Proddy-Dogs, Cattleticks and Ecumaniacs: Aspects of Sectarianism in New South Wales, 1945-1981

Home , Evangelical Anglicanism, Frank Woods (bishop), Ne Temere, Sectarian discrimination, Sempiternus Rex, The Newman Society

Proddy-Dogs, Cattleticks and Ecumaniacs:

Aspects of Sectarianism in New South Wales, 1945-1981

Benjamin Edwards

A thesis submitted in fulfilment

of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

School of History

University of New South Wales

2007 i

ABSTRACT

This thesis studies sectarianism in New South Wales from 1947 through to 1981. This was a period of intense change in Australian socio-cultural history, as well as in the history of religious cultures, both within Australia and internationally. Sectarianism, traditionally a significant force in Australian socio-cultural life, was significantly affected by the many changes of this period: the religious revival of the 1950s, the rise of ecumenism and the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, as well as postwar mass-immigration, the politics of education, increasing secularism in Australian society and the Goulburn schools closure of 1962, which was both a symptom of the diminishing significance of sectarianism as well as a force that accelerated its demise. While the main study of sectarianism in this thesis ends with the 1981 High Court judgment upholding the constitutionality of state aid to non-government schools, this thesis also traces the lingering significance of sectarianism in Australian society through to the early twenty-first century through oral history and memoir. This thesis offers a contribution to historical understanding of sectarianism, examining the significance of sectarianism as a discursive force in Australian society in the context of social, political and religious cultures of the period. It argues that while the significant social and religious changes of the period eroded the discursive power of sectarianism in Australian society, this does not mean sectarianism simply vanished from Australian society. While sectarianism became increasingly insignificant in mainstream Australian socio-political life in this period, sectarianism – both as a discourse and ideology – lingered in social memory and in some religious cultures. ii

‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International. I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis.

Signed ...... Date ......

AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’

Signed ......

Date......

iii

ORIGINALITY STATEMENT

‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial portions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’

Signed ......

Date......

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

John Donne’s observation ‘no man is an island, entire of itself’ comes to mind as I contemplate all those upon whom I have incurred a debt of gratitude in the course of producing this thesis.

My foremost thanks are offered to my supervisor, Dr Anne O’Brien, whose generosity of time, inspirational scholarship, patience and encouragement have inspired me throughout this project, and to my co-supervisor, Professor John Gascoigne, for his insightful comments and suggestions.

I record here my thanks to the Rt. Rev’d Richard Hurford OAM, Bishop of Bathurst, for the luxury of study leave in 2006 to concentrate on writing this thesis. My sincere thanks are also offered to the Rev’d Canon Dr Ivan Head, Warden of St Paul’s College, University of Sydney, and to the Fellows of the College Council for the award of the 2006 Priddle Fellowship, enabling me to take up residence at St Paul’s College and devote myself to completion of this thesis. It was a wonderful experience to share in the life of the College, especially during its sesquicentenary year.

I am also extremely grateful to the women and men who participated in the oral history project for this thesis; to Jeremy Southwood, for reading and commenting on drafts, and to all who have shown or feigned interest in the progress of my research over the last few years: none the least of whom being my wife Kate, who has read drafts, encouraged me and helped in countless other ways.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Number Abstract i Acknowledgements iv Table of Abbreviations vi Terminology vii

Introduction 1

Part I: Foundations of Sectarianism Introduction 16 Chapter 1: Foundations of Sectarianism: Discursive and Historical Contexts 17

Chapter 2: A Survey of Sectarianism in Australia, 1788-1945 28

Part II: Sectarianism in the ‘Long 1950s’ Introduction 39 Chapter 3: The ‘Long 1950s’: Religious Context 41 Chapter 4: Protestant Co-operation 54 Chapter 5: Points of Sectarian Tension 73 Chapter 6: Sectarian Polemic in the 1950s 121 Chapter 7: Signs of Tolerance and Ecumenical Rapprochement 166

Part III: State Aid and the (Sectarian) Politics of (Religious) Education Introduction 184 Chapter 8: State Aid and the Goulburn Schools Closure: Historical and Political Contexts 187 Chapter 9: Sectarian Responses to the Schools Closure 204 Conclusion 229

Part IV: Sectarianism in the post-Vatican II Era Introduction 233 Chapter 10: Social and Religious Context of the post-Vatican II Era 235 Chapter 11: Ecumenical Gains 241 Chapter 12: Realignments 262

Part V: Sectarianism Remembered Introduction and Methodology 292 Chapter 13: Reminiscence, Tropes and Social Memory 298 Chapter 14: Biographical Case Studies 309 Conclusion 367

Conclusion 370 Bibliography 376 vi

ABBREVIATIONS / ACRONYMS

ACC - Australian Council of Churches

ACW - Australian Church Women

ACTS - Australian Catholic Truth Society

ALP - Australian Labor Party

DOGS - Council for the Defence of Government Schools

LOI - Loyal Orange Institute

NSW - New South Wales

NSW CC - New South Wales Council of Churches

UPDA - United Protestant Defence Association

SCM - Australian Student Christian Movement

UCPA - United Council of Protestant Action

VPF - Victorian Protestant Federation

WASP - White Anglo-Saxon Protestant

WCC - World Council of Churches

vii

TERMINOLOGY

Catholic / Roman Catholic

The use of the designations ‘Catholic’ and ‘Roman Catholic’ are contentious in religious historiography.1 They are imbued with certain theological and sectarian nuances, which throughout the history of Christianity have had varying meanings and significances.2 While in some official forms the Catholic Church styles itself as the Roman Catholic Church, the term ‘Roman Catholic’ has also been employed by Protestants to disparagingly refer to the Western Church that recognises the primacy of the See of Rome. In line with common usage, this thesis uses the terms ‘Catholic’ and ‘Catholic Church’ without the adjective

‘Roman’ in reference to the church ‘which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him’.3 No theological or ecclesiological judgment is implied.

Protestant

The term Protestant is used in this thesis to refer to those Christian denominations, other than Orthodox, that do not recognise the supremacy of the

Roman Pontiff and are not in communion with the See of Rome. The principal

Protestant denominations of the period examined by this thesis were the

Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church, Congregational Union, the

1 MacCulloch, D., Reformation: Europe’s House Divided, 1490-1700, (Penguin Books, London: 2004) p.xix; see also Thurston, H., ‘Roman Catholic’, The Catholic Encyclopedia, XIII (1912), http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13121a.htm, 15/6/2004. 2 Cross, F.L. & Livingstone, E.A., (eds), entry for ‘Catholic’, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, (Oxford University Press: 1997 3rd edition) p.305. 3 Pope Paul VI., ‘Dogmatic Constitution on the Church’, The Documents of Vatican II, (eds), Abbot, W.M. & Gallagher, J., (Geoffrey Chapman, London & Dublin: 1966) p.23. viii

Churches of Christ, the Salvation Army and Baptist Union and, from 1977, the

Uniting Church in Australia. While recognising the historical tensions between

Anglicanism and non-conformism,4 as well as the Anglo-Catholic tradition within

Anglicanism, in this thesis the Anglican Church (Church of England) is generally grouped together with these Protestant denominations, recognising that the major sectarian fault line existed between the Catholic Church and these other denominations and that in popular usage Anglicans were generally considered as

Protestant.5

Ecumenical

The term ‘ecumenical’ has various meanings. In this thesis, unless otherwise indicated and explained, it refers to rapprochement, co-operative endeavours, formal dialogue and movements toward organic unity between Christian denominations.

Cultic Segregation

This term is used throughout this thesis to refer to the proscriptions against

Catholics attending religious services conducted in a non-Catholic church or not officiated by a Catholic priest.

4 Hlyson-Smith, K., The Churches in England from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, Vol II 1689-1833, (SCM Press Ltd, London: 1997) p.320. 5 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.61. 1

INTRODUCTION

Sectarianism has long been a significant factor in Australian history, with implications for political, religious and social cultures, and the private sphere – where some of the most bitter sectarian disputes arose. Accordingly, the study of sectarianism in Australia informs analysis of a variety of aspects of Australian socio-cultural and political history, such as class rivalries, politics, ethnic and racial tensions, and the undying issue of Australian identity.

This thesis is a study of sectarianism in New South Wales, concentrating on the period 1945-1981. It locates sectarianism within the contexts of theological discourse and polemic, religious culture more generally, politics, broader social issues and cultural memory. It explores the impact of these forces on the significance and nature of sectarianism, arguing that in the 1960s there was a rapid dismantling of the discursive force of sectarianism in Australian society, brought about by the complex interaction of changes and forces in religious culture, politics and broader society. It is also argued that, despite sectarianism’s rapid demise as a mainstream socio-cultural phenomenon, this demise was not inevitable nor was it without other lasting consequences. In some instances the realignments in religious and political cultures that occurred at this time meant that sectarianism continued to be of significance for some religious groups and that sectarianism lingers in social memory.

The first recorded use of the term sectarian dates from 1649, when it was used as a label for ‘Independents’ and Presbyterians during the period of the English 2

Commonwealth.1 Since then, various uses of the term have developed. The most common and simplest usage of the term sectarianism refers to prejudice, discrimination, bias or hatred of another individual or group based on their religious beliefs or affiliation. In Australian historiography, sectarianism primarily refers to rivalries and hostility between the various Christian denominations.

Hogan comments, ‘Despite the fact that all denominations were in competition there was a special polarisation with regard to Catholics’.2 The overarching sectarian division in Australia existed between the four major Protestant denominations (the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches) and the Catholic Church. Beneath this Protestant versus Catholic canopy other sectarian divisions nevertheless existed. Tensions between Anglicans and other Protestants surfaced occasionally in colonial Australia, especially in terms of hostility towards Anglican pretensions to establishment or perceived

Anglican ascendancy.3

It should also be noted that sectarianism is in fact much more than religious rivalry. In his study of sectarianism in early twentieth century Australia, Jeff

Kildea notes that sectarianism is a term in Australian history ‘pregnant with meaning which dictionary definitions fail to capture’ and Michael Hogan points out that ‘the cultural complexity of sectarian divisions makes the concept a messy

1 Onions, C. T. (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, (Clarendon Press, Oxford: 1966) p.805; Partridge, E., Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London: 1958) p.601. 2 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, (Penguin, Ringwood, Victoria: 1987) p.61. 3 Hogan, M., ‘Whatever Happened to Australian Sectarianism’, Journal of Religious History 13, 1, June 1984, p.83; Hogan, M. The Sectarian Strand,, pp.30-47; Thompson, R., Religion in Australia: A History, (Oxford University Press: 2002) p.11. 3

one for explaining what happens in society’.4 Sectarianism is a complex interaction of religious identity and rivalry, class, ideology and ethnicity. These are all factors that are built into the conceptual understanding and analysis of sectarianism in this thesis.

In defining sectarianism, it is also important to clarify that anti-Catholicism and sectarianism are different conceptual categories which are sometimes blurred in historical writing. Anti-Catholicism has a strong discursive tradition, moulded by various ideological, religious and cultural factors, and is the dominant sectarian discourse in the Anglophone world. However, anti-Catholicism is only one dimension of sectarianism. Anti-Catholicism by its nature is concerned primarily with sectarian hostility directed toward Catholics and it ignores the potential for tensions underlying relations between Protestant denominations and Catholic hostility toward other denominations. Sectarianism, in the Australian context, has not been a one-sided prejudice and the rivalry has not always been simply between Catholics and Protestants, as shall be discussed further in Chapter Two.

Over-reliance on anti-Catholicism, or the assumption that anti-Catholicism is conceptually synonymous with sectarianism, leads to an oversimplified and inadequate analysis of sectarianism. Thus, analysis of sectarianism must move beyond the conceptual limits of anti-Catholicism. This does not mean that the significant anti-Catholic discourse is to be ignored or underrated (the manifestation and development of anti-Catholicism in New South Wales is an

4 Kildea, J., Tearing the Fabric: Sectarianism in Australia 1910 – 1925, (Citadel Books, Sydney: 2002) p.ii; Hogan, M., ‘Whatever Happened to Australian Sectarianism’, p.84. 4

integral study of this research) but recognises that the term ‘anti-Catholicism’ must be used with clarity and caution.

There is a significant international body of historiography on Catholic-Protestant sectarianism.5 This scholarship demonstrates the methodological complexity of sectarianism, revealing its interconnectedness with other historical factors and forces. It shows that sectarianism has been a regular fixture within the armoury of social and political conflict throughout the centuries, serving as a conduit for the expression of not only religious rivalry but of other social cleavages and grievances, including class and ethnic rivalry. For instance, in his study of twentieth century England, Ross McKibbin shows that it was expedient for political parties to exploit racial grievances clothed in religious terms.6 Similarly,

Frank Neal's Sectarian Violence: The Liverpool Experience shows that during the famine years of the nineteenth century, anti-Irish feeling – based on fears of Irish rebellion, crime and economic burden – was expressed in Merseyside 'in the guise of increased sectarian bitterness'.7 Many of these international studies have resonances for the study of sectarianism in Australia, in particular those that examine the history of sectarianism in Britain and Ireland, whose sectarian

5 For example: Arnstein, W.L., Protestant Versus Catholic in Mid-Victorian England: Mr Newdegate and the Nuns, (University of Missouri Press, Columbia: 1982); Brewer, J.D. & Higgins, G.I., Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland, 1600-1998: The Mote and the Beam, (Macmillan Press, Basingstoke & London: 1998); Deming, J.C., Religion and Identity in Modern France: The Modernisation of the Protestant Community in Languedoc 1815-1848, (University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland: 1999); Ford, A & McCafferty, J., (eds), The Origins of Sectarianism in Early Modern Ireland, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2005); Haydon, C. Anti-Catholicism in 18th Century England: A Political and Social Study, (Manchester University Press, Manchester: 1993); Neal, F., Sectarian Violence, The Liverpool Experience 1819-1914: An Aspect of Anglo-Irish History, (Manchester University Press, Manchester: 1988); Norman, E.R., Anti- Catholicism in Victorian England, (London: 1968); Poland, B., French Protestantism and the French Revolution, (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey: 1957). 6 McKibbin, R., Classes and Culture: England 1918 –1951, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1998). 5

rivalries and discourses were transplanted and appropriated or are analogous to the Australian context. In particular, Neal's analysis of sectarianism in nineteenth century Merseyside has socio–economic, ethnic and ideological resonance with the Australian colonial history of sectarianism.8

In line with the international historiography, this thesis maintains that sectarianism entails much more than religious conflict or tension and recognises sectarianism to be a complex socio-cultural phenomenon: a synthesis of religious, socio-cultural and ethno-political relationships that use religion as a symbolic and expedient means of forming identities, asserting ideologies and articulating rivalries and grievances.

While sectarianism and the influence of religious identity and culture have been significant in Australian history, in terms of scholarly attention it has been a somewhat neglected area. Michael Hogan’s 1984 article ‘Whatever Happened to

Australian Sectarianism?’ drew attention to the paucity of scholarly attention that had been given to the study of sectarianism in Australian history, especially the vicissitudes of sectarianism in the twentieth century. 9

The most comprehensive study of sectarianism in Australian history is Hogan’s

1987 book The Sectarian Strand, which examined sectarian interests and influences in Australian history from European first settlement through to the

1980s. In this important study, Hogan demonstrates the complexity of sectarianism and the extent to which sectarianism has penetrated Australian

7 Neal, F., Sectarian Violence, p.105. 6

society, arguing that the ‘sectarian strand’ is important for any portrait of

Australia as it ‘helps to mark out the outline and provide perspective and depth’.10

While various historians have written on Australian religious history, and discussed some aspects of sectarianism, often with a specific denominational focus, in addition to Hogan’s important contribution there is only a select body of scholarly literature that focuses on the significance of sectarianism in Australian history.

In addition to Hogan’s work, there are other more specific studies which contribute to the contextualisation and analysis of sectarianism in Australian history. Jeff Kildea’s history of the Catholic Federation in Tearing the Fabric:

Sectarianism in Australia 1910-1925 is an important contribution to the study of sectarianism, demonstrating the significance of sectarianism in Australian political cultures and institutions.11 There are also some significant studies of

Australian sectarianism at the local level. James Logan’s ‘Sectarianism in

Ganmain: A Local Study, 1912-21’,12 shows how pragmatism invariably mitigated latent sectarianism in the small rural community of Ganmain. Janet McCalman’s

Struggletown: Public and Private Life in Richmond, 1900-1965, also shows that while sectarianism was a significant factor in public and political life in

8 Ibid. 9 Hogan, M., ‘Whatever Happened to Australian Sectarianism?’. 10 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.293. 11 Kildea, J., Tearing the Fabric. 12 Logan, J., ‘Sectarianism in Ganmain: A Local Study, 1912-21’, Rural Society, 10, no.2, 2000, pp.121- 138. 7

Richmond, Victoria, personal contact could overcome sectarian prejudice in the private sphere.13

The question of state aid has long been one of the chief sectarian battlegrounds in

Australian history: it has both generated and been influenced by sectarianism.

Studies of nineteenth century Australia, in particular those that focus on education and political history, are significant contributions to the historiography of sectarianism in Australia. Mark Lyons’s Aspects of Sectarianism, New South

Wales c1865-1880, Naomi Turner’s Sinews of Sectarian Warfare: State Aid in NSW

1836-1862, Walter Philips’s ‘Defending a Christian Country’: Churchmen and

Society in New South Wales in the 1880s and After, A.G. Austin’s Australian

Education 1788-1900 and Brother Ronald Fogarty’s Catholic Education in

Australia are major contributions to the relationship between education and sectarianism in Australian history.14 Hogan’s The Catholic Campaign for State Aid is an important study of the reintroduction of state aid in the 1960s, and this thesis builds on it, concentrating on the sectarian element of the state aid issue. 15

Mixed marriage has also been a significant aspect of sectarianism in Australian history and significant studies of this include Brigid Moore’s ‘Sectarianism in

NSW – the Ne Temere Legislation 1924-25’ and Father Peter Blayney’s Catholic

13 McCalman, J., Struggletown: Public and Private Life in Richmond, 1900-1965, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne:1985) p.22. 14 Lyons, M., Aspects of Sectarianism, New South Wales c1865-1880, PhD Thesis, Australian National University, 1972; Philips, W., ‘Defending a Christian Country’: Churchmen and Society in New South Wales in the 1880s and After, (University of Queensland Press, 1981); Austin, A.G., Australian Education 1788- 1900: Church, State and Public Education in Colonial Australia, (Pitman, Carlton, Victoria: 1972); Fogarty, R., Catholic Education in Australia 1806-1950 Vols 1 & 2 (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 1957). 15 Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State aid : A Study of a Pressure Group Campaign in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory 1950-1972, (Catholic Theological Faculty, Sydney: 1978). 8

Marriage Law: Mixed Marriage and the Australian Debate over Ne Temere 1908-

1925, which locate the bitter sectarian controversies of the inter-war years within their religious and political contexts. 16

Denominational and general religious histories have also contributed significantly to the historiography of sectarianism. Patrick O’Farrell’s studies of Catholicism and the Irish in Australia are the pre-eminent contribution to this field.17 Edmund

Campion’s Rockchoppers: Growing Up Catholic in Australia, offers insights into both Catholic and broader religious culture in the twentieth century.18 Stephen

Luby’s, ‘From Sectarianism to Ecumenism: Inter-Church Relations in Australia since White Settlement,’ is an important analysis of changes in religious culture.19

Political history has also provided insights into sectarian machinations in

Australian society. There are various studies of the Labor Split and anti- communism which inform the study of sectarianism.20 More recently, Judith

Brett’s Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class has shown the influence of

16 Moore, B., ‘Sectarianism in NSW – the Ne Temere Legislation 1924-25’, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 9 ,No.1, 1987, pp.3-15; Blayney, P., Catholic Marriage Law: Mixed Marriage and the Australian Debate over Ne Temere 1908-1925, MA Hons Thesis, Macquarie University, 2003. 17 O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1992); O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History 1788-1967, (Nelson, Melbourne: 1967); O’Farrell, P., Documents in Australian Catholic History Vols 1 & 2, (Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London: 1969); O’Farrell, P., The Irish in Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1987); O’Farrell, P. ‘Double Jeopardy: Catholic and Irish,’ Bigotry and Religion in Australia 1865-1950, Humanities Research, 12, No. 1, 2005, pp.7-12. 18 Campion, E., Rockchoppers. 19 Luby, S., ‘From Sectarianism to Ecumenism: Inter-Church Relations in Australia since White Settlement,’ Compass Theology Review 22, Autumn/Winter 1988, pp.86-92. 20 Costar, B., Love, P. & Strangio, P., (eds), The Great Labor Schism: A Retrospective (Scribe Publications, Melbourne: 2005); Murray, R. ‘Looking Back on Evatt and the Split’, Quadrant, 48, No. 10 (October 2004); Duncan, B., Crusade or Conspiracy: Catholics and the Anti-Communist Struggle in Australia (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2001). 9

Protestant values in Australian political culture and the significance of sectarianism for Australian political life and social relations.21

To some extent, the paucity of scholarly work on sectarianism reflects the marginalised place of religious history in Australian historiography generally. In the early 1980s, scholars expressed concern over the calibre of Australian religious history, seeing it as largely amateurish and hagiographical rather than scholarly and critical.22 Michael Hogan pointed out the tendency of mainstream historiography to underrate the significance of religious influence in Australian socio-political history, noting that religious influences are typically discussed ‘in a paragraph, a sentence or a footnote’.23 Two recent articles in the Journal of

Religious History indicate that, in the intervening years, significant contributions have been made to Australian religious historiography.24 Particularly relevant to the period studied in this thesis is the work of David Hilliard, Katharine Massam,

Brian Fletcher, Patrick O’Farrell, Anne O’Brien, and Judith Brett who have each contributed significantly to the historical understanding of religion in Australian society, as has Samantha Frappell’s PhD thesis Building Jerusalem. 25

21 Brett, J., Australian Liberals. 22 Bollen, J.D., Cahill, E., Mansfield, B., O’Farrell, P., ‘Australian Religious History, 1960-1980’, Journal of Religious History, 11, 1980, pp.8-44. 23 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.291. 24 Carey, H.M., Breward, I., O’Brien, A, Rutland, S. & Thompson, R., ‘Australian Religion Review, 1980-2000, Part 1: Surveys, Bibliographies and Religions Other than Christianity,’ Journal of Religious History, 24, No.3, October 2000, pp.296-313; Carey, H., Breward, I., Doumanis, N., Frappell, R., Hilliard, D., Massam, K., O'Brien, A., & Thompson, R., ‘Australian Religion Review, 1980-2000, Part 2: Christian Denominations’, Journal of Religious History, 25 , No.1, pp. 56–82. 25 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’; Hilliard, D., ‘Church, Family and Sexuality in Australia in the 1950s’, in Australian Historical Studies 28, No.109, October 1997, pp.133-146; Massam, K., Sacred Threads : Catholic Spirituality in Australia 1922-1962, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1996); Massam., K., ‘The Blue Army and the Cold War: Anti-Communist Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Australia’, Australian Historical Studies 24 No.97, October 1991, pp.420-429; Fletcher, B., ‘Anglicanism and Nationalism in Australia 1901-1962’, Journal of Religious History, 23, No.2, June 1999, p.215-233; Fletcher, B., ‘Anglicanism and national identity in Australia since 1962’, Journal of Religious History, 25,

While the discussion of religion within Australian social history has advanced in recent years, studies that focus on sectarianism remain scant and, of this literature, the historical focus is invariably sectarianism in pre-WWII Australia. A focused study on the vicissitudes of sectarianism as a socio-cultural phenomenon, locating and analysing sectarianism within the context of the social changes, political climate and religious culture of the postwar era, has not yet been produced. Accordingly, this thesis seeks to build on the studies of sectarianism by

Hogan et al, concentrating on the extent to which sectarianism continued to be of significance in Australian political, religious and social cultures in the postwar era.

