two boys there. The parish supported them and it didn’t take long before they were able to buy their own home in Banyo. There is still a worker at T Wrafter and Sons who was supported by the parish in the early stages.

In the eighties, Ann Russell & myself approached the nuns at the orphanage for permission to use the idle kitchen on the premises to start Meals on Wheels (M.O.W.). Kev knocked on the doors of the local business people and raised $40000 to buy equipment and no one refused. So, armed with new mixers, large saucepans, cutlery etc M.O.W. commenced.

Kev also did a lot of work around the school grounds and convent. He travelled with Father Kiley to PNG and erected a bell and tower for the Bishop who was a great friend of Fr Kiley’s. Kev & Dave Fleming made under the presbytery into meeting rooms for the likes of St Vincent de Paul members and later a library.

The Forbes family arrived in 1948 from Clayfield. Pop Forbes cultivated the five acres (commencing on the corner of St Vincent’s and Redhill Rds opposite the presbytery and heading down towards Railway Pde) sending his produce to the Rocklea markets. Kev left school early and worked alongside his father, eventually did his trade with Polar Industries in a shed near the Nudgee railway station. Forbes Engineering grew from these humble beginnings and opened in 1970 in Elliott Rd. As it out grew that area, Kev built a bigger shed in Hurricane St. where it is still going today as Mixers Australia and is now owned by our son, Luke. Kev employed a lot of boys (over the years, never refusing any lad who showed an eagerness for hard work) and had 100 people on the wage books at one time, mostly locals.

Bill Forbes built the corner store on the corner of St Vincent’s and Redhill Rds as tuck shops had not been set up yet. Kids were allowed to buy lunches from the store. I remember Nana Forbes making water ice blocks to go with the lunches. This store was also an outlet for produce from the farm. It was a handy store for the bread, milk.etc. even though the bigger stores were established near the station.

I, like many other women in the parish, took a turn at being president of the Ladies Auxiliary which met monthly under the presbytery until the school hall was built... Looking back, I feel very fortunate to not only grow up in the area but it was a great place to raise my family in such a great community.




GAMBLEY Memories of Helen Gambley

My first memory of Banyo Nundah Parish was when I moved into the area in March 1998. I attended mass on the Sunday at Holy Trinity and was warmly welcomed by Father Bill McCarthy, who then proceeded to tell everyone that I was an organist. (Thanks to my young brother Damian, for ‘dobbing me in’, he was studying at the seminary at that time).

I have participated in the music ministry at the Banyo Nundah Parish ever since and have enjoyed playing for all different liturgical events as well as Sunday masses.



GARDINER Memories about Eddie & Bev Gardiner

Over the years Eddie and Bev were part of the McHugh family group which was also joined by other family group members from several other groups existing in the parish for the formation of family unity life to co-exist.

We did several social things either as separate group of groups and then joined together occasionally to gather as a bigger group. As we enjoyed this group as one large family, getting together regularly and enjoying each other’s highs and lows of life and we supported each other at all times.

Bev was part of the craft group run by Edith Street and Joan Kosta. We created and made things that we gave to the parish for their fetes etc.

One day we were to go on a family group bus trip and there was not enough room for everyone on the one bus and some of us had to go to the vent by private car. So Eddie decided there and then to go and get a bus licence and so at times with the help of Dennis Talbot were able to hire a second bus from the Nudgee orphanage. We did a couple of trips with the family group until some of the families decided that with a family it was not viable for them.

So then we suggested to the craft group if they would be interested in Eddie driving the bus to destinations selected by them or Eddie’s suggestions. So from this grew into once a month we took them on a bus trip. This lasted about seven years and everyone really enjoyed the gruips. The bus belonged to the parish and the school used it for sports and other outings. By Eddie driving the bus we provided funds for the upkeep of the bus, a little profit for the parish, cheap bus fares for people who were mainly pensioners who even years later we would run into them and they would thank us for the memorable occasions we gave them.

Eddie did a few trips for the general parish and a couple of Christmas lights tours around local spots. All the people who had joined us really enjoyed our tours, which made us feel really proud we could accomplish this.



GREALY (nee SCOTT) Memories of Noreen Grealy (nee Scott)

Parishioner from 1926 until 1950 at Banyo/Nudgee Parish

Parish Characters: memories

I remember our Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Jordan.

We got to enjoy ice blocks on Feast Days

Mr Carter used to come down to Banyo andconduct the choir.

The Crowes had the grocer shop at Nundah.

Our relatives, the Doyles, lived at Northgateand went to Mass at Corpus Christi.

Lees: Children were classmates. I loved myschool days with the Josephites.

Waltons: Had a nice a grass tennis court.

Connollys: Peggy at St. Joseph’s.

Scanlans: Patty and Jack. Jack was gooddancer.

Mayos: Jim and Jack at school with me.

My memories of parish life and significant events

First Confession was prepared for by the nuns at school. First Communion was a very early Mass time on a Sunday. Fasting from midnight. Altar rails with a cloth over them. The Mass was said in Latin. The Missal had Latin on one side and the English translation on the opposite side. I had Holy pictures as bookmarks. We enjoyed swapping cards. The Nuns handed out the Holy Cards for good work/any reason. We received Communion on the tongue only. We had a First Communion breakfast after the Mass. Archbishop Duhig came and quizzed the group before the event. Archbishop Duhig did the Confirmation and Mass. My Marriage was at St Pius and celebrated by Fr. Carroll. We had a Nuptial Mass at 8am on a Saturday because of fasting conditions and the Reception was held at 29 Murray Street.

Corpus Christi Processions: Always at Nudgee College. My Grandfather, Peter Scott walked directly behind Archbishop Duhig who carried the Monstrance under the Canopy. Grandpa wore his Leonian Cross which he received from the Pope for being an outstanding Catholic layman in Brisbane at the time. He and Archbishop Duhig were friends and the Archbishop visited my grandfather from time to time at his home in New Farm.

I enjoyed the Parish dances and there was a 3-piece live band playing old time music. Parish picnics were held at Sandgate or Shorncliffe. I travelled by train from Nudgee to Nundah for all of primary school from about 1931/2 till the outbreak of WW2, then I went on to All Hallows.

Funny Story: I remember the time the car would not shift out of reverse and we travelled to church the whole way from Nudgee to St Pius in reverse with my brother and I in the Dicky seat at the back.

I remember that one of the choir members had a dog that always attended choir practice. It sang/howled all the hymns. The dog used to travel on the running board. It was locked out at Mass.



GRUNDY Memories of Mrs Nell Grundy

We arrived in the Parish in early 1966 – a few weeks after Fr Kiley started here as Parish Priest.

I have memories of if being a vibrant Parish with plenty of socials and interests for most people. Of course the most memorable was when our church burnt down. Although it was a terrible thing to have happened I feel it brought the people closer together. We had to raise money for4 a new church which meant we had lots of fundraising events – mostly social occasions. We had to have Mass celebrated in the hall which was an experience.

I remember the wonderful tableau at Christmas organised by Glad Collie. It was wonderful to see my family and friends come back for this special night.

In the old church the organ was in the choir loft. There were five of us sharing the music for the Masses. We had to go up and down those stairs a few times – communion et – which was quite an effort.

My boys remember the youth groups with Fr Duffy. They formed great friendships. Most of my boys were altar boys in the Parish.

My husband Jack was very involved in the choir. He was very involved in many areas of the parish. He started up the St Vincent de Paul Society which had lapsed some time before.

I remember the CWL being very active at one time. There was great interaction with the CWL from other parishes.



HAYES Memories of Ivy Hayes - Interviewed by Bernadette Wrafter (January 2016)

Ivy holds a very special place in the hearts of the Banyo parishioners because of the enormous amount of voluntary work which she has done in the Parish, especially in and around the Banyo area.

“Ivy never stopped working for the Parish. She was on everything and was there for everybody.” (Margaret Wrafter 26/01/16)

Ivy and her husband Terry came to live in Banyo Parish in January 1971. They had seven children in nine years and Ivy learned very quickly how to sew, cook and care for such a large family. In 1972, Terry was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away in October 1974 in his own home, nursed by Ivy.

Sometime after this, probably in early 1975, Eric Robinson (who visited regularly to assist Ivy while Terry was ill) and Jack Grundy both members of the St Vincent de Paul Society asked Ivy to join the Society, making her the first and only female member. Ivy retained that status until she asked Glad Collie to join her. Glad happily obliged. In the mid-seventies, Ivy and Glad worked primarily with people at Cribb Island providing assistance where needed. This included removing women who had experienced domestic violence to places of safety and providing food vouchers to families in need. The community at Cribb Island was going through a very difficult period at the time because of the Federal Government’s decision to resume land to upgrade the Brisbane airport. Ivy and Glad worked with Sisters Angela Carroll RSJ and Mary O’Gorman RSJ who rented a house at Cribb Island to work with the community during this period.

On Wednesday evenings, Ivy joined fellow members of the Society, Tom and Kev Fleming, Barry Dutton, Glen Latimer, Dennis Petty, Bob Hatton, Don Kelly, Paddy Connolly and Eric Robinson to go into the city to feed the homeless.

In 1983, Fr Bill McCarthy determined to commence a Care and Concern group in the Parish. Ronnie Barr and Molly Fleming held a morning tea which raised $300 and so the group was launched. Ivy devoted her considerable energies to this organisation for the next 30 years. The organisation was self-funded with moneys being raised by providing tea, sandwiches and cakes after funeral services and charging a fixed minimal amount per head. In the eighties and nineties, Ivy and Vonnie Bennett, another long standing member of the group would ring around women in the Parish asking them to cook a cake or make sandwiches for the occasion. This meant that the costs were low and the food very good. Monies earned were then used to continue the other work of the organisation such as assisting the sick by washing and ironing clothes and cleaning houses, and assisting new mothers by providing 6 weeks of frozen meals to them when they returned home following the birth of their babies.



JOYNER Memories of Father V P Kiley by Graham Joyner

The appointment of Father Vincent Patrick Kiley as Parish Priest of Banyo in 1966 was the trigger for a new era in the Parish history. He came as a “package” together with his much lived Mother, Gwen, and his sister, Rita, who acted as Parish Secretary.

His arrival in the Parish coincided with a surge of expectations arising from the Second Vatican Council, which was to impact powerfully on the lives of both Clergy and Laity. Father Kiley was both an Agent for Change, and a supporter of Traditional Theology.

Archbishop O’Donnell was then in charge of the Brisbane Archdiocese, and he had been instrumental in harnessing the talents of lay people to increase the efficiency of the Archdiocese. Similarly, Father Kiley set out to involve more the Laity in Banyo to invigorate the Parish. One of his first actions resulting from Vatican II was to establish a Parish Pastoral Council. It was the second such Council to be established in the Brisbane Archdiocese, preceded only by one at Stafford Parish. The Council was encouraged to be involved in any, and all, of the activities of the Parish community. At last there was a proper channel for the voices of lay people to be involved in the life of the Parish.

Soon after that, a Parish Liturgy Committee was established to improve and increase the lay involvement in all Liturgical activity. The immediate effect of this was that many parishioners realised their own shortcomings in understanding the functions of the Parish, of the Liturgy and of Church history, and set about re-educating themselves, something that for many had ceased when they left school. Around this time, the Seminary had begun offering Scripture Lectures to lay people, and many parishioners took advantage of that opportunity. Others enrolled in training classes sponsored by the Archdiocese.

When the Boat People from Vietnam began to arrive in Brisbane, and were billeted in ex-Army quarters at Wacol, Father Kiley supported parishioner groups who wanted to assist these refugees. The objective was to find them accommodation within the Parish, to help them to acclimatise, and to find employment where they could use their skills. There was never a question whether they were Catholic or not; only that they were needy and keen to enter the Australian society.

Social activities were not forgotten. Some were designed for the youth (who had always been one Father Kiley’s priorities) and others for adults; parish dinners, golf days, bush walking etc. All were aimed at bonding people within the Parish community.

The construction of the new Church was a challenge which Father Kiley undertook with his customary enthusiasm. He included a Columbarium, probably the first in the Archdiocese, and supported those who chose to use this newly permissible method of honouring the remains of family members.


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The Parish Liturgy blossomed under his leadership. Training programs were provided to encourage parishioners to develop skills and confidence in becoming involved in Parish Liturgical life. The celebrations of the great feast days of Easter and Christmas required the talents of more parishioners, and attracted people who were not regular church attendees. Finding that they were being welcomed could well be the first step. Programs for local residents who had become separated from the Church were investigated and teams were trained to provide a simple process for them to return to the practice of their faith.

When Archbishop Francis Rush was appointed to lead the Archdiocese in 1973, he found that many of the initiatives of Vatican II had already been established in parishes. He was very fond of saying to lay groups “You are the Church”. Father Kiley had already established this concept in the minds of Banyo Parishioners.

How can the Reverend Vincent Patrick Kiley, Parish Priest of Banyo, be described: perhaps as a “Man for all Seasons”: perhaps as a “Renaissance Man”, or perhaps as being “Unforgettable”. He was energetic, accessible, perceptive, gregarious, spontaneous, sometimes impetuous, but always quick to make amends. He was alert to the needs of the very young and of the very old. He loved his family, and they loved him. He was joyful in his priesthood, and maintained contact with his Seminary Classmates. He enjoyed the company of other Priests and of lay people.

It could be said that he was “larger than life”, and he certainly enriched the lives of those who knew him. Under his leadership, the people of Banyo Parish found joy and fulfilment in the practice of their faith.

On his Gravestone are these words: “Oh God, You are my God and I long for You”. No doubt his loving God welcomed him with open arms.

He built a new Church but more importantly, he built a great community”.




KANOWSKI Memories of Maureen Kanowski – Banyo Parish

We arrived at Nudgee in December 1981 on transfer with the Queensland Department of Forestry. We were glad to find a house large enough for the four children still at home, close to the church and St Pius V School, where our youngest daughter joined Year 2 in 1982. We were made welcome by the parishioners and Father Kiley. I can remember Rita Robinson greeting parents of children new to the school at a morning tea in the hall. The friendliness of the community was remarkable.

Having been introduced to Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) in Maryborough, I found joy and spiritual support in being part of a CCR Prayer Group that met one evening a week in the church, and later in the Perkins’ home. Under the leadership of Glen and Patricia Latimer the group conducted a Life in the Spirit Seminar a proven outreach programme to those unaware of the meaning and value of CCR. Father Kiley bravely gave us permission to practise this form of lay leadership.

The Passionist Fathers were asked to help set up Family Groups. Several such groups were formed, comprising a cross-section of families, meeting monthly for such social events as Pot-Luck Dinners, Charades, Picnics; groups combined for Progressive Dinners and Car Rallies. We enjoyed getting to know each other better (even to baby-sitting rosters), and the sense of community in the parish benefitted.

I remember Graham Joyner giving a talk in the parish hall on the new model of the Church as a Pilgrim People, possibly part of a series on change after Vatican II. My husband Peter was President of the Parish Council for some years, and also President of the school Parents and Friends Committee.

Sister Anne Bond RSJ was responsible for encouraging the laity, with support from Father Kiley. Besides training Ministers of the Word and Sacrament and educating us in liturgical matters, she was instrumental in implementing the RCIA. Several groups flourished over the years, including two at our place. Participation in the Archdiocesan Lenten Programme was an annual event. Also, at our home a large group of women and men studied The Journey, an 80 lesson course guiding us through the Old and New Testaments.


KELLY Memories of Don Kelly

THE KELLY FAMILY

1968 – 1988

Our association with St Pius Primary School and the Church began in 1967 to 1988. Anne and Don (Parents) with… Bernard Grades 5, 6, 7; Anthony grades 2 to 7; Mary-Lou Grades 1 to 7. Our involvement was when Anne worked in the tuckshop, eventually becoming the convenor and being on the P & F Committee.

My first involvement was the annual fete and sports day, the big school event each year which led to St Pius having an athletics team in the Zone 6 sports against other schools annually and with good success. The same events applied to swimming carnivals at both levels, again acquitting themselves well.

In discovering that several parishioners were cricket enthusiasts, it wasn’t hard to arrange social cricket games, one of which was played on the oval at the then Banyo Seminary. About this time, a Catholic Primary Schools A.F.L competition was formed and with the permission of the sisters and father Kiley, St Pius entered the teams in this competition (one from grades 4 & 5, other grades 6 & 7). As I have always been an Aussie Rules supporter since early 1950’s (Brisbane Only), I was able to regulate my work times to organise the boys regards training, travelling, playing etc. We played against St Flannan’s, Zillmere, Wavell Heights etc on the Northside with only 4 or 5 schools involved. St Pius wore red jerseys, known as “The Reds”. We had a club song based on the melody of “Notre Dame University”, USA which is now used by the “Sydney Swans”, AFL. The boys were great and a credit to St Pius.

All of this lead to many of us forming lasting friendships and many happy memories of those times. I had a personal involvement in dance band music (vocalist) at this time and Father Kiley agreed to hold dances and socials in the dance hall for adult parishioners. I arranged a band (4 or 5 piece) from the Brisbane Jazz Club to be held on Saturday nights. From the 1st one, they were a great success and lots of fun. We also found some local talent in Shane Fleming singing (she was terrific) and I believe Coin Kenny may have played a song or two on his sax. I well recall on one occasion we made one dance a character night with each of us coming as a TV or Movie person. Father Kiley stole the show as Sgt. Bilko (Phil Silvers) playing crap (dice) on the dance floor. Many friendships were formed out of all this for Anne and I re Nora & Tom Fleming, Fay & Barry Dutton, Nell & Jack Grundy, Cynthia & Les Lawrence, Doreen & Fred Byrnes, Pat & Grahame Berlin and Father Bird. As is usually the case, when your children leave primary school, parents then tend to become involved at secondary School as it was with us. Bernard and Tony went to Nudgee College and Mary-Lou to St Rita’s. This did not affect the friendships for us (re above) continuing for many years on and some of us are still visiting each other today.

Our years at St Pius were very happy and rewarding and most vital in our children’s education in all respects.

Don Kelly


LATIMER Memories of Kim Latimer - Banyo

With the arrival of Father Vince Kiley, who actively embraced the spirit of Vatican II, dynamic participation in church life by the laity increased. The music ministry gradually became an integral part of Parish life. Rita Bennett was the Parish organist, who played at the 7.30am Mass on Sunday. Father Kiley recruited Rita Long, Nell Grundy, Joan Crowley and Pat Latimer, all organists, so that all Parish Masses were able to encompass congregational singing.

Jack Grundy instigated the renewal of a choir in the Parish in the late 1960’s and became its conductor. Rita Bennett was the organist. The choir sang at Christmas and Easter liturgies. After Jack passed away in 1985, Pat Latimer became the conductor. Eventually Rita Long became the organise for the choir. This choir continued on until the late 1980’s.

Pat Latimer began the Youth Choir sometime in the early 1970’s. The choir sang to the accompaniment of guitars, and one Sunday evening each month they would sing for the Youth Mass. This Mass was often followed by a gathering of the Parish youth.

I recall that Sr Declan RSJ prepared us for the Children of Mary. As confirmed girls, we were encouraged to attend at Mass once a month, where we sat at the front and wore our veils and a blue cloak.

Fr Kiley initiated ecumenical visits to other churches around the north side of Brisbane. He would hire a small bus and the parishioners would go to visit other churches, both Catholic and non-Catholic. A testament to his support of this ecumenical approach was the assistance given to him by the other Christian leaders in the Banyo area when the Church burnt down.

He was also a strong proponent of the Corpus Christi procession which was held in June at the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds where school children in uniform, Parishes and Catholic Sodalities marched in procession singing hymns. Banyo Parish supported this event for many years.


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McGEEHAN Memories of Joe McGeehan - My Reflections of Banyo Parish 1954 – 1974

As you can see from the date above the McGeehans were very much late comers to the Banyo Parish and our presence was only 20 years which in terms of the life of the Parish is a very brief time. But some very significant events for our family happened within those years and the support of the Parishioners was outstanding. I still have some very close friendships that were formed in that period even though all the time my parents and two sisters lived at 72 Blinzinger Rd Banyo I was at boarding school or at the Seminary and after that appointed to three different parishes, I spent all my holidays at home. We came from Esk to Banyo in 1954.

On my first holiday my sister Ruth invited me to join a social club located at Northgate Cannery – my first contact with other young people in the Parish. I can’t remember all the members but Norma Barber and her brother Noel and Tom Fleming became good friends to me. I have cherished Tom’s friendship ever since. There were four people from the Parish who played in the Catholic Lawn Tennis Association – my sister Ruth, Lauren Lenton, Brian Wilson and Brian Burgess. Very soon after I arrived at Banyo a group of us began playing cards – and that tradition continued for the eight years I was on holidays from the Seminary. The regulars were Tom Fleming, Terry Carey, Brian Bretell, Brian Conway, Brian Price and Bowman Barber. Mostly we gathered at my parent’s home. Our family said the Rosary every night without fail and if we hadn’t said it before the boys arrived they too were expected to join in. It wasn’t long before the boys started to arrive a little later.

I entered the Seminary in 1956 so only became part of the parish for the seven years of the summer holidays. The Parish priest was Fr. Roy Landener – there were three assistant priests that I can remember, Fr John O’Shea, Fr Joseph Flannery and Fr Bill O’Shea. It was not an easy life for them. At the end of every holiday as a Seminarian we had to get a letter from the Parish Priest to say that we behaved ourselves during the holiday period. Fr Landener used to ask me to cut the grass in the Church and School grounds so I did that – not always willingly. I went to week day mass when I could so I always hoped those two things would qualify me for the good behaviour letter. Fr Landener was renowned for saying a quick mass and when friends from my school days visited me they were quite happy to come to mass with me. Sermons those days were nearly always a reminder to keep the ten commandments, or on the seven sacraments or the commandments of the Church or the seven deadly sins. Faith, Hope and Charity got a mention sometimes. Every few years a Parish mission was held – these scared our faith and morals into action.

Two significant family events happened during Fr Landener’s time – the marriages of my sisters Ruth and Edith and also my ordination in 1963.


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On Sunday nights we had Benediction and after it a lot of young people would go to a cafe for malted milks. The Children of Mary Guild was very strong under the watchful eye of Rita Bennet and her sister Monica. I remember especially the St Vincent de Paul Society. When I was on holidays I was invited to attend their meetings and be involved in some of their good works. Keith Street and Jim Drake really took me under their wings and I can remember Eric Robinson and Bob Hatton very much from those days. It gave me a real feel for the Society and inspired me to support St Vinnies in every Parish I was in during my priesthood.

Before I finish this reflection I must mention something that highlights the wonderful spirit that was in the Parish during my Parents time there. Six months before I was to be ordained, Molly Conway asked me how I was going to celebrate my ordination. My parents lived from one week at a time (happily I must add) and I had saved a little from my earnings as a postman during every holiday. We were just going to have a special family meal. Molly said she would do something and she surely did. Molly Conway, Molly Fleming, Iris Casey, Kath Bret tell and Margaret Cook declared 72 Blinzinger Rd as an ‘open house’ after my first Mass. People came until late afternoon and the women brought enough food to last all day. Not only Parishioners came but word got out too many of my school friends and other people I had met along the way. When I was 50 years ordained (2013) I mentioned this in my homily and some of the descendants were in that Parish at the time.

Another thing that inspired me was the way Parishioners supported the Nudgee Orphanage. My Mother was on a committee attached to the Orphanage and was still doing things until a few months before she died. We took an orphan for one holiday but could never do it again as seeing her reaction when it was time to go back broke our hearts.

It was during Fr Vince Kiley’s time that both my parents died – Dad (Joe) in 1967 and Mum (Edith) in 1974. The people of Banyo Parish at those times were so very generous and caring. I was in Childers when Dad died but I know my mother was supported by Banyo people. And I know that Graham and Pat Joyner and Pauline Rafter were very attentive to my mother in her illness.

