ISSN 1446 - 3970 (Print) ISSN 1446 - 4519 (Online)

Blessed Collections Newsletter of the Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group (CoFTSIG) of the Australian Society of Archivists Inc

Number 32 – November 2017

Contents From the Convenor 2 Committee members for 2017/2018 2 Biographies of new committee members 3 CoFTSIG W.A. Branch 3 Draft Minutes of AGM 4 Tour of Goold Museum 6 A Pilgrim People: 40 Years On 7 Ecclesiastical Textiles Research Project Update 8 Our Fenian Connections in 9 Stations of the Cross, Sacred Heart Church 11 Beagle Bay

Blessed Collections, Number 32

Page | 2 From the Convenor

The 2017 CoFTSIG Annual General Meeting was held on 25th September in the Knox Centre, Melbourne and graciously hosted by Rachel Naughton, Archivist for the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. On behalf of all present I warmly thank Rachel for the venue and hospitality, and for the fascinating visit to the Goold Museum which followed. I also thank our Guest Speaker, Michael Taffe for his excellent and insightful presentation on the topic ‘The Relationship between the Archive and the Historian…’. Drawing on his extensive experience as both a professional historian and diocesan archivist Michael recounted many first-hand examples of the synergy between the archivist and the researcher, and left us with much to ponder and reflect on.

Your new Committee for 2017/2018 is listed below together with short profiles of our new Secretary and Newsletter Editor. The draft minutes of the AGM are also included in this issue, together with a short report on our visit to the Museum. I have a precis of Michael’s presentation if anyone would like a copy.

On behalf of the Committee we look forward to another fruitful year of networking and discussion among our members, and to the continuing growth of CoFTSIG.

Suzanne Ryan Convenor

SIG Committee

Convenor: Suzanne Ryan () email: [email protected] Secretary: Roslyn Kennedy (Sisters of St. Joseph, Sydney) email: [email protected]

Editor: Jennifer Bars (Uniting Church, and Tasmania) email: [email protected] Committee Members: Hazel Nsair (Anglican Diocese of Melbourne) email: [email protected] Sue Sondalini (Sisters of St Joseph Perth) email: [email protected] Pauline Garland (Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney) email: [email protected] Lisl Bladin (Columban Mission Centre) Email: [email protected] Esmae Boutros (Carmelite Fathers) [email protected]

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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Meet the new CoFTSIG Secretary Roslyn Kennedy

I have been the Congregational Archivist for the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, North Sydney for nearly three years. My previous archival experience has been with government institutions, such as the City of Sydney Archives and NSW Transport. I love the role of Congregational Archivist as it allows you to be a generalist archivist – you need to do and hopefully be good at, all archival duties. I work full time and am fortunate to have staff working with me to help with the many and varied cataloguing projects that we undertake. Some of our current projects includes: the digitisation of VHS, film and cassette tape recordings; the scanning and cataloguing of photographic collections; and the scanning and cataloguing of early Sisters’ letters. Next year we hope to scan Mary MacKillop’s letters. This role also allows me to work alongside the archivists in the Josephite Sisters’ regional archives. Two of these archivists are the CoFTSIG Members Sue Ryan (South Australian Regional Archives) and Sue Sondalini (West Australian Regional Archives).

And Newsletter Editor Jennifer Bars

I have been working as an Archivist since completing the GDMIS at Monash University in the early 2000s. Before that, I wrote a doctoral thesis on Criminal Homicide in 19th Century London. Years spent poring over the records of the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) at the Public Records Office in London clearly did not satiate my appetite for all things archival. I currently juggle three roles: Archivist at Queen’s College University of Melbourne, Curator of the Sugden Heritage Collection of rare books and Methodistica (at Queen’s College) and Archivist for the Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. I have also worked in the independent school sector and was archivist at Lauriston Girls’ School for several years.

COFTSIG WA Branch Sue Sondalini

A local COFTSIG Is in the process of being set up in Perth following the successful request to ASA Council by a group of 6 local archivists working with religious collections. It is planned that the first meeting of the group take place in February or March. All WA based ASA members will receive details of time and place and all those interested will be most welcome.

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group (COFTSIG) of the Australian Society of Archivists held at the Cathedral Room, Archdiocese of Melbourne on Monday 25th September 2017.