The postwar era was a period of great upheaval for religious culture and broader society. Despite the promising religious revival of the 1950s, the postwar period is seen as a time of general decline for the socio-cultural significance of religion.

Secularisation and other forces of social change brought about the so-called

‘religious crisis of the 1960s’ which challenged the status of institutional religion in Australian society and was a seedbed for new forms of spirituality.26 Other significant forces affecting religious culture in this period include the rise of ecumenism and the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). In addition, this period saw the demise of the White Australia Policy and the advent of multiculturalism.

no.3, Oct 2001, pp.324-345; O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History 1788-1967, (Nelson, Melbourne: 1967); O’Brien, A., God’s Willing Workers; Brett, J., Australian Liberals; Frappell, S. Building Jerusalem: Church and Society in NSW, 1940-1956, PhD Thesis, University of Sydney, 1995. 26 Hilliard, D. ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s: The Experience of the Australian Churches’, Journal of Religious History, 21 No.2, June 1997, pp209-227. 11

These factors make this an important period on which to focus a study of sectarianism.

This thesis focuses on sectarianism in NSW and in particular Sydney, which as the state capital and focus of some denominational hierarchies (Sydney is the metropolitical see for Catholics and Anglicans in NSW), had significant political and ecclesiastical influence and dominance of NSW. Sydney’s religious life was, in many ways, ‘culturally distinctive’, characterised by:

A conservative evangelical Anglicanism for which the word

distinctive is an understatement; an Irish Catholic Church

heavily implicated in the state’s robust, not to say

roughhouse, Labor politics; among the Reformed, some

notable heresy trials.27

A significant feature of this religious culture was intense sectarian rivalry between

Anglicanism and Catholicism; a rivalry that not only had ethnic undertones but also had strong class implications, which leads Jill Roe to describe Sydney’s religious culture as ‘gentry and sentry based religion’.28 This religious culture pronounced and intensified sectarian rivalry in Sydney, which makes it fertile ground for the study of sectarianism. Whilst the religious culture of Sydney and

NSW may have been ‘distinctive’, nevertheless, many of the experiences and trends discussed in this thesis have national resonances and, of course, the history of NSW cannot be divorced from national trends, issues and events and these are addressed accordingly throughout the thesis. 12

Focusing this research on NSW has enabled a deeper and more comprehensive analysis of source materials across a range of denominations than would a study of sources from across a national field. A range of sources, both documentary and oral, is drawn upon. This research makes extensive use of denominational newspapers (The Anglican, The Methodist, The Australian Baptist, Catholic Weekly,

NSW Presbyterian, Australian Church Record, Southern Cross, The Congregationalist and the notorious anti-Catholic newspaper The Rock), which provide considerable insight into the nature of religious life and culture in the period, as well as mainstream metropolitan newspapers. The period on which this thesis focuses is within living memory which has enabled the use of oral history and memoir to explore the lasting significance of sectarianism in social memory and cultural tropes. Thus, while the main study of sectarianism in this thesis concludes with the delivery of the High Court’s judgment upholding the constitutionality of State

Aid in 1981 – a judgment that settled one of the longest running causes of sectarian rivalry and dispute in Australia – through oral history and memoir this research also traces the sinews of sectarianism beyond the main period of this study through to the early twenty-first century. 29

Part I, Foundations of Sectarianism, surveys the historical and discursive contexts and sinews of sectarianism to the end of WWII. Chapter One explores the sectarian heritage of English anti-Catholic ideology and discourse from the mid-

27 Mansfield, B., ‘Sydney History and Religion: A Memoir’, Quadrant, (November 2005) p.56; See Roe, J., ‘A Tale of Religion in Two Cities’, Meanjin (Melbourne), 40, April 1981, pp. 48-56. 28 cited in O’Brien, A., God’s Willing Workers, p.13. 13

sixteenth century through to the beginning of the twentieth century. Chapter Two traces the historical and discursive context of sectarianism in Australia from

1788-1947, identifying the key themes, events and tensions that have characterised the nature of sectarianism in Australia, prior to the main period of this thesis’s focus.

Part II, Sectarianism in the Long 1950s, explores the nature of inter- denominational relations in the period between 1947 and 1961. It studies sources from key religious leaders, institutions and commentators of the period in order to explore the significance of sectarianism within religious culture and in broader society. A systematic study of journalistic sources from denominational newspapers and periodicals forms the primary research basis of this analysis.

Chapter Three establishes the context of religious cultures in the 1950s. Chapter

Four examines Protestant co-operation and ecumenical activity in the period.

Chapter Five studies points of sectarian tension between Catholics and

Protestants, looking at sectarian rivalry and dogmatic disputes. Chapter Six is a study of sectarian discourse, focusing on key sectarian polemicists of the era.

Chapter Seven argues that, despite considerable sectarian tension in this period, there were signs of ecumenical rapprochement.

Part III, State Aid and the (Sectarian) Politics of (Religious) Education continues the chronological sequence of the thesis, exploring the relationship between politics, religion and sectarianism through the issue of state aid to non-

29 Campion, E. Rockchoppers: Growing up Catholic in Australia (Penguin Books, Ringwood, Victoria:1982); Riemer, A. Inside, Outside (Angus & Robertson, Pymble: 1992); Nelson, K. & Nelson, D. (eds), Sweet Mothers, Sweet Maids (Penguin Books, Ringwood, Victoria: 1986). 14

government schools. State Aid was a pivotal issue that arose at a significant time in religious history, at the end of a period of religious revival and on the eve of the

Second Vatican Council, the religious crisis of the 1960s and the ecumenical breakthrough of the 1960s. The Goulburn schools closure of 1962 provides a useful case study for exploring the way that sectarianism influenced political and social interaction as well as the role of the media in intensifying and perpetuating sectarian attitudes. Chapter Eight presents a broad analysis of the historical context of the state aid issue and Chapter Nine examines the sectarian dimension of the Goulburn schools closure of 1962, analysing the ways in which church leaders, the media, politicians and the general public responded to this incident.

Part III argues that the schools closure and state aid debates of the early 1960s should be understood as a short-term sectarian flare-up, as well as a reflection of underlying social shifts away from sectarianism and as a force that accelerated the demise of sectarianism in Australian politics.

Part IV Sectarianism in the post-Vatican II Era focuses on the period 1962 – 1981.

This is a highly significant era in religious history: beginning with the convening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962, it encompasses the so-called ‘religious crisis of the 1960s’ identified by Hilliard.30 It is an important era in the study of interdenominational relations, where many developments challenged the status quo. Chapter Ten explores ecumenical gains and their implications for sectarianism. It also examines the meaning of sectarianism in a time of increasing nominalism, religious upheaval and social change. Chapter Eleven argues that the

30 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’. 15

changes in religious cultures that had been developing since the 1950s and climaxed in the mid-1960s, led to a re-alignment of traditional sectarian divisions, with Catholic-Protestant division being superseded by liberal-conservative dichotomies. It argues that despite these realignments, traditional sectarian discourse retained significance among conservative Protestants who continued to object to Catholicism on theological grounds.

Part V Sectarianism Remembered explores the long-term sinews of sectarianism through analysis of memories of sectarianism. This analysis allows for linkages to be made between the remembered past and the present. Chapter Twelve argues that cultural tropes, politics, popular culture and social memory have contributed to a common discourse of sectarianism that influences and shapes reminiscence of sectarianism. Chapter Thirteen then presents a series of biographical case studies, drawing testimony from both oral history and literary sources. These sources offer opportunities to explore the emotional impact and lasting significance of sectarianism in the lives of men and women, the ongoing meanings applied to sectarianism and the factors that intensified or mitigated sectarianism in people’s lives. 16

PART I

FOUNDATIONS OF SECTARIANISM:

DISCURSIVE AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS

INTRODUCTION

The first part of this thesis examines the discursive and historical contexts of sectarianism in postwar Australia. Considering that the roots of Australian sectarian discourse can be traced back to Tudor England,1 it is helpful to survey this history to gain a sense of the origins, ideological dimensions and shifting nuances of this form of discourse. To this end, Chapter One outlines English anti-

Catholic ideology and discourse from the Reformation era through to the late nineteenth century. It then surveys the contingencies and features of socio- cultural and political life in Australia since 1788 that form the immediate historical context for sectarianism in the postwar era.

1 Brett, J., Australian Liberals, p.45. 17

CHAPTER 1:

DISCURSIVE AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS OF SECTARIANISM,

c.1550 -1900

Sectarian discourse finds its origins in the theological differences that occasioned and shaped the Reformation. The principal areas of theological dispute at the time of the Reformation included: the authority of Scripture in matters of doctrine; the ecclesiastical and temporal jurisdiction and status of the Pope; the number and nature of sacraments; the doctrines of grace and justification; the nature of the priesthood (as intermediary or not); the doctrine of transubstantiation; the celibacy of clergy; conventual / monastic life; the cult of saints; the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary; auricular confession; and the use of Latin as the liturgical language. Sectarian discourse between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries continued to draw upon these theological disputes to a considerable extent. In the ensuing centuries, other theological controversies, such as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the declaration of papal infallibility by the First Vatican Council in 1870 and the dogma of the

Assumption (1950), fuelled sectarian theological tensions. These theological disputes have had a significant discursive influence on sectarianism and feature regularly in sectarian polemic. 1

1 Marotti, A., Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy: Catholic and Anti-Catholic discourses in Early Modern England, (University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana: 2005). 18

However, like sectarianism itself, sectarian discourse is more than a theological discourse. It is a complex blending of theological, cultural and ideological opinions, symbols, terminologies and prejudices. The analysis of sectarian discourse is therefore extremely important in the study of sectarianism, offering access to the ideas of identity, perceptions, fears and the mentalities that are generated and perpetuated by sectarian antagonism. Sectarian discourses and ideologies are complex in that there are many historical layers to their development. Breaking down these discourses helps penetrate to the core issues of sectarian conflict. For example, in his study Anti-Catholicism in Victorian

England, E.R. Norman discusses how nineteenth century anti-Catholic ideology

‘drew upon a tradition extending backwards to the Reformation and beyond’.2

Thus, whilst sectarian grievances might be due to contemporaneous contingencies, traditional sectarian ideology and discourse might be invoked to articulate those grievances.

Anti-Catholicism has been the dominant sectarian discourse in the English speaking world since the sixteenth century. This chapter will show that anti-

Catholic discourse is a complex synthesis of theological arguments, nationalistic propaganda and ideology – a potent combination that gave anti-Catholic sectarianism a broad capacity to vent a variety of frustrations and sentiments. An understanding of this discursive tradition, which was translated to and appropriated in the Australian context, is critical for the study of sectarianism in

Australia.

2 Norman, E.R., Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England, (Allen & Unwin, London: 1968) p.16. 19

Haydon has shown that English anti-Catholicism was ‘an ideology which promoted national cohesion, countering, though not submerging, the kingdom’s political divisions and social tensions’.3 Events which Marotti labels as ‘religiously coded’ – such as the excommunication of Elizabeth I in 1570, the arrival of

Jesuits in England in 1580, the Spanish Armada in 1588, the Gunpowder Plot of

1605, the Irish Rebellion in 1641, the Popish Plot of 1678-1681, and the 1688

Glorious Revolution4 – as well as an international backdrop that included the

1572 St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris, the persecution of Protestants in the low countries, the Spanish Golden Age and the Inquisition, played a significant role in the ideological alignment of anti-Catholicism with English nationalism.5

3 Haydon, C., ’I love my King and my Country, but a Roman Catholic I hate: Anti-Catholicism, Xenophobia and National Identity in Eighteenth Century England’, Protestantism and National Identity, Britain and Ireland c.1650-c.1850,(eds), Claydon, T. & McBride, I., (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1998) p.49. 4 The assertive and aggressive Catholicism represented by the Counter-Reformation and personified by the Jesuits kept fears of Catholic subversion and tyranny alive, providing examples and material for anti- Catholic propagandists. In the late 1670s, popular anti-Catholic feelings were easily manipulated by Titus Oates, an Anglican clergyman of somewhat dubious personal integrity and reputation. He claimed to have uncovered the so-called ‘Popish Plot’ of 1678 which was allegedly a Jesuit conspiracy to overthrow the King, à la Guy Fawkes and the Gun Powder Plot. The plot was claimed to involve Jesuit spies, secret weapons caches stored throughout England and leagues of dormitory militant Catholics ready to rebel on instruction. There was little substance to these accusations however the attempt to slur Roman Catholics was nevertheless successful. Parliament sought to guarantee the Protestant constitution and ethos of England and sought harsher proscriptions against Roman Catholics. For a description of expressions of this new found anti-Catholic zeal in towns and villages see Fraser, A., King Charles II, (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London: 1979) p.362. 5 Ever since it concluded the Glorious Revolution in 1690, the Battle of the Boyne has been the focus of anti-Catholic celebrations, particularly for Northern Irish loyalists. The victory of William of Orange over James II has been feted as the victory of British Protestantism over Catholicism and the significance of the Boyne in the ideology of Protestant nationalism can not be underestimated. The Battle of the Boyne binds together anti-Catholicism with ethnic tensions as it celebrates the conquest of the Irish and the advent of severe oppression of the Catholic majority in that country. The annual celebration of the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July added to the already busy calendar of ant-Catholic commemorations of key events in English Reformation and national history that had become popular in Caroline and Georgian England. Violent clashes surrounding the 12 July parades were to last into the twentieth century. For further discussion, see Marotti, A., Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy. 20

This alignment with nationalism greatly influenced the development of anti-

Catholic ideology and polemic, with a strong image emerging of Catholicism as an alien, menacing force that threatened English nationhood. By the close of the

Elizabethan era, English anti-Catholicism was characterised by nationalism, xenophobia, misogynistic and sexually-depraved representations of Catholicism, and a fear of Catholic subversion of the State.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, effigy burnings, commemorations and celebrations continued to engrain fear of Catholicism in

English national ideology. Haydon describes such occasions:

Long parades with participants dressed as cardinals, monks, nuns

and Catholic priests might wind through a city’s streets prior to

the effigy-burning, whilst placards could be carried detailing the

iniquities of Popery. Small dramas could be enacted. They might

show the horrors that would ensue if a Catholic king were restored,

or describe how Rome’s plots against the Protestant island had

been defeated in the past and would be foiled in the future. There

might be burlesques of Popish ceremonies.6

November 17, Elizabeth I’s accession day, was commemorated as a national celebration of liberation from Bloody Mary and Catholic tyranny. May 29 celebrated the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660; October 23 commemorated the Irish Massacre; the defeat of popery was duly observed amidst great revelry

6 Haydon, C., ‘I love my King and my Country’, p.34. 21

on Guy Fawkes’ Day; and commemorations were held in English churches for

King Charles the Martyr.

These manifestations recalled, reinforced and renewed fears of Catholic tyranny and there was serious ideological purpose behind these displays, as Haydon notes:

[they] aimed to inculcate what it was to be a Protestant

Englishman by showing visually what the enemy, Popery, and its

adherents stood for. They helped to bind the nation together,

providing a bond of solidarity for the rich, the parson, the

magistrate, and the poor, and for Anglicans and Dissenters alike. 7

These rituals and occasions were powerful ways of inculcating anti-Catholicism and, more specifically, anti-popery, in the general population. Fears of popish plots and conspiracy, as well as the overthrow of Protestant and liberal England by papists, foreigners and Irishmen, continued to be features of anti-Catholic polemic in the eighteenth century.8 There were fears of a Stuart restoration,

Catholic proselytism and infiltration of court, the church and the army. Fear of

‘crypto-papists’ (clandestine Catholics) and Jesuits abounded. Anti-Catholic campaigners focused on arguing that conditions in Europe demonstrated Popery was incapable of change. Stories of graphic violence and abuses against

Protestants in Spain, Hungary, Poland and Austria were used to prove this point.

Catholics were described as ‘outlandish’, that is not true members of the English

7 Ibid, pp.34-35. 8 Ibid, p.7. 22

body politic but rather, a fifth column ‘who with the support of the nation’s enemies, would attempt to overthrow the state if the opportunity arose’.9

In the nineteenth century, various factors, within and beyond England, saw an intensification of anti-Catholic feeling. 10 Arnstein has argued that mid-Victorian anti-Catholicism was not simply the natural progression of Reformation theological anti-Catholicism, but that it also had distinct nineteenth century roots and that the conventional anti-Catholic typology was appropriated to articulate them.11 The liberal support of Catholic emancipation and equality before the law was a sign of changing opinion and other ideological forces, however it also served to mobilise anti-Catholicism. Papal aggression in the 1850s; dogmatic pronouncements; ultramontanism; the Fenian Land Wars; the question of Irish

Home Rule; the Tractarian movement in the Church of England; the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in Britain; the First Vatican Council’s dogmatic definition of papal infallibility; Leo XIII’s bull Apostolicae Curae of 1896 that declared Anglican orders of ordination invalid, and; mass post-famine Irish

9 Ibid, pp.27-28. 10 Norman, E.R., Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England, p. 126. 11 Arnstein's miniature biography of the itinerant preacher and anti-Catholic activist, William Murphy, a baptised Catholic and Irishman, is also demonstrative of the appropriation of the traditional Protestant sectarian language. Murphy was involved in a range of public meetings and lecture series in both Ireland and England, and was associated with various Protestant organizations, chiefly the Protestant Evangelical Mission and Electoral Union. He published articles and pamphlets exposing Jesuit intrigues, convent disclosures, the doings of the confessional and all manner of Catholic vice. He was also involved in numerous violent clashes with and remarkable, bizarre escapes from unruly mobs – once dressed as a woman and another time in a policeman’s uniform. What is interesting with this vignette of Murphy's anti-Catholic campaign is that it not only points to the origins of Protestant sectarian language in Reformation England, but it also anticipates the language and tactics of later anti-Catholic crusaders, such as J.W.Campbell of the Australian anti-Catholic publication The Rock. See Arnstein, W.L., Protestant Versus Catholic. 23

immigration were other factors that kindled traditional fears of Catholic infiltration and subversion. 12

These fears led to a dramatic increase in anti-Catholic publications in the

Victorian era and anti-Catholic polemicists were able to draw upon the ‘very ample library of British anti-Catholic literature’ that had developed over the previous three centuries to articulate contemporary concerns.13 Victorian England had a rapacious appetite for anti-Catholic literature, especially such that scandalised conventual life, the confessional and the rule of celibacy.14 The

Victorian penchant for Gothicism, as well as heightened moral sensibilities contributed significantly to the renewed interest in tales of medieval Catholic depravity and debauchery:

Monks and nuns, confessors and popes were all popularly

imagined to indulge themselves with contemptible vices. The

Protestant tradition certainly suspected that the rule of

12 In 1854, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was made an official teaching of the Catholic Church by Pius IX. Protestants objected to this dogma on the grounds that it was without scriptural warrant. In 1864, Pius IX published the Syllabus of Errors which was a document that sought to draw together earlier papal pronouncements into one reference of condemned propositions or false statements. The Syllabus of Errors aroused great controversy for its hardline and seemingly medieval stances on a range of matters. The British Prime Minister Gladstone said of the Syllabus, ‘No one can now become [Rome’s] convert without removing his moral and mental freedom, and placing his civil loyalty and duty at the mercy of another’ – Gladstone, W.E. The Vatican Decrees in their bearing on Civil Allegiance: A Political Expostulation, (Publisher Unknown, London: 1874). The affirmation of papal infallibility in 1870 was a highly contentious matter not only between Protestants and Catholics, but also within the Roman Catholic Church. Dissenters, mainly in northern Europe, separated from the Church to form the Old Catholic Church. Papal infallibility would provide considerable grounds for sectarian theological conflict over the next century. 13 Norman, E.R., Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England, p.13. 14 Ibid, pp.14-15; The longest running trial in British history, the melodramatic ‘Great Convent Case’, in which a nun sued her mother superior for slander and libel, enthralled the public and inspired songs and cartoons. Arnstein, W.L., Protestant Versus Catholic, pp.108-122. 24

celibacy was largely a fiction, and that the seclusion of

monastic cells invited (almost) unthinkable practices.15

The apogee of English anti-Catholic literature, John Foxe’s The Book of Martyrs, first published in 1563, enjoyed a renaissance with other classics of English anti-

Catholic literature in the 1860s. The Book of Martyrs, with its graphic accounts of

Catholic violence, was reprinted in 1865 and enjoyed great popularity in a context of alarm at the ritualist movement within the Church of England and signs of Catholic militancy and ultramontanism. A classic example of the appropriation of this tradition to the political and religious contexts of the nineteenth century is the publication ‘Patrick Murphy on Popery in Ireland or

Confessionals, Abductions, Nunneries, Fenians and Orangemen’, published under the nom de plume Patrick Murphy, by Gorge H. Whalley, Liberal MP for

Peterborough, in 1865. Although his work is subtitled ‘A Narrative of Fact’, it was largely fictional, drawing upon the rich tradition of anti-Catholic ideology to weave together tales of the vices and evils of Catholicism in order to demonstrate that ‘Popery is not changed – has not grown – has not advanced with the times – it is not liberal – does not study national interest or individual happiness – but is still the same old persecuting enemy’.16

Variations of English anti-Catholic discourse were not confined to England.

Ursula Reid’s Six Months in a Convent, Maria Monk’s Awful Disclosures, William

15 Norman, E.R., Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England, p.15. 16 Whalley, G.H., Patrick Murphy on Popery in Ireland, or Confessionals, Abductions, Nunneries, Fenians and Orangemen,(London, 1865); Arnstein, W.L., Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England, p.67. 25

Murphy’s The Confessional Unmasked and The Priest, the Woman and the

Confessional by the Canadian ex-priest Charles Chiniquy are North American classics of this genre. 17 The ‘snares of auricular confession’, ‘degrading temptations’ and ‘damning sins’, especially those of sexual deviance, were stock standard themes of these texts.18 Most significant for this research, English anti-

Catholic ideology and typology was also exported from Britain to Australia, retaining many of its class, ethnic and cultural nuances and implications.