I treasure the many friendships formed during the 20 years – I can’t mention them all here but I did the funerals for Tom and Molly Fleming and their son in law Brian Price. I have married four of Tom and Molly’s grandchildren and baptised eleven of their great grandchildren and two of their great grandchildren.




McHUGH Memories of Vince McHugh

‘You’re Standing on Holy Ground’ was the first memories I had when gazing out the front of my new home situated at 16 Milliner Street Nudgee in Banyo Parish. You could hear the bells at the then Banyo Seminary (now ACU) drawing attention to a church custom of saying the Angelus when believers stopped what they were doing and joined in the church prayer. As I looked across the farmland which was mostly unsettled I noticed the Nudgee Catholic Cemetery. Next I heard that a couple of blocks away from my home on the left was the St. Pius Banyo Catholic Church now known as the Holy Trinity Church, Banyo Parish and it had a Catholic Primary School nestled into the hillside beside it. I had found what I was looking for as the Real Estate had already told me it was the nearest bush town to the city. I have never wanted to leave since that day on the 31st March, 1967. It was 100 years from when my Great, Great, Grand-Father Bernard McHugh was the first person to be buried in Nudgee Catholic Cemetery in 1867. We went up to meet the Parish Priest and asked who we thought was the gardener in brown shorts and singlet where we could find him. He then introduced himself as Fr. Vince Kiley Parish Priest and we have enjoyed a close friendship with All the Priests to this day including Fr. Bernie Gallagher.

The R.C.I.A (Rite of Christian Initiation) brings back vibrant memories of a team of locals answering Pope Paul V1 encyclical which stated “The Church existed in order to evangelize’. Ads appeared in the local newspaper ‘What’s missing in Ch_ _ch? Answer –UR. I was given a job of visiting a list of non-Catholic contacts who were mainly married to a Catholic. It was an eye-opener because most of them stated they were never asked before if they wanted to become Catholics. The enquiry night followed by faith information nights lasted for many months and ended up with many entering the church at Easter. Laity were given many jobs on Enquiry Nights that included slides and talks which I have vivid memories of, including two in particular that I gave – ‘God out of His abundant love has added to our numbers’ and another I gave exhorting the Laity to hop in and help the Church according to the gifts that you have been given- ‘Rise up oh Christian People, for you the Church doth wait, Her strength unequal to Her task, rise up and make Her Great’. You can help by asking a neighbour if they would like to become a Catholic or to come along to Sunday Mass with you.

After gaining the experience of being State Organizer of the Voice of Youth 1982 which included all Secondary Schools including State and Private in Queensland, I felt called to put my gifts towards helping the church and families at the same time- I became Parish Organiser, Banyo Social Club. The proceeds went towards refurbishing the Banyo Tennis Courts which included new fencing, Synpave Top Dressing and the lights were donated free. Tennis was very popular of a weekend and because of the lights they were hired out of a night. Dance music was supplied by a well known band- ‘Sundown’. Big crowds attended the Banyo Parish Hall dances due to the method I employed e.g. Select 10 ladies who were popular and give them a table to invite 10 friends which would give an attendance of 100 people. I hired mostly 40 seater buses and went to many Festivals including The Apple and Grape Festival, Stanthorpe, Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, Jondaryan Woolshed. Gympie Gold Rush Festival, Stradbroke Island, Coolangatta Tweed Heads Golf Club was also popular with good meals, free show, free dance not forgetting the pokies


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which hadn’t come into Queensland. The Clubs used to give us $5 per person to go towards our fundraising.

Rosalie Waters Catholic Campsite up past Dayborough was a venue which became an annual parish event back in the 1980’s for approximately 10 years. The Camp Site for seventy was mostly full and on one occasion when the children from the Nudgee Children’s Home accepted an invitation the numbers rose to 116 with boys and men sleeping in the Assembly Hall. About four women were on the catering committee but everyone had a job when it came to mealtime on a job roster. The milk was ordered through the local farmers. Different groups were set up to provide entertainment including dancing, teaching and we were even supplied with home movies on Laurel and Hardy etc. This was all with everyone doing jobs they were comfortable with. I can recall leading a group on a hillside path calling the words of “On Top Of Old Smokey’ and the crowd followed me and joined in singing it. Single line singers on a hillside produced a wonderful effect that I hadn’t experienced before. There were also outside activities that tested the physical. B.B.Q’s won the hearts of young and old. A Priest was also invited to the weekend which included the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Tent Camping was on the radar and well attended at places like Little Yabba Creek etc.

GOLF TRIPS were arranged to take parishioners to Nudgee Golf Club and as far as Woodford in the School bus which catered for the numbers. To enable you to captivate the Spirit I am reporting just a few events as displayed in my Social Club Report in 1986 as follows: - Trinity Sunday 1986 was indeed a rewarding experience for all those (approximately 150 disciples) who attended Nudgee Beach B.B.Q. held in honour of Our Feast Day. The Communion of Saints in Heaven must have been very happy with the group harmony that existed on this occasion between the Saints on Earth. FISHING – Participants (and fish) are greatly needed in this area. We do not expect people to WALK THE WATER but one of the requirements of this sport is PERSISTANT FAITH. Come along and bring a rod. BOAT TRIP ON THE BRISBANE RIVER–Full steam ahead for all those who couldn’t wait for the Opening of the Gateway Bridge. We sailed beneath it towards the Mouth of the Brisbane River to re-assure ourselves that the Bridge was safe and sound. The sun, fun and the company combined to make it a memorable outing. PROGRESSIVE DINNER – This was one of the social highlights for 1986 “The Feast of Cana” had nothing on this event as we walked, talked and feasted at the four homes so kindly offered on this occasion. There was no need to turn the water into wine as the supplies were plentiful and the food scrumptious. Thanks Be to God!

Banyo Parish Convent School played a huge part in the lives of our 8 children. Our eldest started in 1967 and our grandchildren are still attending there almost a half of century later. School sports, Fetes, Parents and Friends, Bus Trips, Parent Interviews became regular events in our lives and it was there we met most of our friends. Adoration must be given a Place of Honour in our lives and after the Mass it has been the best Spiritual Force we have encountered in the last 50 years. Thank you Fr Paul Chandler for introducing Adoration into our Parish. Keep praying for its success. Our prayer is that other Parishes catch on as it has the Power to change our hearts and the whole world.



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We attended the opening of the Banyo Parish Church (known as Holy Trinity which was Blessed by Archbishop Rush on the 29th May, 1977 at 3pm after a deliberate fire which burnt down our previous Place of Worship. It was followed in June 1977 by The Movement for a Better World. It not only opened our hearts but also our minds that we could help in the making a Better World by using the Gifts that God has given us. We were introduced to The Signs of the Times Theology based on Matthew 16 verses 1 to 4 which I know to this day, to think outside the box and to see things as Jesus sees things. For those of you who have a copy of the official photo of the Better World, the baby who you can’t see in the bassinet in the front of the photo is my youngest son who was born just before the opening of the church.

Before I mention the next part of history, to understand why Apologetics has played a big part in my life you should know the following – On my bedside table during childhood I always had a penny catechism, bible and church history books and at an early age enrolled in The Catholic Truth Society. As a result, I founded Blessed Trinity Apologetics on 4th March 2001 which has been available to any person who wants to know more about their Catholic Faith and able to Defend the Faith against all the doorknockers besides answer questions that are commonly discussed in Catholic Circles.

The Holy Name Society played a big part in my early years at Banyo with one Sunday a month set aside for getting men together for mass, talks and annual retreats. These were very important for menfolk who felt free to discuss their problems. Children of Mary, Legion of Mary, Catholic Women’s Assn., Ladies Auxiliary, Knights of Southern Cross and 12 Star Club which took us as far away as house parents to a Salesian Fathers Campsite at Shamrock House, Koroit, Victoria. In my case I had to wait a short period to join the St. Vincent de Paul Society as members outweighed the social needs in the Banyo, Nudgee, Cribb Island, Nudgee Beach and Virginia Areas. Financial Aid was not as available as it is today and fund raising became a common practice in Church circles.

Saint Patrick’s Concert was an annual event that everyone looked forward to and our locals become overnight stars with their comedy acts and songs like Danny Boy etc. If I gave a prize in1983 it would have won by a mile by Jack Grundy who excelled when someone mentioned Ireland. When the music started they were up on their feet doing the Pride of Erin or Irish Jig etc. Think I can remember the beer being served green on one occasion. Changing partners gave everyone a chance to converse with everyone in attendance as we did the light fantastic. FAMILY GROUPS should be mentioned because they were introduced into this Parish 1987 by the Passionist Order of Priest who endeavoured to keep families together. Some of the families involved in this endeavour were the Moore’s, Robinson’s, Way’s, Head’s, Casey’s, McCarthy’s and McHugh Family Group. Their activities were wide reaching and took us away sometimes all together to places like Sunday Creek, Peach Trees, Stanley River, Toch H at Bribie Island and Beachmere, Home B.B.Q’s indoor bowls. Skating and movies etc. One event that I remember well was horse riding by our children on Feeney’s paddock opposite Emmaus which has since become a housing development. Most gatherings were followed by a family B.B. Q. A big thanks to my wife Joyce who preserved all this Parish history since 1967.




MCHUGH

Before I close I apologise for not mentioning the names of the many people who worked so hard for the church and should always be remembered in our prayers. To overcome this problem, we will be submitting our Parish Photo Albums containing photos over the last half century which will bring back memories of Church Events in Banyo Parish that other Parishes envied. I will close this article with words of St. Paul “May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always”

Joy, Peace and Happiness in JMJ

Vince and Joyce McHugh and Family



McQUILLAN Memories of Bernard McQuillan

I was born on 3rd July 1924, the fifth of eight children, born to Daniel Denis McQuillan and Hanora violet McQuillan (nee McHenry). Unlike the three oldest of my siblings, I, together with four of my other siblings was born at 96 Tufnell Road at Banyo. My parents came to Banyo in 1920 following my father’s discharge from the army on 20 September 1919. My father worked in the railway as a signalman.

Dean Brady was the parish priest at Banyo during my childhood and youth. He was responsible for the building of the presbytery on the corner of Redhill and St Vincent’s Roads at Banyo. He was well liked and a gentle soul. My brothers and I served as his altar boys from the ages of about 12 or 13 to about 15. He had his own chooks and milked his own cow – these were the depression years. This was a working class parish and Dean Brady, being the man he was, warmed to the people and they to him. He is buried at Nudgee cemetery. I also remember that on the first Sunday of the month he would read out a list of how much each family donated for the month. We used to refer to this as the ‘humble sheet’.

I went to primary school at St Joseph’s Nundah, catching the train to Nundah station with my brothers and sisters. We walked up Station Road, crossed Sandgate Road and then turned left and then right up a side street where there was a Masonic lodge. This street took us into the memorial park in front of the Nundah State Primary School. I remember one day while we were walking across this park some of the state school children called out to us: “Catholics, Catholics swim like frogs in the Holy Water” and “Are the old black crows still teaching you?” A fight ensued. By the time we got to school, the nuns already knew about the fight, courtesy of the teachers at Nundah State School. Sister Vincent gathered together all of those involved in the fight to punish us for fighting. Sr Celsus then asked what we had been up to. When we told her why the fight began she successfully advocated on our behalf and we were sent back to our class untouched by the cane! Other sisters at the Nundah Convent whom I remember well were Sisters Declan and Flora.

I remember the stations of the cross at St Pius Catholic Church every good Friday afternoon around 3.00pm. The church was always full of people. I did both sub-junior and junior at Nudgee College in 1930-1940. I used to travel to the college on my pushbike and sometimes I would walk. There was a bridge over the creek which ran along the bottom of the paddocks of the college just behind the Nudgee Railway station (see image below). Access to the bridge was off the Nudgee end of Elliot road and through a set of cast iron gates. On the other side of the creek there was another set of iron gates. The bush track ran for about one kilometre from Elliot Road to the main oval of the College. The bridge was constructed and used by the college to access the Nudgee railway station to collect students coming in from the country. The college had a covered wagon which would limber across the bridge to the station and then back across and up through the lower paddocks until it reached the main college building. This same bridge served the Banyo/Nudgee Catholics who attended the Corpus Christi Processions at Nudgee College. The processions were spectacular events with the Archbishop always presiding and all religious in the Brisbane archdiocese participating by marching around the oval.



MCQUILLAN

When Dean Brady took over the parish he brought with him confidence, co-operation and compassion. Further details about Dean Brady are on his headstone at Nudgee Cemetery which reads:

Sacred to the memory of Very Rev. Dean Patrick Brady. Born Kiltycon Co Longford Eire. Ordained 24th June 1898. Died 25th March 1951. Aged 84 years. R.I.P.



O’DRISCOLL (nee STAFFORD) Memories of Therese O’Driscoll (nee Stafford)

I have lived in the Banyo/Nundah Parish for the majority of my life, commencing in 1966. I had a brief period living in the Herston Parish. I wasn’t Baptized at Banyo though; I was Baptized at St Stephen’s Cathedral. My earliest memories are of going to Sunday Mass with Mum and Dad and being dressed up with hat and handbag and patent leather shoes.

The 1970’s was quite busy in the parish. My family attended many parish events and missions. I attended St Pius, Banyo from 1972 to 1978 and I loved when Fr Kiley visited the classroom as he did very regularly and told us many stories. As a family we enjoyed the occasions when Fr Kiley visited us as home to share a meal. Mum is still a fabulous cook but we didn’t regularly get dessert but we did when Fr Kiley came to tea. There was a roster in the Parish to allow Fr Kiley to visit parishioners and share meals on a regular basis. Mum also cooked for the nuns at the convent and provided a huge meal for them on the Annual St Pius sports day/fete…I remember a wonderful evening with a pit fire in the grounds of the Banyo presbytery and having a pig cooked in the fire.

I made my First Holy Communion in 1974 in the St Pius Church. My sister, Margaret had to have her First Holy Communion in the school hall in 1976 as the Church was burnt down in the March of 1976.

My parents, Val and Keith Stafford, led the Twelve Star and Dominic Savio groups for young people in the Banyo parish. Twelve Star for girls and Dominic Savio for boys. We had camps at Christmas Creek and Greenwood. We made lots of new friends and hosted and billeted young people from other parts of Qld.

The new Church, Holy Trinity was built and opened in 1977 and I made my Confirmation there in 1978.

In about 1978 I joined the Legion of Mary and got to wear a blue cape. One of the older girls who advised us was Frances Joyner.

I had my first encounter with the Nundah church when I went to Corpus Christi College for year 11 and 12 in 1983 – 1984. I loved the architecture of the church and really loved the convent chapel as well.

Fr Kiley requested a census be taken of all the parishioners in about 1985. He enlisted the help of the many teenagers in the parish and paid us $5/hour to go door to door asking if the occupants wanted to be recognised as being Catholic. We had quite an interesting time door knocking and found many new people for the parish. We visited all the houses in Nudgee, Banyo and Virginia, possibly missing those with aggressive dogs.


O'DRISCOLL

In 1988 Banyo got a new PP Fr William ‘Bill’ McCarthy (Fr Mac). I became engaged in 1988 and really wanted to have Fr Kiley concelebrate my wedding. He suggested that coming back to Holy Trinity for this could cause a precedent. I really loved the chapel at the convent at Nundah but Fr Nolan did not feel this would be possible. I discovered that my future husband’s grandparents had been married at Corpus Christi and arrangements were made for us to marry at Corpus Christi having Fr Mac and Fr Kiley concelebrate the occasion.

When the parishes were being joined into one we had some meetings discussing possibilities of how things may change – Mass times etc. It was difficult for both parishes to join. Banyo had quite a vibrant life as did Nundah. Banyo people were used to having 4 weekend Masses as well as week day Masses. I imagine Nundah had similar. Suddenly we were to join and obviously things would have to change as the merge took place. I wrote to Fr John Sullivan advising that I was sure that as past priests have faced difficult times in the past this would eventually work itself out. I was very excited to get a beautiful card from Fr John thanking me for my kind words.

The merge did go well and although I did enjoy going to the 9am Mass on a Sunday at Banyo I managed to train myself to be organised to participate with the 7.30am Mass at Banyo instead.

Fr John became a family friend just as the many priests before had become. He even attended Mum’s surprise 60th Birthday party in 2001. Such fun.

Fr Paul Chandler was wonderful to talk to about many things. Now we have Fr Bernie Gallagher and he is absolutely delightful. He has such an enthusiastic way about him and so inclusive in every way.

It is wonderful to have been part of the parish for so long and I look forward to the wonderful and vibrant future.



PEASE Memories of Patricia Pease

My connection with the Banyo Catholic Parish began over 50 years ago when in 1963 I started Grade 1 at St Pius Convent. A quaint provincial school by current standards, it became our world for the important formative years of the 1960s. A world where we learnt about friendships, kinships, the importance of families and of belonging to a community. Early memories are of the nuns in their dark full habits presiding over lessons with firm authority – enhanced by a stern look or the treat of a visit to the principal [and maybe the cane!] Slates and slate pencils were the order of the day in grade 1, followed by copy books and trying to master fountain pens and ink wells before biros became widely used. We learned about the introduction of decimal currency in 1966 with its catchy jingle and were relieved that we could ignore the Latin prayers in our missals as Vatican 2 was changing the mass into English in time for our First Communion.

We had several particularly memorable teachers – Sister Philomena in Grade 3, who regularly fell asleep in the afternoon class, giving the boys a great chance to make paper planes or play marbles. Then the delightful Mrs Carroll in grade 4 who opened our minds to the wider world with her lessons on Social Studies. Sister Gonzales in Grade 5 was nick named ‘Speedy Gonzales’ for her firm discipline and few ventured to test the boundaries of the rules. A composite grade 6+7 class must have been a nightmare for Sister Declan in 1968 but we remained blissfully unaware of her stresses as the 60s hit full swing. The more socially advanced students were talking non-stop about the Beatles and some girls were bold enough to wear the new fashion item – trousers with a front opening zip called ‘jeans’ and thought to be quite daring at the time. A wonderful treat for our grade 7 class was to be allowed to go the presbytery to watch TV to see the first moonwalk. Our world was expanding indeed!

After grade 7 the students went in different directions to high schools but connections with the parish were maintained at church on Sundays and through the Children of Mary society and several other social groups. Perhaps we were too young to appreciate it at the time but our years spent at school in the Banyo parish provided us with a firm foundation and strong core values to enhance our future growth.




STAFFORD Memories of Val Stafford

My husband Keith and I started to build our home at Nudgee on 2nd December, 1962. So started our 53 years as parishioners of the Banyo Nundah Parish. We married in June 1963 and moved into our new home on 7th July. The parish priest at that time was Father Roy Landener.

On the 11th March 1966 Father Vincent Kiley became our Parish Priest. I had met Father several times when he visited the priests in Warwick where I grew up so I knew him very well. This was also the year our first child was born. Therese was born on 23rd July, 1966 a much awaited first born, I had arranged to have her baptised at the Cathedral by a family friend from Warwick days Father John Kitts, I had to break this news to Father Kiley, who never let me forget how he was bypassed, he did get to baptise our other two children.

In the next few years I worked on several committees in the Parish, school fees secretary, Catechist for 27 years I taught at Nudgee State School, Nudgee Beach State School, Virginia State School and then had a class in the parish centre. Ladies Auxiliary where I was treasurer and secretary we used to have several functions each year our Melbourne Cup lunch was a big one, also Communion Breakfasts. Parish Council, Liturgy Committee which I am still a member. Sacristan from 1985. Sacramental coordinator 1990 to 2001. My husband worked with Glad Collie with the youth group. He and I ran a young people’s group called the twelve star and Dominic Savio clubs for a few years. Our daughters Therese and Margie were in the Children of Mary, which when the nuns left was run by Shirley Heeney and Pauline Rafter.

The tennis club started in the 1970’s and they played Catholic Fixtures for many years, it was good having the tennis courts in the Parish, they were well used in those days.

All our children, Therese, Margie and John all went to St.Pius V school for their primary education, Therese and Margie also attended Corpus Christi College. I did tuck shop at both schools and taught sewing with several other ladies at St.Pius, Pat Joyner, Beth Hart, Phyllis Reimer, Carol Kelly are some of the other ladies who gave their time once a week for several years for these lessons. In the early years I used to cater a lunch for the Nuns on sports day, they used to have visiting Nuns come and one year we had 17 for lunch, used to be a big day, the school fete was also on this day.

When Father Joe Duffy was assistant priest he started a guitar ladies group, we played for Tuesday evening masses and had a practise session each week, when he left we went down to Cribb Island and Sister Mary O’Gorman helped us learn more Hymns, we started with 5 and built up to over 50 hymns we could play. Therese Richardson, Joyce McHugh, Margaret Davies, Margaret Casey, Marlene McGrievy were some of the ladies in this group. I have been in the Banyo choir for many years. Our organists over the years are Rita Bennet, Patricia Latimer, Rita Long, Joan Crowley, Nell Grundy, Christine Lyndsay, Michael Sullivan, Michael Oldbury and Helen Gambley.



STAFFORD

In 1975 a group of ladies got together with Father Kiley and learnt how to read at Mass, we read at the weekday Masses for several years before we were allowed to read at Sunday Masses. Edith Street organised a craft group at Banyo for about 20 years who made things and sold them at stalls to get funds to send to the St. Joseph Nuns in Peru. For the last 8 years Father Kiley was our Parish Priest I looked after the house for him and cooked his midday meal. Father also visited families for a meal two nights a week, they on a roster and I organised this. We had lots of picnics, barbecues, dances and social as a parish. We also had gospel discussion groups, a prayer group, Movement for a Better World, Lenten programmes and The men had the Holy Name Society, and the Knights of the Southern Cross.

The St. Vincent De Paul have been the parish the whole time we have lived here. Banyo has had a Care and Concern group since the early 80’s one of the first in Brisbane, it was a joint venture with the Anglican Church. From 1988 we had the Catholic Women’s League which replaced our Ladies Auxiliary Group. At the present time, I am a Sacristan with Joan Hardy at Banyo. I co-ordinate the Banyo Nundah Craft Group once a month at Nundah.

I help with the RCIA Adult Faith formation group with Deacon Anthony Gooley and Vince McHugh. I am the Catholic rep. for World Day of Prayer at Banyo along with the other Churches, which is the first Friday in March each year. I look after the Adoration Chapel at Banyo. I have been very blessed to be a member of this Parish for so long and hope God gives me many more years to be able to serve.



TALBOT Memories of Mary Talbot - History of Banyo Parish – as seen from my corner

We hope that these little memories will prompt someone who used to live in this area “once upon a time” to remember with joyfulness, the things that happened here.

I can remember Dean Brady, who was Banyo Parish’s first Parish Priest. He was a very quiet man, softly spoken and of Irish birth… I can’t remember how long he stayed in Banyo. There were various other Parish Priests including Fr Vince Carroll, Fr Vince Landener, Fr Wheeler, Fr Vince Kiley, Fr Bill McCarthy. I have no idea how long each priest stayed in Banyo Parish. By a strange coincidence three of the priests all had the first name of Vincent. Fr Vince Carroll was the priest who built St Pius School. Prior to that the children, myself included, went by train to St Joseph’s at Nundah. This was the closest Catholic primary school to Nudgee. I went to St Josephs each day with Noreen Scott looking after me. I was 6 years old. I did 2 years in Prep (6 months in each Prep class) then you started Grades. By that time St Pius V School was built by the Fleming Brothers, and I started school in 1947 at Banyo. It was very good for Banyo to have its own parish school. The school was staffed by the Sisters of St Joseph, which was decided by a Parish meeting and voted on by those present as to which Order they would have. The Sisters of St Joseph’s Head House for Queensland was at Nundah. In the morning or afternoons we walked along the footpath up St Vincent’s Road and home again each day from school at St Pius.