Guest speaker (prior to AGM)

9.45am -11am Guest Speaker –Michael Taffe, Historian & Archivist, Catholic Diocese of Ballarat Michael’s presentation was on the topic of “The Relationship between the Archive and the Historian in the Light of How Events Are Portrayed as History in the Finished Product “. A primary theme of his talk was the important role of the archivist/curator in their dealings with historians and researchers and the need to be aware that in the course of our work we ‘have the privilege of leading people to unlock new discoveries, new visions’.

11.00-11.30 Morning tea

Annual General Meeting

1. Welcome and Apologies The meeting commenced at 11.35am with the Convenor, Suzanne Ryan, welcoming attendees with a prayer. The Convenor requested a volunteer to take the minutes, with Esmae Boutros volunteering.

Present: Roslyn Kennedy(Sisters of St Joseph Sydney); Suzanne Ryan (Sisters of St Joseph SA); William Shaw (De La Salle Brothers); Louise Trott (Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney); Michael Taffe (Catholic Diocese of Ballarat) Jenny Bars (Uniting Church of Australia); Sr Betty O’Donnell (Sisters of St Joseph); Lloyd Fisk (Sisters of St Joseph); Esmae Boutros (Carmelite Fathers); Lisl Bladin (Columban Mission Centre); Erin Mollenhauer (Moore College);

Apologies: Pauline Garland (Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney); Annie Medley (Sisters of Mercy Australia & Papua New Guinea, Perth); Carol Anderson (Bathurst); Steve Stefanopoulos (Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak); Sue Sondalini (Sisters of St Joseph, WA); Sheena Hesse, ( Uniting Church, Perth); Rachel Kuchel (Lutheran Archives, Adelaide)

1. Confirmation of the Minutes of the 2015 AGM (see attached) The minutes of the 2016 AGM held at the Diocese of Parramatta Chancery Office, 12 Victoria Road, Parramatta NSW on 17 October 2016 were adopted, having been previously circulated and also tabled at the meeting. Moved: Br William Shaw Seconded: Suzanne Ryan

2. Business Arising from the Minutes. There was no Business arising from the Minutes

3. Convenor’s Report (see attached) The Convenor, Suzanne Ryan, had previously circulated her report and also tabled it at the meeting. She reported that three newsletters had been produced in the last year. She also expressed regret at still not being able to access copies of the first two editions, circa 1999. Lloyd Fisk advised that their archives had a near complete series and offered to check their holdings. Other suggestions included re-advertising on the ASA website and Facebook page.

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Louise commended Suzanne on her work in uploading all the COFT materials onto the ASA website. This has been seen as raising the archival benchmark for all SIGs.

Louise also commended the ASA for the membership changes introduced which opened up leadership roles to members who are not Professional Members.

2. Election of Office Bearers Louise Trott assumed the position of Returning Officer. All positions were declared vacant and Louise called for nominations: • Convenor: In the absence of any other nominations Suzanne Ryan was re-elected unopposed. • Secretary: Roslyn Kennedy nominated by Jennifer Bars/seconded Michael Taffe • Newsletter Editor: Jennifer Bars nominated by Esmae Boutros/ seconded Roslyn Kennedy • Committee Members: Sue Sondalini – nominated by Suzanne Ryan/ seconded Louise Trott; Hazel Nsair - nominated Roslyn Kennedy / seconded Michael Taffe Pauline Garland – nominated by Suzanne Ryan / seconded Louise Trott Lisl Bladin – nominated by Jennifer Bars/ seconded Suzanne Ryan Esmae Boutros – nominated by Roslyn Kennedy/seconded Lisl Bladin

Louise vacated the Chair.

3. General Business

i. Annual Church Services – Suzanne referred to the very successful inaugural service held this year in SA and the continuing success of the NSW and Victoria services. She expressed the hope that the tradition would continue to grow across other states in 2018. ii. Newsletter – Suzanne asked all members, particularly committee members to take ownership and responsibility for providing articles for each issue iii. Suzanne reported briefly on the Setting the Record Straight for the Rights of the Child Summit organised by Monash University and held in Melbourne in May of this year. There have several key outcomes from the Summit, including an Issues Paper and (draft) Strategic Plan, copies of which are now available on the Initiate website at: https://rights- records.it.monash.edu/ iv. Archival-specific software – There was a brief general discussion about the software currently available and the (continuing) challenges faced by many lone archivists. v. Retention Policies – Suzanne reported that an updated version of the Schools SIG Retention and Disposal Schedule will be available later this year. This led to a short general discussion about the lack of a similar Schedule for religious collections and the need for better sharing of existing resources among members. Suzanne to explore the possibility of establishing a small working group to look at developing a tool for religious collections. vi. The AGM closed at 12:05pm.