By the twentieth century, anti-Catholic discourse had developed a distinctive ideology, language and stylistic features. From this brief survey of its historical roots and development, anti-Catholicism may be characterised in these general ways:

1. It attacks Catholicism as a theological belief system: seeing it

as a corrupt aberration of Christianity. This is often done in

terms of continued application of Reformation critiques of

Catholicism. Accusations that Catholicism is idolatrous and

pagan are typical.

2. It sees the Catholic Church as a ‘False Church’: using

apocalyptic imagery to describe the Church as ‘the Beast’ and

‘Whore of Babylon’ and asserts that the Pope is the anti-

Christ. To this end, it is common for Catholic belief and

17 Reid, U., Six Months in a Convent, (Publisher Unknown: 1835); ‘The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk: as Exhibited in a Narrative of Her Sufferings During a Residence of Five Years as a Novice and Two Years as a Black Nun, in the Hotel Dieu Nunnery in Montreal’, The Protestant Crusade, 1800-1860: A Study of the Origins of American Nativism, Billington, R., (New York, Macmillan: 1958) pp. 98-117. 26

doctrine to be misrepresented, described as incongruent with

the Christian faith, disparaged or sneered at.

3. It questions the moral integrity of Catholics, especially

asserting the depravity of religious and clergy. Traditional

themes concentrate on sexual immorality, drunkenness,

gambling, exploitation of power and greed.

4. It asserts that Catholics cannot be loyal subjects of sovereign

states because they owe a higher loyalty to the Pope, a foreign

temporal power. Anti-Catholicism asserts that the Catholic

Church conspires to achieve political control and world

domination. To this end the Catholic hierarchy, clergy, and

laity are portrayed as subversive elements within society.

Conspiracy theories and stories of Catholic intrigues, spies

and armies are a standard feature of this form of anti-

Catholicism.

5. It identifies Catholicism as the tyrannical enemy of

constitutional and social liberty, modernity and individual

conscience.

6. It fears clandestine conspiracies, entryism and crypto-papists.

7. It asserts Protestantism as the guarantor of liberties and

guardian of national liberty and democracy.

18 Chiniquy, C., The Priest, the Woman and the Confessional, (Chick Publications, Ontario: Undated reprint). 27

8. Anti-Catholicism purports that it does not oppose individual

Catholics but attacks institutional Catholicism.

9. Its motives are not always religious and often it seeks to

achieve political outcomes.

The long tradition of anti-Catholic discourse was sustained, appropriated and developed in Australia in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Anti-Catholic stereotypes and counter-reactions were ‘built into historical experience’ and had an immense historical and discursive influence on the nature of Australian sectarianism and society. 19

19 O’Farrell, P., ‘Double Jeopardy: Catholic and Irish’, Bigotry and Religion in Australia 1865-1950, Humanities Research, XII, No.1, 2005, p.9. 28

CHAPTER 2:

A SURVEY OF SECTARIANISM IN AUSTRALIA, 1788-1947

Sectarianism is a significant theme in the narrative of Australian history.

Sectarian tensions, influence and rivalry have shaped the development of

Australian religious, social and political cultures. It is important to survey the key themes and episodes of sectarianism in Australian history from its European origins in order to establish the historical context leading to the years on which this thesis is centred.

One cannot speak of sectarianism in Australian history without drawing attention to the cleavage in colonial society that existed between the Irish Catholic community and mainstream British Protestant society – this was the basic sectarian divide in Australian religious polity. Immediately these designations

‘Irish Catholic’ and ‘British Protestant’ demonstrate the nexus between ethnicity and religion that has been a significant aspect of sectarianism in Australian history. The term ‘Irish Catholic’ has been used in Australia as:

a label designed to separate and distance those of that

tradition from the mainstream of Australian life, to imply

that they were foreign and apart, inferior of course, not truly

of the real Australia, having interests and loyalties distinct

from that of the majority.1

1 O’Farrell, P., The Irish in Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1987) p.295. 29

Irish Catholics were a significant minority in colonial Australia. Their presence in the colony saw that the heady mix of class, ethnicity and religion that had characterised divisions between the Irish and English in nineteenth century

England also characterised their interaction in Australia. Whilst not all Irish people in the colony were Catholic – Ulster Protestants were also represented – the great majority of Irish men and women in NSW were Catholic. O’Farrell has noted that the Irish in Australia tended to isolate themselves from other communities and cohered together.2 Anti-Irish feeling was intimately bound up with anti-Catholicism and accordingly, the political struggles of Ireland contributed significantly to the sectarian cleavages within Australia, pitting the

Irish Catholic under-classes against the Protestant establishment.3 The Irish political uprisings of the 1790s made local officials fearful of Irish sedition in the colony, compounded by the fact that one direct consequence of the Irish uprisings was an increase in the number of Irish convicts arriving in the colony.

Suspicion of Irish Catholic sedition and fears of militant Catholicism continued to cast a long sectarian shadow throughout the nineteenth century. The importation and appropriation of British anti-Catholicism of the Victorian era, bound up with the politics of Ireland, would be of long-lasting influence and was to remain an underlying force of sectarianism in Australian society into the twentieth century.

2 Ibid, p.8. 3 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, pp. 63, 67. 30

Catholics had been denied the ministry of priests in NSW until 1803 when

Governor King allowed a convict priest, the Reverend James Dixon, to minister to the colony’s Catholics. However, this concession was promptly withdrawn the following year after an uprising at Vinegar Hill affirmed suspicions of Catholic sedition.4 During the 1820s, the Irish would account for more than a fifth of the convict population in the colony. These fears must be understood in the context of not only local contingencies – such as the large numbers of Irish convicts and immigrants and the expansion of Catholic community in Australia through schools and religious orders – but also against the traditions of English anti-

Catholic discourse.5 Features of the traditional British anti-Catholic typology had been residual in Australia, and could be compounded by other political issues of local significance so that this residual sectarianism was truly appropriated for the nineteenth century colonial context. Even a century later, the politics of Ireland would still provoke suspicion of Australia’s Irish Catholic population.

Whilst, for the most part, the story of sectarianism in Australian history is one of rivalry and suspicion between the Protestant churches, including the Church of

England, and the Catholic Church, it is important to note that historically this was not the only sectarian cleavage in Australian society. Whilst anti-Catholicism was common to Anglicans and other Protestants, who found common cause for complaint upon the reintroduction of official toleration and financial support for

Catholic ministry in the colony in 1819, the non-conformist Protestants also

4 It was not until 1819 that Governor Macquarie gave permission for two Catholic priests, Father Therry and Father Conolly to officially exercise their ministry within the colony. 5 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.62. 31

found common cause with Catholics in challenging Anglican pretensions to establishment or ascendancy in the colony.6 Within English Protestantism there was a long standing tradition of sectarian tensions between Anglicans and

‘dissenters’ and later, non-conformists. ‘Dissenters’ referred to those who declined to accept the Church of England’s doctrine or its status as the

Established Church. Presbyterianism, Congregationalism, Baptists and the

Quakers were forms of the ‘Old Dissent’ dating back to the seventeenth century.7

The evangelical revival of the eighteenth century saw a flourish of new dissent movements within English Christianity, such as Methodism. Non-conformism, a form of dissent which specifically objected to the existence of any established church, prospered in the Victorian era, furthering sectarian tensions between

Anglicans and other Protestant groups.8

From 1836, the Church of England lost any hope of being the established church within the colony of NSW when the principle of equal funding for the denominations was adopted under the Church Acts of NSW (1836) and Tasmania

(1837).9 Consequently, state aid for denominational education became the pre- eminent local sectarian concern in the second-half of the nineteenth century and

6 Ibid, p.33; Hogan, M., ‘Whatever Happened to Australian Sectarianism,’ p.83; Hogan, M. The Sectarian Strand, pp.30-47; Thompson, R. Religion in Australia, p.11. 7 Davies, H., Worship and Theology in England: From Watts and Wesley to Martineau, 1690-1900, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1996) pp. 94-113. 8 Edwards, D.L., Christian England Volume Three: From the 18th Century to the First World War (Collins, London: 1984) pp.107-121; Watts, M. R., The Dissenters Volume II: The Expansion of Evangelical Nonconformity 1791-1859, (Clarendon Press, Oxford: 1995). 9 Ely, R. entry for ‘Church and State’, The Oxford Companion to Australian History (eds), Davison, G., Hirst, J. & McIntyre, S., (Oxford University Press, Melbourne: 2001) p.125. 32

Catholic agitation for state aid would continue to be a recurring battleground of sectarian controversy until the 1960s.

Traditional anti-Catholic sectarian discourse, a latent force in the new colonial context, could, at times, be aroused to incite tensions, forge identities, loyalties and divisions within society. O’Farrell states that in the 1830s, as the political question of Catholic emancipation became animated, anti-Catholic resistance intensified in England and accordingly in colonial Australia. In the 1840s as Irish immigration to the colonies increased, so too did sectarian fears and controversy.

Fears of a Catholic menace through Irish immigration were articulated by churchmen such as Bishop Broughton and the Presbyterian minister John

Dunmore Lang, a prominent provocateur of anti-Catholicism in the 1840s and author of tracts such as The question of questions! or, Is this colony to be transformed into a province of the Popedom? and Popery in Australia and the Southern

Hemisphere: and How to Check it Effectually: An Address to Evangelical and

Influential Protestants of all Denominations in Great Britain and Ireland.10 The first colonial elections in 1843 saw that ‘sectarianism swiftly surfaced’ and, at

Windsor, sectarian campaigning degenerated into rioting and an attack on the

Wesleyan Chapel.11 Similarly, at the Port Phillip elections of the same year, Lang

10 O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1992) p.50; Lang, J.D., The Question of Questions! or, Is This Colony to be Transformed into a Province of the Popedom? : A Letter to the Protestant Landholders of New South Wales, (Sydney: 1841); Lang, J.D. Popery in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere and How to Check it Effectually: An Address to Evangelical and Influential Protestants of all Denominations in Great Britain and Ireland, (Thomas Constable, London: 1847). 11 O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community, p.57. 33

campaigned on an anti-Catholic platform which saw the campaign become ‘a fierce sectarian battle’.12

The politics of Irish nationalism and British imperialism were extremely important for sectarianism in the colonies, providing clear sectarian divisions that had institutional apparatus to support and promote them. O’Farrell comments,

‘the pattern of sectarian confrontation was firmly established in 1843, with thereafter, St Patrick’s Day and 12 July [Orange Day] becoming high points in the sectarian calendar’.13 In 1845, the Loyal Orange Institute (LOI) held its first meeting in the colony and the following year there was an Orange Day clash at the Pastoral Hotel in Melbourne.14 Such outbreaks were still occurring in the

1860s, with a particularly violent episode occurring prior to the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to Melbourne in 1867. The Duke’s visit to Sydney in 1868 also aroused sectarian tempers when an Irishman named O’Farrell attempted to assassinate the Duke.15 Sectarian organisations, such as the LOI, the Knights of

Malta and Black Preceptory and the Royal Charter of Black Knights, mobilised anti-Catholic politics and agitation throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century.16 These organisations were stimulated in their efforts by the advent of militant Catholicism under Pope Pius IX, signified by events such as the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England in 1850, the publication of the

Syllabus of Errors in 1864 and the promulgation of Papal Infallibility. Local

12 Ibid, p.107. 13 Ibid, p.108. 14 Hogan, M. The Sectarian Strand, p.65. 15 Ibid, pp.104-105. 16 Ibid, p.107. 34

contingencies, such as the nomination of Cardinal Moran as a candidate for the

Federal Convention of 1897 and the scandal surrounding the Cardinal’s personal assistant, the Reverend Dennis O’Haran, also stimulated the campaigns of anti-

Catholic controversialists .17

The early decades of the twentieth century also saw an intensification of the resonance of Irish nationalism for Australian sectarianism, with the politics of

Home Rule and the Easter Uprising of 1916 ‘providing new fuel to ignite the smouldering coals of anti-Catholicism into a roaring-blaze’.18 The second conscription plebiscite of 1917, in the aftermath of the uprising in Ireland, further fanned the flames of sectarianism. The sectarian dimension provided convenient battle lines in this dispute about loyalties and identity. Religious cultures and religious leaders also contributed significantly to the importation of

Irish sectarian tensions. The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Daniel

Mannix, appealed to both senses of Irish and Australian national identity in his campaign against conscription, whereas anti-Catholic pro-conscription campaigns emphasised Imperial loyalty and duty as well as the disloyalty of the Irish

Catholics.19 Especially in Sydney, evangelical polemic was imbued with the religious struggles of Ireland. Stuart Piggin has remarked that Australia was one of the ‘chief beneficiaries’ of the exodus of Protestants from Ireland in the 1920s, and that ‘staunch anti-Catholic feeling was thus infused into Australian

17 Ibid, p.151. 18 Kildea, J., Tearing the Fabric, p.133. 19 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.179. 35

evangelicalism’.20 This ethno-cultural dimension of sectarianism would under-gird sectarian cleavages in Australia into the mid-twentieth century when its significance eventually faded.

The 1920s were a particularly bitter time in terms of sectarianism in Australia.

Sectarian tensions were fuelled by the intense rivalry between the militant

Catholic Federation and the notoriously anti-Catholic Nationalist Government of

Sir George Fuller.21 The Federation sought to achieve Catholic political goals – in particular state aid – outside of the Labour movement, and this met with strong opposition at the time, with Protestant opposition swiftly mobilised.22 Whilst state aid may have been a driving force for the Catholic Federation, the great sectarian controversy of this period was focused on the issue of mixed marriage.

The papal encyclical Ne Temere of 1907 raised the ire of Protestants, and the issue peaked with the parliamentary debate of the Marriage Amendment Bill in

November 1923. The Bill sought to prohibit Catholics from asserting that couples recognised as legally married by the State –but not by the Catholic Church – were not ‘truly husband and wife’ or that the children of such marriages were illegitimate. The intensity of the parliamentary debate was demonstrative of the strong sectarian climate of the period. It also kept mixed marriage at the forefront of sectarian consciousness where it invariably remained ‘a source of pain and

20 Piggin, S., Evangelical Christianity in Australia, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne: 1996) p.130. 21 O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community, pp.349-350; Kildea, J., Tearing the Fabric, see especially pp.213-229. 22 Ibid, pp.1-3. 36

anguish’ for those involved.23 Mixed marriage would continue to cause sectarian tension, particularly within the domestic sphere, in subsequent decades.

Hogan notes that during the 1930s, the Loyal Orange Institute was eclipsed by

Freemasonry as the major network for Protestant establishment in Australia.24

The decline of the LOI was a sign of the decreasing significance of the ‘Irish troubles’ in Australian socio-politics, and by extension, for sectarianism in

Australia. Similarly, there was a decline in specifically Irish identity and rejection of Irish politics among Australian Catholics in the 1930s and 1940s, with factors such as increasing numbers of locally born clergy taking some of the Irish edge off

Catholicism in Australia.25 By the 1940s, some young people of Irish descent

‘could see no relevance in Ireland whatever’.26 The persistence of sectarianism in the twentieth century, despite the declining significance of the ‘Irish troubles’, indicates that there were other roots that sustained sectarianism in Australian society.

Whilst the Masonic movement did not share the same intense anti-Catholicism nor the evangelical zeal of the LOI, Freemasonry in Australia was dominated by

Protestants for whom, Hogan notes, Freemasonry became ‘part of the machinery of economic preferment’.27 Consequently, the dynamic of rivalry that emerged between Freemasonry and Catholicism (via the Knights of the Southern Cross)

23 Harrington, E., ‘What God has joined let no one put asunder – not even the Church!’, Australasian Catholic Record, April 2001, p.198. 24 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.198. 25 O’Farrell, P., The Irish in Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1987) pp. 295, 307; O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History 1788-1967, (Nelson, Melbourne: 1967) pp.161, 243. 26 O’Farrell, P., The Irish in Australia, p.300. 37

had a distinct sectarian tenor. This rivalry was most apparent in the business world and in the public service where Masons and Knights used their networks to the advantage of their own members.28

Sectarianism has also had a shadowy presence in Australian political alignments.

Judith Brett notes that ‘the affinity between Australian Liberals and

Protestantism and between the Labor Party (ALP) and Roman Catholicism has long been recognised’, and R.N. Spann has shown that this tendency continued for some time after World War II.29 Brett has argued that Australian Liberalism was founded on distinctly Protestant ‘virtues’ which ‘carried a baggage of anti-

Catholicism which made Catholics inevitable objects of political suspicion and unwelcome in Liberal political organisations’.30 Catholic support for Labor is generally attributed to the over representation of Catholics in the working class, although Judith Brett and Michael Hogan point out that there is little statistical warrant for this assumption and reject this explanation, pointing out that there were also many middle class Catholics who supported the ALP.31 The important fact remains, the major political rivalries to some extent reflected and articulated

27 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.198. 28 q.v. pp.306-308; See also Franklin, J. Catholics versus Masons Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 20, 1999, pp.8-9. 29 Brett, J., Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class, p.35; Spann, R.N., ‘The Catholic Vote in Australia’, Catholics and the Free Society: An Australian Symposium, (ed) Mayer, H., (Cheshire, Melbourne: 1961) p.115. 30 Brett, J., Australian Liberals, p.40. 31 Brett argues that a combination of factors – Catholic status aspiration, religious teaching, and the Protestant ethos of the non-labour parties – directed Catholic political support to the Labor Party. See Brett, J., Australian Liberals, pp.37, 40. Hogan argues that it was the ‘possessively Protestant character of the other main parties’ that denied Catholics a political alternative to the Labor Party, ‘at least until the 1960s’. See Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.166. 38

the major sectarian divide within society. The postwar era would see challenges to these traditional alignments.

These threads of sectarianism in Australian history demonstrate that sectarianism was a significant factor in Australian socio-cultural history since colonial times, with implications for politics, ethnicity, class position and personal relations.

While sectarianism in Australia was closely associated with the traditional sectarian discourse and politics of Britain and Ireland, it was appropriated to articulate local sectarian contingencies. This thesis now considers the nature of sectarianism in postwar Australian society, examining the vicissitudes of sectarianism in Australian socio-cultural, political and religious life in the period

1947-1981.

PART II

SECTARIANISM IN THE ‘LONG 1950s’

INTRODUCTION

Part II examines points of sectarian conflict and the way in which interdenominational relations developed or changed in the period between 1947 and the state aid crisis of the early 1960s. It studies the nature of inter- denominational relations, with particular emphasis on the official stances of the churches and the publicly expressed attitudes of religious leaders and church press. A systematic study of journalistic sources, from denominational newspapers and periodicals focused on New South Wales – namely the Australian

Church Record, The Anglican, Australian Baptist, N.S.W. Presbyterian, The

Methodist, The Catholic Weekly, Southern Cross and the Congregationalist (NSW) – forms the primary research basis of this analysis of the nature of inter- denominational relations and religious cultures in the period.

Chapter Three surveys the religious context of the ‘long 1950s’. Chapter Four,

Protestant Co-operation, examines Protestant inter-denominational co-operation, arguing that in this period there was an expansion of collaborative activities between the major Protestant denominations, made possible through theological agreement, a growing ecumenical trend in international Protestantism and a common anti-Catholic position. Chapter Five, Points of Sectarian Conflict, argues that aspects of Catholic religious culture in the 1950s stimulated sectarian relations between the churches. Militant Catholic anti-communism and its associated Marian piety, papal dogmatic pronouncements of the 1950s, Catholic 40

numerical and institutional expansion, as well as events such as the 1953

Eucharistic Congress and the Family Rosary Crusade all met with sectarian responses. Furthermore, cultic segregation of Catholics and Protestants aroused sectarian rivalry and conflict in this period, particularly in relation to matters of precedence at State occasions and the commemoration of Anzac Day. It will be argued that all these sectarian conflicts of the 1950s drew upon traditional sectarian arguments that can be traced back to the Reformation era. Chapter Six,

Sectarian Polemic in the 1950s, examines the nature of sectarian apologetics and polemics, concentrating on two prominent figures of the era – the Reverend Dr

Leslie Rumble and Archdeacon T.C. Hammond – and a case study of the anti-

Catholic newspaper The Rock. This chapter locates these examples of sectarian discourse within a discursive and ideological tradition that stems from the

Reformation era and argues that theologically-driven sectarianism was a strong characteristic of interdenominational relations at this time. Finally, Chapter

Seven, Signs of Tolerance and Rapprochement, discusses matters of mutual interest and benefit that led to some forms of co-operation across traditional sectarian demarcations in this era. This chapter traces the growing divergence of attitudes toward ecumenism between liberal and conservative Protestants and the new ecumenical fervour developing within Catholicism in the late 1950s.

CHAPTER 3:

THE LONG 1950s: RELIGIOUS CONTEXTS

Before discussing the nature of inter-denominational relations, it is important to consider the broader historical context of the ‘long 1950s’. John Murphy cautions against imagining the 1950s as ‘expressing one seamless experience of prosperity and complacency’ and argues that the decade was divided into two periods: one from the end of WWII until the mid-1950s, characterised by economic instability and Cold War alarm, which was followed by another period that lasted into the

1960s, characterised by economic prosperity and greater complacency.1 Postwar recovery, Cold War tensions, economic prosperity, social conservatism, the religious revival of the 1950s, postwar immigration, and population expansion were all important underlying forces that affected the nature of religious life and sectarianism in the long 1950s. Some of these forces, such as the postwar baby boom, had an immediate effect, whereas others, such as immigration, were slow- moving and gradually came to have a significant impact on religious cultures.

In terms of the context of religious cultures, this period falls within that which

David Hilliard describes as the ‘long 1950s’ – a period of religious history in

Australia characterised by confidence and expansion, lasting from the late 1940s through to the advent of the religious crisis of the 1960s, circa 1964.2 This was an extremely energetic and robust time for the churches: a new sense of optimism

1 Murphy, J., Imagining the Fifties: Private Sentiment and Political Culture in Menzies’ Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2000) p.219. 2 Hilliard, D., ‘Church, Family and Sexuality in Australia in the 1950s’, in Australian Historical Studies, 28, No. 109, October 1997, p.135. 42

pervaded the churches, which were experiencing increased rates of church attendance.3 In fact, this seemed to be a time of revival for the churches, as was observed by church leaders such as Sir Marcus Loane, former Archbishop of

Sydney, who described the 1950s as ‘a decade of spiritual renewal’.4 Financial contributions to the churches increased dramatically in the 1950s, sustaining the immense building and extension programs undertaken by the various churches, spurred on by the postwar baby and housing booms.5 The expansion experienced by the churches at this time, both numerical and institutional, was phenomenal and the churches took great pride in it. For example, the Catholic Weekly boasted that between 1955 and 1956, 93 new churches were built, over 80 new priests were ordained and 163 new women became nuns; 2 new Catholic hospitals opened, as well as 4 new orphanages, 8 boys’ high schools and 30 girls’ high schools. It also noted that Catholic primary school enrolments had increased by more than 30,000, and high school enrolments were up by 5,000.6 These were signs that religious life in Australia seemed to be thriving.