The school faced Apperley Street, and in later years, as the school grew, Fr Kiley added an extension, that faced the train line. I remember we had a Tuck Shop, which consisted of some of the mothers of the school coming. Probably once a month (no sure), setting up trestles at the back of the old church, which would be at the corner of Holy Trinity church, now facing Apperley street. This was delightful for the children of that school era who brought their lunch every day to school. This was something different for them and of course, the children’s Mums would be on Tuckshop that day, as a lot of the women never went to work in that time. And this also helped the Mums know the other mothers and contribute to a very warm community feeling.

Lots of functions were run in the Parish, providing the spirit of the church with lots of laughter but also essentially money, making it possible to fund other necessities needed in the church or school.

During Fr Vince Carroll’s time here, Father decided to raise funds, and suggested that there would be a Queen Competition. He divided the Parish up into 4 (Virginia, Banyo, Nudgee and Cribb Island). Each place was represented by a girl who lived in that areas, namely Virginia was represented by Elaine Bein, Banyo was represented by Madonna Ryan, Nudgee was represented by Monica Bennet and Cribb Island by Pat ????. Every time there was a function, which would be sometimes in their own home, the people from other places would attend the function to help swell the coffers. If Virginia had a function then Banyo, Nudgee and Cribb Island parishioners would go to the function and vice versa. This also meant that there was a good feeling of camaraderie in the Parish. The money from these functions then went into the Parish for the need of the Church or School.


TALBOT

The school also had a St Pius School Ball, held in the St Oswald Church of England Hall at Banyo. We had all our balls there. Also, if the Catholic church put on a play, then it was held in the C of E Hall as well. All of these functions were very well attended. Lots of training was encouraged by the Nuns, and the whole school would march down from St Pius, and train for the Ball in the St Oswald Hall. It was great fun. The Ball was held in June and it was very cold waiting for your turn, when you had to stand outside the Hall, especially when they had the Grand March, which all of the school participated in.

The church also ran fetes. These were hard work before hand as well as on the day. I can remember my dad Peter Conway and my Uncle Mat Carey selling raffle tickets for the Chocolate Wheel, which bought in a lot of money, especially if you had big prizes. These prizes were donated by some of the parishioners or from the local shops. My mother Molly Conway was on the lolly making staff or the cake stall. Lots of cooking beforehand. Much was a good chocolate fudge maker.

I can remember when Fr Carroll was transferred to Kingaroy Parish, the Sisters put on a concert underneath the presbytery, to bid him farewell and lot of people came that night as well. We were also taught a lot of Irish songs in readiness for St Patrick’s concert also under the Presbytery. It still remember them.

St Pius had a Choir which was conducted by Mr Bill Carter from Corpus Christi Church at Nundah and the Organist was Miss Rita Bennett of Nudgee. My Dad was in the choir also, plus lots of people in the Nundah and Banyo parishes. I would think about 30 or 40 people were in the choir.

Mother Liam was the superior at St Vincent’s Orphanage School, and was a lovely lady. My parents, Peter and Molly Conway, were on a committee along with a lot of other people, to help raise funds for St Vincent’s, and they held Fetes. The Fetes were held on the corner of St Vincent’s Road and Queens Road which was also used as the boy’s football field. This Fete created a lot of interest and people came from all over to help with it, work on the day, or spend their money there. A very good community spirit existed. People like Maurice (Morrie) Maunsell, gave his gift of friendship, hours of work for years, plus his gift of cabinet making and carpentry to the Sisters years on end. Morrie was a wonderful person and greatly loved by all at St Vincent’s.

When the church burnt down, it was very devastating for the Parish. Fr Kiley was our Parish Priest, and on that terrible night, Fr Kiley with the help of Sr Brendan, got the Host out of the Tabernacle, and to safety. They were both very brave, God Bless them. We then had our Masses in the St Pius Hall and it worked out very well.



TALBOT

Fr Bill McCarthy was the next Parish Priest after Fr Vince Kiley, who retired in 1988 due to ill health.

Fr Mac, as he was known, began the Catholic Women’s League. I had never heard of the CWL before. I enjoyed these years as we got to know many women from other parishes and attend many functions in other parishes. Banyo CWL hosted lots of AGM days and committee meetings and functions including Melbourne Cup Luncheons. Anointing Masses for the sick were well attended by parishioners, with the church nearly full. These Masses were followed by morning tea put on by the CWL ladies.

One day Fr Mac asked if I would help him out by becoming the new Tuckshop convenor. After lots of talk, I decided to “Give it a go”. I enjoyed this very much, the children were very well mannered, but on rainy days or westerly wind days, there were “off the planet!”. Nevertheless, they were great days. I did this from about 3 years in the late 1990’s…not sure of dates.

Care and Concern was conducted in the Parish by Ivy Hayes and Veronica Bennett, with the help of lots of concerned people who wanted to help the elderly or new to the Parish, in whatever way they could.

The Talbot/Conway families wish the Banyo-Nundah Parish congratulations on achieving 100 years of age, with lots of wonderful memories among the years.

May God in his kindness continue to Bless each of us, who live underneath the shadow of these wonderful churches.

God Bless,

Denis and Mary Talbot



WRAFTER Memories of Bernadette Wrafter

Banyo Seminary and Nudgee Cemetery

One of my earliest memories is the view of the seminary bell tower from the back of our old house, which was the sexton’s residence for the Nudgee Cemetery. I learnt that Monsignor Roberts, the then rector of the seminary, lived in that building. He would often walk past our house on his afternoon constitutional with cane in hand. If we were playing in the front yard he would lean over the fence and have a brief chat with us (my brother Peter and me) in his soft voice, before continuing on his way. The bell sounded from that tower three times a day alerting the catholic community to prayer. I especially remember the midday bell on school days when all school work would cease to recite the Angelus.

Dad did masonry work at the seminary for the Mons (as dad fondly referred to Monsignor Roberts) usually on Saturday afternoons.This work included mounting the beautiful marble statue of “Christ the Eternal High Priest” on a red granite plinth, which was in turn mounted on an octagonal sandstone base. The statute stood outside the front entrance of the seminary until the building and grounds were taken over by Australian Catholic University. It still stands in the grounds of the ACU campus. When working at the seminary dad met a number of seminarians who were assigned to work with him. This connection, combined with having his workplace directly opposite the cemetery, meant that he personally knew many of the parish priests in Brisbane and would often comment at dinner, “Father so and so dropped into the office today – he was there for a funeral and dropped in for a yarn”.

I learnt later that prior to the seminary being built, my father’s maternal grandfather, Joseph Kreutzer, had leased that land from the Catholic Church (the Landlords on the lease included James Duhig and three others) when he left Nundah Station to strike out on his own. The seminary land was called the “The Beehive” by the locals and my grandmother, Elizabeth Kreutzer, was born there in 1893. Joseph also leased land in the Nudgee cemetery from the Catholic Church. He retained leasehold interests in both properties at least until 1930. Joseph was on the working committee in 1904 for the establishment of the Church of the Real Presence at Nundah.

Dad often recounted how his grandfather opposed the naming of “Banyo” Seminary, believing it should be “Nudgee” Seminary because it was located in Nudgee. Courtesy of Brother Tim Scott, I now have a copy of a letter written by Gilbert Bennett, which reflects the locals’ sentiments regarding the name of “Banyo” Seminary. Br Tim also gave me a copy of the Bishop’s response.

As a parish, Banyo maintained strong links with the seminary, especially during Fr Kiley’s time when, if Father was away or unable to say a mass for some reason, one of the priests from the seminary would often stand in his stead. These priests were post Vatican II theologians and brought to their sermons insights into the Council’s teachings. I can recall being both amazed and enlightened by some of these sermons. Some names I recall were Fr Bernard Wallace (later to become Bishop of Rockhampton) and Fr Dan Grundy.

(Cont’d WRAFTER) Connections with the seminary continued when Justin Clare (who was, I think, assigned to our parish, after his appointment as a deacon) was responsible for our parish youth group in around 1973 – 1974. The group met on Sunday evenings and organised wonderful activities such as car rallies and water-skiing (courtesy of the McGruther family).

St Vincent’s Home, St Joseph’s School Nundah, St Pius’ School Banyo

While I have no recollection of fetes at St Pius’ School while I was there, I do recall the annual fetes held up at St Vincent’s Home (known locally as the Orphanage). There was a real buzz in the air at these events, with cars parked down St Vincents Road as far as Childs Road. People from all over Brisbane attended to support the Sisters of Mercy. Dad would never miss these fetes. I later learnt that my grandmother, Elizabeth Kreutzer went to primary school at St Vincent’s.

My father and his sisters (Maureen and Therese) and his brothers (Joe and Tony) were all educated at St Joseph’s Nundah. It was during his early years there that he met Sr Donatus Kreutzer, his grandfather’s sister, then aged 65. Sr Donatus had travelled to Adelaide to join the Sisters of St Joseph as a young woman and I don’t think she had seen her family until returning to Brisbane the year before she died. Dad treasured the many lunchtime walks they shared.

Sister Donatus

We learned at the dinner table that school years at Nundah were a joy for Dad and he always felt a very strong connection with the Jospehites. His most memorable teacher, and the one we heard most about, was Sr Vincent, who taught him for scholarship. Though she dispatched six cuts to him every morning for not doing his homework, dad thought the world of her. I could not believe my luck when this very same Sr Vincent came to St Pius’ for a three week period in 1969 when I, too, fell under her spell, enjoying every minute of her class. She was so utterly relaxed with a room full of 12 years olds and seemed to have our measure within minutes of entering the room. After that she enjoyed herself and so did we!

The Sisters of St Joseph teaching at St Pius’ when I was there included Sisters Amata, Catherine, Declan, Ignatius, Josephine, Philomena, Christopher, Gonzales and Gertrude. The Lay teachers included Miss Walters, Miss Brown, Mrs Potger and Mrs Carroll while Mrs Kenny taught needle work once a week. Mrs Carroll had a knack of turning learning into a game and periodically providing treats such as a rice bubble and honey slice or giving us some extra play time to blow bubbles with thin pieces of wire bent at one end to form a circle and dipped into a container of washing up liquid (all provided by Mrs Carroll).

In the early years of primary school, I remember waiting back on a Friday afternoon while mum and Mrs Crowley swept our classroom. I have a clear recollection of watching clouds of dust rising with each swish of the broom only to settle seconds later on what was, I supposed, a cleaner floor. I later learnt that at that time Catholic and other denominational schools received no financial assistance from the State Government – our mothers were the unpaid cleaners. Their services were also required at the end of the school term when desks and windows joined the list of cleaning tasks. As we got older, our mothers were relieved of this task, as we did it ourselves.

(Cont’d WRAFTER) It was always a challenge walking home from school along St Vincent’s Road, to see if you could get there without having to stop for a funeral cortege. If a hearse passed, the protocol was to stop, say a prayer for the deceased and wait, head facing towards the cemetery, until the last car of the cortege had passed. Knowing which was the last car was a challenge in my younger years and I recall often mistaking the last car, starting off too soon, only to realise my error, and stopping abruptly. I was not sure what the consequences of not stopping were, but I certainly didn’t want to find out!

Parish Life

Mum and dad like many, many others were involved in the life of the parish. I recall mum playing tennis at the school tennis courts with other mothers of the parish including Lil Minz, Joan Fitzpatrick, and Mrs Grehan. This occurred perhaps on a weekly basis and it was in the years before I started at St Pius’. I also recall parishioners gatherings outside the church on Sunday after mass to discuss the week’s events. It was a great place for a “yarn” and a catch up.

Dad helped out on working bees around the church and was a member of the Holy Name Society and the Knights of the Southern Cross. Mum was a member of the Parish Council and the Ladies Auxiliary and was involved with the RCIA programme. She would receive a phone call from Ivy Hayes (Ladies Auxiliary) the day before, and sometimes on the morning of, a funeral in the parish, asking her to bake something for the refreshments following the funeral. This mum always did with minimum fuss and to maximum effect as she enjoyed cooking and was good at it.

As a teenager, I joined the Children of Mary sodality wearing my blue cloak and veil along with my fellow members on Sunday mornings once a month and sitting in the front seats on the right hand side of the old church.

I recall many parishioners who, during my teenage years, were involved in the life of the parish. They include Denis and Mary Talbot, Glad and Kev Collie, Deidre and Kev Logan, Graham and Pat Joyner, Frank and Shirley Heeney, Anne Russell, Pat and Glen Latimer, Frank and Joan Crowley, Helen and Kev Forbes, Vince and Joyce McHugh, Joan and Ron Fitzpatrick, Rita and Monica Bennett, Jack and Nell Grundy, Kath Street, Ross and Marg Bourke, Leo Murray, Tom and Nora Fleming, Una and Frank Amor, Jim and Ursula Alexander, Vonnie Bennett, Ivy Hayes, Keith and Val Stafford, Kev and Joan Hardy, Beth Hart and Eadie Street. I think Eadie, was very involved in a parish craft group which raised money from time to time for the Josephite sisters’ mission in Peru, amongst whom were Sr Angela Carroll RSJ who had lived in the parish for many years before entering the convent. The painting of Fr Kiley in the meeting room under the Banyo presbytery was done by Ron Fitzpatrick.

I returned to the parish in 1988 with my daughter Pia. We joined Ros and John Wey’s Family Group. Other members included Sue and Larry Bunkum, Danny and Liz Williamson (nee Carter of the Nundah Carters), and Tom and Edna Green. We would meet regularly to plan, and participate in, activities which included progressive dinners,outings to the Boondall Entertainment Centre and weekends away. I was very appreciative of the social activity provided by these groups. Others in the parish running Family Groups included Frank and Ruth Feeney, Vince and Joyce McHugh, Mandy and Terry Moore, Frank and Robyn Heads and Pat and Terry McCarthy.

Looking back over my years in the parish I realise how very blessed I was to have grown up here. It was a parish in which people became involved, especially after Vatican II. The spirit released at that Council was embraced in our little corner of the world and the “times they were a-changing”. The altar was shifted from the back wall and the priest faced the people. The mass was said in English and not Latin. The laity were educating themselves on the church’s teaching by participating in small study groups (see Maureen Kanowski’s “Memories”) and were becoming involved in the running of parish activities reflected in the formation of parish councils and liturgy committees.

(Cont’d WRAFTER) However, despite these winds of change, some things such as small acts of kindness and reaching out to each other, stayed the same. I can remember when I moved into our house on Red Hill Road (Mrs Kenny’s house) how very welcoming Shirley Heeney and many others in the parish made me feel. This meant a great deal to me as I was a little nervous returning to the parish as a single mother. When dad was dying Marg Bourke was a wonderful support, and Ivy Hayes very kindly and generously agreed to provide refreshments after dad’s funeral at our family home rather than the parish hall. It meant a lot more work for her and her helpers, but we were so very appreciative. Val Stafford generously gave of her time to do beautiful floral arrangements for significant family masses such as mum and dad’s 50th wedding anniversary and Mum’s 80th birthday. Over this past year so many people have told me stories of similar experiences.

For some in this parish, memories reach back a very long way. As a child growing up here, it seemed that we were related to many of the parishioners. I have since learned that other families such as the Flemings and the Conways had even larger extended families. All had forebears who shared a common goal, they were men and women who had settled into what was then a very rural community to start a new life. Mutual respect, understanding and acceptance were forged in those early years and continued over the generations. This was a small community bound together by faith and by simple acts of kindness and generosity towards each other. Over time many more joined the ranks of this community bringing with them their faith, their gifts and talents, and their generosity of spirit.

I am so very grateful to all those in whose footsteps I follow, acknowledging their gifts of faith, commitment, generosity, involvement, and various talents, but most importantly, their gift of love.



PARISH MEMORIES

Nundah


BURSTOW Memories of Patricia Hambleton (nee Burstow)

My name is Patricia Hambleton (nee Burstow) the eldest daughter of Neville and Alice Burstow. Together with my five siblings, Colleen, Stephen, Neville, Ann and Paul, we arrived at Corpus Christi Parish from Enoggera in the early 1960s. I went to St Rita’s and the rest of my siblings were educated at Corpus Christi, Nundah until their High School days. I shall never forget the first Sunday we attended Mass at Corpus Christi – walking up the stairs at the front – the Church was packed and I was awestruck by this magnificent Church. We lived in Leslie Street – firstly beside the Scout Hut and then 12 Leslie Street which is now the Pre School. My father was delayed in the confessional box, one Saturday afternoon and we thought that he must have had a bad week – we had all finished our confessions but dad was still talking to Father Nolan. It transpired that Father wanted our house to build the Church Hall and the negotiations were that we would move down to No. 12 – the price was $1.00. Many years later, after we had all left home, there was a repeat of the exercise with the Church buying No 12 which, as noted before, is now the Pre School. I believe some of my father’s trees still grow on the land. Mum had fond memories of Fr. Nolan as she was always washing and Father Nolan would be walking around the School playground, talking to the children, and he would call to mum “don’t tell me you are washing again”. Our neighbour Joe Gillian would appear and join the conversation. My three brothers were always called as Altar boys, for Masses, Funerals and Weddings – they had no excuse to be late for anything we lived at the backyard of the Church. Many a lunch my mother provided for kids who had forgotten theirs. I was in the Children of Mary and President of the girls Y.C.W. – many a great social event was held and we have fond memories of the Church Hall. My Aunt and Uncle, Leila and Barney O’Rourke were also parishioners and they were members of the CWL and St Vincent de Paul Society to name a few. I remember Father Nolan saying masses on Sunday at 6am, 7am, 8am, 9am, and 10am. We found him very approachable and a big part of our lives. I married Barry Hambleton the son of Sidney and Mary Hambleton, on 21 June 1969 in Corpus Christi and our claim to fame was that we were the last couple to be married before the old altar. The new altar was installed the next week.



CANNON Memories of Catherine Mary Cannon (nee Quilter) - Parishioner from 1947 to 1976

My parents moved to Nundah from Cribb Island, where they had found temporary accommodation after moving from Wowan in 1946. I had been living in Brisbane for some time and rejoined the family when they moved to Nundah.

Fr Denis O’Keeffe was the Parish Priest. One of my memories of him is that he used a walking stick. He would sit on a chair at the front of the church and beckon the children to him, then, when one got close, he would ‘catch’ them with the neck of the walking stick. They loved it.

I married Leonard Hugh Cannon in Corpus Christi Church on 6 November, 1948. Our two daughters, Catherine (1975) and Mary (1983) were also married there and our eldest daughter, Anne, was finally professed as a Sister of St Joseph in the church in 1982.

In the fifties and sixties, the Parish priest often visited the homes of parishioners, as did the sisters.

The Parish ran a bus in the fifties to collect people and take them to Mass each Sunday (no Saturday night in those days, only Sunday morning).

Our five children all went to St Joseph’s School. Our three girls all went to Mary MacKillop College. Anne was in the last class to do Scholarship in Queensland in 1962 and then she was in the first class of Mt St Joseph’s Secondary School, in 1963. This was an ‘unofficial’ year as the school officially opened in 1964. By the time Catherine and Mary started secondary school it was known as ‘Corpus Christi College’.

I belonged to the Sacred Heart Sodality and Len belonged to the Holy Name Society. The girls all belonged to the Children of Mary. Boys joined their fathers in the Holy Name Society.

Michael, our older son, was an altar boy for some years.

Every year we attended the Corpus Christi procession at the Exhibition Grounds. This continued all through the fifties and sixties, at least. We all separated and marched with school or parish groups.

Mothers were always available for school and parish events and needs, over and above any family commitments. The fete was a huge school and parish event. Kitchen and dining room tables were overloaded with a variety of cakes, biscuits, lollies, anything that would sell. Mrs Clare Habermann used to make cases of toffee apples each year. For the months beforehand, most mothers would also have been sewing and/or knitting to provide goods for the clothing and ‘fancy goods’ stalls.

Most Mothers stayed at home in the fifties and sixties but there were some men’s groups in the parish. At various times, there was a tennis club, a table-tennis group, a squash group and card nights.


FATHER NOLAN Memories of Father Gabe by Susan Carr

We came to Brisbane in 1985 from Toowoomba; we lived in Wavell Heights. John was still working midweek for the Commonwealth Bank in Toowoomba while I got the children settled into school from May; he came home on weekends until August. Anita attended year 8 at Corpus Christi College, Peter was in year 6 at St Columban’s College at Albion, and Sally attended year 5 St Joseph’s School. Lucy and Jane were only 3 years old at that stage. As we were living in Wavell Heights we attended the St Paschal’s Parish, but soon Father Nolan found us and said “you belong to me”, so of course we quickly moved to the parish to which we truly belonged and we have been happy here ever since.

Saturday afternoons were family confessions and the kids would all wait on the steps for Gabe to come out and chat with them afterwards. After Sunday Mass they would wait at the back door for him to appear and greet them.

Fr Gabe asked me to speak at the opening of Nolan Hall.

One day in 1995 he and Irene (his wonderful housekeeper) came to lunch. Irene phoned ahead with the request for corned beef and boiled veges – simple tastes. On that day Japan had experienced an earthquake in Kobe. Our daughter Sally was on a university study tour and was travelling from the south to the north of Japan so we were all very stressed about it as we were unable to contact her. Fr Gabe was there in support at that stressful time while we exchanged calls with DFAT. We eventually contacted Sally at Narita airport, unaware of all the drama.

Once he had retired we visited he and Irene at his home in Cleveland many times. They were very happy visits. I also remember when he was admitted to the Holy Spirit Hospital in the city, where I worked. I used to go in early to help him with his breakfast before I started. Every morning he would say he was moving up to the Protestants at St Andrews because the night nurses were mean.

Father Gabe had a warm, gentle way about him and he was always a welcome part of our family.




CLARK nee METCALF Memories of Kathleen Clark (nee Metcalf) – 1966 – 1972 at St Joseph’s School, Nundah

My teachers…. 1966 – Grade 1 – Sister Rita 1967 – Grade 2 – Mrs Hancock 1968 – Grade 3 – Mrs Hancock 1969 – Grade 4 – Mrs Bates

1970 – Grade 5 – Mrs Carlisle 1971 – Grade 6 – Mrs Hodgson 1972 – Grade 7 – Mrs Theodore

Principals…. 1966 - Sister Francis (Kath Caroll) 1972 - Sister Rita

In 1972 the house sports colours were gold – pixies, red – goblins and green – leprechauns. I remember tuckshop in the old wooden scout hall (where Nolan hall now stands) There were a variety of sandwiches, pies, sausage rolls and donuts; 20cents would buy you a donut for little lunch and a pie for big lunch with 5 cents for a cup of cordial that was scooped from an old metal tub – I don’t know how the tuckshop ladies lifted it!! 1966 was the first year of the change of uniform – I wore the maroon pinny with white shirt and belt with a straw hat (in summer) and a maroon beret (in winter), brown socks and shoes. I spent grades 2 and 3 in ‘Penola’, an old Queenslander house situated on the grassy patch on the corner of Bage St and Buckland Road. The house was later removed and housed high on a hill on the way to Toowoomba as a restaurant.

I remember Sister Francis playing football with the boys on the bitumen (where the assembly area is now), she was a tough player and took no mercy on the boys. She later established Norths St Joseph Rugby League Club with the assistance of Bob Bax. The club is still playing to this day. When it was decided to build a pool in the convent, Sister Francis had all the students line up and carry small branches away to the grassed area near the old scout’s hall. I learnt the piano from Sister Boniface, a gentle and caring woman.

I remember Father Rex Woolnough becoming a priest in 1972 – it was a big deal that a local boy made the big time. First Communion was a big celebration with the whole class receiving it on the same day then we all went back to the scouts’ hall for our communion breakfast, photos and take home treat. All the girls wore white frocks with veils and the boys had their long socks pulled to their knees, white shirt and black or grey shorts and of course polished shoes. I was lucky enough to be class prefect in 1968 and school captain in 1972.

Sport was important during those days, there were 4 netball courts and if you look closely on the parish carpark you will notice the holes in the ground for the poles. I can remember a couple of speech nights or end of year concerts being held at Orana Hall at Clayfield Good days at St Joseph’s Primary school – as it should be for every child. Thinking about it, I attended grade 1 in 1966 and my granddaughter Halle is in grade 1 today, 50 years later. Talk about the circle of life!!!



