{"id":25,"date":"2022-12-19T06:51:31","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T06:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/?page_id=25"},"modified":"2026-03-19T20:57:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T10:57:38","slug":"timeline-of-st-joseph-belmore","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/?page_id=25","title":{"rendered":"Timeline of St Joseph Belmore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Timeline of St Joseph Belmore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1894 \u2013 The first church in the Canterbury district was St Anthony\u2019s at Canterbury. It was at the junction of Howard, High and Canton Streets. It was blessed and opened by His Eminence Cardinal Moran on 11 November 1894.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1895 \u2013 The Railway line from Sydenham to Belmore was opened in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1905 \u2013 Clergy from canterbury began to celebrate Mass in Bradburns Hall in Belmore. Organisation of a buiding committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1906 \u2013 Foundation stone of St Joseph\u2019s Church Belmore is blessed by Cardinal Moran on 10 June 1906.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1907 \u2013 First St Joseph\u2019s Church officially opened on 12 May 1907. There was no resident Priest. The parish was serviced from Canterbury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1914 \u2013 1918 \u2013 WORLD WAR I, Australia is at war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1915 \u2013 St Anthony\u2019s Church at Canterbury was dismantled and rebuilt in Evaline Street, Campsie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1916 \u2013 Additions to the first Church are made at a cost on \u00a3<\/kbd>550.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1919 \u2013 Fr Dennis Conaghan is put in charge of St Joseph\u2019s in December 1919. He is officially appointed as Parish Priest on 11 January 1926 and ministers to the Parish for the next twenty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1920 \u2013 On 4 February, Fr Conaghan wrote from \u201cThormond\u201d Godfrey Street asking Fr Kelly for permission to begin a school. He wrote that there were 236 children of school age and that he would ask the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart to run the school. They would live in the convent at Campsie while one was built at Belmore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1921 \u2013 Classes commenced in the school at Belmore, there are 208 children. Two classes were taught in the body of the Church and infants in the Choir Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1922 \u2013 The new Presbytery is blessed by the newly appointed Coadjutor Archbishop Dr Sheehan on 1 Dec 1922.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1923 \u2013 The convent is opened on Canterbury Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1925 \u2013 Fr Cletus Heffernan appointed first Assistant Priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1926 \u2013 Fr Dennis Conaghan officially appointed Parish Priest on 11 January 1926. The second school is opened by Archbishop Kelly with 292 pupils, and laid the foundation stone on 26 January 1926.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1929 \u2013 A school in Lakemba begins with 193 pupils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1935 \u2013 Lakemba parish and schools separate from Belmore. An extension is made to St Joseph\u2019s school. Some classes are held in the Scout Hall on Burwood Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1936 \u2013 A second floor is added to the school with 316 pupils at the school. The bottom floor becomes the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1937 \u2013 The priests and sisters exchange residences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1939 \u2013 In April, Fr Conaghan is transferred to Maroubra and Fr John McCarthy appointed Parish Priest with 269 pupils at the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1939 \u2013 1945 \u2013 WORLD WAR II<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1954 \u2013 Cardinal Gilroy blessed the new presbytery and laid the foundation stone on 4 April 1954 (the 3rd Church).<\/p>\n\n\n

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1955 \u2013 Fr John McCarthy dies in December 1955.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1956 \u2013 Fr Maurice McCarthy (brother of the late Fr John McCarthy) appointed Parish Priest in February 1956.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1957 \u2013 Cardinal Gilroy officially opened the Church on 9 October 1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1962 \u2013 The statue of St Joseph was erected on the front of the Church on his Feast Day, 19 March 1962.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1965 \u2013 Fr Maurice dies in December 1965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1967 \u2013 February 1967 Fr H (Mick) Slattery is appointed Parish Priest. New school opened by Bishop Muldoon on site of original church on 10 September 1967.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1968 \u2013 333 pupils, four sisters and three lay teachers in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1974 \u2013 Old convent is demolished and a new one built. Fr Slattery moves to Maroubra in December 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1975 \u2013 Fr John Lyne appointed Parish Priest in January 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1976 \u2013 New primary school is blessed and opened by Cardinal Freeman on 25 July 1976 with 450 pupils at school, four sisters and 10 lay teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1978 \u2013 The old church\/school is renovated, with school downstairs and Housie downstairs in November 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1986 \u2013 School administration block and renovations completed. The McCarthy Centre officially blessed and opened by Archbishop Clancy on 5 October 1986. Sr Maria Harrex, the last Sister of St Joseph in the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1987 \u2013 The first lay principal, Mrs Fran Williamson is appointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1990 \u2013 Fr Bob Hickman appointed Parish Priest on 10 January 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1998 \u2013 The redesigned school is opened and blessed by Cardinal Clancy on 30 August 1998, with 345 pupils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005 \u2013 Sisters of St Joseph vacates Convent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2008 \u2013 Dominican Sisters of St Cecelia, Nashville resides in Convent in preparation for Sydney World Youth Day \u2013 WYD08.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2010 \u2013 Vietnamese Sisters \u2013 Lovers of the Holy Cross, take up residence in the Convent in January 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2011 \u2013 Blessings and opening of new and refurbished school buildings by Fr James Collins SM on 22 July 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2016 – Sept. 17, Sister Maria Thi Thanh Tuyen Nguyen of the Congregation of the Lovers of the Holy Cross Qui Nhon (Vietnam) makes her final vows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019 \u2013 St Joseph Parish Centenary celebrations on 19 January 2019. A centenary plaque is blessed by Auxillary Bishop Terry Brady. Cardinal Mafi of Tonga, former Clergy as well as other clergy from other parishes join in the celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n

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2023 – Reverend Deacon Christopher Roehrig is appointed as Deacon for the parish on 1 October by His Grace, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024 – Jul 31, Father Silito’s last day as Parish Priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024 – Aug 1, Father Ita Koloamatangi is appointed Parish Priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024 – Aug 20, Father Silito Tupou leaves for his next assignment in Fiji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2025 – Oct 19, long-time parishioner and former acolyte, Mrs Patricia Cosgrove, celebrates her 100th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026 – Mar 8, another parishioners celebrates her 100th birthday, Mrs Maria Pham Thi Cuc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Timeline of St Joseph Belmore 1894 \u2013 The first church in the Canterbury district was St Anthony\u2019s at Canterbury. It was at the junction of Howard, High and Canton Streets. It was blessed and opened by His Eminence Cardinal Moran on 11 November 1894. 1895 \u2013 The Railway line from Sydenham to Belmore was openedContinue reading “Timeline of St Joseph Belmore”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-25","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":636,"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions\/636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjosephbelmore.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}