In addition to their religious activities, the churches provided a range of social and cultural points of contact and enjoyed prominent status in community life, seeing themselves as guardians of social order and both public and private morals.

Hilliard points out, ‘a fundamental theme of the religious culture of urban

3 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’ in Australian Historical Studies, 24 No.97, October 1991, p.408; Mol, H. Religion in Australia: A sociological Investigation, (Nelson, Melbourne: 1971) p.15. 4 Piggin, S. ‘Towards a Bicentennial History of Australian Evangelicalism,’ Journal of Religious History, 15 No.1, 1988, p.30. 5 Brett, J. Australian Liberals, pp.123-124. 43

Australia was the association between personal faith, divinely sanctioned moral values and a stable social order’.7 As the churches met the challenges of the

1950s, they relied on an appeal to this conservative formula of moral values, social order and belief in God.8 Conservatism was one of the principal characteristics of the Australian churches in the 1950s, both in terms of social attitudes and values, as well as in terms of theology.9 The proliferation and expansion of para-church organisations in the 1950s is an indicator of the significance of denominational cultures and identity.10 This tendency contributed to sectarianism by providing a strong sense of denominational community, and loyalty.

However, Hilliard has demonstrated that despite their institutional fortitude in the 1950s, the churches were confronted with various challenges and had their own insecurities and fears at this time.11 Communism, declining moral standards, increased divorce rates, materialism and secularism were all major concerns for the churches in the 1950s, as well as the challenges of postwar immigration, ministering to a rapidly expanding population, and the advent of youth culture.12

Particularly in response to the fear of secularism and moral degeneracy, the

6 Catholic Weekly 17 January 1957, p.1; cf. ‘Summary of Ecclesiastical Statistics of Australasia 1955’, Australasian Catholic Directory, (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1955) pp.498-499; ‘Summary of Ecclesiastical Statistics of Australasia 1956’, Australasian Catholic Directory (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1956) pp.510-511. 7 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, p.408. 8Ibid, p.408. 9 Frappell, S., Building Jerusalem: Church and Society in NSW 1940 -1956, PhD Thesis, University of Sydney, 1995, pp.5,49. 10 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, p.402. 11 Ibid, p.136. 12 Hilliard, D., ‘Church, Family and Sexuality in Australia in the 1950s’, Australian Historical Studies, 28, No.109, October 1997, pp.133-146. 44

churches found that their common concern provided them with a point of collaboration.13

Throughout the postwar era, immigration was an underlying and slow-moving force that was of great significance for religious cultures. Mass postwar immigration had a significant demographic effect, creating new ethnic and religious communities in what had been an essentially Anglo-Irish society. New migrant congregations were established and even new denominations arrived in

Australia. These churches often became focal points or ‘central repositories’ for particular ethnic communities. Other world religions also added new flavour to the religious culture of Australia, with Orthodox immigrants from Greece and the

Balkans, along with other new migrant communities, diversifying the ethno- religious constituency of Australia.14 Postwar Mediterranean immigration brought significant demographic growth for the Catholic Church. This numerical expansion was of long-term demographic significance, with the eventual effect of

Catholicism dislodging Anglicanism as the largest denomination in Australia.15

However, in the short term this raised certain complications and tensions within

Catholicism. The increasing Catholic population put added strains on the already pressured Catholic school system and local parish resources and ethnic tensions also surfaced within parishes.16

13 q.v. p.167 for discussion of the Call to Australia. 14 Carey, H.M., Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Religions, (Sydney: 1996) pp.141, 158. 15 Bouma, G., ‘Globilization, Social Capital and the Challenge to Harmony of Recent Changes in Australia’s Religious and Spiritual Demography: 1947-2001’, Australian Religion Studies Review, 16 No. 2, Spirng,2003, pp.57-60. 16 Lewins, F., ‘Community and Change in a Religious Organization: Some Aspects of the Australian Catholic Church’, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, December 1977, pp.376, 378; See also

Protestant denominations did not embrace the postwar immigration policy.

Chiefly concerned by the high levels of non-British immigrants being brought into

Australia, Protestants feared that the new policy would lead to Catholic dominance of Australian society because the ‘overwhelming majority of non-

British migrants’ were Catholics.17 Protestants were alarmed at the prospects of further Catholic expansion in Australian society through immigration. They asserted that Catholicism was incompatible with the socio-political values of

Australian society and the immigration issue became subsumed into the sectarian rivalry of Protestants and Catholics in the 1950s. Forums and policy on immigration generated denominational interests and lobbying. As the Catholic

Weekly noted, the ‘migration program is by no means immune to the virus of party politics nor is it beyond the contagion of rank sectarianism’.18 The NSW

Council of Churches (NSW CC) pushed the interests of the Protestant churches on the subject, leading deputations to the Minister for Immigration, Mr Downer, insisting that ‘only policies as will preserve the British preponderance in the

Australian population can commend our support’, which was their way of saying that they objected to large intakes of immigrants from Catholic countries.19

Lewins, F. ‘Ethnic Diversity within Australian Catholicism: A Comparative and Theoretical Analysis’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 12 No. 2, 1976, pp.126-135. 17 Australian Church Record16 February 1954, p.2; Fletcher, B., ‘Anglicanism and Nationalism in Australia 1901-1962’, Journal of Religious History, 23, No.2, June 1999, p.225-226; See also Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, pp.404; Bruce, S., Conservative Protestant Politics, (Oxford UP: 1988) p.198; Frappell, S. Building Jerusalem, pp.98-106, 157; Australian Church Record 16 February 1954, p.2. 18 The Catholic Weekly 30 January1958, p.2 19 NSW Presbyterian 25 July1958, p.1. 46

However, as the NSW Presbyterian was to discover, the lines were not as clearly defined as the NSW CC presumed or would have others believe. By invoking the term ‘British’ as the rallying point in its campaign against Catholic immigration, the NSW CC disenfranchised and upset groups of non-British Protestants. This was an instance where the traditional British sectarian discourse did not quite fit the mid-twentieth century context of Australia and this strategy back-fired. The

NSW Presbyterian took up the cause of immigrant Protestant communities, arguing that by identifying Protestantism with the ‘British way of life’ in immigration debates, Protestant controversialists had ‘set up a wall of partition between Australian and immigrant Protestants’ that offended Continental

Protestants who had their own traditions of martyrs and ‘freedom fighters’ and were thus made to feel ‘that despite their own love of freedom they bring an unwanted admixture to the Australian family’. 20 Four Dutch Reformed /

Presbyterian ministers – namely the Reverend C. Bergman of Canterbury, the

Reverend J. Groenewegen of Lane Cove, the Reverend A. van der Hoeven of

Campbelltown and the Reverend R. Vershoot of Arncliffe – issued a statement on the subject of non-British immigration which drew attention to the fact that the presumptions of sectarian ideology and dichotomisation that were prevalent in

Australian Protestantism were in fact not collectively held and were not only offensive to non-British Protestants but were outmoded in their application in

Australia. They spoke of their ‘deep regret’ at certain statements made to the

Minister for Immigration by a deputation representing the NSW CC, taking issue

20 NSW Presbyterian 25 July1958, p.1. 47

with the deputation’s assertion that ‘toleration is a prerogative of the ‘British way’ and ‘British preponderance’ in immigration is to be sought for that reason’.21

Whilst immigration provoked sectarian responses, on the other hand the ‘radical transformation’ to ethnic diversity did much to move Australian culture beyond the narrow parochialism of its ‘anglo-Christian skin’.22 One result of this diversification was a reconfiguration and gradual devolution of old ethno- sectarian divisions within society. Postwar era mass immigration disturbed the traditional ethno-sectarian groupings within Australian society and religious cultures and replaced them with other cleavages and rivalries. Immigration was thus a significant, underlying and slow moving force for change in this period.

Cultic segregation was a significant contributor to sectarian tensions in the

1950s. Cultic segregation refers to the situation where religious communities, in this case Catholic and Protestant, were formally precluded from engaging in joint liturgical activities, or attending the religious services of another denomination. In the 1950s, when it came to the ritual observance of religion, there was enforced segregation of Catholic and Protestant communities. Whilst it may not be entirely accurate to talk of the segregation of religious communities in Australian history – there has always been some interaction socially, institutionally, professionally and politically between the members of the major denominations – it is accurate to say that until the 1960s there was official cultic segregation. Signs of cultic segregation were to be found throughout society, from official events to family

21 NSW Presbyterian 22 August 1958, p. 3. 48

religious ceremonies. It was an excommunicable offence for Catholics to attend divine service in a non-Catholic Church, or conducted by a non-Catholic clergyman until the late 1960s. This injunction – bound together by various doctrines, such as what doctrinally constituted the ‘true church’ and church authority, as well as opposition to mixed marriage – meant that where friendships and family bonds reached across sectarian lines, many of the significant milestones in life that were sanctified by the church through its rituals, such as baptism, marriage and funeral rites, were shrouded in sectarian complication.

Cultic segregation also manifested itself in a variety of ways in broader society and was particularly significant in terms of civic religion. For example, at the

1956 Melbourne Olympics, a Catholic mass was held in Como Park on the

Sunday morning of 25 November, and a combined Protestant service was held in the same park later that afternoon. Cultic segregation presented many with a difficult question of conscience, emotions and divided loyalties and made sectarianism a painful feature of familial life. Close friends, and even relatives, were forbidden to attend each other’s weddings, funerals and other rites of passage that were sanctified by the churches:

Catholics were reluctant to enter a Protestant Church or

be present at anything approaching a non-Catholic

religious ceremony. It was common as late as the 1960s

22 Carey, H.M., Believing in Australia, p.140; Hilliard, D. ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, p.403. 49

for Catholic guests to wait outside a Protestant church

during a wedding or funeral.23

Thus, in terms of worship and liturgical life, there was a very real segregation of

Protestants and Catholics in this period. It was an official, intentional, self- imposed isolation that generally suited all parties well, especially as a means of preventing leakage. Not only a sign of sectarianism, cultic segregation also had significant effects on the nature of sectarianism in Australian society. It was one of the most significant religious sources of sectarian division within society and it will be seen that cultic segregation was also an aspect of religious life that was prone to sectarian exploitation. In the 1950s, cultic segregation became a major source of sectarian conflict, with Catholic and Protestant controversialists and church leaders seeking to exploit cultic segregation to further dichotomise religious communities and to achieve their own sectarian objectives. Cultic segregation meant that the Catholic Church was still very much an ‘outsider’ when it came to inter-denominational co-operation: a state of affairs that was to all intents and purposes, mutually preferred. Unlike the Protestant churches which, as shall be discussed below, had a tradition of inter-denominational co- operation across a range of matters (such as mission activities, bilateral unification conversations, formal relations through church councils, as well as ministers’ fraternal associations and lay groups), the Catholic Church had little experience of inter-denominational fellowship or co-operation with other denominations. Another consequence of sectarian segregation was that

23 Murray, R. ‘Proddies and Micks’, Quadrant, 49 No.4, (April 2005) p.31. 50

Protestants and Catholics often relied on stereotypes and sectarian description in formulating their understanding of each others’ religious beliefs and practices, with the result that a large proportion of sectarian polemic was concerned with doctrinal and devotional matters.

In fact, points of theological difference and agreement were of great significance for interdenominational relations in the religious culture of the 1950s. The historical disputes between Catholicism and Protestantism were located within a paradigm of dogmatic conflict. Traditional subjects of dogmatic controversy – such as papal authority, the number of sacraments, interpretation and authority of Scripture, veneration of Mary and the saints, doctrines of justification and salvation – had provided the religious foundations of sectarian ideologies over the centuries and continued to provoke sectarian tensions. Certainly, by the close of

WWII, there had not been a resolution of these dogmatic disputes. Sectarian polemic, a concoction of theological, ideological, historical and cultural assertions and prejudices, continued to be used by apologists, controversialists and others as a means of invoking the dichotomisation of religious society in Australia as well as an explanation and justification for contemporaneous sectarian rivalries and tensions. Public addresses at Protestant rallies proclaimed the threats posed by

Catholicism, drawing heavily on traditional anti-Catholic themes, language and insinuation and Catholicism responded in kind. Theological differences between

Protestantism and Catholicism were exploited by sectarian controversialists as a means of socio-religious dichotomisation. Doctrinal difference was incessantly emphasised as a matter of tremendous importance by Protestant polemicists for 51

whom doctrinal disagreements became the principal argument against ecumenical co-operation and fraternisation with the Catholic Church, maintaining that unity was not possible without unity in truth, that is, unity of doctrine. The interests of unity could never take precedence over doctrinal integrity, as the Australian

Baptist editorial on ‘Divided Churches’ reminded its readers, ‘truth must always come before unity’.24 While Protestant ministers and propagandists proclaimed the need for eternal vigilance against the errors of Rome, Catholic prelates were describing Protestants as ‘swimming about in the flood of heresy and schism’ and consolidating Catholic morale through large public gatherings such as rallies and congresses.25

Positions were entrenched and there was little will to compromise the integrity of denominational dogmatic stances. In the 1950s, the traditional theological sources of sectarianism continued to be a significant resource used by religious leaders and sectarian controversialists to inform and fuel sectarianism. On

Reformation Sunday in 1948, the NSW Presbyterian sought to rouse its readers, instructing them that ‘It is clear that Reformation issues are still live and up-to- date’.26 It argued that the Catholic Church had ‘consistently maintained’ a ‘policy of intolerant oppression’ towards Reformers ever since the days of the

Reformation.27 The editorial continued its discussion of Reformation issues by

24 Australian Baptist 5 December 1950, p.3. 25Archbishop William Godfrey, Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, commenting on Protestant discussions on religious unity in The Catholic Weekly 11 November 1948. 26 Reformation Sunday was a common observance in Reformed churches throughout the world. It fell on the Sunday nearest the 31st October, commemorating Martin Luther posting his 95 theses at Wittenberg in 1517; NSW Presbyterian 29 October 1948, p.4. 27 NSW Presbyterian 29 October 1948, p.4. 52

drawing its readers’ attention to the persecution of Protestants in Roman

Catholic countries, such as Spain, and warned ‘the price of liberty is ceaseless vigilance’.28

For Protestant propagandists, Catholic doctrinal errors not only had spiritual or abstract theological implications, but were seen as the logical source of oppression and tyranny in Catholic dominated countries such as Spain, Italy,

Colombia or elsewhere in the Latin world. The alleged ‘menace’ of Catholicism was a common line in Protestant propaganda of the period, for example the sentiments were replicated the following year in the Australian Baptist, almost verbatim, which spoke of ‘the necessity for constant witness, for ceaseless vigilance’ against ‘the evils of Romanism…this monstrous misconception of

Christianity’.29 Reports of Catholic persecution of Protestants were regular features in the Protestant church press of the 1950s and were a mechanism used by anti-Catholic polemicists to locate the contemporary struggles of Protestants within a narrative of an historic and ongoing Protestant struggle with

Catholicism. In the minds of some, this struggle dominated all others in the contemporary world, ‘There is a growing suspicion moving round the Protestant world that the Roman Catholic Church may use its attack upon Communism as a

‘smokescreen’ for an attack upon Protestantism’, the Reverend Rex Matthias was quoted as saying in the Congregationalist.30 That such views could appear in denominational newspapers is indicative of the attention that they commanded.

28 NSW Presbyterian 29 October 1948, p.4. 29 Australian Baptist 25 October 1949, p.8. 30 NSW Congregationalist 20 March 1954, p.1. 53

During the ‘long 1950s’, sectarianism continued to characterise Protestant-

Catholic inter-denominational relations. Sectarian rivalry between Protestant and

Catholic communities was fuelled by the institutional rivalry of the churches as well as the disputes in which their religious leaders and church press engaged.

However, for Australian religious culture, especially in terms of inter- denominational relations and sectarianism, the 1950s was a period of transition that presented tensions and changes in the nature of traditional inter- denominational relations and sectarian dynamics. This period witnessed increasingly significant episodes of inter-denominational co-operation among

Protestant denominations, with growing Protestant interest in and support for the notion of church unity and the international ecumenical movement.31 Protestant denominations experienced a sense of common cause that bore fruit in both institutional and pragmatic terms. For the Protestant churches, church union and ecumenism became part of their strategy for confronting the problems of the postwar era, drawing together the Protestant denominations in a common struggle against – and sometimes a defensive retreat from – secularism, materialism, communism, atheism and Catholicism. Additionally, the churches began to find that sectarian campaigns and episodes were no longer as reliable in securing the desired sectarian ends. Rather, sectarian rivalry could cost more than was to be gained in an atmosphere where religious interests had to compete with secularisation and the politics of national unity and consolidation after the war.

31 Questions of church union dominated the church press in the 1950s, attesting to the significant interest and topicality of ecumenism at this time. 54

CHAPTER 4

PROTESTANT CO-OPERATION

In 1947, the President of the NSW Methodist Conference remarked in his annual presidential address, ‘It is a cause of great rejoicing that in the world to-day there are evidences of a deep desire for closer union between the Churches’.32 The churches that he referred to were all Protestant. This chapter examines the ways in which Protestant denominations were able to build on earlier experiences of co-operation and interaction during the 1950s. It argues that Protestants were able to co-operate and interact constructively in this period through formal interdenominational councils, pragmatic ecumenism, church unity dialogues and combined evangelistic activity and other forms of ‘united witness’. Whilst there was not always theological agreement – there were occasional frictions between and within different Protestant denominations – it will be shown that a strong culture of inter-denominational co-operation existed between Protestant denominations. It will also be argued that a characteristic and binding force of this Protestant co-operation was a commonly held anti-Catholicism.

Traditionally, there had been a degree of co-operation among the main Protestant denominations. Institutions and bodies such as the United Protestant Defence

Association (UPDA), Protestant Truth Society, United Council of Protestant

Action (UCPA), the Loyal Orange Institute (LOI), the Temperance Movement and Freemasonry had all provided points of contact and co-operation for

Protestants that transcended denominational lines. There had also been various 55

bilateral and multilateral unity discussions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries between Protestant churches, although these bore little fruit.33 More successful were those ventures, such as the NSW Council of

Churches (NSW CC) and its predecessors, which had been exercises in official church co-operation, rather than movements striving for organic unity of denominations. In Sydney, the ‘cultural distinctiveness’ of strongly evangelical

Protestantism smoothed over some of the differences normally found between

Anglicans and non-conformist Protestants and facilitated co-operation between them.34

Traditionally, action or campaigns against perceived Catholic interests had been a strong incentive for Protestant interdenominational co-operation and were regularly co-ordinated through bodies such as the Loyal Orange Institute, the

UCPA and the PDA. Their commonly held anti-Catholicism provided for them a

32 The Methodist 1 March 1947, p.6. 33 Various ecumenical discussions had taken place between Australian denominations in the late nineteenth century and at the turn of the twentieth century, with various abortive attempts at unification amongst the Protestant denominations occurring in parallel with, and inspired by, constitutional federalism. Formal discussions on the union of various non-episcopal Protestant denominations were regular features of inter-church dialogue in the first half of the twentieth century, although they were invariably fruitless. In 1920 the Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists and Church of England entered into unification dialogue with each other, however the Church of England had withdrawn by 1927. In 1931 the Church of England and the Methodist Church reported on achieving fuller understanding and agreement, but obviously the report was not favourable. The Methodist and Congregationalist Churches then entered into unification discussions in 1933. These discussions were suspended in 1935 when the Presbyterian Church entered into discussions with both churches on unification, and then they resumed again when the Presbyterians withdrew from dialogue in 1948. In 1937 discussions seeking closer relations were held among the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, the Congregational Union, and the Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church, however these discussions did not succeed where others had failed before. Smaller denominations, such as the Baptist Church and the Churches of Christ (1941) had also entered into abortive discussions on unification. Thus, although there was a tradition of dialogue on unification among the Protestant denominations, little fruit had been borne. Proposals for inter-communion were once more made in 1943 between the three largest Protestant denominations – the Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist churches. Matters of ecclesiology proved to be the major hindrances to the successful conclusion of

focus of theological and ideological unity that could invariably surmount other differences and inspire ecumenical co-operation. This was particularly the case for evangelicals in NSW, where the NSW CC provided a forum of ecumenical fellowship and activity – especially when it came to making pronouncements on moral issues of traditional concern to Protestants, such as gambling, temperance and sabbatarianism. The NSW CC was established in 1924 at the initiation of the

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend J.C. Wright. It was the institutional successor to other councils that had sought to present a united witness to society, especially in terms of morality. However, it often proved problematic to maintain the necessary unity to present a united witness. The

NSW CC’s predecessor councils all suffered demise on account of internal conflict.35 The first of these councils, the Council of the Churches, was established in 1889 and was a single issue lobby-group, convened to promote sabbatarianism. It was succeeded by the Evangelical Council (1892-1921); a small and ineffectual body that was briefed to ‘combat the errors of sacerdotalism’.36 The Evangelical Council expired for lack of interest in 1921. A more theologically diverse council had arisen in the meantime, the short-lived inter-denominational Council for Civic and Moral Advancement (1914-1920).

This council included not only Protestant representatives but also Catholic and

Jewish delegates. Catholic support for the Council did not endure and by 1920

these discussions and despite these and other discussions, the first national conference of Australian churches was not held until 1960. 34 Mansfield, B., ‘Sydney History and Religion’, p.56. 35 Hansen, D.E., ‘The Origin and Early Years of the NSW Council of Churches’, Journal of Religious History 11, No. 2 1981 p.452. 36 Australian Christian World 20 July 1900, cited in Hansen, D.E., ‘The Origin and Early Years’, p.453. 57

this council had also become an insignificant body, plagued by internal division and lacking adequate denominational support.37

In establishing the NSW CC, care was taken to create a body that would not be troubled by the same lack of official denominational support and internal division that had led to the demise of its predecessors. An invitation was extended to

Archbishop Michael Kelly, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, inviting Catholic participation in the Council. Archbishop Kelly declined the offer.38 Despite this initial gesture of inclusiveness, the NSW CC went on to develop a strong evangelical Protestant ethos for itself, which was not shy of stirring up occasional anti-Catholic outbursts and campaigns.39 By the mid-1920s, the Ne Temere controversy and troubles of Ireland had intensified sectarianism, especially in

NSW.40 The NSW CC was ultimately comprised of delegates from evangelical

Protestant churches, namely the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Baptist Union,

Reformed Churches, Churches of Christ, Congregational Union, Presbyterian

Church, Free Presbyterian Church, Society of Friends (Quakers) and the

Salvation Army. Anti-Catholicism was to play a binding role in the Council, holding together evangelical interests. The evangelical bonds of the NSW CC grew stronger in the postwar period and many of its pronouncements betray an underlying anti-Catholicism.