CLOUGH nee HATTON Memories of Banyo-Nundah Catholic Parish - Denise Clough (nee Hatton)

My family association with Banyo-Nundah Catholic Parish began when my maternal grandparents, Leo Denis and Margaret Mary (nee Zalewski) Hurley took up resident at 14 Tring Terrace, Toombul in 1925. Tring Terrace no longer exists as the street and all the houses were resumed to extend Toombul Shoppingtown to accommodate David Jones (now Target).

The Hurleys had five daughters – Margaret, Marie (my mother), Veronica, Cecelia and Clare. The family was very involved in the parish, with Leo being a member of the St Vincent de Paul and Holy Name Societies and Margaret a member of the Sacred Heart Sodality. They held tennis parties followed by suppers and singalongs in their home on Sundays to raise money to pay off the church debt. The girls were maids to the Parish Queens – a competition held in the mid 1930’s to raise funds for the parish. Margaret was a dressmaker by profession and made many habits and veils for the Sisters of St Joseph as well as school uniforms for her daughters and later for her granddaughters. Leo was also involved in running the parish dances during the World War II years. Margaret remained a parishioner until her death in September 1990.

My paternal grandparents were also parishioners for some years from the late 1940’s to the late 1970’s. My grandmother, Mary Hatton, is mentioned in parish records as being significant in setting up the Sacred Heart Sodality.

My parents, Bob and Marie Hatton, were married in Corpus Christi, Nundah, on Monday 30 January 1950. Shortly after, they moved to their new home in Somers Street, Nudgee (built by Fleming brothers, early parishioners) where they lived until 1993, when they moved to Leslie Street, Nundah thus returning to their “roots”. Both Bob and Marie were buried from Corpus Christi Church.

Bob and Marie were very active in the parish with Marie doing school tuckshop and First Communion breakfasts and Bob being a member of St Vincent de Paul, Holy Name, Chair of the Parish Council, and eventually a Life Member of the Knights of the Southern Cross.

I was born in Banyo Parish in 1951 and I have many fond memories of the parish, St Pius School and several parish priests. I was baptised by Father Vince Carroll, in the original St Pius Church, received my First Communion there and was married by Father Vince Kiley in 1985 in the new Holy Trinity Church.

On Friday mornings Father Landener would have Benediction and Rosary in the church and all the school would attend. After the service, he would then address all the school children and tell us how we had erred during the week – leaving taps running, ruining the playground, etc.



(Cont’d – Clough nee Hatton)

My Year 7 class (1963) were the first Year 8 class (1964) to move to secondary school. Many of the girls went to the new Mount St Joseph at Nundah (now Mary MacKillop College) St Rita’s and All Hallows, with the boys going to schools including, St Pat’s, Nudgee College and St Columban’s at Albion (now at Caboolture). Some of the class went to Banyo State High (now Earnshaw College).

After finishing high school and joining the workforce, I joined the Nundah Parish YCW as there was no similar group at Banyo. I was instrumental in starting the YCW Group at St John’s, Northgate.

The parish forged ahead when Father Kiley became parish priest. I was invited to be a member of the Parish Finance Committee.

After our marriage in 1985, we moved to David Street, Toombul (now Nundah) and thus began my personal association with Corpus Christi Parish.

When our son started school at St Joseph’s in 1993, I became actively involved in the school community as a “tuckshop mum” and as Secretary of the P & F from 1994 to 1999 (the year our son finished his primary education and headed to Nudgee College in 2000).

Some of my fondest memories of Corpus Christi Church, are the years when my son, Dennis, and I were Readers of the Word together and the very special times when we read together at his First Communion and Confirmation.

I have been actively involved in the parish for many years and chaired the Parish Pastoral Council for four years when Father John Sullivan was Parish Priest. I was Children’s Liturgy co-ordinator for several years, Special Minister of the Eucharist and a Reader for many years. I was parish co-ordinator for Days in the Diocese leading up to World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. I am now a member of the Care and Concern group. I have also been very pleased and honoured to be a member of the Parish Centenary Committee and assisting with compiling the book of the history of the Banyo-Parish Catholic Parish.

I have made many wonderful friends in the Banyo-Nundah Catholic Parish and it is wonderful to be part of such a vibrant community. This is particularly evident when I worship in either of the parish churches where I feel equally “at home”.



CUSACK The Cusack’s in the Parish

FAMILY

Lawrence and Caroline Cusack (my grandparents) lived in Boundary Street Brisbane, then in Nambour, before moving to Buckland Rd Nundah in the early 1930’s. Their eldest child Lawrence Henry Cusack (my father) was born in 1905 and after marrying Mary Winifred Flynn in 1932 lived with his parents in Nundah until after the birth of their first child, Lawrence Michael Cusack (my brother), who was baptised in Corpus Christi Church in 1933.

Dad’s sister, Ella married Bert Reid. They lived in Penhill St Nudgee and Auntie Ella was an active member of the Banyo Parish for many years.

Julie and I moved to Nundah in 1987. We had little involvement in Parish life until Fr John Sullivan arrived. My daughter Anita was married in Corpus Christi Church in 1995.I believe it was Fr John’s first Nuptial Mass in the Parish. My son Mark, his wife Eva and their twins Annie and Michael are now members of the Parish.

ACCESS

Thanks also to Fr Sullivan for organising a space for wheelchairs. In the late 1990’s he had a pew removed near the north side entrance to Corpus Christi Church to allow for wheelchairs, while not hindering the flow of people in and out of the church.

JOINING PARISHES

The response to the decreasing number of Priests in the Archdiocese was the “shaping and staffing’’ committee set up to investigate the need for and ways to amalgamate Parishes. I was invited to attend these meetings. A great deal of discussion and investigation took place before the final decision was taken by the Archbishop to join the Banyo and Nundah Parishes. As a member of the Parish Council at that time, I admired the work of so many people from both ends of the new Parish who believed in “MAY THEY ALL BE ONE”.

COUNTING

In 2001 I was asked by Tom Darmody, to join the counters who, each week, counted and banked the various monies coming into the Parish. Since then quite a number of volunteers have assisted in this necessary task.



(Cont’d – Cusack)

CHRISTMAS CRIB

For a number of years, I assisted Tom D in putting together the Christmas Crib. The whole process took quite a few hours. In later years Denise and Carmel Power took on the main task of decorating the crib. Since then Justin Carr and I, and formerly Nat Riggall, have had the much simpler duty of erecting the timber frame.

CHOIR

At the instigation of Carol Madden, a number of us oldies got together to form a senior choir, known in some circles as The Ancients. It has been great to join with others in leading the congregation by praising God in song. Carol has moved from the Parish and we now are ably led by Tony Gilmartin.

LITURGY GROUP

Our liturgy group helps Fr Bernie plan the liturgical program for the various seasons of the Church year. Having been involved with this area for a number of years, I get to see the amount of work so many volunteers put into helping the liturgies run smoothly.

THIS PARISH…offers everyone an opportunity to be involved.



ENDICOTT Memories from Irene Endicott

Every Sunday after Mass at St Finbarr’s Ashgrove during the 1950s, my father and I would visit his Mother and widowed sister who lived at Virginia.

On the way home we would pay visits to Corpus Christi Church Nundah and Holy Rosary Wooloowin. We were often privileged to be at Corpus Christi while young girls from the Novitiate across the road would be there singing.

This was very moving to me and my Father hoped that one day I would enter the Convent as I was the youngest of 6 daughters and 2 sons.



FENNELLY nee KREUTZER

History of Corpus Christi Church Nundah

by Catherine (Cath) Fennelly

My parents, Simon David and Mary Margaret Kreutzer, built a house on Hows Road and Kreutzer Street, Toombul soon after they were married in 1921. I was the 6th of seven children and I think myself and my siblings (Simon, Mary, Kevin, Carmel and Bernice) were all baptised in the Parish. My older siblings were students at St Joseph’s School until 1935.

My parents were given the land to build their house by my grandfather. My Great Grandparents were immigrants from Bremen in the south of Germany. Their names were Christian and they were some of the few Catholic settlers in Nundah. One of their eight children entered the order of St Joseph, Sr Mary Donatus, and she was the first Josephite Sister to be buried at the Nudgee Cemetery.

My parents were actively involved in the old and new parish. I was born in 1935 and baptised that June by Father Jordan. As a Sergeant in the Police Force, my father was transferred to Harrisville, a small farming community outside Ipswich. I grew up there until 1953 when everything was happening in the world: the Queen’s coronation, Mt Everest was conquered and I began my long and fulfilling career in the nursing profession at the Mater Hospital. In 1954, Dad retired and so the returned to their home at Toombul and both their beautiful funeral masses were celebrated by Father Nolan. Father Nolan often came to Dad to give him Holy Communion and the Blessing of the Sick. I can remember on one occasion when Dad was very ill, after the blessing he recovered much to everyone’s surprise. Whilst I was training at the Mater, I would come home on my 2 days off and it were a weekend I would attend masses which were celebrated by Father O’Keefe and later by Father O’Connor.

Family

In February 1959 I was married to Brian Fennelly with 8am nuptial Mass by Father O’Connor. We have 5 children and all of them attended school at St Joseph’s: Paul until Grade 5 and Brendan until Grade 4 when they were transferred to Christian Brothers’ School St Columban’s at Albion; Anne-Louise, Mary-Jane and Genevieve all attended ST Joseph’s School and then at Corpus Christi College. We didn’t always live in the parish but we wanted them to complete their schooling at St Joseph’s. During their years there they joined every activity possible by not always for long periods, such as Scottish dancing, but they did play netball (and one still does play and coach). Anne-Louise and Mary-Jane both learnt piano and violin; they were taught by Sister Alphonsus. Genevieve was taught Speech by Sister Gertrude. All the children received the Sacraments at Corpus Christi Church by Father Nolan; they were always great special celebrations. During this time, I was very busy with the children and working at the Mater so I didn’t play a big part in the activities of the Parish; however, I have made up with them when I eased by working commitments.



(Cont’d – Fennelly nee Kreutzer)

Brian died at the young age of 60 in 1998. During his short illness he was blessed and comforted by Father John Sullivan. This was so comforting to him and to the family. Two days after his death was his Requiem Mass, or as it is now referred “the celebration of his life”, and it was. The church was packed with hundreds of family and friends attending. The singing was performed by our friends, the Sisters of Mercy from the Mater Hospital. Brian also worked the last 15 years at the Mater. At the end of his Mass, a sole piper (a friend of my son) from the Queensland Police Pipe Band played quietly under the mango trees; something that was so touching to us all during that sad time.

Now a number of the Sisters of Mercy attend Mass at Nundah and Banyo. Since the opening of the Mercy Centre at Banyo and the beautiful homes for some Sisters around the campus, they have become a part of our wonderful large community. Other orders such as the Josephites, Presentations and Franciscans have also joined the community and love living there amongst the natural habitat.

My father, Simon Kreutzer, was a very generous man and he gave time, money and commitment to the Parish. He was a member of the Holy Name Society and probably was so in the early days of the Parish. He was also a member of the Hibernian Society; I remember the green and gold sash they wore at meetings. There is a photo in the sacristy of a group of those men in the new Church.

Parish Families

There were so many other generous parishioners at the same time as my family (I remember it was around the time of Vatican II and later):

Lee family – Peter Lee is still a parishioner Mayo family – family of Julie Kelly and Paula Whalley Thompson family – Jean was my God-Mother Mrs Hamilton and her sons – Hugh is still a parishioner Carter family/Mrs Lacey – mother of Christian Brother Jim Lacey Judge and Mrs Barry Dr John and Mrs Lynch – a surgeon at the Mater McQuade family – beautiful Mary has been a very active parishioner for many years. Her father was

a teacher at the State School and I can remember him walking past the church on his way to work. Murray family Norm and Billie Mansini Mr and Mrs Greathead – I can remember Mr Greathead attending Mass when he was

incapacitated; no wonder their family remain so active in the Parish Allan and Ailsa Metcalfe

In my early years in the Parish, it was prior to Vatican II, there were Novenas (every Thursday evening), Children of Mary (where the young women wore white dresses, veils and blue capes), and the Holy Name Society.




Changes at Vatican II After Vatican II so much changed and of course the changes to the Sanctuary were enormous:

the altar where the Mass is celebrated is now facing the community everyone participating with the responses sermons were renamed as Homily; also now spoken from the Ambo not the Pulpit; priests’ vestments epistles and Gospels are now: 1st reading, responsorial psalm, 2nd reading, Gospel acclamation and the

Gospel the introduction of the English speaking Mass did take some time to adjust to but like all changes the

exception becomes the norm When I was a child we didn’t read the Bible; it was considered that only Protestants read the Bible. It is

a pleasure to read and reflect on how what happened 2000 years ago is still relevant to the present.

Corpus Christi Church

Corpus Christi Church is a Heritage Church which has been loved and cared for by the Priests, Sisters and parishioners for 100 years. Imagine the Masses, Sacraments and prayers that have been offered to God from so many people from many nationalities. Corpus Christi Church has been kept pristine by many sacristans (the ones I remember: the Sisters of St Joseph, Norm Smith and Sr Carmel Doherty). At the moment, and for many years, the Power sisters, Denise and Carmel, have given their life to giving their liturgical and general knowledge to what is required for the Catholic teachings for each period of the Church calendar: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Feast Days and Ordinary time. Pauline O’Donnell has been Parish Secretary for over 17 years. Her liturgical knowledge is also enormous and she can be respected for the newsletters, hymn sheets, funeral booklets and so much more. Here assistants, such as Vicki, have also been Parish people who are often not known by many.

Workplace Health & Safety

In the early 2000s the Government introduced a policy that Churches had to have Workplace Health & Safety policies, to which everyone must adhere. As I had experience with introducing WH&S in the Operating Theatres at the Mater, I was asked by Father Sullivan to set these up. With the help of Pauline O’Donnell, the Parish Secretary, we completed the task. Although it is a costly exercise, it is essential; we have been congratulated by the Cathedral of St Stephen WH&S Department for our commitment to safety in the Parish. Grahame Farrell is the Banyo WH&S Rep and he participates in the annual audits.

have you noticed the exit signs? do you know where the fire extinguishers are? have you noticed the signs at each door explaining where the evacuation assembly areas are? have you noticed that the edges of steps are painted white to prevent falls? would you know where to get an incident form should you have a mishap? any mishap must be reported immediately




Parish Social Life

I was on the Parish Council around 2011 and during that time Father Paul Chandler asked that an audit be done of the parishioners’ intended participation. It was established that meeting as a community after Mass was important, and so Muffin Sundays were introduced and much appreciated. After that Father Paul asked that we have an evening event; we organised a Dinner Dance at Virginia Golf Club and it was a huge success. There was good food, music and dancing enjoyed by many, including Father Paul, and of course raffles. Father Paul donated the proceeds to St Vincent de Paul. We hosted another event the following year; since then the Voice Youth Group have continued the event as a fundraiser for their mission activities.

Parish Choirs, Readers & Extraordinary Ministers

We must not forget the choirs or the liturgical music that has become a vital part of Mass since Vatican II. The Youth Choir, the Filipino Choir and the Older Parishioners’ Choir. The oldies were started up by Carol Madden, a long respected organist who played every Sunday until her retirement in 2014. The oldies were very nervous at first but after about 5 years’ experience we’re now quite presentable to the ear. Particular thanks to psalmists, Tom Cusack, Peggy Carr and John Carr, must be recognised as should our organist Tony Gilmartin who also plays the pipe organ at Saturday evening Mass. Other member of the choir (at the time I wrote this) are Susan Carr, Mary Kerr, Monica Molloy, Ken Stegman and myself.

We must not forget the readers at each Mass, the extraordinary ministers and the wonderful people who take the Communion to the sick at their homes or in hospital. Julie Kelly and Sr Anna-Maria are the stout souls who do this with so much love. Julie is also the master of the rosters for the readers and extraordinary ministers. What a job, but she never complains.

Being a participant of the latter third of Corpus Christi Parish century, it has been a hugely enjoyable part of my life. I thank God for the love he has bestowed on me and for the wonderful friends I have made; there are so many and I certainly thank them in recent times, for their prayers for me and my brother during recent health issues.

Father Bernie Gallagher has been a delightful appointment as Parish Priest. I must personally thank him for his care and blessing given to me during my recent illness.

Sincerely

Cath Fennelly



FONOTI From the Fonoti Family – Sinave, Susana, Nave and Andrew

I SAY – TALOFA – FROM SAMOA – AND YOU SAY – GOOD DAY

First and foremost is to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for this golden opportunity to be part of this 100 years celebration – what a milestone – never thought my family would be part of this. What a first impression when we first saw the sight of the church – OMG – it is huge. Then I knew it was a good sign of better things to follow for me and my family and it surely did.

We arrived in Brisbane from NZ on the 18th August 1990 and we first entered the door of Corpus Christi Church on Sunday 26th August 1990. We were the only Samoan family at the time and the Parish Priest was Father Nolan who welcomed us with open arms and this old man Jimmy – how can we forget him – a wonderful very kind old man – always at the front door to welcome everyone. (R.I.P Jimmy)

Sinave and I had two wonderful sons – Sinave Jr (Nave) aged 4yrs 10mths and Andrew aged 3yrs 5mths – that’s the age when they started their Christian journey with Father Nolan. Very rewarding life time experience for my two boys. We had fond memories of Father Nolan – a lovely old man – he is always remembered by us. I think being the only Samoan family at the time, we were always stood out in the crowd and Father Nolan remembered my boys’ names pretty well. He adored the boys, which made me so happy indeed. He was very encouraging every Sunday – Nave and Andrew always looked forward to coming to Church. My boys were hit hard with the news when we told them that Father Nolan had died. They didn’t say anything but the silence was an indication of their sadness.

My oldest son Nave’s first communion was with Father Nolan and Andrew was with Father O’Sullivan – they first served as altar boys under Father Nolan’s guidance and then continue with Father O’Sullivan until he resigned from duties due to ill-health. I enrolled my boys at Northgate Primary School but we were approached by Father O’Sullivan that my boys should attend St Joseph’s Primary School. It was hard because when we spoke with the boys they were in tears and they didn’t want to. They had already established themselves at Northgate, so we advised Father O’Sullivan that we were truly sorry but my boys stayed at Northgate. He fully understood and said as long as the boys attended Mass every Sunday.

Nundah Parish is huge compared to our Parish in Grey Lynn, Auckland called St Josephs. Amazingly there are people that I haven’t seen for a while are now returned. I have noticed a lot of new changes in the Parish – it was the amalgamation of two parishes. Many different ethnic communities have been growing and have flourished in the Parish. Parish Priests do come and go and sometimes made me wonder.

The Youth group is on a roll – well done. I enjoy the annual dinner event that is held every year and I still enjoy the Parish and I fully support any fundraising events to help our Parish. I hope everyone helps out not just to come to Church just for the sake of it but it needs their help to contribute.


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(Cont’d – Fonoti)

Nundah Parish surely played a significant part in our lives and my boys Christian life and spiritual guidance helped them with their successful jobs and our family life is still going strong – all to do with coming to Mass every Sunday and listening to the Gospel preached by our wonderful Father Bernie. I won’t forget our Parish secretary (Pauline) – I thank you for your great help with my uncle’s funeral at Nundah Parish in 2008. My family couldn’t do it without your help with all the preparation. You organised everything and Father O’Sullivan let us use the Church and Nolan Hall with a small price to pay especially during school hours – we can’t thank you enough.

Once again, thank you Father Nolan, you started the spiritual teaching for my boys at their early age. Also thank you Father O’Sullivan, we never forget your family visits just to check on the boys; it is still embedded in my boys’ memories. Well, well Father Bernie I think I will just tag along with you – see who is going to give up first – you always put a smile on our face at every Mass – but watch out not to make you cranky- haha. Sorry if I forgot to say thank you to someone who was so grateful to me and my family but God will never forget you.

HAPPY CELEBRATION NUNDAH PARISH. 3 CHEERS FOR THE 100 YEARS == HIP HOOOOOORAAAAY – AND LET’S PRAY FOR A GOOD WEATHER ON THE DAY OF OUR CELEBRATION AND LONG LIVE FATHER BERNIE.

God bless —- From the Fonoti Family – Sinave, Susana, Nave and Andrew


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HAMBLETON Memories of Barry Hambleton

My mum and dad, Sidney and Mary Hambleton, were members of the Nundah parish from shortly after they married in 1942 – I include dad as, although he wasn’t a Catholic, he ensured that my brothers and myself always attended Mass (either by Bus or he drove us) and spent many an hour outside the Church waiting for mum. One Christmas Eve they couldn’t find him, he had dropped Mum of for Mass and went and parked the car, read the paper and went to sleep. That was one of the standing room only mid night Masses – he wasn’t very popular when they found him, long after the others had gone home.

I believe he was one of the few non Catholics buried from the Church (many thanks to Fr Nolan) – the Church had standing room only on the day of his funeral.

I am sure all of the prayers from the Sisters of St Joseph helped – dad was a bookbinder and he repaired many missals and treasures for the Sisters. He even conducted book binding lessons for my fellow pupils on Friday afternoons at School.

I mentioned a bus before – yes there was a local bus service which we caught in Melton Road (runs cross roads to Buckland road on the eastern side of Sandgate road) at 5.45 am on a Sunday morning to go to Mass in the 1950 s.

Mum was involved in anything that was going on at the Church (Sodalities, Fetes, Cake Stalls etc etc) and enjoyed the friendship of all parishioners (Mrs Bath, Mrs Gallagher, Mrs Maynard and Mrs Metcalfe to name a few) until her death in 2010. I believe she was one of the few who could tell Fr. Nolan to behave and he would listen.

My brothers and I attended Nundah convent from prep One to Grade 8 and apart from a few occasions, which were probably our own doing, thoroughly enjoyed it. We thank the Sisters for a great start in life.

There were many Weddings and Funerals as Altar Boys – collecting flowers and cakes (on a pushbike) on Friday afternoons and Saturdays were all part of the chores. One major disappointment was getting a phone call to come and move some coke at the convent – great we thought a cold coke – trouble was it was a truck load of coke for the stove at the convent.

All of our four Children were baptised at Corpus Christi and while our attendance has varied over the years – between St Flannan’s at Zillmere, St Kevin’s at Geebung and Infant Saviour Burleigh Heads – we still regard Nundah as home.

Link to Trish Hambleton (nee Burstow)


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HAMILTON Memories of Hugh Denis Hamilton

My mother bought a house at 21 Attewell Street Nundah whilst I was at school at Nudgee College on the recommendation of her sister, Kathleen Lynch and brother, Denis O’Hara, both of which families were already parishioners.

Father O’Keeffe was always worried about paying the bills – he subsequently gave me a reference when I joined the Bank in 1950. At that time the quarterly collections were read out from the pulpit – this practice was stopped when Father G Nolan took over some years later when the Wells Scheme, the forerunner of the envelope system, was introduced.

There were too many characters – at that time there was no Saturday night Mass and four or five Masses on Sunday morning. Father Dobson was a curate for a time.

Although the Corpus Christi procession were a highlight, they eventually moved to Nudgee College and then they moved to the exhibition Grounds.

The sodality I recall was the Holy Name Sodality of which I was a member. We came into the church in a group behind a blue shield which was hung beside the altar. The Holy Name pledge from that time appears below.

Although I lived at 21 Attewell Street, I then moved to 19 Attewell Street when Mother found the high steps too much. I purchased the later house which I later sold to my niece, Jennifer. Two of her sons are living there now. Also during this time the Bank had me always on the move from Malanda in the North to Cooma NSW in the South to Bourke, Longreach, Quilpie etc in the West.