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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Goold Museum, Melbourne Report by Suzanne Ryan

Following the 2017 AGM members were given a tour of the Goold Museum by Rachel Naughton, Archdiocesan Archivist and Museum Manager. The museum’s brief is to collect, house and provide public access to material relating to the history of the Church in Victoria. That history is wonderfully evident in the range and beauty of the Collection which comprises liturgical objects, vestments, artefacts, furniture, documents, artworks, statues and personal memorabilia. It is named after Archbishop Goold who was responsible for bringing into the fledging colony more than 50 major paintings and other ecclesiastical art pieces, many of which are on display in the Museum. Our thanks to Rachel for the tour and for sharing her extensive knowledge of the history of many of the items held in the collection.

Achille Simonetti, ‘Portrait bust of Archbishop James Alipius Goold’, 1859. Carrara marble, 72 x 50 x 23 cm. (Melbourne Archdiocese Collection).

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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A PILGRIM PEOPLE: 40 YEARS ON Sheena Hesse, Uniting Church in WA

It was with a sense of excitement that three Western Australians travelled to Adelaide to attend the inaugural Uniting Church National History Conference from 9-12 June 2017. With WA Synod Archivist, Sheena Hesse, Alison and Robin Longworth joined the fifty or so archivists and historians at Pilgrim Uniting Church. The Conference was hosted by the South Australian Uniting Church Historical Society and focused on the history of the Uniting Church in this 40th anniversary year. The Welcome to Country by Sean Weetra and the opening worship led by Rev. Myung Hwa Park (moderator of NSW/ACT) led us into the keynote address by Associate Professor Renate Howe AO, who spoke on “Challenges for the Uniting Church in a changing Australia”. The paper looked at the ecumenical influences in the formation of the Uniting Church and how these have proceeded since then. Renate argued that it is time to renew the theological debate on ecumenism, given the challenges within multicultural Australia. Her stimulating address prompted some lively discussion.

A total of sixteen papers were presented and covered issues including the formation of the Basis of Union, Urban Mission, the Diaconate and the role of former missionaries in the Uniting Church. At a congregational level topics ranged from “Surviving against the odds”, LGBTIQ issues, and a Western Australian example of change and renewal at Wesley Church, Perth.

On the Saturday evening the format was a Q & A Forum on “The Church in the Public Square”. Panelists were Pastor Mark Kickett, a Nyungar man serving as Development Officer with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in , Past President of the UCA Rev. Professor Andrew Dutney, President Elect Dr Deidre Palmer, Rev. Dr Dean Eland (bringing his experience in urban ministry) and the Rev. Prof. the Hon Brian Howe AO (former Deputy Prime Minister).

Sunday morning saw delegates share in worship with the congregation of Pilgrim Church with President Stuart McMillan the preacher. The afternoon provided a several workshops. The archivists attended a workshop specific to their role at the State Library of South Australia including a visit to the historic Mortlock Library. Other workshops looked at Ernabella Mission with a difference, preserving people’s stories through Oral History. Those needing some fresh air and exercise enjoyed an historic walk in Adelaide, looking at commemorative plaques of Uniting Church forebears in the “Paradise of Dissent”.

Sunday evening was the highlight of the Conference with the launch of the Uniting Church National Historical Society by the National President Stuart McMillan, coinciding with a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Uniting Church. Drawing on imagery from the North-East Arnhem Land Yolngu Clan, Stuart urged: “Let us return to the white ash of the fire.” He was calling for a return to the stories handed down from one people to the next. Affirming the importance of remembering our history, he declared that as we call on the wisdom of the Spirit in past generations, the ash will burst into new life. With these inspirational words, the Society was launched and of course celebrated with a birthday cake.