37 Ibid, pp.543-454. 38 Ibid, pp.452-472. 39 Such as those against state aid to Catholic schools, as discussed in Part III of this thesis. 40 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.194. 58

Ecumenical co-operation was proving possible where it was supported by common theological and ideological agendas. Hansen comments of the NSW CC that it was ‘a tangible expression of a growing spirit of ecumenism among the

NSW Protestant clergy’.41 It is important to note that these contacts were not developed with the intention of uniting denominations or working towards organic union, but rather, as a forum for fellowship between them, and Hansen notes that the NSW CC could be ‘just as effective in publicizing inter- denominational differences as in promoting Christian unity’.42 Where theological opinions differed, there was reticence about participating in such collaborative activities. The Council’s pronouncements on sabbatarianism, prohibition and gambling, as well as its anti-Catholic outbursts, were not endorsed by the non- evangelical Anglican bishops of NSW who became increasingly uncomfortable with their association with the NSW CC to the point of eventually withdrawing their representation on it.43 Thus, with the majority of Anglican dioceses of NSW unrepresented on the Council, its stature as a state council of churches was seriously undermined.44 The Church of England was, after all, the largest of all denominations in the state. The failure of the NSW CC to attract the support of all Anglican dioceses in NSW is quite telling, for it highlights the fact that the non-Catholic churches were not immune from sectarian tensions amongst themselves, or in the case of the Church of England in particular, not free from

41 Hansen, D.E., ’The Origin and Early Years’, p.470. 42 Ibid. 43 The only Anglican representation on the NSW CC was the Diocese of Sydney; Archbishop Mowll of Sydney even withdrew from the NSW CC in 1937 in order to protect Anglican interests. 44 Hansen, D.E., ’The Origin and Early Years’, pp.454. 59

their own internal sectarian divisions.45 Sectarian suspicions and tensions lurked within Australian Anglicanism. Anglo-Catholic or High Church Anglicans did not necessarily even conceive of themselves as Protestant, clinging to the reclaimed sense of the ancient catholicity of Anglican identity as expounded since the 1830s by the Oxford Movement within the Church of England. Other Anglicans, such as evangelicals, were insistent upon Anglican identity as Protestant and

Reformed. Accordingly, some Anglicans held theological opinions and sympathies more in common with Catholics, whereas others were more in agreement with the non-episcopal Protestant churches.46

With the close of WWII, the Protestant churches resumed both their formal and informal ecumenical efforts which had been suspended or impaired, for the second time, by global conflict. In 1946, the establishment of the Australian

Council for the World Council of Churches as an official national ecumenical body, in preparation for the inaugural world assembly of the World Council of

Churches in Amsterdam in 1948, provided an institutional focus for the ecumenical movement in Australia which had hitherto lacked institutional strength and direction.47 Internationally, 1947 saw one of the great ecumenical successes of the postwar era with the formation of the United Church of South

India. The United Church of South India was born out of the organic union of the

Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational and other minor Reformed

45 The 1940s were a particularly divisive time within the Church of England in Australia, with internal bitterness reaching the civil courts in the notorious ‘Red Book Case’. See Davis, J., Australian Anglicans and their Constitution, (Acorn Press Canberra: 1993) pp.102-130. 46 Hansen, D.E., ’The Origin and Early Years’, pp.459. 60

churches, demonstrating that the differences between Episcopal and non- episcopal churches could be surmounted and that organic union was a real possibility, not just a pipedream for ecumenists. The Church of South India captured the imaginations of those Protestants who were striving for greater unity between the churches, and on September 28, 1947, the day after the inauguration of the United Church of South India, a combined service of thanksgiving for the

United Church of South India was held for Congregationalists, Methodists,

Anglicans and Presbyterians in Sydney’s Anglican Cathedral. The Protestant churches’ press was highly enthusiastic about the United Church of South India, and closely scrutinised its progress in the years to come.

Another significant ecumenical milestone was set in 1948 with the Amsterdam

Assembly inaugurating the WCC. The Reverend Alan Walker summed up the feelings of many Protestant churchmen when he described the Amsterdam

Assembly as ‘the most important conference of the Christian Church for perhaps a thousand years’.48 However, theological difference could still keep some denominations alienated from each other. Walker noted that there were ‘notable absentees at Amsterdam’. He explained that the Catholic Church, ‘following its traditional policy of refusing co-operation on all levels save that of a joint witness on questions of practical rather than a theological nature’, was unrepresented at the Assembly; that the Southern Baptist Convention of the United States and other Baptist unions, including the Australian Baptist Union, were keeping their

47 Rouse, R. & Neil, S., (eds), A History of the Ecumenical Movement 1517-1948, (SPCK, London: 1967) p. 626. 48 The Methodist 26 June 1948, p.1. 61

distance for reasons of ‘theological caution’; and that the participation of the

Russian Orthodox Church was limited to the attendance of two observers for

‘political reasons’.49

Protestant solidarity or unity became an important ideological and theological theme in Protestant propaganda and self-image in the 1950s. The ‘necessity and urgency of Christian unity’ became a rallying cry for Protestants as they combated what they saw as their major opponents of the era: Catholicism, secularism and Communism.50 Protestant leaders sought to portray Protestantism as a third-way: an alternative to what they considered to be the menaces of communism and the ‘totalitarianism’ of Rome.51 Mr A.G. Robertson, NSW State

President of the Presbyterian Men’s League articulated the predominant concerns of Protestant churchmen of that decade:

There is no need for me to remind you that these are

critical days. We see the clash of the Reds and the R.C.’s;

we feel the squeeze of materialism. We note the challenge

of Islam and the gathering strength of the coloured races

(for the most part non-Christian), we are painfully aware

of the hatreds, re [sic] the jealousies, the intrigues of our

nation’s leaders so that as yet there is little sign of the

outlawing of war – or of the atom bomb.52

49 Ibid. 50 The Methodist 17 January 1948, p.1. 51 NSW Presbyterian 20 February 1948, p.13;16 January 1953, p.11. 52 NSW Presbyterian 9 April 1947, p.4; see also Hilliard, D., ‘Church, Family and Sexuality’, p.136. 62

This stance was of sectarian significance, asserting Protestantism as the defender of so-called British values such as democracy and religious freedom whilst labelling Catholicism as anti-liberal, anti-democratic and totalitarian. The militant anti-communism of the Catholic Church at this time was exploited by Protestant polemicists as a sign of Catholic aspirations for global domination. The NSW

Presbyterian cautioned its readers ‘the moral is that we Australians are bound in self-defence to be careful about the privileges we give to an organisation whose ultimate control is Italian and whose basic policies are un-Australian’.53 While the objectives of this Protestant stance were to strengthen and stimulate the development of a Protestant coalition in the 1950s, one of its consequences was to emphasise the dichotomisation of Protestant and Catholic religious communities in Australian society.

In the 1950s, Protestant co-operative ecumenism in Australia, usually of a highly pragmatic nature, was quite common. United efforts in mission work, theological education, evangelism, political lobbying, social work and shared worship were ways in which Protestants worked together. Protestants were developing stronger ecumenical bonds amongst themselves and a buoyant mood of ecumenical achievement filled the Protestant press of the time. For example, in January

1952, the editor of the NSW Presbyterian observed:

The Ecumenical Movement is advancing with the quiet vitality

of leaven. Like the rising tide it is gradually lifting the Churches

out of the mud of stagnation. Leaders of all the major

53 NSW Presbyterian 18 November 1949, p.4. 63

Protestant Churches have been getting together and tackling

world problems at the international level.54

Protestant co-operation also extended to apologetics and polemic. Radio station

2-CH, controlled by the NSW CC, was a further vehicle for Protestant co- operation in matters of apologetics and propaganda, and in November 1952, the collaborative radio session, ‘What Protestants Think’, began, broadcasting addresses by leading evangelical churchmen in Sydney. Protestant crusaders shared strong institutional, theological, cultural and political links that transcended denominational lines, finding a unity in facing a common opponent in Catholicism.

In June 1953, a special service, seen by The Methodist as ‘a generous gesture of our Anglican friends,’ was held in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, for Anglicans and Methodists to commemorate together the 250th anniversary of John Wesley’s birth.55 Comments in The Methodist’s editorial acknowledge that such warm collegiality between Anglicans and non-conformist Protestants was not uniform, and that, ‘It requires some courage to do what His Grace has done’, referring to the disapproval in some High Church Anglican quarters of non-Anglicans preaching from Anglican pulpits. The Methodist described such an attitude as

‘narrow and unchristian’.56 These comments, as well as the combined service itself, are indicative of the way that local contingencies – whether theological or political – were of great significance to inter-denominational relations and of the

54NSW Presbyterian 25 January 1952, p.4. 55 The Methodist 27 June 1953, p.3. 56The Methodist 27 June 1953, p.3. 64

significance of doctrinal agreement in facilitating ecumenical co-operation and engagement.

By the mid-1950s, Protestants had established various patterns of collaboration, dialogue and co-operation. Ecumenical conferences on Christian Education, ecumenical theological training and social work were established, and co- operation in the pursuit of political or moral campaigns was unexceptional. Some signs of this growing Protestant co-operation include the 1954 WCC assembly at

Evanston in the United States; revival of proposals for the union of the

Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational Churches in Australia; and the foundation of the United Protestant Church at RAAF Woomera in July 1954, which was a collaboration of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational and other Reformed Churches. Protestant co-operative endeavour continued to progress in institutional and liturgical forms, and in 1956 the John Flynn

Memorial Church was opened in Renata Springs. With it came the establishment of the United Church in North Australia, a triple association of

Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians such as the venture at

Woomera which opened in October 1956, the same month that another series of national church union discussions began for those three churches. The temperance cause provided another focus for Protestant co-operation. With

‘united and determined opposition’, leaders of the Church of England, Methodist,

Baptist, Congregational and Presbyterian churches, as well as the Salvation Army 65

and Churches of Christ met together at the chapter house of St Andrew’s

Cathedral, Sydney, for a crusade against the proposed liquor extension bill.57

Aside from these pragmatic forms of ecumenical co-operation, church unity discussions aimed at organic unity were held throughout the 1950s. Often these were continuations of formal dialogues that had begun in earlier decades or were new efforts in the wake of failed or stalled negotiations. A major development in this area was the preparation of a ‘basis of union’ for the Congregational,

Methodist and Presbyterian churches in 1957, which was the culmination of various commissions, reports and ballots. Whilst there would be many stalling points along the way to what was to be the greatest institutional achievement of

Australian ecumenism – the organic union of these three major denominations in the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977 – the three churches established a strong pattern of co-operation. The Congregationalist noted that the union movement within these three churches was not just a bureaucratic policy or a project of the hierarchy, but that it was a movement that had also engaged the laity and to which they had responded favourably: ‘By worshipping together and by sharing in fellowship and service, the people of these various denominations are being made aware of their essential unity’.58

United witness was perhaps the most successful area of Protestant ecumenical co-operation in the 1950s. In January 1958, the Australian Evangelical Alliance was founded, under the leadership of Archbishop Mowll of Sydney, to ‘encourage

57 Australian Baptist 8 December 1954, p.1. 66

evangelism and unite all evangelical Christians in the spreading of the Gospel’.59

The alliance’s major responsibility was preparing for the 1959 Billy Graham

Crusade which was the climax of Protestant inter-denominational co-operation in the 1950s. In 1957, in a climate of ‘widespread unanimity amongst Protestant

Church leaders’, Dr Graham was invited to conduct an evangelistic mission in

Australia.60 The Methodist summed up the situation with the following remarks:

The Methodist Church has joined with other Protestant Churches

in the decision to officially welcome American evangelist, Dr Billy

Graham, to Australia. Only the Roman Catholic Church remains

aloof.61

However, not all Anglicans supported Dr Graham’s visit: a further sign of the sectarian tensions that existed within Anglicanism.62 Division between High

Church and evangelical Anglicans was typical and was further exacerbated by the growing gulf between liberal and conservative theology. Some Anglicans were concerned about the close working relationship developing between the Diocese of Sydney and Dr Graham, seeing it as a compromise of the Church of England’s culture and a corruption of its integrity. Some Anglican bishops, such as the bishops of Canberra-Goulburn and Rockhampton, expressed their disapproval of

Dr Graham’s revivalist crusade; concerns shared also by some lay people, such as the writer of a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald who felt that the Anglican

58 NSW Congregationalist February 1957, p.8. 59 NSW Presbyterian 10 January 1958, p.3. 60 Australian Church Record 1 August 1957, p.1. 61 Ibid. 67

Church ‘has deserted, at least temporarily, the cool shade of reflective persuasion for the blazing heat of emotionalism’.63 On several occasions, Dr Graham’s associations with the Sydney Anglican hierarchy were emphasised so as to win the support of the wider Anglican community and to bolster his credibility with hesitant Anglicans: stepping on to the tarmac at Mascot in 1959, Dr Graham pointed out that his Crusade was brought about through the groundwork of

Archbishop Mowll; Dr Graham’s collaboration with the Church of England during his 1954 British crusade was also stressed and, in particular, the participation of Archbishop Fisher of Canterbury in one of his rallies.64 While some Anglicans reacted coldly, the press was highly enthused by Dr Graham’s visit. A great deal of print coverage was devoted to the 1959 Crusade. The Sun-

Herald even invited Dr Graham to write a series of articles for it to publish.65

The Billy Graham Crusade began in Melbourne on 15 February, 1959 and lasted for sixteen weeks. It fostered a new spirit of co-operation between denominations, with most Protestant churches offering support for Dr Graham’s campaign and participating in the Crusade. This ‘ecumenical pragmatism’ emphasised doctrinal agreement over disagreement among evangelicals – accordingly some denominations were purposely excluded from participation – and it tapped into the higher commitment of many evangelical Christians to evangelicalism over denominationalism; something that Archbishop Hugh Gough

62 Some Presbyterians were also reticent about Dr Graham’s activities and, despite initial opposition to involvement with the Billy Graham Crusade, the Presbyterian Church eventually decided in May 1958 to support the Crusade. See NSW Presbyterian 12 July 1957, p.2. 63 Sydney Morning Herald 12 February 1959, p.2. 64 The Sun-Herald 15 February 1959, p.112. 68

of Sydney was to complain of in the 1960s, stating that many evangelical

Anglicans in Sydney were more committed to their evangelicalism than their

Anglicanism.66

As for Catholics, they were being warned by their Church leaders to stay away from Billy Graham and his crusades:

This open door is not for Catholics. Any Catholic who

does attend, treats with contempt the law of the Church

on this matter. From what I have said above it should also

be perfectly clear that a Catholic who attends a Graham

meeting or listens to Graham on the radio or TV runs a

very real danger to his faith. The responsibility is his.67

The Melbourne Jesuit priest Fr J.A. Phillips published a series of articles in the

Melbourne Advocate that were later formed into a Catholic Truth Society

Pamphlet ‘Billy Graham Protestant Evangelist’. In these articles Fr Phillips critiqued Billy Graham and his crusades for a range of reasons. He questioned

Graham’s authority as a religious teacher on the grounds that ‘we are not dealing with the Church established by Christ our Lord’.68 Fr Phillips was also critical of the emotional experience of conversion intrinsic to revivalism, and was highly critical of Graham’s opinion that conversion was sufficient without baptism. Fr

65 The Sun-Herald 22 February 1959, p.13. 66 Piggin, S., Evangelical Christianity, pp. 161, 177; The Anglican Bishops of Canberra-Goulburn and Rockhampton both expressed disapproval of Billy Graham’s crusade. The Assemblies of God were excluded from participation at the Sydney crusades, although were allowed limited involvement at Melbourne. 67 The Advocate 20 November 1958; 27 November 1958; 12 February 1959; 19 February 1959; Phillips, J.A., Billy Graham Protestant Evangelist, (Annals Publications, Kensington: 1959). 68 Ibid. 69

Phillips, in mocking tones, commented on Graham’s mixed-pedigree of religion, remarking that Graham’s baptism in the Baptist Church as an adult ‘was also an expedient for saving his ‘crusade’ and, apparently, he had already been baptized as a Presbyterian’. Fr Phillips continued to jest that, ‘This son, then, of a

Methodist father and a Presbyterian mother had now become a Baptist. He was certainly well prepared for an inter-denominational ministry!’.69 Father Phillips also examined various controversies that had arisen between Graham and

Catholic authorities in the United States with regard to his crusades, citing various articles from mainly American Catholic journals and discussing the objections to Dr Graham’s activities as outlined in these references. A major concern to many American Catholic writers and Church leaders was that the crusades were being used to proselytise Catholics, with those Catholics who made ‘a decision for Christ’ at one of the revival meetings being referred on to

Protestant churches for follow up and American Catholics were directed that they should not participate in Dr Graham’s meetings, on the basis that:

1. Dr. Graham's revival services are non-Catholic

religious services.

2. Dr. Graham is preaching Christianity ‘without the

authority which comes from Christ through the Apostles’.

69 Ibid. 70

3. Although Dr. Graham preaches ‘some good, sound,

fundamental Christian doctrines,’ he ‘does not preach all

that Christ taught’.70

Fr Phillips too was greatly concerned that Dr Graham’s revival meetings would jeopardise the faith of Catholics, and he complained of the indifference to this great peril amongst his brethren clergy:

Most Catholic commentators seem content to look at the

good that Dr. Graham is doing to non-Catholics and they

are satisfied with warning Catholics of their obligation not

to take part in a Protestant religious service, but Father

Kelly shows that Catholics who disobey the Church and

attend a Graham ‘crusade’ meeting or listen to his sermons

on the radio or TV run a real danger to their Faith.71

Fr Phillips made it resoundingly clear in his articles on the subject that, as Billy

Graham was a Protestant Minister, Catholics could not listen to him or attend his

‘Protestant services’. Critical of Graham’s Reformed theology, Fr Phillips asserted that even if Graham’s intentions were well meaning, he was misguided in his activities:

I do not wish to be unkind to Mr. Graham. He is obviously

trying to do good for souls – according to what he can

glean from the Scriptures in the light of Protestant

principles; but I have a feeling that he has fallen for the

70 Phillips, J.A., Billy Graham Protestant Evangelist. 71

temptation to sell his wares under the most popular label

in the Western world today: ‘Peace of mind.’ Nevertheless,

he has influenced many lives to develop along Christian

lines. May the scales one day fall from his eyes and give

him a vision of the full Christian reality which is in the

Catholic Church alone.72

This attitude is representative of the way in which deep theological difference continued to be an important aspect of the psychology of denominationalism in the postwar era. Official cultic segregation served to enhance this sense of difference and bestowed upon it theological significance. Cultic segregation added to the impression that Catholicism stood detached from the other

Christian denominations.

The Billy Graham crusade was seen as a great ecumenical success by various

Protestant church leaders, such as Archbishop Loane of Sydney who wrote in his diocesan magazine of the ‘willing co-operation of church leaders’ at this time and the Reverend Alan Walker who spoke of ‘the miracle that has brought Plymouth

Brethren and High Church of England priests together’. 73 This understanding of ecumenism is quite telling, in that it did not involve nor seek to involve

Catholicism and this could pass without question at the time. While theological consensus enabled Protestants to develop deeper forms of co-operation at this

71 Ibid. 72 Ibid. 73 Southern Cross February 1968; NSW Presbyterian 24 April 1959. 72

time through pragmatic ecumenism and cultic interaction, Catholics remained isolated by cultic segregation and doctrinal difference.

Chapter 5

POINTS OF SECTARIAN CONFLICT

The ‘Age of Mary’

This chapter explores points of sectarian conflict in the long 1950s. It argues that militant Catholic campaigning against communism, as well as other overt signs of

Catholic devotion and expansion in the period, aroused the fears of Protestants who felt threatened by an ascendant Catholicism. This context was conducive to sectarian tension and it will be demonstrated in this chapter that sectarian tensions and rivalry were not uncommon in the 1950s.

While Protestants were crusading with Billy Graham, Catholic attention was focused on crusading against the global threat of communism, which the Catholic

Church had been strongly campaigning against since the 1930s. By the end of

WWII, the Catholic Church saw communism as its principal rival.1 Hogan notes that Australian Catholics were ‘among the loudest in calling for a [sic] mobilisation against the foe’.2 A major force in the Catholic Church’s struggle against communism was the Catholic Social Studies Movement, commonly known as ‘the Movement’. The Movement was founded in 1941 by Catholic laymen under the leadership of B.A. Santamaria and it received episcopal

1See Brett, J., Australian Liberals, pp.129-130; Costar, B., Love, P. & Strangio, P., (eds), The Great Labor Schism: A Retrospective (Scribe Publications, Melbourne: 2005); Duncan, B., Crusade or Conspiracy: Catholics and the Anti-Communist Struggle in Australia (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2001); Hogan, M., Australian Catholics: The Social Justice Tradition (Collins Dove, Melbourne: 1993) pp.71-82. 2 Hogan, M., Australian Catholics, p.79. 74

sanction in 1945.3 Perceiving that the trade union movement had fallen under the control of communists, the Movement sought to overcome communism by infiltrating the trade union movement through ‘industrial groups’.4 It had had considerable success in realising its objectives and, by the 1950s, it had achieved a position of significant influence in the trade unions.

However, the perceived ‘higher loyalties’ of the members of The Movement in the

Labor Party (ALP) prompted clashes with its Left Faction and most notoriously with the leader of the federal parliamentary party, Dr. Evatt. After the ALP’s

1954 election defeat, on October 5, 1955, Dr Evatt infamously criticised perceived Catholic infiltration of the Labor movement in a press statement.5 As

Judith Brett has noted, his ‘sensational public exposure’ of the Movement utilised ploys of traditional anti-Catholicism, and ‘the fallout was immense’.6 B.A.