Holy Name Pledge

Blessed be God Blessed be His Holy Name, Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. I believe, O Jesus, that Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I believe all the sacred truths which the Holy Catholic Church believes and teaches. I proclaim my love for the Vicar of Christ on earth. I promise to give good example by the regular practice of my faith. In honour of His Divine Name – I pledge myself against perjury, blasphemy, profanity and obscene speech. I pledge my support to all lawful authority, both civil and religious. I DEDICATE MY MANHOOD To the honour of the SACRED NAME OF JESUS And beg that H will keep me faithful to these pledges until death.




HICKEY Memories about the Hickey Family by Cath Rodden (nee Hickey)

I am the youngest of five children and the only daughter of Bill and Joan Hickey of Evans Street, Nundah. The Hickeys have had a long association with the Parish of Nundah. My grandparents, Charles and Mary-Ellen (Nellie) Hickey owned and ran a dairy farm in Hedley Avenue, right beside the cemetery. It was one of the Grange Hickey dairies. My grandfather was a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society as was my father, along with family friends Norm Mancini and Jack Raleigh. My father and his six siblings (Cecilia; Frances; Jack; Brian; Anthony and Vince) attended St Joseph’s primary school in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1938, my grandfather was listening to the infamous cricket test against England with my father by his bedside. My grandmother continued to run the dairy through the war years until the 1950s when the dairy industry became more centralised. My grandmother, after selling the farm, bought a house in Toombul Terrace and re-established her teaching career at Nundah State School. All of her children settled in the areas between Nundah and Banyo.

My dad worked as a telegraph boy in the post office in Fortitude Valley from the age of fourteen. He joined the Airforce in 1943 and was stationed up north for the duration of the war and returned to his Post Office job. He met my mother (who hailed from Shorncliffe) at a Catholic tennis event around Nundah. He was stationed as Post Master in Normanton and Mt Gravatt after my parents were married in 1950. They returned to Nundah, buying the house in Evans St. My four brothers (Brian, Michael, Peter and Bill) all attended St Joseph’s primary school until Year 4, then headed off for St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace. I went to St Rita’s from Year 1 all the way through to year 12.

Our family connections to the Parish involves an of christenings, Holy Communions, marriages and sadly funerals. My memories of Church on Sunday, were of sitting on the right hand side and being able to light candles in front of the statue of Mary and put money in the poor box. After mass there was always a catch up with family and friends outside the Church. The painting behind the altar always fascinated me and still does. Dad used to the counting for the collections and the books for Fr Nolan. He continued to do this, even when they moved up to Caloundra. I remember being very little and having to go with Dad to the Presbytery while Dad did work for Fr Nolan. The place always seemed big to me and I always sat very obediently in chair where my legs could not touch the ground. Dad’s cousin Fr John Dobson was curate for Fr Nolan and it was his first appointment as a priest.

Today, the Sisters of St Joseph own the house we grew up in and the Chapel in the convent, houses holy founts donated by my grandmother. My brother Bill and his family live in the area and I have been working at Mary MacKillop College since 2009.


KELLY Memories of Julie Kelly (nee Mayo)

My parents Charles & Nancy Mayo moved into their new family home in Wand Street in 1949, however my father and his four siblings were brought up firstly in Nellie Street, Nundah in the home their father built, a number of years later the family moved to Attewell Street, Nundah once again this home was built by their father who was a plasterer by trade, the home still stands today, although modernized inside, the outside had to remain, as the dwelling was over 90 years old. The Mayo clan all attended St Joseph’s Convent, my Aunt (Hilda) being one of the foundation pupils. My brother Michael and I also carried on the family tradition and attended St. Joseph’s, I began my education with the Sisters in 1950 and Michael in 1954.

Father Denis O’Keefe was Parish Priest during my school years, where he celebrated five (5) Masses on a Sunday (no evening Mass in these days) Mass was on the hour beginning at 6.00am, finishing with a 10.00am Mass. I fondly remember Father O’Keefe sitting in a ‘squatter’s chair’ on the front porch of the Church, dressed in his black soutane and sometimes his biretta. He was a smoker and we would often have a bit if a laugh as the cigarette ash would fall down onto his soutane. He would preach from the pulpit, somewhat rather daunting at times for us young children. I remember him as a kind and holy man.

Some other memorable moments, my first Holy Communion in October 1951, followed by a special breakfast, (which was not your normal breakfast, although we did have healthy sandwiches, however, the main treat was we got to have lollies and the Holy Communion cake, made by our mothers) in the old Scouts Hall where Nolan Hall now stands. I made my Confirmation in 1956. I was also a member of the Children of Mary sodality and joined the YCS Youth Group. I remember Saturday mornings, when a group of Grade 7 girls would help the Sisters in the church, preparing for the weekend Masses, polishing all the brass vases, candle holders even making sure the brass rods which held the sanctuary steps carpet in place were gleaming; everything was brass!!!! The highlight of these mornings, was when Sister would bring us morning tea, a glass of ‘mynor’ orange cordial and a slice of fresh bread, butter and apricot jam.

Each Sunday of the month the different sodalities would hold a special Mass, first Sunday was a children’s Mass where the girls would wear their white dresses and veils and the boys dressed in their Sunday best, second Sunday was the men’s Holy Name Sodality, third Sunday the Ladies’ Sacred Heart, and the forth Sunday was Children of Mary, all of these groups were well represented number wise, approximately 50-60 Parishioners took part.

The parish had a wonderful choir in these days comprising of both men and women, amazing organists (Maude Bath & Connie Fitzgibbon, and Connie’s brother Ned played the violin. Connie played at my wedding in 1966. Holy Week celebrations were very special, on Holy Thursday morning flower girls (I was fortunate to be one of these, trained to perfection by the Sisters) dressed in white strew flower petals ahead of the Priest as he carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession to the Altar of Repose while the choir sang Pange Lingua.

During Fr Nolan’s time as Parish Priest I completed my Secondary education, he married me in September 1966, presided at family weddings, baptisms and funerals. I remember him as a very pastoral Priest, visiting my father when he was unable to attend Mass due to failing health with Holy Communion every Friday morning for quite a number of years.

Currently I am still very involved in the Parish, and feel very proud that four generations of the Mayo family have worshiped in Corpus Christi Church as well as being part of the St Joseph’s tradition over the past 100 years.




KING Memories from George King

My knowledge of Corpus Christi goes back to the early years of the Church at Nundah. When I was a young boy in the 1930’s, my family lived in the country at Yandina. We would go on holiday and visit a Tom O’Shea a family friend. Tom was a founding member of Corpus Christi. The Parish Priest then was Father Jordan.

When my wife and I married in 1949 we lived at Virginia. Father O’Keefe was our Parish Priest. Father O’Keefe would sit out in the front of the church in a squatter’s chair and greet the parishioners. Father O’Connor became Parish Priest after Father O’Keefe.

Father O’Connor baptised our daughter. I found our Priests to be very generous and this was again seen in our next Priest, Gabriel “Gabe” Nolan. He came to our parish age 60 with a clean bill of health and worked very hard for over 30 years in the parish. I witnessed many instances of his generosity when I was president of the St Vincent de Paul society. Masses prior to Vatican II were said on Sunday morning as you had to fast from midnight. Father Nolan would say three Masses and a Seminary Priest would say the fourth Mass.

I took a census for Father Nolan of people present for each Sunday Mass. There were always between 350 and 400 people present at each Mass.

I visited Father Nolan when he was gravely ill in hospital at the Mater and he passed away shortly after.



LANZON Memories of Hayley & Matthew Lanzon

As a couple, we began attending Corpus Christi Church at Nundah after we were married there on 22 November 2014. It was the church where Matthew was going to Mass and a beautiful church to be married in. On 22 February 2015, Hayley was confirmed in the Catholic Church. We appreciated Father Bernie’s encouragement and the welcome that she received from the parishioners.

When we were expecting our first baby, we were blessed to be in the prayers of the sacristans and Father Bernie. Deacon Anthony gave Zoe a blessing for her first attendance at mass and we were grateful for the prayers and gifts from other parishioners. Zoe was baptised at Corpus Christi on 12 December 2015. We enjoy attending the church where these sacraments were experienced and are thankful for the kindness and support we continue to receive there.



McQUAID Memories of Mary McQuaid

I was baptised at Corpus Christi Church on 28th June 1953 (at 3 weeks old) by Rev Fr. O’Keefe. My parents told me that is was a very cold Sunday morning and Fr O’Keefe sent my Dad to the Convent (the ‘old convent’) for hot water to mix with the holy water. I often wonder what effect this has had on me! The Baptismal Font was at the rear of the church at that time. I received my Primary school education at St Joseph’s Primary School (in the old building that no longer exists) and my Secondary school education at Mount St Joseph’s and later called Corpus Christi College. I left at the completion of Senior level in 1970. I have never left the Corpus Christi Parish.

I do not remember Fr O’Keefe clearly but do remember Fr O’Connor who followed Fr O’Keeffe. Fr O’Connor passed away when I was in about Grade 3, I think. I do recall the class being very shocked to hear of his death. I recall Rev Fr. G Nolan’s arrival. I remember him with much affection. He was a regular visitor to my home over his many years at Nundah. He was always very interested in everyone and knew so much about parishioners and their circumstances. He was a great supporter of the St Vincent de Paul.

I recall a number of Curates who were in the Parish when I was growing up. They regularly visited my home but most names escape me now. I do especially remember the late Fr Frank Moynihan though. He said the Mass on the day of my First Holy Communion – 5th June 1960. I still treasure my first little missal “Jesus and I” which my parents gave me on that day. I have a photo of Fr Moynihan with the First Holy Communion class after the Mass. We are all on the front lawn of the “new convent”. The class was given breakfast to mark the occasion. My main concern though, was that my veil would fall off my head! Luckily it did not.

There have been many visiting priests over the years. For some years a priest from the Discalced Carmelites who resided in Gregory Terrace celebrated one of the Sunday Masses. I think this may have been in the early 1960’s.

Our Church is a most beautiful one and I am pleased it was never “modernised” over the years. The statues are so special, especially the sacred Heart and Our Lady. Our Lady always seems to be smiling, not matter what day it is. Of course most of the Altars and statues were donated in memory of past parishioners. The imposing Crucifix on the Southern wall is to be treasured. The opportunity to say how beautiful the painting over the main altar is cannot be overlooked. Perhaps it might feature in any Centenary publication issued in due course. The pipe organ is a particularly fine organ and it is inspirational to hear it played.

My Mum and Dad became parishioners in 1946 and remained so until their deaths in 1996 and 1999 respectively. My Dad was a teacher at the Nundah State School for about 25 years and new many of the Sisters of St Joseph. He was a reader of the Liturgy of the Word for years and an active member of the St Vincent de Paul Society. Other members I recall were Jack Hall, Jack Urban, Ned Fitzgibbon, Horace Butterworth and his son Dick (an undertaker at K. M. Smith), Barney O’Rourke, Norm McLeod, George King



(Cont’d – McQuaid)

Snr and George King (his son who is still in the Parish), Alan Metcalfe, Jim Hackett, Norm Mancini and Tom Darmody.

There are many other colourful characters who come to mind including the McGlone family who lived where Westcott Street now ends. Mr McGlone was often sitting on his front verandah and his son was Rev Fr John McGlone OSA who I remember very well. He always kept in contact with Mum, Dad and I. Rev Fr. Joe Duffy also grew up at Nundah and was ordained on 28th June 1969. He and his family lived on Sandgate Road (next to Jack Urban) just near the current laundromat. On the corner of Sandgate Rd and Donkin Street lived parishioners – Judge Barry and his family. Rev Fr Rex Woolnough came from this Parish and I recall his late mother had deteriorating eye sight in later years but still came around to Mass.

Some other parishioners whose names come to mind include Jim Callaghan (father of Sisters of St Joseph Monica and Dympna), Frank Vines whose daughter is also a Sister of St Joseph. Mr and Mrs Murray were a long time in Corpus Christi Parish. Mrs Liddy had a lovely signing voice and I remember her especially at the Wednesday night Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour devotions. Mr Ned Fitzgibbons and his sister, Connie lived in Donkin Street opposite the Presbytery – the home was only recently removed. Other families were the Carters, Crowes and the Currans. Mr Curran ran Curran’s Bakery which was on Sandgate Rd. Another long-time identity was Joe Gillian. He was in ill health for many years. There was another man, I think his home was Vince who used to pray in the Church for very long hours in the days when Father Nolan was Parish Priest.

I can recall the days my father and Vince McDonald used great long brooms and dusters to clean up into the high parts of the Church. The Church was painted many years ago and scaffolding was erected for that purpose. Mrs Maud Bath was another long term parishioner.

At regular intervals Missions were held at Corpus Christi and these drew very good crowds. Our Lady of Fatima statue was frequently taken to private homes and I remember going as a child to these evenings. As far as I can recall we recited the Rosary. The Wednesday night Novena devotions were held for many years. They were very popular with good numbers attending.

Many parishioners will remember the huge celebrations at the RNA ground for Corpus Christi. The old hymns were sung and so many schools and Catholic groups walked around the arena in prayer. I remember marching around on many occasions. I might add that I was actually born on a Corpus Christi Sunday – My Dad attended the procession while my Mum was “over the road” at the Royal Women’s Hospital awaiting my arrival!

I must not neglect to mention the housekeepers. I recall Miss McKenzie who was with Fr O’Connor and then Miss Lindner served as housekeeper for years with Fr Nolan. They were both very affectionate and refined ladies.



(Cont’d – McQuaid)

Sodality Sunday rotated between different groups. My Dad was a member of the Holy Name Society, my Mum a member of the Ladies’ Sacred Heart sodality and I was a Legion of Mary member. My brother, Peter was an Altar boy for 5 years in the 1950’s. I remember that each year the Altar boys were treated to a picnic.

As regards the sodalities, each one walked into the Mass behind their respective banner depending on which Sunday of the month it was. Of course, let me add, that in those days’ mem wore suits, collars and ties and the ladies wore hats and gloves. As a member of the Legion of Mary I wore a blue cape, white dress, white veil and my medal.

I could give more information about the Parish but these are the thoughts that have come to mind at the present. Topics such as school tuckshop, school fetes and the old scouts hall are well detailed within my memory too.

Thinking back on my past years in the Parish has brought me only happy memories.



METCALF Memories of Ailsa Metcalf

My husband Allan and I arrived in Virginia in 1951. We sent our five children to St Joseph’s Primary school with our sons leaving after grade 3 to attend Christian Brother’s schools as was the practice back then. Our three daughters then went to Mt St Joseph, then Corpus Christi College.

I remember Father O’Keefe sitting in a wicker chair outside the front of the church (where St Vinnie’s have their piety stall now) and wait to see who was late coming to church. When I arrived at church with my new born son, I was asked by Father O’Keefe “Well, what have we got here? A boy or a child?”.

I remember doing tuckshop in the wooden scout hall (where Nolan Hall now stands), the hall was used for bingo, first communion breakfasts, CWL meetings, parish functions and scouts. Friday nights was Bingo night in the Scouts Hall with Father John Dobson being our caller. One night a voice was heard to complain that No. 86 hadn’t been called in ages. Father nudged his co-helper (my husband Allan) to call 86 then and now. The No. 86 bingo ball was found under his chair. Who said that all Priests were perfect?

I was involved in many committees over the years, CWL, Care & Concern and P & F. I have wonderful memories of the functions that we had, musicals with Margret Devlin playing the piano and violin, garage sales and bring and buys. The first President of the CWL was Maud Bath, a wonderful gentle lady who could play the organ and taught piano; the last President was Kathleen (Kath) Gallagher who passed away only last year, she was a great worker who was tuckshop convenor at Corpus Christi College for many years.

I made many lasting friendships through these committees, just a few that come to mind are Joan King, Mary Hambelton, Joan Wiggins, Kath Gallagher, Isla Searl, Maud Bath, Margaret Devlin, Marie Marrinan, Nancy Mayo, Connie Walsh and Irene Walsh. My husband, Allan was a member of St Vincent de Paul. He too, made many lifetime friends like George King Snr, George King, Norm Mancici, Norm McCloud, Frank Butterworth, Tom Darmody, Joe McQuaid, Jim Rielly, Jim Mullchay, Ned Fitzgibbons, Ken Clifford, Jim Hackett, Colin Ward and Les Rogers. I remember fondly two other families who are no longer at the parish and they are the O’Gorman Family – they attended 6am Mass with their 10 children or so. They walked to and from church from Imboss St every weekend as they didn’t have a car. The other is John and Margaret Kennedy. John was the Principle at St Patrick’s Shorncliffe who also read at Mass. A beautiful gentle couple.

I remember sending 3 shillings to school – 2/9 pence for school fees and 3 pence for elocution. Thinking back of the years some of the happiest moments were those shared with the children as they celebrated their Frist Holy Communion Day. We were fortunate to have the wonderful Mary Hambleton who generously led the Parish and School Committee ladies in providing a memorable Communion breakfast for the “little angels”. Father Nolan also enjoyed a tasty breakfast prepared by the Convent cook as he sat aside at his own table enjoying the happiness and excitement of the children. To remember their special



(Cont’d – Metcalf)

day each child was presented with a small swan basket, made by Mary, filled with sweets and treats. A lovely end to a memorable occasion.

The original girl’s school uniform consisted of a navy dress with box pleats, and detachable white collar and cuffs. The tie was made of a knitted blue fabric with the horizontal a yellow thick stripe, and straw hat. 1966 saw the introduction of the maroon pinny with a white shirt, brown shoes and socks with a straw hat for the girls.

Father Nolan baptised my youngest child in 1962. I had a great respect and affection for Father Nolan and it was a very sad day when he retired in 1994. Norm Smith was Father’s devoted Sacristan for many years and now his daughter Pauline the secretary in the Parish Office. Irene Linder was Father Nolan’s housekeeper and friend who played a big part in the Parish. Six o’clock saw Irene and her sweet little mother in the front pew for Mass. Allan called every Monday morning to receive collection money for banking. After confession, Irene would be up with a cuppa before Father began Mass. When Father retired to Cleveland, Irene went too. We made many visits to Father, often taking other friends from Corpus Christi including Father Norris, Geebung and Mary Hambelton. I was proud to be asked to read at Father Nolan’s funeral Mass. I remember Father Sullivan arriving 1995 and we were happy to welcome him until he retired in 2010. We didn’t know how he was going to fill Father Nolan’s shoes, but I must admit, he did with great success.

I have been an active member of the Parish for many years and I can say with 100% certainty that my husband and I have felt privileged to participate and assist over the years.



MOLLOY Banyo-Nundah Catholic Parish Centenary Memories -1916

by Monica Molloy (nee Barry)

Where does one start with this story, from the very beginning and work forward or from now and work

backwards? I’ve decided that I’ll start at the very beginning.

One hundred years ago in 1916, my maternal grandfather, George Henry Hunt, died on the 20th June at his residence “The Bungalow”, Hamilton Road, Breakfast Creek. He was buried the next day at the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Nudgee. It is recorded on his Death Certificate that the Religious Minister who presided over the burial was Martin Jordan, Roman Catholic. His own mother passed on September 19th, 1918 and is buried with her son at Nudgee Cemetery. My Grandfather was 58 at the time of his death and had at that time resided in Queensland for the past six years.

This very same year saw my mother, Josephine (aged 12) the eldest of the three Hunt children, as one of the first boarders at Mt. St. Joseph’s Convent at Nundah. Her sister, Sylvia, was cared for by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Allora on the Darling Downs and Jack (John) was in care at Nudgee Orphanage.

In 1919 their mother died of the Pneumonic Plague and my mother, Josephine, told of how kind the Nuns were to her when this happened. Sr Raphael accompanied my mother to view her mother (my grandmother) who had been in the make-shift hospital at the Exhibition Ground. Josephine was orphaned at the age of 16.

Josephine then lived at Mount St. Joseph’s until January, 1926. She told many funny stories of her days there. She hated sago and had put it into her handkerchief at meal time and later fed it to the cow. To her horror, the Vet had been summoned up to the Convent to check on the cow that wasn’t well!

The other story was how she had borrowed a blouse from her friend, unbeknown to the Nuns and had taken it off and put it under the tank stand on returning to the convent. To her horror, the next morning she saw the gardener raking up the leaves (along with the blouse) only to see it going into the incinerator. Her friend eventually forgave her.

My grandfather, George Henry Hunt, was a Bookmaker at The Breakfast Creek and through the love of horse racing, a special relationship was formed between himself and Fr. Martin Jordan, Parish Priest at Nundah from 1910 – 1941.

I have in my keeping a letter from Fr Jordon to my mother. In this letter, Fr Jordon thanked Mum for the generous donation of 5 Pounds towards the Corpus Christi Church that they contemplated building on the Convent Hill.



(Cont’d – Molloy)

He goes on to say that the Sisters and himself appreciated very much the donation and how thoughtful of her to remember them, a mere girl. He apologised for the delay in thanking her as he had been very busy in organising the Corpus Christi Procession at Nundah that year.

Fr. Jordan gave Josephine some sound advice in this letter. At this time, she was governessing out West on a property named Arctrus, near Springsure with the Chitticks/Ryans. The advice was “to have your head well screwed on in this world, so mind his words and all will be well with you”. He wanted Josephine to be a credit to the Nuns who had taken such an interest in her. He goes on to say “stick to your Religion and always live up to it, you won’t be happy in this life and in the life to come, if you don’t”.

The other letter I have in my keeping is a Reference from Mr. T.C. BEIRNE, dated the 8th January,1926. Josephine had worked at T.C. Beirne from May 1921 until 26th January, 1924. She is described as having a pleasing manner with Customers, a good Saleswoman, an energetic worker and a good stock-keeper. The last sentence ends with “she is an honest upright girl, one that we can confidently recommend.”

During Josephine’s time at Nundah, she made friendships that were to last a lifetime.

A friend from the Class of 1916 was Marie Hardy who came from Mudgeeraba. Josephine was welcomed into that family and spent many happy times there. She actually met my father, Alex Barry, down at Hardy’s family home, “Montana” as he was a friend of Marie’s brother, Greg Hardy, who had boarded with Alex at Nudgee College in 1915.

Mum and Dad (Josephine and Alex) were married on the 9th Decemeber,1933 in Corpus Christi Church officiated by Fr. Martin Jordan. Mum was given away by Mr J Hardy, the father of her friend, Marie Hardy, from school days. Their marriage notice in the Courier Mail mentions that Miss Mary Craney presided at the organ.

47 McIntyre Street was to become the Barry family home from 1933 to 2003. In 1945, Josephine and Alex welcomed their fifth child into the family. It was the 8th pregnancy for Josephine in less than 12 years and with both sets of Grandparents deceased, it would have been hard for them both. In our family lounge room at 47 McIntyre Street, hung a set of wooden framed holy pictures of Our Lady and the Sacred Heart. They had been given to Josephine and Alex as a wedding gift in 1933 from the Sisters of St. Joseph, Nundah. They now hang at 91 Cavendish Street, Nundah after 69 years at Wooloowin.

On the 18th February, 1958 the eldest daughter of Josephine and Alex Barry married Graham, the eldest son of Greg and Eileen Hardy, a nephew of her friend from school days, Marie Hardy. So finally, the Barry and Hardy families were related by marriage.

When Kevin and I were posted to Brisbane from Canberra with the Army in 1981, we were looking to buy a house on the northside of Brisbane. After visiting friends (Maree and Michael White) one night, the suggestion was made to contact Ray White Real Estate in Nundah. We purchased the house next door to



(Cont’d – Molloy)

them on the 5th February,1981. It was a given that Corpus Christi Church would be our Parish with our eldest son, Brendan, commencing Year 8 at St. Joseph’s College Nudgee and Louise, James and Sarah attended St Joseph’s School, Nundah. We have made good friends through the School and Parish over these past 35 years.

Fr Gabriel (Gab) Nolan was the Parish Priest when we arrived. We involved ourselves with school activities, fetes and fundraising with lamington drives etc.

One Sunday morning after Mass, Fr Gab beckoned Kevin over and with Sarah, our 4 year old daughter in toe, went up to see what Father wanted. He asked Kevin to take the collection down to the Presbytery. Sarah looked up and asked if that was the money for our new car? Father didn’t know that we had been looking for a bigger car the day before!