The Conference concluded on Monday morning with worship followed by the first meeting of the new society. Seven members were elected onto the Board. It is anticipated the next conference will be held in Melbourne in 2019. The papers presented at the Inaugural Conference will be published in the forthcoming first edition of the journal of the Society. For further information or enquiry about membership of the Society please contact Rev. Dr Alison Longworth [email protected]

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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Ecclesiastical Textiles Research Project Update

To all the archivists and collection managers who have assisted with my research project into the cultural significance of ecclesiastical textiles from the Catholic Church, a very sincere thank you. Your support and encouragement over the past three years is very much appreciated. I have collated and analysed the information from your surveys, interviews and comments and am now wrestling it all into what I hope will be a readable and informative thesis. I have been introduced to a diversity of historic, interesting and treasured textiles that embody both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Catholic Church in Australia. Australian collections house items from the late seventeenth century to the early twenty-first century. All major eras of ecclesiastical textile style and design history are represented – the strangely patterned bizarre silks of the 1690s, the baroque splendour of eighteenth century brocades, the elaborate nineteenth century European embroidery, the restrained designs of Augustus Pugin’s Gothic Revival from mid-nineteenth century Britain, the Liturgical Movement of the early twentieth century, the rise in mass produced textiles accompanied by the changing use of images and symbolism, the decline of the hand-made, and the impact of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council in the 1960s on the role and use of decoration in the modern church.

While not all collections contain items which can claim connections to eminent church figures, momentous national and international events in history or deeply personal community memories, every textile has a story to tell. The stories may be different for different people, for example a reminder or commemoration of a local event or tradition, a connection to a local parishioner, family, or community group, a contribution by laypersons to the life of their church, a material record of a traditional craft or a past practice. The following comments from respondents encapsulate the main findings of my research … “they are our family memories” … “they remind us of where we have come from” … “they are all part of the story of the culture and history of our worship practices”.

Ecclesiastical textiles are inherently fragile artefacts, an integral part of our cultural heritage, and it is vital that their stories are not lost as textiles are retired from use, parishes amalgamate, or local churches close.

Once again, thank you to all those who shared their collections, knowledge, and fascinating stories. It has been a privilege to meet and correspond with so many dedicated and caring custodians of a valuable but largely unknown and under-appreciated part of our cultural heritage. If you have any questions or further comments, please feel free to contact me at the University of Canberra via email at [email protected] – it is not yet too late to contribute a special story. I hope to submit my thesis in mid-2018 and if accepted, the thesis will be available online via the University of Canberra Research Repository in 2019.

Margaret Ferguson

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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Our Fenian Connections in Western Australia Between 5th – 14th January 2018 an Irish cultural festival will happen in Fremantle, Western Australia, called “Fenians, Fremantle & Freedom Festival” which will be showcasing the history and the richness of Irish culture in Australia. The festival is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival into Fremantle of the Hougoumont, Australia’s last convict ship carrying 62 Irish Fenian freedom fighters. This was the last convict ship to arrive in Western Australia. It left Portland, England on 12th of October 1867. It took 89 days at sea and arrived in Fremantle on the10th of January 1868 with 108 passengers and 280 convicts. These men were transported for fighting for the freedom of Ireland. They were political prisoners and many went on to make major contributions to the cultural and political life of Australia. A notable former political prisoner who made a name for himself in the relatively new colony of Perth was Joseph Nunan. “Joseph Nunan had been arrested in Kerry for anti-British activity, escaped during the train journey, and re-arrested in London. He had been sentenced to seven years servitude. When pardoned in May, 1869, he and the other Fenian convicts had little more than the clothes they were wearing when taken. Joseph Nunan, however, soon established himself as a builder and architect”1

Joseph worked on the 1871 Convent of Mercy now the Mercy Heritage Centre Perth. Here is an excerpt from a news article of the day from the Illustrated Fremantle Herald which gives the background to Pictured: The central staircase in the 1871 Convent of the Holy the construction of the convent Cross at Victoria Square, Perth made “from local wood” and particular description of the staircase featured in our photographs; “The Convent building was undertaken with a view to providing a dwelling house for the Sisters of Mercy, Perth, whose previous premises had been gradually encroached upon by the continual, increasing necessity of further school and other accommodation for the pupils and orphans entrusted to their care.

1 McLay, Anne, Women Out of Their Sphere, 1992, pp. 78-79.

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The foundation stone was laid on the 11th June 1868 by the Very Rev M Griver, Administrator of the Diocese of Perth, and now Bishop of Tloa. The building was proceeded with as far as the completion of the walls, when owing to the want of funds; the work was obliged to be suspended. In February 1871 further contributions being meanwhile received, the work was recommenced under the superintendence of Messrs Nunan and Brophy, and promoted with vigour until October of the same year, when it was completed.