Santamaria described Dr Evatt’s broadside as ‘using the weapon of intimidation’ to ‘isolate the Victorian ALP within the whole of the Australian Labor Movement’ and ‘using the weapon of sectarianism’ to ‘isolate the Catholic Church within the framework of the Australian community’.7 Many Catholics promptly withdrew en masse from the ALP and established the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) in 1955.8

3 Haeusler, P., ‘Living with Hope and Fear: Advancing Catholic Social Ideals and the Spectre of Communism’, Costar, B., Love, P. & Strangio, P., (eds), The Great Labor Schism: A Retrospective, (Scribe Publications, Melbourne: 2005) p.187. 4 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.245. 5 Brett, J., Australian Liberals., p.129; Hogan, M. The Sectarian Strand, p.248; Love, P. ‘The Great Split of 1955’, Costar, B., et al (eds)The Great Labor Schism, pp.12-13. 6 7 Deery, P., ‘Permeation or Paranoia?’, p.54. 8 This is discussed further in Part III, State Aid and the (Sectarian?) Politics of (Religious) Education. 75

Catholic support for the DLP was not uniform: while support was strong in

Victoria, in NSW the Catholic hierarchy continued to support the ALP.9

Catholic militant anti-communism was expressed not only through political activism and industrial groups in unions, but also through ‘fervent Marian piety’.10

For Catholics, the 1950s inaugurated what was described as the ‘Age of Mary’ and overt Marian piety was to become a central feature of Catholic religious life in the Cold War era.11 In particular, devotion to Our Lady of Fatima was seen as a means of combating communism.12 Associated with this fervent Marian devotion and anti-communist crusade were large public rallies and religious processions, a regular feature of Catholic life in the 1950s. For example, in

October 1949 there was a rally of devotion to Our Lady of Fatima at which a continuous chain of rosaries was recited in St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney from

6am until 9pm attracting ‘record crowds’.13 Other significant Catholic festivals of the 1950s included: the 1951 Marian Congress held in Adelaide featuring devotional processions through the city; the Family Rosary Crusade of 1953; the

Vatican’s declaration of 1954 as a Marian Year in celebration of the centenary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception; the 1955 Catholic Life Exhibition in

9 Paul Strangio describes the Split as ‘fundamentally a Victorian phenomenon’, arguing that it was most acutely felt in Victoria, that its principal figures were Victorians and that its damage was most corrosive in Victoria. Strangio, P. ‘The Split: A Victorian Phenomenon’, Costar, B. et al (eds), The Great Labor Schism, p. 23; O Farrell, P., The Catholic Church in Australia, p.275; Haeusler, P., ‘Living with Hope and Fear: Advancing Catholic social ideals and the spectre of Communism’, Costar, B. et al (eds), The Great Labor Schism, p.182; q.v. Part III State Aid and the (Sectarian) Politics of (Religious) Education in Postwar NSW, 1961-1962. 10 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’ , p.412. 11 Massam., K., ‘The Blue Army and the Cold War: Anti-Communist Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Australia’, Australian Historical Studies (October 1991) p. 422; Hilliard, D. ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, p.412; Massam, K., Sacred Threads: Catholic Spirituality in Australia 1922-1962 (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1996) pp.91-108. 76

Melbourne; the procession throughout Australia of the pilgrim statue of Our

Lady of Fatima in 1957; and, the commemorations in 1958 of the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes.14

These displays raised the ire and fears of Protestant commentators who were uncomfortable with displays of Catholic militancy, not to mention Marian devotion, and were also fearful of their own adherents being seduced by the pageantry, emotionalism and splendour of these Catholic celebrations.15 The

Vatican declaration of 1950 as a ‘Holy Year’ for the Catholic Church alarmed the

Australian Baptist, which foresaw ‘ominous threats’ from Catholicism and speculated that the Holy Year ‘will witness a great advance towards the goal of world-domination’. The Australian Baptist alerted Protestants that they needed to

‘marshal all their spiritual, intellectual and financial forces in a resolute crusade to combat error by proclaiming truth’.16

Protestants were apprehensive of Catholic expansion and these concerns featured in both Protestant press and polemic. In keeping with traditional themes of sectarian discourse, Protestant polemicists and propagandists of the 1950s branded Catholicism as the enemy of liberty – both religious and democratic freedoms. New, contemporary allegations were also used to fuel fears of Catholic tyranny. Frequently the Protestant press published reports of Catholic

12 Massam, K.,‘The Blue Army and the Cold War’, p.423. 13Catholic Weekly 20 October 1949, p.1. 14 The Marian Congress celebrated both the centenary of European settlement in South Australia and the definition of the dogma of the Assumption, see Massam, K., Sacred Threads, pp.94-97. 15 Australian Baptist 25 October, 1950. 16 Australian Baptist 14 February 1950, p.1. 77

persecution and oppression of Protestants in ‘Latin’ lands.17 For example, in

August 1950, The Methodist, fearing the ‘reactionary machinations of Vatican agents’ felt it necessary to warn its readers of the perils of Catholicism. It argued that it was Catholic countries that bred communists and tried to slur Catholicism further in the minds of its readers by associating it with communism. The

Methodist raised concerns that ‘a policy of appeasement that would strengthen the

Papal foothold in this country must be resisted by democratic Australians’.18 On

‘Protestant Sunday’ 1950, (a particular observance of the Central Methodist

Mission in Sydney held on the second Sunday of July) Mr Pat Mullen, described as an ‘ex-Roman Catholic’, gave a public anti-Catholic lecture entitled, ‘From

Fear of the Church to Freedom in Christ’. A more tempered address on the subject of Catholicism featured in a sermon entitled Protestants True and False preached later that same day by the Reverend R.C. Coleman, who felt that ‘the answer to Roman Catholicism is not to be found in a spirit of bigotry or destructive criticism, so much as in a positive expression of all for which

Protestantism stands’.19 That a Protestant answer had to be given to Catholicism was unquestioned, and that a whole day of sermons, public addresses and other activities was devoted to providing a Protestant answer to Catholicism is indicative of the nature of Protestant-Catholic relations at this time. The following week, The Methodist used the language of war and battle to describe the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, asserting that this was a ‘war’ that

‘has never really ceased’ and would continue ‘as long as men are even partially

17 The Methodist 15 July 1950, p.3. 78

free, and as long as they retain an interest in the vital things of the Christian faith’.20

Targeting Catholicism in this way also served to strengthen the sense of common

Protestant values between the various Protestant denominations and further dichotomised Protestantism and Catholicism. While for the majority of churches this reinforced the need for unity and co-operation, the Baptist Church, alarmed by the prospects of Catholic world domination and deeply suspicious of the ecumenical movement, was reluctant to join in any Protestant ecumenical experiments. Baptists were sceptical of the aims of the WCC and considered that the WCC was more the expression of political pressure than ‘evidence of a genuine movement of the Spirit’.21 At their state conference in 1950, NSW

Baptists refused to affiliate with the WCC by a decisive majority: 200 voted against affiliation and only 67 in favour.22

With the promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII in late

1950, appeals to ‘Protestant vigilance’ against Catholicism took on a greater urgency. Whilst there had been a tradition of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven in the Western Church for centuries, it was not until 1 November 1950 that Pope Pius XII infallibly settled the tradition as an official dogma of the

18 The Methodist August 4 1950, p.4. 19 The Methodist July 8 1950, p.1. 20 The Methodist 15 July1950, p.3. 21 Australian Baptist 6 June 1950, p.2. 22 Ibid. 79

Catholic Church in the papal bull Munificentissimus Deus.23 The dogma of the

Assumption was a highly volatile issue for polemicists, both because of long- standing Protestant theological dispute of the Catholic veneration of Mary and papal infallibility. For these reasons it became a clarion call to sectarian battle lines, provoking some of the most significant sectarian theological controversy of the 1950s. Despite its claim that it was ‘too sick at heart’ to be angry, the

Australian Baptist showed little restraint in its condemnation of the Pope’s action.

It described the Catholic Church as an ‘apostate body’ that had ‘departed from the faith’, and it saw the dogma as ‘frantic foolishness’ and a ‘blasphemy against

God’.24 The NSW Presbyterian’s assessment of the dogma also emphasised that it was an aberration of Mariolatry. In an editorial under the headline ‘The Worship of Mary’, it stated that the dogma was part of the Catholic Church’s ‘peculiar form of logic’ and dismissed it as ‘man-made theory’, and maintained that ‘the entire scheme of Mary-worshippers, is of the earth earthy’.25 The NSW

Congregationalist’s editorial was more concerned with the implications of the dogma for prospects of church unity, declaring its potential to ‘divide

Christendom still further’.26

Catholic University Proposal

Meanwhile, Protestants in Australia were certainly finding unity in their common opposition to Catholicism. The Catholic Church’s proposal in the 1950s for the

23 ‘Assumption of the BVM’ The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Cross, F.L. & Livingstone, E.A. (eds), p.117. 24 Australian Baptist 7 November 1950, p.2. 25 The NSW Presbyterian 8 December 1950, p.15. 26 NSW Congregationalist October 1950, p.1. 80

establishment of a Catholic university brought Protestants together to campaign against it. The proposed Catholic university was to be the apex of the Catholic educational system, as well as a bastion of Catholic values through which the

Catholic Church could confront the dual threat of communism and secularism.

When the NSW Cabinet gave its consent for the foundation of a Catholic

University in February 1951, it also unleashed a sectarian squabble. The prospects of a Catholic university greatly distressed Protestant leaders who were again able to find common cause in opposing what they saw as further signs of

Catholic expansion and ascendancy within Australian society. Speaking at the

Aquinas Academy in March 1951, Cardinal Gilroy anticipated the proposed university would attract opposition: ‘As we claim the right to make the proposal, so we must admit the right of others to object to it’.27 Objections certainly followed; the proposal precipitated a torrent of sectarian opposition. Various public meetings, rallies and publications were used to draw attention to the alleged dangers of acceding to the will of the Catholic Church.28 Unlike the dispute over the dogma of the Assumption, this was not just a sectarian theological dispute. In this matter, Protestant political and religious objectives were meshed. Their concerns, expressed through political agitation, speeches and publications, drew heavily on standard anti-Catholic polemic and expressed similar attitudes to those that featured in public debates a decade later when state aid to non-government schools erupted as a major sectarian issue.

27 Catholic Weekly 15 March 1951, p.1. 28 NSW Presbyterian 18 May 1951, p.13. 81

In June 1951, concerned Protestants gathered in Sydney at the Lyceum Theatre and the Chapter House of St Andrew’s Cathedral to hear church leaders, such as

Archbishop Mowll, Archdeacon T.C. Hammond and the Reverend Alan Walker, speak against the Catholic university proposal. Archbishop Mowll spoke against the proposal, considering it to be a divisive policy ‘likely to strengthen an already deplorable tendency to divide the community’ and he saw it as anti-democratic on account of the way the proposal was made by the Catholic Church to the Cabinet

– insinuating in typical anti-Catholic discursive form that the Catholic Church had used pressure tactics, manipulation and blackmail to achieve its ends.29

Bishop Hilliard echoed Archbishop Mowll’s complaints, and argued that the proposed university would cause division in society:

This revolutionary proposal comes to us at a most

inappropriate time. In this Jubilee Year when we are

celebrating the coming together of the several Australian

States into one Commonwealth and at a time in world

affairs and in our national life which calls aloud for the

encouragement of the forces which make for unity, we

have thrust upon us a project to initiate a movement which

cannot fail to be divisive, and the manner of its

introduction is a denial of our democratic heritage.30

29Protestant Policy on University Education: Speeches made by His Grace the Archbishop of Sydney, the Rt.Rev. W.G.Hilliard, Rev.C.M. Dyster, Rev Alan Walker, Archdeacon T.C. Hammond & Rev W.J. Hobbin (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1951) pp.1,2. 30 Ibid, p.3. 82

Bishop Hilliard was also fearful that the inferior academic standards of such an institution – something that most Protestant critics of the Catholic proposal took as a given –would tarnish the reputation of the other Australian universities and that, like the Catholic school system, the Catholic university would agitate for government financial support.31 By way of warning against the pitfalls of a

Catholic university, the Reverend Alan Walker, Superintendent of the Waverley

Methodist Mission, re-iterated the concerns expressed by Archbishop Mowll and

Bishop Hilliard. He felt that sectional universities would diminish academic standards, cause social division and be anti-democratic.32 Walker also identified

‘subterfuge’ and ‘clever political machinations’ in the way the Catholic Church had brought its proposal for a charter before the Cabinet, and stated that ‘masses of Australians do not appreciate pressure-group tactics from any church’.33

Walker’s usage here of sectarian language is indicative of the way that a commonly held anti-Catholicism was able to transcend a range of theological and ideological differences between Protestant churchmen, drawing them into alliance against a traditional rival.

The Reverend Colin Dyster of St Andrew’s Theological Hall, University of

Sydney, relayed to these gatherings of concerned Protestants the official statement of the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church on the Catholic university proposal. The statement featured, both directly and subtly, traditional themes and tropes of anti-Catholic discourse. It depicted Catholicism as despotic, anti-

31 Ibid, pp.3-4. 83

democratic and anti-intellectual and referred to the ‘authoritarian system’ of

Catholicism, characterised by ‘rigid discipline’ and unquestioning obedience, and argued that these were qualities that were inconsistent with scholarship in a

‘democratic state’.34 Mr Dyster held grave concerns about the broader social impact of a Catholic university and the quality of education available at an institution ‘whose graduates are indoctrinated, one might even say propagandised, with errors acknowledged as such by the greater part of the community…graduates who have never rubbed mind with those of other opinion!’.35 Mr Dyster also inserted a degree of doctrinal polemic into his treatment of the matter, arguing that such a university would insist of its professors and students ‘acceptance as incontrovertibly true of, amongst other things, the dogma of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary, the infallibility of

the Pope, and the miraculous powers of the numerous “Our Ladies” ’. He also stressed that the Protestant majority of the population should not countenance the potential threat to Protestant society and values posed by a Catholic university.36

Appealing to the Protestant majority in the population as a rationale to oppose

Catholic interests or threats to Protestant interests, was a common tactic of

Protestant agitators. This was a way of flexing political muscle as well as claiming some sort of democratic mandate for their crusade, seeing themselves as

32 Ibid, p.12. 33 Ibid, p.11. 34 Ibid, p.6. 35 Ibid, pp.6-7. 36 Ibid, p.7. 84

defenders of the ‘Protestant nation’ or ‘Protestant society’ from Catholic infiltration and domination. This strategy of invoking sectarian political clout was used by the Reverend Alan Walker, who on this occasion cautioned listening politicians, ‘The Protestant majority of this State must warn the Labour [sic]

Party that it will carry no greater burden at the next elections than to be branded a Roman-dominated party’.37 Similar appeals were made by others, such as the

Reverend W.J. Hobbin, Director of the Social Services Department of the

Methodist Church, who saw the university proposal as ‘an attempt by a minority to infiltrate further into the Protestant society’.38 The annual Assembly of the

Presbyterian Church of NSW endorsed a statement on the university proposal that said, ‘Our Church believes that a Roman Catholic University would present very grave dangers to what is fundamentally a Protestant community’ and argued that students at such a university would have denominational bias, be compelled to obey the Vatican and would have no freedom of academic inquiry.39

Archdeacon T.C. Hammond, Principal of Moore Theological College, the

Anglican Diocese of Sydney’s training college, saw the Catholic university proposal as an incitement of sectarianism. Hammond rebuffed the suggestion that Protestant opposition to a Catholic University was sectarian and, in turn, he accused the NSW Government of provoking a sectarian dispute. Hammond argued:

37 Ibid. 38 Ibid, p.23. 39 NSW Presbyterian 1 June 1951, p.8. 85

Surely the Government that proposes to grant a charter to

a Roman Catholic University has raised a sectarian issue.

If ever a deplorable sectarian issue has been raised, those

who moved for this Bill and the Cabinet that accepted

responsibility for it must bear any odium that attaches to

raising a sectarian issue.40

Hammond shared the concerns of other Protestant objectors to the Catholic

University proposal, arguing that it would ‘divide the community into opposing camps’ and that it would also ‘create confusion in Educational [sic] standards’.41

He held that the educational and academic standards of a Catholic university could not be guaranteed and were likely to be substandard, on account of

‘sectional restraint upon research’.42 Hammond had even managed to work a critique of Catholic authoritarianism, the Inquisition and the Codex, ultramontanism and its capacity to inculcate ‘distinct mendacity and deceitfulness’, and the Catholic teaching on celibacy into his argument! Despite the fact that there were deep layers of sectarian ideology behind these accusations, Hammond did not see his own response to the proposal as having any of the divisive or sectarian tendencies of which he accused the Government and Catholics.

Of the speeches made on these occasions in June 1951, the most blatantly sectarian was that of the Reverend W.J. Hobbin, a Methodist minister. Hobbin

40 Protestant Policy on University Education, p.15. 86

saw opposition to a Catholic university as ‘an important campaign for

Protestants, in fact, for all Australians’. He raised typical anti-Catholic criticisms in his argument against a Catholic university, stressing the authoritarian, anti- liberal and power-hungry tendencies of the Catholic Church. He argued:

The whole issue focuses attention upon the Roman

Catholic place in State affairs. Is that church there to

develop real democracy? Or is she there to capture the

State for her own welfare? Because the activities of the

Roman Catholic church [sic] are such an inextricable

mixture of politics and religion it is folly to cry ‘sectarian’

at opposition to this Bill. This is a question which dare not

be regarded as a domestic matter of the R.C. Church. The

whole philosophy of that church, which is endorsed and

sanctioned by the Vatican, determines the political and

social policies which are pursued by bishops and priests

throughout the world. A Roman Catholic University must

teach that philosophy and I suggest Australia doesn’t

subscribe to such teaching because it is so blatantly

undemocratic.43

Like Archdeacon Hammond, Hobbin claimed he was not making his case in a

‘sectarian mood’, however, he was nevertheless prepared to declare, ‘It is obvious that the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church are not consonant with scientific

41 Ibid, pp.15-16. 87

research’, and that the university proposal was ‘an attack upon democratic processes’.44 These remarks, highly charged with sectarian feeling, restated the traditional anti-Catholic accusations that the Catholic Church was anti- democratic and subversive. Such negative responses by Protestant leaders to the

Catholic university proposal are demonstrative of both the significant influence of sectarianism in Australian religious culture at this time, as well as of the way in which anti-Catholicism was able to unite Protestants.

In its 1953 new-year edition, the NSW Presbyterian published an edition of ‘What

Protestants Think’, which had been previously broadcast over radio 2CH by Dr

Cumming Thom, sometime Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of NSW. It reiterated what had become the typical concerns of Protestant church leaders in the early 1950s and held to the line that Protestantism was a third-way ‘to the knife-edge alternatives of Rome and Moscow’. He saw Protestantism as ‘the nursing mother of freedom and of democracy’ and ‘intellectual life’ and expressed the ‘strongest opposition’ to the thought of seeing ‘our country’ with a Catholic majority.45 Yet it would seem that Dr Cumming Thom wished both to have his cake and eat it, for, despite his own lambasting of Catholicism, he was concerned that sectarian bigotry would in fact undermine the Protestant cause:

I appeal to all who call themselves Protestant to avoid the

emotional outbursts and the tendencious [sic] speeches which

have occasionally been heard in the past. Any statement of the

42 Ibid, pp.15-16. 43 Ibid, p.20. 44 Ibid, p.22. 88

truth as we see it is only obscured by abusive epithets, criticism of

individuals or the ascription of low motives to one’s opponents.46

Despite such appeals to restraint, 1953 ushered in a period of intensified sectarian controversy that was to characterise Protestant-Catholic relations in the mid-1950s. This was a period when sectarian politics was resurfacing as a significant force, unleashed by tensions within the ALP that climaxed with the

Split, as well as a time of religious militancy and rivalry: a heady combination that heightened and made sectarian tensions between Protestant and Catholic religious communities vulnerable to exploitation.

The National Eucharistic Congress 1953

In April 1953, the Catholic Church held a National Eucharistic Congress in

Sydney. The Congress commemorated the sesquicentenary anniversary of

Governor King’s granting permission for Catholic priests to say Mass in the colony of NSW as well as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Holy Name Society functioning as a diocesan unit in Sydney and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

International Eucharistic Congress that was held in Sydney in 1928. A mass gathering of Catholics, featuring processions and other liturgical events of great pomp, the Eucharistic Congress was chiefly a celebration of the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, to which Protestants strongly objected. The Eucharistic

Congress generated extensive sectarian polemic. Protestants rallied together to decry what they saw as an ‘idolatrous pagan pageant’ and ‘erroneous dogmas’.47

45 NSW Presbyterian 16 January 1953; see also NSW Presbyterian 6 May 1955, p. 4. 46 NSW Presbyterian 16 January 1953, p.11. 47 NSW Presbyterian 10 April 1953, p.7. 89

In his study of the 1928 International Eucharistic Congress, Daryl Adair states, ‘I have found no evidence of Protestant opposition, or expressions of sectarian dissent, on the day of the procession itself’ and he notes that Protestant efforts to play down the event followed afterwards.48 Things were quite different in 1953.

The responses of Protestant leaders, church press and polemicists to the congress are telling of the sensitivity of Australian Protestantism to signs of Catholic ascendancy, expansion and militancy. They reveal that Protestant leaders felt

Protestantism was becoming increasingly marginalised in society, and that

Catholicism was to blame for this – at least in part. Protestant responses to the

Congress also reveal the extent to which dogmatic and cultic difference continued to obstruct the possibility of significant improvements in relations between

Catholic and Protestant religious institutions in this period. For Protestant leaders, the Eucharistic Congress was a clear expression of the dogmatic gulf that existed between Protestantism and Catholicism, a gulf which precluded ecumenical rapprochement. Thus, unlike in 1928, Protestant leaders campaigned against the Eucharistic Congress before, during and after it.

Well before the Eucharistic Congress began on 11 April 1953, the Protestant church press was awash with articles condemning the Eucharistic Congress.49 The

Australian Baptist saw the Eucharistic Congress as ‘a visitation of Roman

Catholic idolatry and paganism’ and confirmation that Catholicism was outside

48 Adair, D., ‘Consensus and Division on a Spiritual Occasion: The Twenty-ninth International Eucharistic Congress, Sydney, 1928’, Reviving Australia: Essays on the History and Experience of Revival and Revivalism in Australian Christianity, (eds), Hutchinson, M. & Piggin, S., (Sydney Centre for the Study of Australian Christianity, Sydney: 1994) p.219. 90

the fold of Christianity: ‘They need our prayers and our gospel witness as desperately as the animists of Garoland and the Central Highlands of New

Guinea, or the Kali worshippers of Bengal.’50 On the eve of the Eucharistic

Congress, responding to a question concerning the need for all Christians to forget their differences and stand together, the Reverend Dr W. Cumming Thom,

President of the NSW CC, argued that the official attitude of the Catholic

Church ‘makes such co-operation impossible’. He gave a litany of standard reasons as to why co-operation with Catholics was not possible. He cited dogmatic reasons such as the Catholic Church’s claim of spiritual authority, and practices such as auricular confession, belief in Purgatory and the cult of saints.

All of this, he concluded, meant that there was ‘a great gulf fixed’ between

Catholics and Protestants, ‘across which we at least gaze with regret and with a feeling of helplessness’.51

The UCPA, the NSW CC and other Protestant associations organised Protestant rallies, demonstrations and a United Campaign of Evangelical Witness to coincide with the Eucharistic Congress. Protestant leaders felt that it was important to assert Protestant beliefs and values at a time when they thought the interest of the media and general public might otherwise be harnessed exclusively by the

Catholic Church. ‘It may be regarded as a foregone conclusion,’ complained The

Methodist, ‘that the Press as a whole will not provide [Protestants] with the same

49 See also NSW Presbyterian 14 November 1952; The Rock 2 April 1953. 50Australian Baptist 4 February1953, p.2. 51 The Rock 2 April 1953, p.6. 91

sort of sounding-board as will be provided for their Romanist fellow-citizens’.52 In its advertisement for a convention to be held by the UCPA, the Methodist explained that such rallies were being held ‘so that the Protestant viewpoint on vital aspects of the Christian faith may be presented by competent and well- known speakers’.53 The Methodist held that it was important that ‘at a time when the Church of Rome will be very much in the public eye’, Protestants should speak up for themselves and ‘should not be guilty of hiding their light under a bushel’.54 The Methodist felt that this was particularly important ‘at a time when certain doctrines of Roman Catholicism are being emphasized in a community predominantly Protestant’, alluding of course to transubstantiation.55 Comments such as these are demonstrative of the intensity of the rivalry that existed between Protestants and Catholics, and the ongoing significance of theological difference for interdenominational relations.