Our youngest son, James, served as an altar-boy and loved Fr Nolan. It was a tradition that after midnight Mass, the parishioners would gather outside the Sanctuary to sing Fr. Gab “Happy Birthday”; who was born on Christmas Day 1902.

Our connection with Nundah Parish goes back a long way – 100 years ago. We have been blessed with good priests in having Frs. Nolan, Sullivan, Chandler and Gallagher. serving the Parish.

In recent times and being retired, Kevin and I have enjoyed being more involved in the parish. We are blessed with a beautiful church, that is so very well cared for inside and out by wonderful and giving parishioners. Thanks must also be afforded to our talented organists, gifted readers (young and old), collectors, counters, singers and cleaners. Our Church is a place of worship where parishioners from all nations can praise and thank God for their faith, in the presence of that magnificent painting “Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the Nations”.

My mother, Josephine (nee Hunt) Barry, never forgot what the Sisters of St. Joseph had done for her and was eternally grateful for the time, toil and sacrifice these wonderful women of faith had given to her. Josephine instilled in all her children, Patricia, Ellie-Ann, Michael, Brian and myself (Monica) to have respect for the Nuns, Priests and Brothers.

Monica (nee Barry) Molloy


NASTRO Memories of Tino Nastro

My family have many happy memories, and feel blessed to have been a part of this wonderful parish for the formative years of my life.

Our story with the Nundah Parish starts in 1968 when the Nastro family, Maureen and Charlie Nastro relocated from Brooks St Bowen Hills and purchased our home on Sandgate Road Nundah. I began my education at St Josephs in 1969 Grade 1. My teachers, Sr Marie Louise Gr1, Sr Thomas (Anne) Gr2, Sr Brendan (Brenda) Gr3, Mrs Carlisle Gr4, Sr Ambrose and Sr Margret Anne Gr5, Mrs Hobbs Gr6, Sr Rita Gr7. Despite the happy memories, this was not the case for my first 2 days of Gr1. I felt I was taken by surprise and did not take to leaving mum for school very well at all. I remember many tears and being taken to Gr7 room by principal Sr Frances to sit with the Gr7 class to settle me. What I don’t remember but have been told is that I put up such a fight that I kicked Sr Frances in the shins and to make it worse, left a bit of a mark I’m told. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for my behaviour, I’m so sorry Sister. Many friendships were formed and still in regular contact with some almost 50 years later. Maureen was a willing helper with anything from assisting on tuck shop rosters to remedial reading lessons with some of the young children.

The priests were Fr Nolan and Fr Grice. Fr Grice left the parish and Fr Dobson joined in about 1971 / 1972. I became an altar boy in 1973 Gr5. We would serve for 6am Mass, my roster was Thursday mornings, and would rotate on the Sundays from 6, 7, 8, 9, 10am and 6pm. When 6pm Saturdays were introduced, 8 am was dropped. Good attendances at all Masses from memory, people would wear their Sunday best then – not a t-shirt to be seen. Before Mass started the altar boys would light the candles on the alter. One Sunday morning I went to Mass to prepare for the 10am, candles lit, church full of worshippers, everything was ready to go on time, but one thing was missing, No Father Nolan. His Mercedes wasn’t there when we arrived either. I started to panic. In my child’s mind, I assumed that an altar boy, would be like a second in charge on the alter since the priest was absent, and would have to step up and deliver the Mass. Thankfully my indecision kicked in and held me back and Father Nolan arrived at about 10.10am. This would have to be the only time he was late NB: I think we were all still out of there by 10.35am – he was famous for keeping it short and sweet. Sometimes Altar boys were called upon to serve at weddings, and you could make a bob or two, so I did a few weddings when offered to me. Before Mass and for the weddings, the priest and altar boys would wait at the steps to the side of the church and the groom / groomsmen would come up to father, exchange a gift, Father Nolan would say to me about all of the respective grooms, “look at them – like a lamb being led to the slaughter”! Boy I laughed when I heard that! After the wedding, he’d say to us to go hang around the front of the church where the confetti and photos were taking place, to see if we can scab some money for ourselves. A groomsman would always oblige!

Somewhere amongst all that, there was “the Theft”! The church was broken into one night and some of the church’s Eucharistic vessels were stolen. A small group of boys decided to investigate and explore the church for clues to find the thief, some believing that the thief was still hiding inside many days later, the boys thought they solved it on one day after finding a man hole cover in the floor on the left side where the smaller choir forms today. Unfortunately, back in the day, that side of the church was exclusively used by our nuns to pray, a nun almost went through the manhole as the boys on the search failed to properly relocate the cover in the floor. Needless to say the search was called off.

(Cont’d Nastro)

Some years later my mum and I joined the Christmas choir for a few years. We would rehearse for midnight Mass, I met more lovely people and of course our organist, the gentleman Tony Gilmartin. The nuns would prepare the nativity scene beautifully every year, and standing room only outside the church. We all can remember Father Nolan in the lead up to every Christmas every year, reminding people not to ring up the office asking “What time does midnight Mass start this year?” I received My First Holy communion and confession with Father Nolan, and Confirmation with Arch Bishop Francis Rush.

My happiest day was the day I wed my wife Celine Morgan on 12 Sept 1992. It was a happy day for all and for my parents to have a daughter at last. Celine and I have been blessed with 2 lovely and respectful children, our daughter Lishelle and our son Thomas. Their Grandmother and Granddad were so proud of both of them and loved them dearly.

The church has been there in the lowest days of my life too, my Grandfather (Maureen’s dad) James Linklater, his funeral in 1973, which was to be my first day of Rugby league training with Norths St Josephs with Nat Riggall. My grandfather would have liked to have a grandson playing rugby league as he was a footballer representing Central Qld in 1923. Many years later, but still too soon for me, My mums funeral in October 2009 and my dad’s funeral in August 2011. Please remember them in your prayers.




NEIL nee LLOYD Memories from Judy Neil (nee Lloyd)

I have been in this parish for 76 years. I was born on 25th June 1939, at Virginia Private Hospital, Prince St, Virginia. I lived at 1636 Sandgate Rd, Virginia with my parents and four siblings, Terry, Dennis, Colleen and Julianne. My sister Julianne was one of the first pupils of Corpus Christi College at Nundah.

My siblings and I attended St Joseph’s Nundah. I remember that each first Friday morning before school my friend and I would walk to Corpus Christi church for Mass. It was a long walk. I attended St Rita’s College at Clayfield for high school up to year 10.

During the 1950’s a parish was established at Geebung. There was not church so mass was said in Geebung Hall. Father Norris was parish priest. I was a member of the Children of Mary and YCW before I married.

Father Norris married my husband and I at St Pascal’s Wavell Heights on 20th January 1962 as Geebung had not church. When we married we moved to Nudgee where I still live. My husband passed away in 2013.

I have five children Reg, Jenny, Geoff, Bronwyn and Dennis who all attended St Pius V School, Banyo. I have a granddaughter who is completing year 6 at St Pius in 2015. My sons went to St Columban’s at Clayfield for high school and my daughters went to Corpus Christi College, Nundah.

I helped at tuckshop at Corpus Christi and St Pius. I was treasurer of Corpus Christi P&F for a couple of years. I now volunteer at St Vinnies Op Shop at Northgate.



PEREZ Memories of Erwin Perez

I am privileged to belong to this very welcoming parish. From the time we first moved in the area, we have always experienced the love and care of many people. The parish has also been a major influence in the development of our spirituality bringing us closer to God. This is also where we, as a family, have practised what it means to answer the Church’s call for New Evangelisation.

Having moved in the area about six, we were not even regular church-goers then, sadly. However, looking back, we have indeed come a long way! Thanks to the very accommodating atmosphere of both churches, our transition from being lukewarm Catholics to trying-to-be-faithful ones has been made so much smoother by so many friendly people we have met through the years. Some names come to mind: Fr. Paul, Fr. Bernie, Vince M., Valerie S., Carmel, Denise, Pauline O., Philomena L., Elizabeth A., Elizabeth F., Rob N., Ruth F. and countless others. Without the gesture extended to us by all of these people, things would have not been as easy.

The Catholic Church through this parish, through the parishioners, has become very attractive. More than anything, my most personal gain through this parish is on the spiritual side. It was Fr. Paul who encouraged us during one of his homilies to go to regular Confession. Since then I have been going to monthly Confession and it has made a lasting effect on me. I also remember and somehow find it amusing that during Fr. Bernie’s first Reconciliation session, I was the very first in queue. Since that first meeting with Fr. Bernie, my life has changed even more. A very important activity in the parish is our Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration which we do nearly 24/7. The spiritual gain is immeasurable. As soon as I could, I volunteered to be the Monday emergency contact to help out in my own little way to ensure continuity. During Adoration, this is where I have also met some more beautiful and inspiring people who are in equal hunger for the Lord.

The parish has also been very accommodating in helping lay organisations. Two years ago, in 2014, as a member of the Couples for Christ- International Council (a private lay organisation recognised by the Vatican) I, together with two of our leaders- Roland T. and Noel A., initiated talks with Fr. Bernie about conducting a Christian Life Program (CLP) which is a way to answer the Church’s call for New Evangelisation. We were not expecting much but it turned out to be the biggest CLP we have done in Brisbane up to this very present time. It is comforting to know as well that those who finished the course are now the core group of Filipino parishioners who take part actively in various parish activities including its centenary celebrations.

Perhaps the most memorable event in the parish that I will take with me for as long as I live is when I and my wife Arlene had our Renewal of Wedding Vows on our 25th wedding anniversary. It was held on the 14th of April, 2016 at Holy Trinity Church with the very kind Fr. Bernie officiating, on a most Eucharistic night with the Gospel reading being John 6:44-51, in front of all of family, friends and brothers and sisters in the parish.



PETERSEN nee HURLEY Banyo-Nundah Catholic Parish Memories

Clare Petersen (nee Hurley)

I was born in Nundah Parish in 1939. I attended Nundah Convent School all my primary years then moved to St Rita’s at Clayfield for my secondary education as the St Joseph Sisters had no secondary schools in Queensland at that time. Corpus Christi was my parish church until my marriage in December 1960.

My parish priest during my school years was Father Denis O’Keeffe. He was followed by Father Gabriel Nolan who was parish priest at the time of my marriage.

I remember Father O’Keeffe walking up and down outside the church with his rosary beads in his hands behind his back as he waited to hear Saturday afternoon confessions. I also remember the instruction classes he gave to the older school children in the church on a Friday morning. His insights into meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary were wonderful and they have stayed with me all my life. He was a great man and I remember him with great kindness.

Memorable moments – my First Holy Communion (and the great Communion breakfast that followed it over in the school!); my Confirmation Day (a really large group because the Archbishop conferred Confirmation in those days and he only visited the parish every few years); my Wedding Day – Father Nolan was parish priest at the time but we were married by a family friend, Father Frank Moynihan. Parish missions were memorable – ones I remember particularly were given by the Redemptorist priests and by the Vincentian priests.

I remember being a member of the Children of Mary and the Legion of Mary sodalities and the Youth Group. Each sodality had its special Mass and Sunday a month when all members of that sodality sat together in the front of the church. First Sunday was Children’s Sunday, second Sunday was Holy Name Sunday (for the men), Third Sunday was the Sacred Heart Ladies Sunday and the fourth Sunday was Children of Mary Sunday when we all wore our blue cloaks and white veils.

Lenten devotions included Stations of the Cross on Friday night and the Holy Week celebrations were marked by a procession on Holy Thursday morning with flower girls dressed all in white dropping flower petals ahead of the priest as he carried the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose while the choir sang Pange Lingua. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament continued all day. Good Friday was a more solemn occasion and also featured a special Stations of the Cross at 3.00pm.

Benediction was held every Sunday night and was always well attended. Mass was celebrated every morning at 6.30am.

I remember the parish choir and parish picnics. My older sisters were choir members and the whole family would go along on the picnics. They were great days.



RANDLE nee O’SULLIVAN Memories of Saint Joseph’s Nundah

By Bernadette Randle

Jim and Annie O’Sullivan were long standing members of the Corpus Christi parish. There were eleven children in their family; Kathleen, Gabrielle, Tom, Norah, Jim, Berna, Con, Carmel, Daniel and Stacey. Jim Snr lived in the Nundah area all of his life since the 1890’s. During their marriage years they lived on Rode Road. Jim O’Sullivan Snr was a carpenter and built the frame for the nativity scene in the church for the Sisters of St Joseph to decorate for Christmas, the sisters would then cover the frame with what appeared to be heavy brown paper coloured to look like stone of the stable for the birth of Jesus Christ. The statues of the Holy Family plus animals on a straw covered floor were then placed in by the Sisters. It was well done and looked very original. Over the years Jim worked on many repair jobs at the Convent (Rode’s Home) and around the school such as repairing chairs etc. This helped by offsetting some costs of schooling for such a large family, particularly in the depression in the thirties.

Jim was a member of the Holy Name Society while Annie O’Sullivan was a member of the Sacred Heart Society, seven girls of the family were members of the Children of Mary. Each society would attend Sunday Mass and communion as a body on a monthly basis. Children making their first communion did so as a body, boys in white shirts and ties, girls in white dresses and veils, and the choirs sang beautifully.

Ten of the O’Sullivan family attended Saint Joseph’s primary school. One of the Saint Joseph sisters taught typing and shorthand. Kathleen O’Sullivan was one of these students.

Collecting flowers around the district from parishioners of Corpus Christi to adorn the altar for Sunday Mass was done by the O’Sullivan girls and then there was the dusting of the pews, cleaning wax of candle stands and polishing them, usually on a Saturday.

The choir of adults was conducted by Ned Fitzgibbon and was one of the best in Brisbane. The house opposite the church was purchased in later years allowing boarders to be taken in. It is now Mary Mackillop College.

Extensions to St Joseph’s school building as time went on gave much needed extra room. With the folding partitions in the school pushed back there was plenty of room for the School ball and St Patrick day concert. Occasionally concerts were held in Nundah – Toombul Shire Hall, during one of which children in costume sang “The Toy Maker’s Dream”, in this song Tom O’Sullivan at a certain time had to crow like a rooster which he did very well, but Tom being Tom also crowed at the wrong time and brought the house down ending up in trouble from the sisters. The school pupils grew in numbers over the years coming from nearby suburbs, many pupils won awards and medals. In the early years around the mid 1930’s Christmas fetes were held in the grounds in front of the Convent with tents for stalls. A huge Christmas tree was decorated for Santa Clause with many prizes to be won. It was a big affair.



STANTON The Stanton Family

Kevin and I moved from Mt Isa to live in Nundah in 1969, with our then children Leanne (born 1956), Debra (b 1958), Kevin jnr (b 1960) and Susan (b 1963). As a married couple, the first home we bought was in Stafford and Leanne and Debra started school at Queen of Apostles, before Kevin’s work took us to Mt Isa. In Mt Isa, Kevin was in charge of Telegraph Communications and training staff at the Royal Flying Doctors base. In Mt Isa our children had their education under the Sisters of St Josephs and we were committed to continue with this high standard of Catholic education.

In August 1969 when we returned to Brisbane, Leanne went straight into high school at Corpus Christi College, Debbie to Grade 7 and Susan to Grade 1 at St Joseph’s Primary. Kevin jnr went off to St Columban’s at Albion also continuing with the Christian Brothers education he had started in Mt Isa.

We bought our home in Westacott St Toombul close to St Joseph’s Primary, Corpus Christi College and the Nundah Parish Church. We lived there for 44 and half years until late November 2013. After that we lived for a short time at College Green and have recently moved into the Holy Spirit Home at Carseldine into an apartment. We now live there with many other people who we have met through our children’s schools and parish over our many years at Nundah. Kevin (83yrs) and I (80yrs) have settled well into our new home and are very happy. We continue to visit Nundah Parish for services.

I am a local girl having grown up in Hendra and went to the Our Lady Help of Christians. I remember we used to come and compete in Netball with students from St Josephs at Nundah. My sister Christine Elmer was in the first intake of students at Mount St Josephs. Kevin was a country boy, born in Townsville and who moved to Brisbane from Emerald at the age of 16 when he went to the Postal and Telegraphist training school.

When we moved into Nundah in 1969, we were blessed to find and purchase a house, one block from the primary and secondary schools and church, and one block from the train station for Kevin jnr and later Stephen (born 1972) to go to St Columban’s. Having the centre of the parish just a block away from our home, provided our family stability and grounding over almost 5 decades. Following our movements as a family with Kev’s work, our children were all baptised in different locations and Stephen in Nundah. Our children had their Confirmations and Communions within the Nundah parish and later some of our children’s weddings and some of the grandchildren’s baptisms were held here as well.

We have been part of the Nundah parish for over 47 years and have been regular church goers relying on our faith during life’s many difficult times. We have had great times in the Nundah parish and we continue to go there as it is our parish of choice. We still have many acquaintances there, many families we have known through our children’s school, music, sport and post school education. Our family members now flow through varied parishes including Albany Creek and Stella Maris on the Sunshine Coast.



(Cont’d – Stanton)

Our time in Nundah: Kevin worked in the Post Master General (PMG) department which later became Australia Post and Telecom, later known as Telstra. He worked for Telstra for 44 and a half years moving to many different locations. It was a joy to us that when he retired at the age of 59, he was actually working in an office at Nundah just over the train line.

During the education of our granddaughter Grace, she was friends with Elena Rosa, whose mother Josie gave many parishioners comfort and joy from the gift of her beautiful singing voice. It was always a special moment when Josie took to the microphone at school masses and services. Kevin just piped in with, he wants Josie to sing at his funeral, but not too soon!

North St Joseph’s Sporting Clubs: Kevin was active in the community and for a time managed sporting teams, including Rugby League teams for the North St Joseph’s club, which was founded by Sr Francis and headed up by lead coach Bobby Bax. Some of the boys in the team were from the Orphanage in Buckland Rd and one of them told one of the other fathers, that Kevin was his father. Kevin was the father figure he was missing in his life. It did raise a few eye brows, but we all saw the funny yet real life side to it!

Initially North St Joseph’s sporting teams trained at Boyd Park and had their base in an old bus converted into a canteen. Stephen played out his junior Rugby League with North St Josephs and still has friends from those days and Susan played for many years in North St Joseph’s netball teams. Later the North St Joseph’s club moved to Virginia.

Youth Group: Father Nolan was the parish priest when Leanne graduated from Corpus Christi College and he gave all the girls a good grounding of what he expected from them as they entered adulthood. They seemed to have listened to him and taken some notice.

Leanne was part of the first Youth Group that was formed and some of this group are still in contact. Fr Ashley Warbrook and Fr Wrex Woollnough were in the seminary at the time and would participate in the group, along with Fr John Dobson and formed great friendships with the younger parishioners.

I remember when we told Father Nolan that Leanne had got engaged. Father Nolan replied with, ‘Hope he kicks with the right foot!’ (I.e. hope he is a Catholic?) Kevin replied, he kicks with the right foot, he votes labor and he follows Valleys! Three ticks!

Mount St Joseph’s: My sister Christine Elmer was fortunate to be one of the first students to go to Mount St Josephs in the Maryvale house. Students used to cross the road to go to the toilet block on the Primary school grounds in the early days. She was in a batch of students from across the wider district, who were selected for their academic capabilities and potential, later competing to attain the best marks for the school attracting future enrolments. Christine excelled in her school work at Mount St Josephs. She was and is a talented musician having attained her letters in music and has a performers degree. Christine was taught music by the Sisters of St Josephs. She has had a lifelong career in music and even in retirement age, is still assisting students with eisteddfods, concerts and exams.




In recent years Christine has researched our family’s Irish heritage and recently visited there to meet our extended family. Our mother Mary Agnes Costigan was a descendant of Irish immigrants. Christine has grown green roots and finds herself drawn to our historic homeland, Ireland.

Corpus Christi Celebration: I also remember as a child going to the Corpus Christi celebration at the RNA show grounds. It was the big event on the Catholic calendar with many Catholic schools and groups joining in an annual procession in and around the exhibition grounds. My uncle, Jack Costigan from the Balmoral parish, was in the Holy Name Society and participated in organising the annual Corpus Christi Procession. It was an annual event where we Catholics took over the city for the day! Every school child was in full uniform, every child of Mary, the Young Christian Workers (YCW) and other Catholic groups.

It was the highlight of the church year for the catholic school children and I am sure for their parents. It was an opportunity to meet up with relatives and an opportunity to bring visitors home for tea. Later it seemed to get smaller and was moved down to Nudgee College.

Penola Nursing Home: In the 70’s when Penola opened, I went to work there for the Sisters of St Joseph providing nursing care to the aged nuns. Sr Elizabeth was in charge, working also with Sr Rita Mary and Sr Maureen. My old mate, Thea Neeskens was the cook at that time. Thea’s daughter Betty and my daughter Susan were great friends and still are to this day. At the age of 15, Susan and Betty were given casual work at Penola on Saturdays and assisted with meals and other light duties. Sr Elizabeth would make the work light for them as they were young, and later they both went on to do Nursing at the Mater, where they both did extremely well.

I worked at Penola for over 8 years and this provided me great experience for what was later to follow in my own life. I also worked for 8 years, again providing nursing care to aged nuns, with the Sisters of Mercy at Emmaus Nudgee before retiring at 64 years of age. All of my nursing experience was working with and looking after aged nuns. What a joy to be taught and witness the high standard of care provided to these glorious souls. It was a wonderful experience and great people to work for. The nursing care was above and beyond for the aged nuns and was taught to the nurses by the younger nursing nuns. They taught and demonstrated an extremely high standard of care of what was expected.

60 years of Marriage Celebration: Recently we were blessed to celebrate 60 years of marriage where Father Bernie Gallagher presented us with a certificate from the Vatican and gave us a blessing in front of family and friends following a parish mass at Nundah in Jan 2016. We are grateful for our longevity which has allowed us to celebrate such an occasion.

For our 50th Wedding anniversary we also received a Vatican certificate from Father Joe Duffy at Stella Maris and celebrated with a renewal of our vows on the Sunshine Coast.




Living in Nundah was a great period in our life and Kevin and I now have 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. With the weddings coming hard and fast that number could explode, as most of the grand children are adults now. Just hoping! We welcomed out newest great granddaughter only 5 weeks ago, Olivia Rose.

Education: Susan went into Grade 1 in Penola, the old house on the corner of Buckland and Bage St. I used to go up and vacuum the floor of the class room each morning and sharpen all the pencils. I may have had trouble letting go of my youngest at the time! St Thomas (Anne Josephine) used to look at me like I was strange, rocking up to the school gate and pulling out my vacuum. I felt nothing strange about it.

I remember when Susan was in Grade 2, St Thomas had a project were chicken eggs were bought to the school for the children to learn about hatching. Soon the chicks all hatched and then there were many chickens to find new homes in the parish! Initially every child in the class was allowed to take 2 chickens home, for us this turned to 4, and then quickly to 16 as many chickens that were taken home where returned. Susan enjoyed raising chickens, which she initially treated as pets and they kept our family in eggs for many years. Many years later they met a quick and abrupt end on the end of an axe. Kevin and I had to trade our chickens with the neighbours so that our children did not think they were eating our own pets.

The education received from the Sisters of St Joseph’s has been the grounding that I am proud to say our children benefited from. All our children were well educated having subsequently forged careers across many decades. Debra, Kevin jnr and Susan went on to university, Debra achieving 4 university degrees, 2 of which are masters and Kevin also has a masters. Susan did nursing at the Mater and later a university degree. Leanne worked for many years at SGIO then Suncorp in the city and in more recent years worked at the Parish Office at Stella Maris. Stephen has a highly successful career in the Police Service and is currently a Detective Snr Sargent at Boondall.

We would like to extend our deepest thanks to all the parishioners, clergy and Sisters of St Josephs, who have been part of our life and our family’s lives over many years and wish you all congratulations on the Centenary of the Parish.