The staircase which is screened off from the vestibule by very elaborate tracery Gothic doors of the decorated style is composed of three flights, each flight having beautiful massive newels neatly panelled and enriched with tracery and carved terminals and drops. The balustrade consists of open tracery panelled work enriched with religious emblems carved from various coloured woods of this colony, and beautifully arranged. The whole of the stairs is composed of native timber carefully chosen, and selected as to colour and contract, and well arranged, jarrah being the principal wood employed.”

To visit the Mercy Heritage Centre Perth and see our staircase please contact our Cultural Collections Curator Annie Q. Medley [email protected]

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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Stations of the Cross, Sacred Heart Church Beagle Bay Dr Roberta Cowan: Society of the Catholic Apostolate, Australian Region.

The Stations of the Cross that line the walls of the Sacred Heart Church, Beagle Bay were commissioned by Bishop Raible PSM in 1949. The artist he chose for the work was a Schoenstatt sister- Sr M. Roswina Hermes ISSM. Msgr. Raible had arrived in the Kimberley from Europe in 1928, as Apostolic Administrator of Kimberley in Western Australia.

Msgr Raible in Broome 1929 with the local orchestra (Photographer Fr Ernest Worms SAC)

Msgr. Raible became Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Kimberley in Western Australia in 1935. He chose Beagle Bay as his ‘centre of operations’ in the Kimberley, preferring this centre over the town of Broome. Bishop Raible left Australia in 1959 to return to Germany. Sister M. Roswina Hermes, was born in Hollnich / Eifel in 1912. She joined the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary in 1935. In 1938 she began her studies at the Kunsthochschule Weimar, but these studies were interrupted by the war. She applied in 1946 to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (http://www.adbk.de) with Professor Franz Klemmer who specialised in Religious Art (information from Archive of Academy of Fine Arts, Munich). Prof. Klemmer left the institution in 1947 and consequently Sr Roswina would have had numerous other major tutors. Sr Roswina ISSM passed the degree at the academy and from 1951 she was known by the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary as an Artist. She died in 2008 in Kösching. This information has been confirmed by the SAC, Australian Region Archivist and the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary in 2017.

Sr Roswina’s brother was Fr Gerhard Hermes SAC. Fr Hermes was ordained at Limburg March 19 1934. He was destined to be a very gifted member of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate. The SAC sent him to University in Bonn (1935-1937) and Berlin (1937-1939). At

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc

Page | 12 this time Fr Raible was in Germany and Czechoslovakia and would have known of the gifted brother and sister who were just commencing on their religious journey.

Sr Roswina ISSM (left) with Fr Kentenich (Schoenstatt Fathers) and Sr Sigrid ISSM (taken from Krauss 2009. Available at http://www.regnum-im-netz.de/download/hefte/REGNUM-43-2009-2.pdf)

The war intervened; Fr Hermes became a part of the military paramedical core in 1940. In 1944 he became a Russian prisoner of War and did not return to Limburg until 1949. His was not the same man. After a period of recovery he became a SAC journalist for the magazine "Rosenkranz" (later "Das Zeichen"). Fr Hermes died in February 1988. This information is confirmed from the SAC, Australian Region Archive. The relationship, brother and sister (Gerhard & Roswina) is confirmed by a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary who knows the Hermes family and knew both Roswina and Gerhard.

At the time Fr Raible commissioned the Stations of the Cross for the Sacred Heart Church at Beagle Bay (ca. 1949), Sr Roswina was studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, then known as the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The technique of painting onto aluminium may have been a new technique which was designed at the Academy. At this time the Royal Academy was being merged with the School of Arts and Crafts and the School of Applied Arts.

In the Report by the Heritage Council WA (Heritage Council place No. 03630) on the Sacred Heart Church, Beagle Bay the following is quoted (correspondence Diocese of Broome 1997.10.23)

Bishop Raible requested that Sr Roswina use material that would withstand the harsh climatic conditions of the Kimberley, so she used specially prepared

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aluminium sheets and special oil paints, both of which had just been released on the market. He also asked her to take into consideration the culture of the Aboriginal people and use symbols they could interpret easily, hence the stark colours and simplicity of presentation. The frames for the Stations of the Cross were made by Brother Franz Hanke. The completed works were hung in the church in 1951.

An example of one of the ‘Stations’ (Photographer: Roberta Cowan 2011)

Sacred Heart Church, Beagle Bay (Photographer: Roberta Cowan 2011)

Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group – Australian Society of Archivists Inc