The day after the Eucharistic Congress began, one such ‘Protestant

Demonstration’ was held at the Lyceum Hall, at which the Anglican co-adjutor

Bishop of Sydney, the Right Reverend W. Hilliard was the chairman and Dr

Cumming Thom was the main speaker. This demonstration was also attended by

New South Wales leaders of other major Protestant denominations. Protestant church leaders issued a joint pastoral letter presenting a ‘United Protestant

Witness’ against the Eucharistic Congress, yet another sign that Protestant

52 The Methodist 28 March 1953, p.7; See also NSW Presbyterian 10 April 1953, p.7. 53 The Methodist 28 March 1953, p.7. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid. 92

church leaders could easily be brought together when opposition to Catholicism was concerned.56

Aspects of traditional anti-Catholic discourse featured in the Protestant campaign against the Eucharistic Congress. For example, a common assertion made in the

Protestant polemic against the Eucharistic Congress was that Catholics in

Australia enjoyed the right to celebrate their religious festivals, erroneous though they were, whereas similar rights would not be afforded to Protestants in Catholic countries. ‘Ours is a community based upon the British democratic way of life where freedom is accorded to every religious denomination to express its convictions openly’, declared the NSW Presbyterian, ‘This right is denied in countries under Soviet and Roman Catholic rule’.57 The suggestion was clear:

Catholicism was a totalitarian and intolerant system that was incompatible with

British values of freedom and democracy that had been secured by the British

Protestant ethos. The Australian Baptist echoed these concerns on several occasions. In February 1954 it observed:

A pertinent observation ought to be made about the desire of

Rome to make a public exposure of its idolatry in a city and

country where Roman Catholicism is a minority movement. It is

the Romanist attitude that freedom for the exercise of religion

should not and must not be granted to minority Christian

groups. As the local hierarchy prepares for these impressive

56 Australian Baptist 6 May 1953, p.5. 57 NSW Presbyterian 27 February 1953, p.12. 93

public celebrations in Sydney reports continue to pour in from

Rome-dominated countries telling of the denial or the

suppression of religious liberties of Christians in those lands. In

many instances Baptists and other evangelicals are granted, at

the best, toleration for the private practice of their religion

only… We should be scrupulously careful not to aid and abet

this idolatry. No Christian should be in the streets where the

vulgar procession is held.58

The message was repeated in April, this time with front-page prominence:

‘Christian Charity’ –that is the theme chosen by the Roman

hierarchy of Sydney for the Eucharistic Congress now in

progress. It is a wonderful theme. It would be impossible for

any human to attempt a loftier one. It is a necessary theme. This

world quails in fear, and millions suffer for lack of Christian

charity. But, in order to understand what is Rome’s

interpretation of ‘Christian Charity’ we must put beside the

parade now being put on in Sydney the attitude of this same

system in Colombia, South America, a typical Roman Catholic

State…59

Not all Protestant churchmen held these views. A more tolerant attitude was expressed in The Anglican by the Rev’d Felix Arnott, Warden of St Paul’s College,

58 Australian Baptist 4 February1953, p.2. 59 Australian Baptist 24 April 1953, p.1. 94

University of Sydney. Arnott argued that the diversity and virtue of comprehension and tolerance within the Anglican communion should also be the basis for inter-denominational relations. His attitude, an expression of a more tolerant and less dogmatic Anglicanism than the prevailing evangelicalism of the

Diocese of Sydney, called for the end of traditional sectarian divisions which, he considered, were losing their significance in a context of strengthening secularism and communism: ‘in the modern world, the real dividing line runs between those who prefer some Christian faith and those who have none’.60 He urged his fellow

Anglicans not to emphasise ‘our unhappy divisions’ at the time of the Eucharistic

Congress ‘by attacks upon our fellow Christians’.61

However, this was not the prevailing attitude among Protestant church leaders at the time. The Reverend Bernard Judd, President of the UCPA and Anglican

Rector of East Sydney, summed up the attitude of most Protestant leaders toward the Eucharistic congress, seeing the occasion as an imperative for Protestant assertive action. He felt that, ‘the avalanche of publicity which accompanied the recent Eucharistic Congress clearly imposed upon those who accept the Bible as the Rule of Faith the duty of bearing a clear testimony to Scriptural teaching’.62

However, Protestant assertiveness at this time was not universally encouraged.

Protestant antagonism to the Eucharist Congress, and in particular the strategy of holding rival rallies at the same time, attracted some critique in the secular

60 The Anglican 10 April 1953, p.7. 61 Ibid. 62 NSW Presbyterian May 8 1953, p.11. 95

press.63 Such criticism didn’t faze The Congregationalist, which saw in it a confirmation of its fears and a justification of the strategy employed. It dismissed the calls in the press for sectarian tolerance, arguing ‘Tolerance can be another name for complacency. Not thus, will free religion continue to be our priceless possession’.64 The Methodist argued that the Protestant campaign had in fact been successful:

One good result of the Eucharistic Congress which is being

held in Sydney at the present time can hardly have been

anticipated by those who have stage-managed with

considerable skill the whole affair. It is the awakening of

Protestant people, or large numbers of them, to the gross and

absurd superstitions to which the Church of Rome tenaciously

clings. 65

Thus, it can be seen that the Eucharistic Congress, as a display of Catholic strength and as a celebration of Catholic belief, aroused strong sectarian responses from the Protestant churches and demonstrated their capacity for united sentiment and co-operative activity when it came to opposing Catholicism.

Adding insult to injury for Protestants who objected to the Eucharistic Congress, shortly after the Congress, in October 1953, there was another major public display of Catholic devotion, with the arrival in Australia of Father Patrick

63 NSW Congregationalist Editorial of May 1953, p.7. 64 Ibid. 65 The Methodist, 18 April 1953, p.3. 96

Peyton’s ‘Family Rosary Crusade’.66 The Crusade aimed to promote Catholic family life by encouraging the recitation of the Rosary in Catholic homes, as the

Crusade’s slogan made clear, ‘The family that prays together stays together’.67

The Family Rosary Crusade asserted that the Rosary was ‘Our Lady’s Weapon for

Peace’ and considered it part of the Catholic arsenal against its arch-enemies of communism and secularism.68 Hailed by the Catholic Weekly as, ‘a victory for the grace of God over the forces of evil in their modern manifestations of apathy and indifference, worldliness and materialism, atheism and communism’, the Family

Rosary Crusade’s success was attributed to the Virgin Mary: ‘It was bloodless…but it was truly magnificent. And once again it was Our Lady who conquered’.69 However, while Catholics were celebrating the conquest of communism and secularism through the Rosary, old sectarian tensions were brimming. The Family Rosary Crusade, with its Marian emphasis, compounded the sectarian feelings that had been aroused by the Eucharistic Congress and its celebration of transubstantiation. These key events of Catholic life in 1953 were seen by conservative Protestants as a justification of their view that the dogmatic battles between Protestants and Catholics that extended back to the sixteenth century were as relevant and immediate in the mid-twentieth century as they had ever been.

Precedence and Status Symbols

66 Massam, K, Sacred Threads, pp.97-108. 67 Massam., K. ‘The Blue Army and the Cold War’, p.425. 68 Catholic Weekly Rosary Supplement 29 October 1953, p.2. 69 Catholic Weekly 5 November 1953, p.4. 97

The sectarian tensions aroused by the promulgation of the dogma of the

Assumption, the Catholic university proposal, Eucharistic Congress and other signs of Catholic militancy and expansion in the 1950s are indicative of the dichotomisation of Protestant and Catholic religious cultures in Australia at this time. Aside from disputes seeded in dogma, rivalry and tension also characterised other aspects of religious culture in the period. Samantha Frappell notes that maintaining traditional civic preferment, with its kudos of status and prestige, was extremely important to Protestant leaders who felt threatened by Catholic expansion.70 In her doctoral thesis Building Jerusalem: Church and Society in

NSW, 1940-1956, which explores the role of the churches in postwar social reconstruction, Frappell has included a brief study of inter-denominational rivalry and symbolic struggles in the mid-1950s. Her research in this area focuses on the debates surrounding the revision of the table of precedence in 1953, controversy regarding the colours ceremony in the military and the changes made to the royal style on the florin coin. She interprets these struggles as signs of increased

Protestant apprehension in postwar society and of the social mobility of Catholics at this time.71 By way of building on Frappell’s study, it is worthwhile to examine the attitudes expressed by religious leaders and the church press in relation to these incidents with a view to locating them within the broader pattern of inter- denominational co-operation and sectarian rivalry throughout the 1950s as well as within the context of sectarian discourse. As well as indicating the nature of

Protestant engagement with society at the time as identified by Frappell, these

70 Frappell, S., Building Jerusalem, p.165. 98

controversies shed light on the nature of sectarianism and the significance of sectarian rivalry in the 1950s, again showing that Protestant coalitions naturally arose in opposition to Catholic political objectives or signs of expansion.

In its preparations for the first visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Australia in 1954, the Federal Cabinet revised the Commonwealth table of precedence. The revision meant that church dignitaries would be classed in two main groupings for official occasions. The first group would comprise heads of churches of the four main denominations: the Church of England, the Catholic Church, the Methodist

Church and the Presbyterian Church. The second group would comprise leaders of other denominations and religious communities. The new precedence rules meant that for the first group, the leaders of the four main denominations would be accorded precedence according to the seniority of their appointment. That is, the churchman who had held the highest office of his denomination, with national jurisdiction, for the longest period of time would take precedence. In 1953, it seemed that this would give precedence to Cardinal Gilroy, the Catholic

Archbishop of Sydney, at the expense of the Anglican Primate, Dr Mowll, also

Archbishop of Sydney because Archbishop Gilroy was made cardinal in 1946 and

Archbishop Mowll was made primate in 1947.

This revision raised sectarian tensions amongst church leaders and became another motivation for co-operative Protestant sectarian activism against

Catholicism. The attempted revision of precedence confirmed Protestant fears of

71 Ibid, p.166. 99

Catholic political ascendancy and institutional expansion. Protestant church leaders headed the charge against revision of the table of precedence, objecting to it on the basis that it favoured Catholics and compromised their own traditional status and ideal of a ‘Protestant country’.

Archbishop Mowll is left behind, as Prime Minister Menzies

chauffeurs Cardinal Gilroy to royal functions – The Anglican 15 May 1953

Voices were raised in complaint by indignant lay Protestants right through to the

Anglican Primate, Archbishop Mowll himself.72 The Congregationalist NSW published an extract from an address given by one of its ministers, the Reverend

Rex Matthias, which is demonstrative of Protestant concerns expressed at the time. Mr Matthias spoke of Catholic ‘activity in the political field’, ‘tactics and strategy’ in trade unions and political parties and concluded: 100

Actually, of course, the Church of Rome never deviates from

her old game in the realm of politics. Her tactics change but

her strategy remains the same. Being authoritarian and

totalitarian in character and in method, the Church of Rome

wants to Christianize society by ‘DOMINATION’. 73

Unsurprisingly, The Rock took great umbrage at the revision of the table of precedence in favour of Cardinal Gilroy. ‘Menzies Betrays Protestants’ was the sub-heading to its indignant front-page article on the subject.74 Highly critical of

Cardinal Gilroy’s elevation in precedence, The Rock complained in the most bitter sectarian terms:

Least qualified of all churches to presume lead is, of course the

Roman Catholic Church, which was only granted permission to

function in this country under sufferance and subject to

rigorous restrictions, which experience had shown was

necessary. At that time all other churches were free to function

unhindered.75

The Rock complained of the ‘timidity of our denominational leaders’ and that there had been ‘too much silence on many issues of major importance’. It voiced strong criticism of Protestant clergy ‘for not letting their voice be heard on political questions of a religious nature’ and it went on to remark, ‘Obviously the reason that many Protestant politicians capitulate to R.C. pressure is because of

72 Mowll, H.W.K., ‘Presidential Address to Synod’, Yearbook of the Diocese of Sydney 1954 (William Andrews Printing, Sydney: 1955) p.43. 73 NSW Congregationalist 20 March 1954, p.1. 74 The Rock 14 May 1953, p.1 101

the dumbness of Protestant leaders’.76 The Rock, in typical fashion, saw this latest issue in the most melodramatic terms, histrionically declaring, ‘Perhaps never before in Australia’s history has an issue arisen of such tremendous import’, and it prophesied, ‘If Protestant Church leaders will not do something about it, we predict that the Protestant laity will take matters into their own hands’.77

Not all criticisms of the revision were self-serving. Francis James, the eccentric editor of The Anglican, complained that the revised order of precedence for church leaders by seniority was unfair as it favoured the Anglican and Catholic churches ahead of the Presbyterian and other non-conformist churches whose leaders were appointed for short set-periods of time. Citing the interests of national unity, the Sydney Morning Herald sought to placate the brewing sectarian tension, ‘if the Anglican Church has a slight grievance in this matter no responsible churchman would wish to dispute it now less than a month before the

Coronation and when the Queen has already approved the Table of Precedence’, and that, ‘This is a time for unity not quarrelling, for reverence not insistence upon rights’.78 However, Anglican bishops were insisting on rights, while at the same time expressing similar concerns for national unity. The Anglican bishops conveniently held that it was the proposed revision of precedence that was causing division in Australian society and that the status quo would restore unity.

All Anglican diocesan bishops in Australia, save the bishops of North West

75 Ibid. 76 Ibid. 77 The Rock 14 May 1953, p.1. 78 Sydney Morning Herald May 16 1953, p. 2. 102

Australia and New Guinea who were ‘inaccessible’, signed a statement that blamed the Government for provoking national division:

We think it most regrettable that the Commonwealth

Government should just now have taken this disputable action

in a matter upon which public opinion is sharply divided and

can easily become inflamed.79

Protestants rallied together in their campaign, once again finding common ground in opposing what they perceived to be Catholic interests. Another statement was published, this time signed by NSW church leaders affiliated with the NSW CC:

Bishop Wylde of Bathurst; the President of the Methodist Conference, the

Reverend W.C. Francis; the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, the Right

Reverend Frank Hanlin; the chairman of the Congregational Union of New South

Wales Mr Maynard Davies; the Salvation Army Territorial Commander,

Commissioner James; and, the president of the Churches of Christ conference,

Mr Andrews. These churchmen insisted that precedence should be determined by the number of adherents to each denomination, with the head of the most populous denomination taking precedence above all others – the Anglican primate

– and they were also aggrieved that ‘the precedence accorded to the leaders of the Christian Churches in Australia in the current Commonwealth Table of

Precedence is lower than it should properly be in any Christian country’ and

79 Sydney Morning Herald 21 May 1953, p.2. 103

threatened formal representations to the Government after the coronation had taken place.80

However, there was no need to be so patient. The Cabinet decided that instead of

Cardinal Gilroy, it would recognise the Apostolic Delegate, a diplomatic envoy of the Vatican, to be the highest ranking Catholic prelate with national jurisdiction:

For Commonwealth purposes the order of precedence of the

Heads of Churches fo [sic] is determined according to a practice of

long standing. It depends on the seniority of appointment of the

respective heads of churches exercising Commonwealth-wide

jurisdiction.

From this it follows that at present the primate of Australia takes

precedence over all others.

Table of Precedence

Harrison– outlines history of controversy.

Suggests official statemt [sic] saying that Govt recognises

Apostolic Delegate.81

On the 21st May 1953, the Acting Prime Minister, Mr Fadden, announced that the Commonwealth Government was now of the opinion that Cardinal Gilroy was not the most senior Catholic prelate in Australia, taking the view that the

Apostolic Delegate was technically the head of the Catholic Church in Australia, and that owing to the current vacancy of that position, Archbishop Mowll, as

80 Ibid. 81Part 2 of the transcript of A11099, 1/30. E.J. Bunting (Cabinet Notes.[30/10/52 to 3/7/53]Personal), http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/cabinet/1953_cabinet_notebooks/Book30-1953.rtf, 18/5/2004. 104

Anglican Primate of Australia, would take precedence of all the clergy.82 It seemed to be a clever, diplomatic solution that both satisfied Protestants and did not compromise the Government’s new precedence policy.

Petitioning then shifted to the other side of the sectarian divide, with Bishop

Lyons, Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, unsuccessfully requesting the

Cabinet to further review its reviewed decision that restored precedence to

Archbishop Mowll:

A/g PM read to Cabinet letter of 24th May from Bishop Lyons re place of

Cardinal Gilroy. Cabinet noted that the letter said that Card. Gilroy is

highest dignitary within the Church, but did not discuss the matter of

jurisdiction. Agreed that acknowledgement only be sent, noting that

Cardinal G. may wish to raise the qu again after P.M. returns83

Meanwhile, the form of the royal style on the silver florin issued at the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign was generating sectarian controversy of its own. Coins minted in 1953 and 1954 featured the obverse legend: ELIZABETH. II. DEI.

GRATIA. REGINA +. The controversy surrounded the omission of the letters

‘F:D’, the abbreviation for the title fidei defensor (Defender of the Faith), a traditional title of British monarchs since it was first awarded to Henry VIII in

1521.84 Catholic participants in this debate argued that the use of the title

82 Sydney Morning Herald 21 May 1953, p.2. 83 E.J. Bunting (Cabinet Notes.[30/10/52 to 3/7/53] Personal) [Spine of notebook] E.J. Bunting transcript of A11099, 1/30. Cabinet Meeting 3 June 1953, http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/cabinet/1953_cabinet_notebooks/Book30-1953.rtf. 84 Ironically, the title fidei defensor was of Catholic origin, awarded by Pope Leo X to King Henry VIII in 1521 in gratitude of Henry’s stance against Luther. 105

Defender of the Faith was sectarian and inappropriate for Australian mintage and royal stylings because Australia, by its constitution, had no established religion.

The Reverend Dr Leslie Rumble, the renowned Catholic priest and broadcaster, wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald on 25 May 1953 complaining that the term

Defender of the Faith, ‘contains unacceptable implications, namely, that Australia was a Protestant Country’. As in their campaigns against the Catholic University and Eucharistic Congress, Protestant supporters of the title argued that Australia was indeed a Protestant country, as the vast majority of the population was

Protestant, and that Catholic objections to the use of the title were a manifestation of Catholic subversion of national values. Dr Rumble dismissed this

‘majority rules’ argument:

Constitutionally, Australia is not a predominantly

‘Protestant country’, but a country, which although

Protestants happen to predominate numerically, professes

no particular form of religion and grants equality to all.85

Protests against the omission of the title were forthcoming and the sectarian nature of the controversy promptly surfaced. The United Protestant Association, as well as various church leaders, such as Archbishop Mowll and Dr Rumble, engaged in public debate on the subject.86 Archbishop Mowll saw fit to mention the controversy in his Presidential address to the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in October 1953, stating:

85 Sydney Morning Herald 25 May 1953, p.2. 86 See Frappell, S., Building Jerusalem, pp157-161. 106

It was a shock, on my return to Australia, to find that the

new florins which had been minted omitted ‘F.D. –

‘Defender of the Faith.’ I have received resolutions from a

number of Diocesan Synods, expressing great concern

about the omission, and surprise that the title ‘Defender of

the Faith’ has been omitted from our coinage without

warning. It is true that it is not legally necessary for the

inscription on coinage to coincide exactly with Her

Majesty’s official title, but the letters after the royal name,

which have become so familiar on coins we all use, is a

reminder, not only of one of the oldest titles of the

sovereign, but that our British way of life is based

fundamentally on the Christian faith.87

The Church of England was highly aggrieved by these controversies. Despite the fact that it was not an established church in Australia, it certainly conceived of itself and conducted itself as the church of the Australian establishment.88 The debates over precedence and civic religion that had arisen in this period were a particular affront to Anglicans, especially because of the direct associations in each instance with the monarchy. Brian Fletcher has argued that Anglicans were proud that ‘at the apex of government stood one of their faith’.89 There was even more at stake in this than denominational pride. Not only were Anglicans and

87 Mowll, H.W.K., ‘Presidential Address to Synod’, p.43. 88Fletcher, B., ‘Anglicanism and Nationalism in Australia 1901-1962’, Journal of Religious History 23, No.2, June 1999, p.216. 107

other Protestants concerned with protecting their own social status symbols and signs of political influence, but they were engaging in the defence of the national ethos: if Australia was to remain a free, democratic and British society it had to resist Catholic domination. The history of the English Reformation was bound up in the history of the English monarchs and this nexus had given rise to anti-

Catholic nationalist ideology and ideals of Protestant nationhood.90 Protestant propagandists incessantly spoke of British freedom and Protestant freedom interchangeably. Catholicism, on the other hand, was seen as the antithesis of the values that the monarchy and the Protestant church embodied.

The Colours Ceremony and Anzac Day Commemorations

In 1952, the regimental dedication of colours ceremony was the trigger for sectarian controversy, a further example of civic religion fuelling sectarianism.

The row centred on the impending dedication of new regimental colours at the

Royal Military College, Duntroon during the impending royal tour. The new colours were to be presented by the Queen and dedicated by the Anglican

Chaplain-General, the Bishop of Bendigo. The dedication ceremony was thus an

Anglican religious service. The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Daniel

Mannix, was the protagonist in arguing against the conduct of such a ceremony, asserting that it was ‘unconstitutional’. Dr Mannix also argued that the colours ceremony created a problem of conscience for Catholic soldiers who were

89 Ibid, p.222. 90 Haydon, C., Anti-Catholicism in 18th Century England,, p.34; Haydon, C., ‘I love my King and my Country,’ p.49; Marotti, A., Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy. 108

prohibited by their own religion from attending non-Catholic religious ceremonies, yet compelled to do so by military orders.91

The matter quickly generated sectarian controversy. The Australian Church Record took on the Catholic objections to the ceremony in what can only be described as a sectarian manner. The Australian Church Record was not swayed by the Catholic arguments, and insisted that the fault lay entirely with the Catholic Church, who it felt ‘should remain aloof from religious services which they cannot dominate’ and ‘allow the Protestant majority to worship God in their own way, rather than endeavour to banish divine worship and secularise the community.92 The Sydney

Morning Herald saw it as ‘the religious issue which threatens to mar the presentation of the colours by the Queen’, and the sectarian division on the issue was made clear: ‘the Anglican and Presbyterian officials feel that this is a deliberate attempt to break tradition’.93 The Sydney Morning Herald editorial of

12th February 1954 was sympathetic to the difficulty faced by the Federal

Cabinet in dealing with the issue. In the cause of unity that was sweeping the nation at the time of the royal tour, the Sydney Morning Herald took a very impartial stance on the issue:

It is essential, however, that some decent compromise should be

worked out for similar occasions in the future. Protestants must

recognise that Roman Catholics form an increasing proportion of

91 For a detailed discussion of the Duntroon controversy see Steinback, W., ‘Sectarianism’s Last Stand? Mannix, Menzies and the 1954 Duntroon Colours Controversy’, Australian Defence Force Journal , January/February 2001, p.19-25. 92 Australian Church Record April 26 1954, p.2. 93 Sydney Morning Herald 12 February 1954, p.3. 109

the armed forces; Roman Catholics must try to respect the

traditions of the Army and the sentiment of the majority. If the

churches cannot agree to a joint service, then perhaps

consecration of the colours will have to be held in private. The

important thing to remember is that Protestants and Roman

Catholics are both Christians and both soldiers of the Queen.94

The Prime Minister negotiated a short term solution to the controversy, convincing Dr Mannix to allow Catholic soldiers to attend physically and militarily but in a spiritual sense be in attendance only as onlookers, not as participants.95 However, even though the ceremony went ahead as planned on 17

February 1954 at Duntroon, with the Queen ‘in a peacock-green dress’ congratulating the cadets on the ‘smartness of their drill’, the matter did not die away and the sectarian contest continued to be played out.96 The following week, at the Flinders Naval Depot, ‘religious difficulties’ saw around four-hundred

Catholic naval personnel fall-out from the parade ground at rehearsal of the consecration of the Queen’s Colour.97

In fact, the matter lingered as a source of sectarian tension for quite some time.