Lovingly,

Jacky and Kevin Stanton

Rosemary Jacqueline Stanton (nee Elmer)

Kevin Joseph Stanton


Walley Memories of Paula Walley (nee Mayo)

My Mother Hilda Mayo would have commenced school circa 1916 and had many fond memories of the school and the Parish. I remember Mum mentioning wonderful teachers, Sr Amata & Sr Vincent. Hilda always praised the teaching techniques of the wonderful St Joseph Sisters & mentioned how much of an honour it was to have attended St Josephs right through to Scholarship. Her brothers Charlie, Dick, Jim & Jack also attended the school. One of the great fund raisers for the parish was the Queen competition, which Mum had much fun and pleasure organising, with a great number of helpers. Kath Lacey was an entrant in this quest, who was around Mum’s age.




ANONYMOUS CORPUS CHRISTI CONNECTION

My story and connection with the Corpus Christi church started about eighteen years ago when my wife was diagnosed with grade three ovarian cancer.

My wife was 41 years of age and our three children were aged twelve, ten and five and needless to say we were all shattered with the news. In desperation my wife confided with a friend, who had previous cancer issues of her own and was a Corpus Christi parishioner at the time. We lived some three parishes away from Nundah. It was at the friend’s suggestion to attend a mid-week evening mass at Corpus Christi and to meet Father John Sullivan. The mass and the meeting felt appropriate because Father John anointed my wife with oil (anointing of the sick) as she was admitted to hospital the next day.

It is difficult to articulate what the feelings and emotions were around that time, but time itself seemed to move in slow motion, whilst a subtle nausea consumed each day as the air was thick with anxiety. I can only imagine that my wife must have experienced much more considering that her thoughts would have revolved around the low survival rate and the young ages of the children.

Surgery was completed at 10.30 pm and we were informed that all went well. There was a slight sense of relief. I can recall that we slept well that night. My wife was probably still under the influence of the anaesthetic and I probably because of a catch up of lost sleep over the past week. I slept on a fold out camper bed in my wife’s room for the duration of her hospital stay.

The next morning, we both awoke early and reality set in and all the anxiety resurfaced as the realisation that the journey with chemotherapy was to commence soon.

The usual daily routine for me was to go home early morning to shower, freshen up, check on the kids (who were being looked after by my mother and mother in law) and return back to the hospital. However, this particular morning I went to the Corpus Christi church first and it was open. Mass may have just finished so I went in. There was no one in sight. I knelt down towards the back of the church, closed my eyes and said something like “…how are you God…” The instant I opened my eyes I saw the word “HELLO” scratched on the back of one of the pews. The word of some two inches wide felt warm, welcoming and calming. The weight of the world that was on my shoulders going into the church had instantaneously disappeared with that one word. It felt that God had responded to my greeting and it felt that I was in dialogue with God. From that moment forward I knew that my wife was in good hands and would bounce back to good health.

Naturally upon my eventual return to hospital I told her what had happened that morning in church and needless to say that raised her spirits and thankfully the rest is history.




(Cont’d – Anonymous)

The “HELLO” was scratched on the back of the pew that was under the arch towards the front of the church. It was in line with the stature of Christ the King. Upon reflection it was as if the stature, with arm outstretched, was pointing to the pew and the word. My position was almost at the rear corner of the church and “HELLO” was towards the front, roughly a straight line between me and the tabernacle. Had I sat in any other spot in the church I probably would not have seen it.

Ten days later my wife was released from hospital and our first port of call was to visit Corpus Christi church. We knelt in the pew where “HELLO” was and gave thanks. We brought our children to Sunday masses and sat at the same pew. However, after about a month the word “HELLO” disappeared.

Months came and went and we continued attending the Corpus Christi Sunday masses and in so doing we befriended Father John who always asked about the patient’s condition. About six months elapsed when we asked Father John for a mid-week dinner to thank him for doing what he had done and giving us the spiritual support. During that evening we had recounted the above events and asked him who the maintenance man for the church was, as he must have sanded down the word “HELLO”, revarnished the pew but left all the other scratches, etches and initials on all the other pews. Father John did not confirm or deny that a maintenance man existed.

When we attended the next Sunday mass, much to our surprise we saw the Christ the King statue which stood at the left of the church wall (facing the tabernacle) probably for over 120 years moved to the front altar area. The statue remained near the altar for some time, but was moved back to its original position soon after Father Paul Chandler took over.

We believe that Father John’s action to move the statue could be his reply that …no maintenance man existed.

My wife (and I) can relate to being like one of the ten lepers who was cured (Luke 17:11-19). The recounting of this story is just another way of giving thanks.


PARISH MEMORIES


CARROLL Memories of Angela and Mary Carroll

Our family moved into 29 Forrest Street Nudgee on September 29th 1950. Mum and the girls came from Indooroopilly in a taxi with the dog panting near the open window, and the cat, which vomited on someone’s dress. We arrived before the furniture, the dress was washed and the key-minding neighbours, Mr and Mrs Crawford, brought Mum a cup of tea and some fruit cake. The previous Carroll house-moving had taken place in 1941, before my time, but oral tradition had marked this moment, this before- the- furniture- arrived interlude. It was 7th December, and the radio announced the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

In 1948, our Dad, Teedie (Thaddeus) Carroll opened a chemist shop in Banyo near the railway station. At that stage, we were living in Indooroopilly, the two boys going to Rosalie and the four girls to the local Brigidines. One Sunday afternoon in 1948, I think, my younger sister and I went on the train with Dad to an event at Banyo Parish, which might have been the opening of the convent – not very entertaining for a 5 year-old, but a first immersion in this new community. Two things about this school I recall Dad praising at that time –one was the fact that boys could go to school without shoes, the other being school picnic at Shornecliffe (or Sandgate) the whole school went to on the train. I also remember being tricked by his telling us there were two women in the shop, at the same time, wearing exactly the same dress! Same colour? Yes. Exactly the same? Yes. We heard about the Sisters of St Joseph before we ever met them.

So it was that another Sunday two years later, the two “little girls” went with Mum and Dad to Nudgee to look at some houses. We two awarded points to the ones we saw, the highest score going to the house on the corner of Hayden Street and St Vincent’s Road, which had a sun dial! The Forrest Street house we eventually moved into had a front path, a “fernery” along the side, and out the back, mango, Brazilian cherry, poinciana and mulberry tree in the corner. It was Mr Eden from over the back told us about the trees and showed us their custard apple, one I had never heard of. Coming from the station, the first attraction was a building with the name School of Arts, a school that wasn’t a school. Somewhere we saw St Ach’s Street, which gave my sister the idea we might be going to the School of St Ach’s.

The Parish priest was Fr Vince Carroll but since there was a mission on at the time, a Redemptorist Mission, other priests were around. The four of us turned up for school on Monday morning, but I think all the children were in the church for a session so we had to hang around. Sr Juan was the principal and Sr Christopher and Sr Maria Therese and Sr Marie des Anges were other teachers. Being only seven, I was totally absorbed in the process of fitting into a new class room, teacher- perhaps one of the hardest challenges ever. First Communions were on the Feast of Christ the King, 29th October, so luckily I didn’t miss out, though there are many faces I don’t recognise in the group photo. I do hold lovely memories of the breakfast held under the presbytery, which was like a real party. Perhaps it was there I first felt surrounded by the loving supportive parish community. Certainly those faces became oh so familiar over the years and we knew these people cared about us and somehow we belonged.

So, as the years passed we became part of the Catholic community of Nudgee and Banyo, half of which lived in or around Forrest Street. My memory lists the various Conways, Grensills, Flemings Hartens, Burgesses, Scotts, Gibbings, Wards (our neighbours), Russels, Bennets, Cooks, and the extended families of Hatton, Boult, Maltmann, Gon Chees, Streets, Wrafters, Kreutzers, Deveney and Connollys, Staffords, Wilsons. That was just Nudgee. Banyo was another treasure house of families, met through the school

(Cont’d CARROLL) In 1950, the Cribb Island and Nudgee beach children, alias ‘the Cribbie kids’, came to school on a special bus, sometimes running late. This was only until the catholic school opened in Cribbie 1951? Then we would occasionally see the two Sisters who travelled from Banyo each day. Sr Anne Bartholomew and Sr Claver, Sr Brian and Sr Anne Mills? At first they walked down to Nudgee station to catch the bus from there to Cribbie. Later, a taxi took them down.

I can remember some sports we played against the Cribbie kids, because they had a fawn or beige sports uniform with red trimmings. Some children continued to come to St Pius – from Nudgee Beach at least, as I have recently met one man who did this for a few years. The children would get the bus to Nudgee station and walk up to school. In the afternoon they would wait around Hedge’s butcher shop in Oakmere Street, waiting for the return trip.

When Mary O’Gorman and I lived in Cribb Island from 1977 to 1979, a boy from my Grade One class still lived there, though most of the other families had moved. The school room (which the Josephites had left in 1967?) formed an L-shape with the Church and was being used as a kindergarten. The little children who frequented our house would often say of our picture of Mary MacKillop, “She in our kindy”. After a couple of years, I had occasion to go into that room and found that indeed she was. Our house also sported a LARGE statue of St Joseph and the Child Jesus which stood on a sort of pedestal in the corner of the narrow lounge room. Hendra convent was being dismantled at the time and someone decided this statue would be just right for Cribb Island.

Two of the Banyo Vinnies ladies, Glad Collie and Ivy Hayes, gave lots of time and energy to the families in Cribbie, often finding them emergency food and other help. They filled out this demonstration of God’s love and other important tenets of the faith with some holy pictures. After our first Christmas there, I was in the kitchen and one of the local kids, Frankie M, who was rather artistic and no chatterbox, said shyly, nodding towards the lounge room, ‘You know them in there? I got a picture of ‘em.” ‘Have you now?’ I probably said, ‘Have you really?”, then he added – “but there’s a girl with ’em”. We did have picture of the child’s mother, on the facing wall, but not beside her family.

Back to Banyo in the 1950s. When we moved, the two boys who were doing junior and Scholarship, kept going to Rosalie for the next two years. The four girls who ranged from Preps to Grade 5, were destined to occupy desks in St Pius’s school for a combined 21 years until the end of 1958.

When Fr Vince Carroll was moved to Kingaroy, Fr Vincent Wheeler, then Fr Vincent Landener and later Fr Vincent Kiley. During Fr Wheeler’s time, about 1954, Sr Finbarr was teaching grades Five and Six under the presbytery. When we had any ’loud’ lessons, we would hear the footsteps as the Parish priest headed for his car. One day, Sister got a message to say that the car carrying Cardinal Gracias, visiting from India, had stopped outside. We were urged out while Sister went to notify the principal, I imagine. In any case, we found ourselves un- chaperoned and looking through the passenger window at this important personage. He had a lovely face, surprising me that people from India could be so dark, and his hand was resting on the open window edge – I saw the big ring and guessed we should kiss it, but I wasn’t game to. I am reliably informed, this 62 years later, that Fr Wheeler had his movie camera at hand capturing the blessing His Excellency gave us. Classes from the main school building got to the big green gates too late.

A different visit organised during Fr Wheeler’s time was that of the world famous Fatima statue. My sister remembers that mum got a taxi to take our Granma up to be there, and that there is a photo of Mr (Snow) Conway et al carrying the and with its precious load down the church steps.

Probably in 1951, the school held a St Patrick’s Day concert at the Nudgee school of Arts. I was included in a troupe doing an Irish reel, choreographed by Sr Finbarr. There were 12 or 16 involved and I was one of the smallest, certainly the least qualified. The rhythm was not a problem but the criss-crossing the circle as you grabbed hands in the middle was a “new thing”. Outside Sr Finbarr’s control, and certainly mine, was the way my tongue came out as I concentrated on getting it all right. For this public performance, our neighbours, Betty Carroll and Fay Burgess curled my hair – another first. They were such lovely women. Faye was a milliner who once gave us a box of beautiful scraps of coloured velvet and bits of ribbon to play with. Betty went off to join the Sisters of St Joseph in Bathurst now part of the one congregation Gen and I belong to.

(Cont’d CARROLL) At some early part of the 1950’s one way of making money for the parish was the holding of house parties. One was held at our place, where the garage was done up as a haunted house you walked through in pitch dark and were meant to be scared by skull and unidentified hairy things touching your face. Mary remembers Kathleen Feeney made waffles. Part of the planning involved clearing space for the dance line to go in a full circle through dining room, lounge, front verandah and Mum and Dad’s bedroom. The dining room of 29 Forrest Street boasted seven doorways.

Other families put on these house parties and they were good fun. Another time, the house party was in Scott’s place down the road. Mum gave me something to take down to Mr Russell – ‘You will know him by the map of Ireland on his face’. I couldn’t see anyone so afflicted and returned with the missive undelivered. (Reminds me of a story from our St Margaret’s maternity hospital in Sydney. The famous Dr Rumble MSC used to offer Mass there weekly, probably on Sundays. One time, because of some extreme emergency Mass was cancelled. He went back to Kensington and declared himself ‘the only person to have gone to St Margaret’s prepared and come away undelivered’.)

Because one of the priests decided that just the fete once a year would be enough for the Sisters’ needs, there was a stage when the parishioners began to take food to the convent, though many already were doing that. Our dad could get tins of food through the wholesale reps who came to the shop and I recall a strange trip up St Vincent’s road with my father pushing a wheelbarrow with some cartons on board. Mary and I could play in the convent yard while the grown-ups chatted inside. Years later, when Gen and I belonged to the Josephites, we heard that some cartons contained those oval tins of herrings in tomato sauce, which the sisters would gladly have swapped for something simple like baked beans.

In the school there were plenty of children who found it hard to acquire the few text books needed and I watched teachers making every effort to get hold of them. More than once I was asked if we might have an extra arithmetic book or English book at home, but as ours came down the line from above I couldn’t help. We hung our hats and jumpers on hooks along the corridor beside the classrooms. Any garments left there for a longish time would be whisked off and given to a needy child. The Sister on playground duty must have kept an eye out for those who were hungry. Once, I don’t remember why, I had no lunch or looked hungry and was fed at the convent door, sitting on the step!

We had drill teachers coming each year from Graham Burrows group. It must have been good for us. For a number of years the Catholic schools put on a huge night show at the exhibition grounds, involving crepe paper costumes, coloured skirts at least, and sometimes torches – during the “Waltz of the Flowers” and probably ‘Glow little Glow-worm”. Mary was in” Waterlilies floating on a Pond”. The story was that we did this so the Ekka would allow Catholics to use the grounds for Corpus Christi.

We were lucky to have Mrs Leggatt coming to teach elocution for many years and can still remember poems or bits of them she taught us. There was even an extract from “Green Mountains” by Bernard O’Reilly. Mary’s class learnt “The Splendour falls on castle walls’ and ‘Bredon Hill’ (where ‘my love and I did lie’ on Sunday morning instead of going to church) for the Nundah Eisteddfod. Sr Veronica also taught us beautiful poems, some of which we wrote into an “anthology” in our very best writing and graced with a picture stuck on the other page. Here were enshrined ‘I see his blood upon the rose’ as well as ‘A garden is a lovesome thing ‘.

Sports days provided a change from the weeks of classes. Some years at least, there was an intra-school sports day, the Greens vs the Golds, with the whole school picked for one or the other. This was a great lesson in leadership for the older kids who had to make sure the Grade Ones and Twos practised. The big play-off was held on Saturday morning then other schools came in the afternoon for the interschool part, that is, the inter-Josephite – school show. A marchpast opened both sessions with marks awarded.

These sports days were held in the other schools as well, and it was nothing for Sr Veronica to mention on Tuesday or Wednesday, that Hendra or Windsor or Nundah was having their sports day this Saturday. It was up to the bigger kids to rustle up those who could go and get together senior intermediate and junior teams. Sandshoes had to be whitened and sports dresses ironed and transport sorted out. No one had cars to be running us around either.

(Cont’d CARROLL) Nundah was a cinch, but Windsor and Hendra were trickier. The ball games were always important but the flat races were State of Origin crucial there was no cheating, or it was pretty difficult. Our best runners were the Doolans, but since they had been to school at Nundah, the O’Gormans knew their ages and v.v. In my memory, the Sisters who went to these days were nowhere to be seen. I imagine they were having cups of tea and a chat up in the convent.

A long-time volunteer at the school was Mr Geddes. His son Larry was in Gen’s class. For years he would come and coach us in readiness for Sports Day. He also took the boys for football each week – while us girls stayed behind… doing schoolwork!”

Geraldine Fleming and I had for several years the privilege of seeing to the marching-interschool music, which issued via a microphone from vinyl placed near the window of the Grade One room. When all classes had marched in, we positioned ourselves at the end of the long corridor to await the sign from the principal at the opposite end. We hastened to the piano to play the Morning Offering hymn, ‘O my God to thee I offer all that I shall do this day’ followed by “Hail Holy Joseph, Hail’ and ‘Take us St joseph to thy care”. For this, the microphone was held over the open back of the piano. Later in the day –after lunch? After the Angelus? we sang the hymn of the day – St Joseph on Wednesday, Sacred Heart on Friday, Guardian Angels Monday? Holy Souls on Tuesday, Blessed Sacrament Thursday.

Somewhere along the line, the new rooms were built on the end of the original school by the Fleming brothers, in that lovely knotted wood I believe is cypress pine. This got those classes out from under the presbytery, but not into the new rooms which were for the top classes. The Grade names had all been changed at the beginning of 1952, so that scholarship was now Grade Eight. Reaching the scholarship class meant entering a sort of boot camp for the year. All of the Carroll girls studied under Sr Veronica McDonald, one of the whizzbang scholarship teachers reigning in the Brisbane schools (as we heard later). Among them they accounted for the Frank McDonnell medal several times. Aiden Scott had his photo on the wall up that end of the school, later joined by my sister Barbara in 1955. At Banyo, the Grade Sevens and Grade Eights were taught in the same room. This gave us two years’ exposure to the Scholarship syllabus in Social Studies, Maths and English. Only the Eights, however, began school at 8 am, came in from big lunch at 1 o’clock instead of half-past, and stayed until 4.45 in the afternoon every day. On Saturday mornings we trooped up again, with homework from the night before all done, had classes until around noon, and went home with another lot of homework ‘for the weekend’.

As my sister Mary recalls, we soon enough sorted out that Banyo seminary was actually in Nudgee, Nudgee College was in Boondall and Nudgee state school was in Banyo. Also the difference between a cemetery and a seminary. Once our brother went to the seminary in 1953, we were allowed to visit a few times during the year, taking a picnic lunch which we ate in a spot in the almost bushland east of Nudgee state school. In the afternoon the younger ones climbed the hill to roam around the grounds, meet our cousins who were visiting Danny Carroll (present PP of Darra- Jindalee) and get up to the bell tower to enjoy the view. One time a complaint reached our ears that someone’s visitors had been making too much noise on the stairs going up, but the lady-like Carrolls denied any part in this and suspected some other family with lots of kids. Though in adjoining years at Banyo, Dan and Anth were not allowed to speak to each other once Dan moved up the scale from Philosophy to Theology. What was the great fear, we wondered. Bill Burgess and Barry McMahon also from the parish, were in Dan’s year. I recall a time before we had a car when Dad paid the taxi that took us all to the seminary in the morning to return at 5 o’clock. Families had been invited to stay and hear Tenebrae sung. When that was over, we waited for the taxi that never came outside the hermetically sealed institution and of course with no phone.

Dad would sometimes ring the house in the late afternoon to ask us to deliver a parcel to the seminary. A parcel was a bottle or packet of medicine. Since we lived in Nudgee, this involved a bike ride up and over the hill in St Vincents Road, down to the shop near the railway station, along Tufnell Road to Earnshaw St, into Approach Rd then up the hill past the convent to the boiler room. Here one entered and slunk up the cement stairs into the back of the kitchen. With the big steamers puffing away in the kitchen, the FMM Sisters couldn’t hear a knock, so one was required to sidle up to the nearest and make one’s presence known. Sometimes Sister would tell me to put the parcel in the economo’s place at the table in the huge dining room. This done, one skedaddled and did the downhill ride home. Once there was money involved. I had no pocket and dropped the coins crossing the cattle grid at the entrance near the state school. Luckily they all landed on the road.

(Cont’d CARROLL) Since several seminarians lived relatively close to the seminary, the Rector, Dr Roberts, sometimes rang for their help in watering new trees or mowing the lawns during the Christmas holidays. One unsuspecting chap when answering the phone to the rector was quite sure it was a confrere having him on – and said so. I went with my brother once and he chatted to the friendly cow man, the only human being in that huge expanse.

Another institution in the area was St Vincent’s orphanage. During holidays from the seminary, when there was no Mass in the parish, I went many times with my seminarian brother to the 6.15 am Mass at the orphanage. From the back seat I saw the little children come into the seats, many with hair cropped. I see their expressions these days on some refugees. The sorrow of not having parents at hand was beyond my imagination, though I tried to grasp it. In early 1958, some of us went to a fete there with a school friend from St Rita’s. We were allowed to select a little one and I carried around a small person of about 18 months, who remained completely unreactive all day – until it was time to go. When I put him back in his cot he began to cry, and I did too, all the way home.

Mary recalls that after I left home and Mum got her licence, the Mercy Sisters would sometimes ring her and ask to be driven somewhere. Women from the parish also helped with sewing little clothes for the children. Mum thought it would be good to make overalls for the crawlers and toddlers, but the sister in charge said there was no point because they couldn’t take children out of their cots because the floor was too old and full of splinters.

We joined the Children of Mary Sodality, which involved finding your veil and blue cloak once a month on the correct Sunday. The Holy name and Sacred heart sodalities catered to our fathers and mothers. Our meetings were after Mass on that Sunday. I don’t remember much about these except that once we went over to the convent to meet the sisters.

Each year there was a parish fete where the community got mobilised. There was a sewing stall, a cake and lolly stall, a chocolate wheel and things like get rich quick, sometimes Evens –under- evens- over. One year the Fleming brothers donated the contents of an old house they had acquired and we had great fun setting up a dreadnought stall. The articles had numbers on them, the ones ending in zero indicating a better quality prize. I don’t know who won the china cup with the bar across for protecting a moustache, but it was a magnificent object. I might be the only person ever asked to go away from the get rich quick board. Mr Tim Wrafter made this request late one fete day when I kept winning little amounts of money (and buying more tickets).

We smaller kids went with my Dad to many fetes around the place, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, Nudgee state school. He said, they support me so I support them. Mary remembers that Dad asked the local Anglican priest what he wanted to be called. When he said, ‘father’, that’s what Dad called him – which upset our parish priest. I remember that dad said he missed he chocolate wheel, which qualified as a game-of-chance so was unacceptable in what were called Protestant circles.

Dad had his own sort of ministry at Banyo with the arrival of the long-awaited migrant families after the war. He was able to help with writing letters and such. He didn’t like to hear us throwing off at people who were different. I recall a couple of quiet explanations about the good person Celie Connolly was to her brother. It turned out, though he didn’t know it, that she and her brother were Dad’s second cousins. Another lady who worked at the cannery and bandaged her leg was nick-named Pharlap, which I thought very funny until he talked about the hard work she was tackling every day. (More than 20 years later when I did a stint at the cannery, I learned that a lot of pineapple juice found its way down the big waterproof aprons onto or into one’s footwear. This was not all I learnt, but that is for another volume.)

There were attempts to get something going for the youth. A tennis club emerged called the Forresters, though for older ones than I. The dances down in Nudgee School of Arts were great, we thought, and drew a crowd. Gen remembers going around Banyo with our cousin Peter Wilson selling tickets to the dance. She says Mrs Dan McQuillan would buy one and come up by train and attend the function in support of the group, just until the next train back.

Kath Conway always played, as far as I remember, the music flowing from her fingers while she chatted or not. This might have been where I first heard the Bullimore children performing, with their Dad on the guitar, ‘These Boots were made for walking”. I thought they were marvelous.

(Cont’d CARROLL) It is often the little things, the random acts of kindness that help to knit together a community such as the Banyo parish. Of course having in common the Catholic faith is a great bond, with the holy things, like the celebration of sacraments, but the living out of love is the best teacher and we children experienced that on all sides and were nourished by it. Here were many valiant women, as Mary says, and these have been models for all of us. Thanks be to God.

PS Many years later, in the 1990’s, I believe, Edith Street and a sewing circle of women met weekly and made lovely pieces. These they sold to make money for the Josephite mission to Peru. This gesture both touched my heart and that of the people there and continued in a very concrete way the support that always surrounded us as members of this vibrant parish. Not so- random acts of kindness!

Here are some of Mary’s other memories from Banyo years.

When Dad died in 1961, his funeral was held the following day, the newly ordained seminarians in soutanes and surplices and carrying lighted candles, accompanied the hearse from St Pius’ Church to the Cemetery

What about that football match between Banyo and Indooroopilly soon after we got there? The Indoos couldn’t wear their boots because the Banyos didn’t have any. I wonder what side Dominic Jones was on.

There were so many valiant women in Nudgee and Banyo. One was Margaret Cook who brought up her five children on her own after Lenny died. I can remember the bigger children being called out when we were lined up before school, because their father had died suddenly. Kevin or Michael told us that when they were little, their mother had them include ’Please make me Father Cook’ in their bedtime prayers. They wondered why their father had to cook for them.

Frank Feeney mentioned his aunt and uncle, the Adermanns who lived door. When Genny was entering in 1955, Mum didn’t feel up to sewing her trousseau, mainly because she found it difficult to sew black fabric. Mrs Adermann was a dressmaker so Mum arranged for her to do it. When the sewing was finished, Mrs Adermann refused payment, a kind and generous gesture. Several years later about 1988, my friend’s son was very sick and depressed but was persuaded by his mother to wear a light coloured vest rather than his usual black one. My friend was working fulltime so I offered to make it for her. When done, instead paying me, I told her about Mrs Adermann’s generosity and asked her to pray for her instead. A few years later, I happened to see Mrs Adermann’s funeral notice in my friend’s Courier and was about to repeat the story, when my friend said, ‘I know who you mean, I pray for her everyday’. Now that’s not the end of the story because later again, I met Helen Feeney at a Banyo Reunion where she told me that before Aunty died, she (Helen) told the priest that Aunty always wanted to become a Catholic but her husband disagreed. Because by these stage Aunty was losing her memory, Helen thought it was too late. The priest, however, said it wasn’t and baptised her then and there. (I hope the Feeneys read this story and in turn pray for my friend.)

Dad made many friends through the shop. One was Mr Kausus who, with his wife and son Vitus, had left Europe after the War and come to live in Banyo. Mr Kausus had the upright bearing of an army officer but Mrs Kausus was very quiet and withdrawn. Sr Veronica recognised Vitus’ abilities and after Scholarship arranged for him to attend Nudgee College. Vincent Robinson and Vitus were friends, both at Banyo and Nudgee, so when Vitus’ father died suddenly, Vitus asked Mrs Robinson to look after his mother, which she did. Vitus became a doctor and went to South America.

At one stage Mrs Gilroy came to teach us to sing. We weren’t impressed with the version of Waltzing Matilda she wanted us to sing which clipped short the words such as ‘camped’ as ‘campt’ that we were used to dragging out. There was another word completely changed to a more refined version. We had to say ‘stowed’ not ‘shoved’ in his tucker bag.

One of my personal memories of Sr Veronica was when I was in Grade Eight she trusted me with this responsibility. The Retrot family had recently migrated from Holland. Robert was a big strong boy in Grade Seven who had an excellent singing voice and could whistle well. He was to sing ’I Whistle a Happy Tune’ at an Eisteddfod in the city, so my role was to escort him there on the train to Central Station and along Anne Street to the hall. I don’t think Robert or I said a word to each other the whole way but we survived, though he didn’t win. The last I heard of him was that he was an Assistant Police Commissioner in North Queensland.

(Cont’d CARROLL) Some of the contributors mentioned retired men who voluntarily cleaned the school toilets. In the early 1950’s, dear Sr Avitus would hitch up her habit and hose and scrub out the toilets on Fridays. I think we were more fascinated with seeing a nun’s petticoat, than appreciating her hard work.

Sr Francis McGinley ran a very tight ship but sometimes she would do her Irish crotchet while we worked. The idea was to crotchet individual motifs, in her case bunches of grapes, a cross and perhaps a chalice. Later I saw she joined the motifs together with a net of crotchet. It turned out that it was for an altar cloth which the sisters at Mount Street decided to keep for Mary MacKillop‘s canonisation day.

Two things I remember about my First Communion Day was that Anthony doubled me to church on his bike and that Mum made my petticoat out of his Altar Boy surplice. (Fr Wheeler insisted on plain surplices so this one with lace was redundant. I remember Duhig coming to examine us for Confirmation in 1956. I was sitting in the front row not far from him and managed to answer nearly every question he asked. I thought I was clever until years later I realised he only asked me because I was close enough for him to hear the answer! O’Donnell came on the following Sunday to confirm us.



SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH

Memories of Sr Marion Liddy RSJ

I am a Sister of St. Joseph who taught at St. Joseph’s primary school from 1957 to 1962. I have strong memories of parish life and the large families who attended Corpus Christi Church.

Parish Priests in those years were Father O’Connor and Father Nolan. A highlight, supported by crowds of parishioners, was the introduction by the Redemptorist Fathers of the weekly novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.

An earlier link for our family was our mother’s attendance at the new school opened in 1916. Mum was Maisie Curran and her dad, Bertram Curran of Curran’s Bakery, was persuaded by his friend, Father Jordan, to transfer Maisie from St. Stephen’s School to St Joseph’s at Nundah.

At St Joseph’s School she studied commercial subjects shorthand, typing, and bookkeeping.

Our mother was married to Vivian James Liddy in Corpus Christi Church in June, 1927, and her Requiem Mass was celebrated there in February, 1997, so we have strong links with Nundah parish.

Memories of Sr Patricia Marsh (Formerly Sr Immaculata)

St Joseph’s Convent, Nundah: 1957; 2004-2013; 2015

I recall the weekly devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The Novena started in 1957. A Redemptorist Priest would come from Oxford Park Monastery to conduct the Novena. Fr O’Connor was PP of Nundah. An Altar using the large picture now on the side wall of the church was created just inside the Sanctuary, near where the Baptismal Font now stands.

A Sister from the Convent would decorate the Altar with many candles and vases of flowers. There was a petition and thanksgiving box. The Church was crowded. It was a very devotional ¾ hour to an hour. I don’t know when it stopped. I know it ran for many years.



Memories of Sr Anna Maria Kelleher

I arrived in 1979 and managed twelve months chemotherapy plus sacristan duties. The PP was the caring Fr Gabriel Nolan. We had the Novena of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour every Thursday night and prior to this time, I believe a Redemptorist Priest officiated. We had a Mass of the Anointing for the sick and elderly one a month and after Mass we came to the Convent for morning tea.

We celebrated Fr Gabe’s Golden Jubilee on the 8th of December 1979.

Father gave me fifty dollars for flowers and our high school sisters purchased the flowers for me and arranged them beautifully.

I left Nundah in January 1981 and returned in 1999. Fr John Sullivan was the friendly PP who had already begun is 15 years’ tenure in 1995. It was a very happy time. We celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1999. That night we dined at The Sorrento Lounge in Deagon and enjoyed some light entertainment especially with the bush poet Noel Stalllard.

Pastoral outreach to the sick, elderly, house bound and nursing home residents has been of vital importance to us. Ailsa Metcalf and I, St Anna Mara have done this for years. I took over from our staunch and dedicated parishioner Norm Smith who had to resign from taking Holy Communion to Zion Lutheran Home in mid 2003 and died in February 2004.

Fr Paul Chandler arrived a PP on the 31st July 2010. After consultation with Fr Nugent he introduced Perpetual Adoration.

Fr Bernie Gallagher is our current PP. He commenced his friendly pastoral approach in January 2014.



Memories from Sr Anne Cannon RSJ

My mother, Catherine Mary Cannon, nee Quilter, came to live in the Parish with her parents, Thomas and Agnes Quilter, and her sister Therese in about 1947. They lived at 17 Julia Street, Nundah. Mum and Dad, Leonard Hugh Cannon, were married in Corpus Christi Church in November 1948. They went to live at 31 Jeffcott Street, Nundah. I was born in July 1949 and was baptised in Corpus Christi church on 13 August 1949.; Thus began a life-long association with the parish.

I began Grade One at St Joseph’s School in 1955, finishing with Scholarship in 1962. My class was the last to do Scholarship, before Year 8 moved to secondary school in 1964. The 1964 Grade 8s did not have to do the exam.

I was taught by Sisters in every class. We had no lay teachers.

First Holy Communion

I made my First Holy Communion in Grade 3, with First Confession celebrated during school time in the days beforehand (so we wouldn’t have time to commit any serious sin before our First Communion!). All preparation was done by the Sisters in school time. Age was a serious consideration and while Grade 2 was considered the norm, if you were not seven by the date of First Communion, you had to wait until the next year. The First Communion breakfast was a gala affair, with a special table for the priest and a sit-down celebration for the children. This was important as we had fasted for three hours before going to Communion – although that was nothing compared to the “from midnight” of our parents’ time.

Confirmation

Confirmation was only celebrated every three years as it had to be done by the Archbishop or his auxiliary. The Archbishop was Duhig and his auxiliary was Archbishop O’Donnell. So everyone in Grades 6, 7 and 8 were confirmed at the one time. I can’t remember exactly what year I was confirmed but I do remember the importance placed on knowing our religion and being ready to be a soldier for Christ. Bishop O’Donnell came out to the school a couple of days beforehand and we were all taken to the church for the examination. He stood up in the pulpit and asked questions which we had to answer from the Catechism. We were all very worried because we were told that if we got one answer wrong, then he could fail the whole group. We must have known our answers because we were all confirmed. Again, there was a beautiful celebration party after Mass, with the special table for the Bishop.

Sunday Masses

Every First Sunday of the month was Children’s Sunday. We were all expected to come to Mass and sit together at the front of the church. We wore our white dress and veil and the boys wore their white shirts and ties. Second Sunday was the Holy Name Society, when the men of the Parish all sat together. They had a badge and recited a special pledge at the end of Mass. Third Sunday was the Sacred Heart Sodality. All the married women of the parish belonged to this. They wore a medal sewn into a red ribbon. I think they also had a special prayer. Fourth Sunday was for the Children of Mary. This was for girls and single women only. The boys went straight to the Holy Name Society.

SR CANNON RSJ

Children of Mary

Towards the end of primary, or perhaps in Grade 9, we were allowed to join the Children of Mary as aspirants. We wore a white dress and veil to Mass and had a special medal worn around the neck on a green ribbon. After Mass, we had a meeting with special prayers to say. I can always remember one that was said for ‘our absent sisters’ – anyone who was not there. After twelve months, if you had attended regularly, you could become a Child of Mary. There was a special ceremony where older members clothed the aspirants with a blue cloak which was worn at every 4th Sunday Mass and the medal was different and hung on a blue ribbon.

The Perpetual Succour Novena was a regular part of my life for many years during the fifties and sixities. We had a Mission every three years, preached by the Redemptorists. After one of these, the novena began. It was conducted every Wednesday night for about half an hour. It included prayers to Mary, the reading of petitions and thanksgivings and concluded with Benediction. There was a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in the church, with a stand for lighting candles in front of it. There were also two boxes, one for petitions and one for thanksgivings. We would go into the church and write our petitions and then our thanksgivings and place them in the appropriate box. Benediction on a Sunday night was another regular feature for many years. In those days, there was no such thing as Saturday or Sunday night Mass.

I can remember when Father O’Connor died in 1961. Hi funeral was held in St Stephen’s Cathedral, but the funeral procession came through Nundah on the way to Nudgee cemetery. They came up Donkin Street and down Bage Street, before rejoining Sandgate Road (no tunnel then). We formed a guard of honour all along Bage Street.

In 1963, I was among the first day scholars to be enrolled in what was then Mt St Joseph’s Secondary School (later Corpus Christi College and now Mary MacKillop College). I completed my Senior year there in 1966. Again, I was taught only by Sisters, although there were some lay teachers at the school.

During this time, I also became a regular at First Communion and Confirmation celebrations as I became ‘chief server’ at the Archbishop/Priest’s table. They would have been fasting for a long time, as there would have been at least one, if not two Masses before the First Communion Mass. The Sisters were vert particular about this table, with a hot meal ready for them and, of course, all the best silver cutlery and china dinner set. I’m not sure how I landed this job, but I did it for several years.

YCW (Young Christian Workers)

After I left school I joined the YCW (Young Christian Workers). There were separate girls and boys groups when I first joined in 1967. I think Father Lang was the curate at the time and he was most anxious to have a successful program. At some stage, it was allowed for the girls’ and boys’ groups to amalgamate. This wasn’t just a parish initiative; it was determined by the National YCW (possibly international). We had weekly meetings in a classroom. We had a team in the YCW girls’ basketball competition (now netball) – I don’t think we were ever very successful, but we played at Spring Hill. MOst parishes fielded a team.

We organised parish functions such as a fancy dress night, a dance, a ‘hoy’ party and a Tupperware party – such functions were held in the Scouts’ Hall, situated where Nolan Hall is now. We also joined many diocesan YCW events such as Leaders’ Training Days, social justice campaigns and the annual Ball, as well as other social events. Some of the training sessions were 2-3 day events held at ‘Ave Maria’, the Franciscan retreat at Coorparoo. We also went to ‘fun’ camps at La Salle at Southport. We joined the annual Walkathon (25km) to raise funds for the full-time workers or for some social justice issues. During this time Father Nolan was the Parish Priest and was known as very strict, but he allowed us to do these things. We even had a Youth Mass once a month for a while. This was the days of guitar music – not officially allowed in the church – but we had a few such Masses where he allowed us to play the hymns that went with such music, such as ‘Kumbuya’ (not the Peter, Paul and Mary version), ‘Fill my House’ and some of Janet Mead’s compositions.

SR CANNON RSJ


In 1971 I entered the Sisters of St Joseph at Nundah. Our ceremony was in the Convent chapel, but when it came to my life vows on December 8, 1982, it was held in Corpus Christi Church with Bishop Gerry. Father Nolan was still the Parish Priest.

Through the Josephite connection, I have maintained my connection with Nundah Parish, even though I have never lived in the Parish again and all of my family have moved away.



Memories from Sr Joan Burke RSJ

Our family came to live in Nundah in 1936 – Mum and Dad, Betty, Carmel and myself. Berenice (Bernie) and Margaret were to join us at a later date. Sadly, Betty and Bernie are no longer with us. Even though I have lived in many, many places since that time as a Josephite, I am still a Nundahite, through and through. My story covers the late 1930s to 1950…

Our Parish Priest was Father Jordan, an Irishman. My main memory of him was his usual visit to our school on Monday mornings to find out who had not been at Mass on Sunday!! I remember he used to take the altar boys for picnics to Scarborough – but not the girls. Gertie Barry was a nice little old lady who used to care for him, and if we ever went to the Presbytery with messages, she would give us a nice cool drink and bickies.

School Days

I was in Grade Three when we came to Nundah. My first recollection was meeting a little old Sister Flora, with a football under her arm, leading a group of noisy little boys. In Grade Four our teacher was Sister Rosari, an Irish sister, who kept us all in line in lots of ways. Best recollection is the privilege to sit in class on wet days – care-footed – as we couldn’t wear wet shoes all day. In Grade Five, Sister Declan, also Irish, was my teacher – and I think as I look back, she was my favourite teachers. We helped her in the Church, as she was the sacristan, and we scoured the countryside seeking flowers “for the altar”. Of course, we polished brass and polished brass and polished brass…Our Grade Six teacher was Sister Romana. I didn’t like her much then, but as I look back now, I realise she was a very good teacher. Some of us who worked hard were promoted to Sub Scholarship – Wow! That made us work harder.

The year 1940 took us – boys and girls – into Grade Seven or Scholarship at St Joseph’s School Nundah, and how we revelled in being the ‘big kids’. We worked hard and happily, and all of our class passed. I was fortunate to win the McDonnell Medal, awarded to a girl and a boy who gained the highest marks in the Scholarship Examination in Catholic Schools (State School winners were awarded the Lilley Medal). Sister Vincent was a marvellous woman. Margaret Hurley had one the same medal two years previously, and Margaret O’Connor won a medal again two years later.

Three McDonnell Medal winners in five years (1938, 1940 & 1942) must surely be a record. We were certainly well taught in so many ways at St Joseph’s.

Music & Sport

Every year we had a school ball. Miss Pat Cullen was our dancing teacher, and we loved every minute of it. Mrs Doreen Smith played the piano, and we giggled at the way the piano used to shake as she thumped out the rhythms. Each year we had a St Patrick’s Concert, no doubt for the enjoyment of Father Jordan! We just loved those concerts. Old Mrs Garrett in Westacott Street made our many and varied costumes.

Our music was important to us in those days. Betty and Carmel learnt the piano, and I learnt the violin. Sister Alphonsus was our teacher and Betty and I were for many years in the Orchestra. Betty learnt the cello as well as the piano. Saturday mornings we went up to the Convent for Theory, and Saturday afternoons we had Orchestra practice. As we became more skilled, we provided the music for three school balls. Our musically-talented mother saw to it that we each had our practice times at home.

https://bncp100.wordpress.com/parish-schools/st-josephs-school/

https://bncp100.wordpress.com/parish-schools/st-josephs-school/

SR BOURKE RSJ

Sport was very important at St Joseph’s School Nundah. We worked hard at our basketball, and at times played against girls from other suburban Josephite schools. We had lots of successes. Tennis began for me at this time. Each Thursday afternoon some of our mothers played tennis on the school courts. When they stopped for a cuppa, we kids took to the courts, and I learned to play with Mum’s heavy racket. I took it seriously, practising hitting against the garage door at home. Later I won prizes at doubles and singles whilst at All Hallows. Then with a great team of local lads, we won a B Grade championship with the Queensland Catholic Lawn Tennis Association.

At one time, two of our famous Australian cricketers in the army – Lindsay Hassett and Ray Lindwall – were billeted somewhere in the neighbourhood. I don’t recall if they were worshippers at Corpus Christi Church or not, but Father O’Keefe urged us to get down to Oxenham Park to watch them play. An of course we did go and watch them. Speaking of cricket, we had the famous Ron Oxenham living in our Parish at this time, and his children all went to St Joseph’s School. The street behind our Convent at Nundah is called Oxenham Street in his honour.

Confirmation, Choir & Church Activities

Betty and I were confirmed during our primary school years. We were also in the choir and were taught singing under the tutelage of Sister Alphonsus. Later Betty and I sang in the Church Choir for a number of years. Ned Fitzgibbon was our conductor, and his sister Connie was our organist. We have all sung in various choirs over many years since.

We were always involved in Church activities. Mission times were special – Mum would take us one night, and Dad would take us the next night. I seem to remember how frightening to little girls were the loud voices of the Redemptorist Priests. We were loyal members of the Children of Mary for many years and our Communion Sundays and meetings were well attended by a big number of girls. Sister Vincent was our Directress for many years and she had a great influence on our girls.

Our annual fetes were wonderful! A dedicated group of ladies worked so hard and so enthusiastically. I don’t remember who profited from these fetes. It could have been the Parish or it could have been the Convent. Quite often the school children would put on entertaining items, and of course we enjoyed these.

Besides the Children of Mary, there were the women’s Sacred Heart Sodality, the men’s Holy Name Society, the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Legion of Mary. Betty and I were members of the Legion, under the watchful eye of our beloved Father O’Keefe, who succeeded Father Jordan. We spent many years visiting newcomers to the Parish, to old and sick people, to patients in hospitals and to people who had needs of many kinds.

Later the NCGM and YCW Groups were formed in the Parish and were very popular with the young people. As far back as I can remember we girls were always interested in them and their activities, there was nothing for the girls!

In our younger days there were no evening Masses, but there was always Benediction on Sunday nights. It seems strange now to think that we had no worries about going up to the Church at night. For many years we had the Novena of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour on Thursday nights conducted by the Redemptorist Fathers. It was very popular and people came from neighbouring parishes to join us at Nundah. Also during Lent there would be special devotions, with Stations of the Cross on Friday nights.

Remembering the War Years

The war years were very interesting to us as teenagers. American and Australian servicemen were stationed in various places in Nundah district, and there were many men stationed at Strathpine. Lots of these men came to our Masses at Nundah, and Father O’Keefe was very anxious to make them welcome.

SR BOURKE RSJ

Parish Dances

Every second Friday night we would have dances in the school. School furniture was removed and the floors generously primed with Pops. We were lucky to have a wonderful dance band. Daisy McLean, a local lady, played the piano – and she was terrific – her sister played the saxophone and her old dad played the drums. Being well trained by Miss Cullen in our school days, we were all good and enthusiastic dancers. Of course, as the Americans came along from time to time, we were introduced to jitterbugging…And did we enjoy that!

Each dance night, some ladies from the parish came along. They played cards in the classroom downstairs, and at half time they came up and provided us with supper…cups of tea and sandwiches and cakes. Mrs Hession and Mrs Liddy were two of these loyal lovely ladies. I don’t recall other ladies who made these nights so special I remember Mr Liddy used to come and dance with us, and he was a wonderful old-time dancer.

Father O’Keefe always came to our dances. Sitting at the door, he greeted all who came along. I don’t recall that there was ever any trouble, never any bad behaviour, as we all seemed to be so happy. Jack and Eileen Murray were champion dancers, and at times they would give us beautiful dancing demonstrations. How we loved the Progressive Barn Dance when it came to our turn to dance with the handsome Jack!

Nundah Parish has been important to so many like me – spiritually and socially, with so many dedicated priests, religious, parish leaders, teachers and friendly parishioners of many and various nationalities.

May God’s blessings continue to motivate all in the years to come.


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https://bncp100.wordpress.com/sisters-of-st-joseph/sr-marion-liddy/


Memories of Sr Veronica McSweeney Baptised Irene Valma McSweeney

Parishioner 1935 – 1949 – when I entered the Sisters of St Joseph, Nundah.

My brother and I sued to go to morning Mass from Northgate, he doubling me on his bike. We had a dialogue Mass*. John read the epistle one day. We were years ahead. Matthew’s Gospel we studied in year VII.

When I was about twelve, in deep shame, after Mass one day I went round to the sacristy to tell Fr Denis O’Keefe, I was having doubts about the Eucharist. Father smiled, patted my head and said “Go home Irene, you’re growing up.” How I remember running down the embankments of the church, screaming silently with joy. My faith was just maturing! It was ok to question!! The next time I went round to the sacristy after Mass was one Saturday when I blurted out “Father, I want to be a SISTER!”

“I KNOW Irene. Where do you want to go?” replied Father.

I had been with Josephites during primary school and with the Mercies at All Hallows for Secondary, then taught with the Mercies as a pupil teacher at Gordon Park for a year. “I’m wondering, Father”. He told me to go to the Convent to speak with the Provincial General Sylvester, and I entered next January. The previous priest was Fr Jordan who became Mons Jordan. Then Fr O’Connor who had baptised me in Caboolture. Then Fr Nolan, Fr Sullivan.

Mrs Liddy stands out in my memory. She had a wonderful voice and led us (the church choir) round the streets of Nundah and Northgate singing Christmas Carols.

At one parish picnic I saw her picking up pieces of bark and inserting between two pieces of bread for corned beef sandwiches. The roaring with laughter as the men tried to chew them.

Mrs Garrat always prepared the Altar of Repose (oh it was glorious) and we prayed there for ages.

*This “dialogue Mass” pre-dated Vatican II

In our 1945 Scholarship class were five girls who became religious – four Josephites and a Franciscan and a boy who became an Augustine Priest.



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