In October 1954, in his presidential address to his diocesan synod, Archbishop

Mowll of Sydney lamented the controversy:

Referring to the place of religion in our public life, we cannot but

regret the aggressively exclusive attitude taken up by a certain

94 Sydney Morning Herald 12 February 1954, p.2. 95 Sydney Morning Herald 13 February 1954, p.3. 96 Sydney Morning Herald 18 February 1954, p.8. 110

Prelate of the Roman Catholic Church on the occasion of the

Dedication of Colours at Canberra and elsewhere during the

Queen’s visit.98

Dr Mowll was particularly concerned that Dr Mannix’s objections to the ceremony, as well as his claims that he had received assurances from the Prime

Minister concerning the nature of future ceremonies, would ‘allow our public life to be paganised and our national occasion divested of the public recognition of

Almighty God’. Dr Mowll saw this as, ‘a gross injustice to the rest of the community’ and as ‘a deplorable breach with the immemorial tradition of the

British race’.99 For Dr Mowll, this sectarian squabble was also a sign of the problems created by non-British postwar immigration and the demographic changes of the postwar era. He considered that the incident of the colours controversy lent ‘support to those who are anxious about the stream of immigration, and who are concerned to maintain the Protestant proportion of the population’.100

The colours ceremony continued to generate sectarian controversy over the next two years. Eventually it was modified, so that by 1956 various chaplains, including the Catholic chaplain, participated in the dedication of the colours, with each denominational chaplain consecrating the colours in turn. Despite the initial sectarian controversy that it aroused, the revision of the service for dedication of

97 Sydney Morning Herlad 19 February 1954, p.18. 98 Summary of the Proceedings of the First Ordinary Session of the Thirtieth Synod of the Diocese of Sydney (William Andrews Printing, Sydney, 1955) p.50. 99 Ibid. 100 Ibid. 111

regimental colours was seen in some quarters as an example of the possibilities that could be reached through ecumenical co-operation. In March 1956, the

NSW Presbyterian enthusiastically greeted the new order of service proposed for the colours ceremony, which introduced the triple dedication of regimental colours, seeing it as a ‘happy solution’ to the controversy which was ‘of great satisfaction to all who deplore sectarian squabbling in Australia. It also saw this as a unique breakthrough, noting that, ‘It would be safe to say that there is no other instance outside the Services where such an ecumenical ceremony takes place’.101

The Presbyterian continued to make this case, again arguing, in April 1956, for an end to sectarian squabbling and an ecumenical solution to the problems of civic religion:

The need for a truly ecumenical solution to our great religious

questions in Australia is nowhere better illustrated than in the

present confusion over the dedication of colours. With some

of the larger churches engaged in a struggle for power and

prestige in the details of the ceremonial, the real issues appear

to have been forgotten. The Carpenter of Nazareth would

seem to be standing uncertainly among the other ranks, as

powerful forces behind the Chaplains-General join issue over

who prays the prayers and in what order the acts of

101 NSW Presbyterian March 23 1956, p.2. 112

consecration are made. Meanwhile the whole cause of

Christianity inevitably suffers. 102

The following month these sentiments were reiterated under an editorial headline

‘Sectarianism Must Go’.103 These moderate attitudes towards rapprochement with the Catholic Church are signs of shifts within Protestantism, as well as signs that sectarian rivalry was in fact becoming a political liability.

However, not all Protestants greeted the changes so enthusiastically. The

Australian Church Record saw the triple dedication of the colours as a ‘sacrilegious and blasphemous absurdity’ and refuted the Catholic objections to the ceremony in what can only be described as a sectarian manner:

The Roman Church knows full well that a dispute over the

dedication of colours could easily lead to a discontinuance of

the practice altogether. Its pressure on the R.S.L. has led to the

dropping of the traditional Anzac Day religious service arranged

by that body at the conclusion of the Anzac Day march in

Sydney. The question of conscience is merely a convenient

lever. Roman canon law is in fact so intransigent that it allows

no participation whatever to Roman Catholics in any service

conducted by non-Romans, so the Roman Catholic church [sic]

must surely, where its members are a minority group in the

community, accept the logical conclusion of such intransigence

102 NSW Presbyterian April 20 1956, p.2. 113

and remain aloof from religious services which they cannot

dominate. They should withdraw and allow the Protestant

majority to worship God in their own way, rather than

endeavour to banish divine worship and secularise the

community. In matters like this, where reasonable concessions

can be made to differing convictions, it is not right that the

concessions we make should strengthen the Roman Catholic

position at the cost of weakening our own.104

These comments reflect the attitude of many Protestant churchmen concerning civic religion. Cognisant of the constitutional prohibition of the establishment of any religious observance, Protestant numerical majority status had been the traditional rationale for the dominance of civic religious occasions by Protestants, and in particular by the Church of England. In Protestant thinking, public religion belonged to the majority, and discontented minorities could simply abstain from such occasions and not interfere with the activities of the majority.

While the dedication of colours controversy was settled in 1956, that same year saw sectarian tensions which had been brewing since the early 1950s erupt over another aspect of civic religion: the public commemoration of Anzac Day. Until

1955, ‘united’ religious services had been held at the conclusion of Anzac Day parades. Protestants and RSL representatives would typically gather at one of the

Protestant Churches or a local Town Hall for a ‘united service’, (in Sydney, they

103 NSW Presbyterian 4 May 1956. 104 Australian Church Record, 26 April 1956, p.2. 114

would gather for a united open-air service in the Domain) and Catholics would go their separate way to attend a Requiem Mass (in Sydney, Catholics would attend

Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral). Thus, on an occasion of national significance such as Anzac Day, cultic segregation was ‘a most public expression of the division between Catholics and other Australians’.105 The RSL, lobbied by the Catholic

Church, sought to negotiate a service at which all ex-service men and women,

Protestant and Catholic, could commemorate the solemn day together. To achieve this, it was proposed that the Anzac service would be largely de- clericalised and made non-denominational. Instead of Protestant ministers, lay servicemen instead would conduct the service and read the prayers, and a clergyman would give a patriotic, not religious, address.106 This would mean that technically it was not a Protestant religious service and that therefore Catholics would be able to attend the service in good conscience.

The proposed revision of the united service, like the proposed revision of the table of precedence, met with the opposition of some influential Protestant churchmen, who felt that this was another instance of Catholic pressure tactics threatening Protestant status and tradition. They saw in the proposed revision an unacceptable concession to the Catholic religious minority and a further sign of the pitfalls of Catholic ascendancy and conspiracy to undermine the status of

Protestantism in Australian society. Protestants also complained that the proposed changes to the Anzac Day service would result in the eventual

105 Luttrell, J. ‘Cardinal Gilroy’s Anzac Day Problem’, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, June1999, p.4. 106Ibid, pp.9-10. 115

secularisation of the service, arguing that the proposals offered no guarantee to preserve the ‘sacred characteristics of thanksgiving to God and humble dependence on Him’ as well as the ‘hallowed remembrance before God’ that the

NSW Presbyterian felt were characteristic of the customary ‘united’ service.107

These were certainly the fears of the Australian Council for the WCC, whose executive made a resolution in protest at the changes, stating:

The Australian Council for the WCC recognises the propriety of

excusing Roman Catholic or other citizens from religious

observances which conflict with their conscientious convictions,

but considers the DIVESTING of national functions and public

ceremonial occasions of the public recognition of Almighty God

is grossly incongruous… and contrary to the traditions of a

British community.108

Despite such appeals to British values, the following year, a modified united service was held.109 Archbishop Mowll, the Anglican Primate, was none too impressed by the changes made to the Anzac Day arrangements:

For the first time in 40 years the Anzac Day procession

concluded without the accustomed religious service. I cannot

but regard this violent and sudden departure from our hallowed

107 NSW Presbyterian 14 January 1955, p.8. 108 NSW Presbyterian 20 April 1956, p.2. 109 Luttrell does not pinpoint this development, although he does note that in 1959 the Mass time was changed at St Mary’s Cathedral, presumably to allow Catholics to attend both the United Service following the march and Mass. See Luttrell, J. Cardinal Gilroy’s Anzac Day Problem, p.10 116

tradition as a mistaken concession to an aggressively sectional

ecclesiastical point of view and a public dishonouring of God.110

Similar indignation was expressed in the Congregationalist’s editorial in May 1956, which saw that the changes to the Anzac service had ‘met with widespread and justifiable criticism’.111 The Congregationalist held that ‘the problem is segregation on the religious level’ 112 and maintained that cultic segregation was being manipulated by the Catholic Church for its own sectarian advantage. Its editorial noted that the Catholic Church’s ‘sectarian influence has intervened with a result deeply to be deplored’, infusing the commemoration with ‘disharmony and bitterness’.113 The Presbyterian also saw the changes to the Anzac Day service in sectarian terms, maintaining that the change to the service ‘savours of the attempt on the part of the Roman Catholic Church to dominate Australian life in its every phase’.114 The Presbyterian saw the changes as a betrayal by the RSL and a concession in favour of the Catholic Church that represented ‘a disastrously secular outlook’.115 However, as with the colours ceremony, some Protestant leaders were keen to avoid sectarian controversy. Feeling that the sort of sectarian rivalry, pressure and controversy that had been generated by the Anzac

Day controversy could be counter-productive they did not wish to risk the complete secularisation of civic life. The NSW Presbyterian hoped that the

‘ecumenical spirit’ that brought a calm resolution of the colours ceremony

110 Cited in Fraser, R. ‘Anzac Day’, Southern Cross April 1966, p.15. 111 NSW Congregationalist May 1956, p.9. 112 Ibid. 113 Ibid. 114 NSW Presbyterian 14 January 1955, p.8. 115 NSW Presbyterian 6 April 1956, p.2. 117

difficulties would ‘put a stop to those forces within the R.S.S.A.I.L.A. [Returned

Sailors', Soldiers', and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia], which have pursued lamentable attempts to secularise the Anzac Day Services’.116

The controversies generated by the colours ceremony and the Anzac Day united service demonstrate how cultic segregation was both a source and stimulant of sectarian dichotomisation of society in the 1950s and 1960s. Church leaders, through their public pronouncements, disputes and their other activities, reinforced the sense that sectarian division was an ordinary fact of religious life.

Occasionally this sense of sectarian dichotomisation would attach to an issue that was not only of significance to religious communities, but had farther-reaching social or political significance or symbolic meaning.

As well as these political contingencies of the 1950s, traditional sectarian disputes continued to cause conflict. For example, in June 1956 the Australian Church

Record devoted its front page to refuting ‘the steady barrage of propaganda that tries to make out that Roman Catholics suffered from religious persecution in

Elizabethan England’.117 The article was published in response to a reference made by an ‘evidently Catholic author’ in the Sydney Morning Herald to the

‘martyrdom’ of the Catholic woman Margaret Clitheroe in 1576.118 The

Australian Church Record strongly objected to the suggestion that Protestants had systematically persecuted Catholics. Although conceding that Protestants did not believe in religious toleration, the writer was insistent that ‘It is not true that the

116 NSW Presbyterian March 23 1956, p.2. 118

Protestant record is as bad as the Roman Catholic record’.119 This raises another theme that was still frequently used in Protestant polemic: Catholic tyranny.

Articles by converts from Catholicism were also published occasionally, serving to remind concerned evangelical readers of the horrors of being raised as a Catholic and the errors of Catholic belief. For instance, in an article of this nature published in April 1956, a Baptist minister described how his Catholic upbringing saw him ‘dominated by fear’ of his priest and ‘absolutely terrified’ of confession.

He even related how he was forced to help drunken priests make their way home.120 In August 1956, an article appeared in the Australian Church Record detailing the persecution of Protestants in Spain – themes very familiar to readers of The Rock – and in 1961, the editor of the Australian Church Record mused that

‘Spain is considered by Rome to be her chief glory among the nations. It is small wonder then if Protestants there suffer many and grievous troubles at the hands of Rome’.121 Articles of this variety helped to locate the contemporaneous circumstances of evangelicalism and Protestantism within a broader context of sectarian antagonism and oppression and fuelled anti-Catholicism.

The politics of Ireland and its implications for sectarianism occasionally provoked sectarian tensions in the 1950s, but not to the degree they had in earlier decades.

The Orange Day Parade and commemoration provoked the annoyance of the

Catholic Weekly which, in July 1957, raised complaints against the way in which

117 The Australian Church Record 21 June 1956, p.1. 118 Sydney Morning Herald 2 June 1956, p.11. 119 The Australian Church Record 21 June 1956, p.1. 120 The Australian Church Record 12 April 1956, p.15. 121 The Australian Church Record 26 October 1961, p.6. 119

the parade was conducted and the meanings behind its commemoration. The

Catholic Weekly took offence at the laying of wreaths in commemoration of the

Battle of the Boyne on the Cenotaph. The Catholic Weekly held that to use the

Cenotaph for such a sectarian and divisive purpose was insensitive and sacrilegious to the memory of Australian Catholics who had died fighting for

Australia, maintaining that ‘they should find some appropriate place for their rituals’.122 The Catholic Weekly also argued that Orangemen and their supporters were guilty of a double-standard, citing their arguments against non-British immigration as hypocritical:

It is an extraordinary thing that the very people who raise the

strongest objections to the migration of European peoples to

Australia, on the grounds that they may bring their old

antipathies and antagonisms with them, are themselves

foremost in fanning the fires of battles that should have been

forgotten long ago. I refer to the Loyal Orange Lodge, which

held its customary observance of the Battle of the Boyne (1690)

last Sunday afternoon.123

However, the politics of Ireland was no longer a driving force for sectarianism in

Australia and sectarian altercations of this nature were becoming exceptional. 124

It is apparent that throughout the ‘long 1950s’ sectarian tension continued to be a strong feature of institutional life and interaction for the churches. Protestant

122 Catholic Weekly 19 July 1957, p.1. 120

leaders often rallied together to oppose Catholic interests and to assert their own.

Protestant leaders were not only defending the public signs and symbols of their own status in a perceived context of their declining significance, but were also jealously guarding them from falling into Catholic hands – perhaps an equally strong, if not stronger, motivation.

123 Catholic Weekly 19 July 1957, p.1. 124 O’Farrell, P. The Irish in Australia, p.300. 121

CHAPTER 6:

SECTARIAN POLEMIC IN THE 1950s

With events such as the Eucharistic Congress and Family Rosary Crusade, as well as debates over precedence, the new florin coin and the colours ceremony, the

1950s provided fertile ground for sectarian polemic. This chapter explores the nature of sectarian polemic in the 1950s. It focuses on an analysis of polemical exchanges between prominent religious figures of the period, such as the Catholic broadcaster the Reverend Doctor Leslie Rumble and the Anglican controversialist

Archdeacon T.C. Hammond. It also presents a case study of the notorious anti-

Catholic newspaper The Rock. This chapter argues that in the 1950s sectarian polemic was not merely an activity of the extremist fringes of denominations, but rather was one that was central to mainstream religious culture. It shows that sectarian polemicists were often senior churchmen who exercised great influence and power within their denominations. This chapter also argues that while sectarian polemic was sometimes triggered by contemporaneous local contingencies, it was framed within the traditional sectarian discursive context.

Dr Rumble’s Question Box

Probably the best known, and certainly most prolific, Australian Catholic apologist / polemicist of the twentieth century was the Reverend Dr Leslie

Rumble. Dr Rumble was a Sacred Heart priest who, since 1928, had conducted a regular ‘Question-Box’ radio programme on the Sydney Catholic radio station 122

2SM.1 Rumble was a convert to Catholicism and became a staunch defender of his adopted faith. He described his parents’ families as ‘very English and very

Protestant’, although he also noted that his parents were not particularly ‘church- conscious’ and that parental apathy as well as irregular church and Sunday School attendance meant that he ‘didn’t get much in the way of religion out of all of this, except that I learned to describe myself rather fiercely as Protestant, and to foster a quite unreasonable prejudice against all things Catholic’. He described this prejudice as an ‘antipathy’ that ‘seemed to be in my very bones’.2 After some contact with a Catholic mission, Rumble’s parents converted to Catholicism when he was sixteen years old and accordingly the whole family was received into the

Catholic Church. According to Rumble, for him this was merely a passive acceptance of something imposed on him by his parents rather than a genuine religious conversion. After he had been received into the Catholic Church,

Rumble rebelled against his parents and began attending the local Anglican

Church – ‘more out of spite than out of religious feeling’.3 According to Rumble, it was later on, after the example of a Catholic co-worker inspired him, that he began to seriously contemplate religion, taking on the Catholic faith for himself and ultimately priesthood.

It would seem that Rumble felt that his personal background provided him with a certain credibility in his discussion of Protestantism in his radio broadcasts and writings and a large dimension of his apologetics involved contrasting

1 Campion,E., 'Rumble, Leslie Audoen (1892-1975)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 16 (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 2002) pp.150-151. 2Rumble, L., ‘Not as One Beating the Air’, The Catholic Weekly 26 Feb 1953 p.12. 123

Catholicism and Protestantism. He frequently reminded his audience that he was not a bigoted Catholic who had been raised on anti-Protestant tales. Rather, he presented himself as someone who had moved beyond an irrational and uninformed prejudice against Catholicism to an enlightened understanding and acceptance of that faith. In his writings and broadcasts he described how a deep rooted anti-Catholicism was inculcated in him through the influence of school and family, ‘My ‘broad-minded’ Protestant teachers taught me to dislike the

Catholic Church intensely.4 He locates these prejudices within the tradition of

English anti-Catholic discourse, commenting that ‘even here in Australia’ his childish imagination turned ‘nuns into witches and Priests into Gunpowder-plot-

Conspirators’.5

A large component of his apologetics dealt with explaining Catholic dogma and ritual or defending the same to Protestants who had submitted questions to him.

Dr Rumble held that ‘it is with the problems of Protestants that I have most often to deal’, and he found that these problems his Protestant listeners were ‘allergic’ to were Catholic teachings and practices such as confession, purgatory, convent life, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.6

3 The Catholic Weekly 26 Feb 1953, p.13. 4 Cited at http://www.catholicauthors.com/rumbleandcarty.html 5 The Catholic Weekly 26 February 1953, p.12. 6 Catholic Weekly 2 April 1953. 124

An illustration of Dr Rumble at his desk. Source: Catholic Weekly 26 February 1953

An indefatigable Catholic apologist, broadcasting over radio 2-SM for forty years,

Rumble was also a prolific writer. He composed pamphlets for the Catholic Truth

Society (CTS) as well as many articles for the Catholic Weekly and other books for publication. Cardinal Gilroy noted that Rumble’s skill lay in his ability to ‘explain simply and clearly what the Church really teaches’ as well as ‘to render it interesting and intelligible to anyone who is willing to listen’.7 Monsignor Meany, the Director of Radio Station 2SM, the broadcaster of Dr Rumble’s Radio Replies programme, described Rumble’s ‘fearlessness, his fairness, his logic’ and commented that his radio presentation was ‘always piquant, provocative’.8 In the introduction to his 1954 CTS pamphlet The Presbyterians, Rumble made an appeal to ‘level-headed and objective discussion’ of religion rather than ‘heated attacks’ and ‘heated defence’ at a time when ‘old controversies between divided

7 Rumble, L., Five Pre-Marriage Instructions on the Catholic Religion (Annals Publications, Kensington:1947). 8 Rumble, L., Radio Replies in Defence of Religion (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1933) p.ix. 125

Churches are rapidly losing their appeal’.9 David Gibson, a Catholic who at one time was a seminarian in Rumble’s own order, observes of Rumble’s replies, ‘I always thought he was very dispassionate in his responses, he was never personal, and he never put the boot in. He dissected clinically the argument’.10 Campion, in his biography of Rumble, comments that Rumble’s style was ‘to play fair with questioners whom he always treated as honest inquirers’.11

However, it is certainly evident that much of the material canvassed by Rumble in his Radio Replies concerned traditional sectarian disputes, themes and prejudices.

His apologetics are not simply defensive of Catholic teaching, but are at times aggressive, dismissive or highly prejudiced against non-Catholic opinion, teaching or thought. Whether Rumble and others are classified as apologists or polemicists, the reality is that their work contributed significantly to the sectarian climate of Australia throughout a large part of the twentieth century. These indicators are not unique or necessarily deliberately provocative. Rather, they simply show the way in which sectarian discourse dominated discussion of religion at the time and how this made it extremely difficult to draw a clear line between religious apologetics and sectarian polemics. The same difficulty is apparent in the various pamphlets on Protestant denominations and other religions that Rumble published for the CTS. Rumble’s standard method when explaining other denominations was to give an account of the origins, history and beliefs of the denomination – usually in terms of its differences from Catholicism,

9 Rumble, L., The Presbyterians, (Annals Publications, Kensington: 1954). 10 Oral History Interview with David Gibson by Benjamin Edwards, 28 May 2003. 126

its ecclesiology, understanding of the ministry – and then ultimately conclusions.

The conclusions invariably detailed the inadequacy of the denomination in question and an explanation of why it was not part of the one true Church, and that its adherents should properly follow the example of one of their intelligent former brethren and convert to Catholicism. His radio broadcasts were regularly published in the Catholic Weekly.

It is important to note that through his ‘Question Box’, Dr Rumble was replying to questions put to him and was not gratuitously hitting back at Protestant controversialists of his own initiative. However, the nature of the questions that

Rumble dealt with, as well as the fact that these are the questions to which he chose to reply, suggests that the contest between Protestant and Catholic sectarian interpretations of history and theology was still very much framed within the context of traditional sectarian typologies and that no matter how objective Rumble sought to be in his treatment of the questions posed to him, sectarian assumptions, bias and agendas that fall into the pattern of traditional sectarian polemic appear. Protestant apologists and polemicists viewed Rumble as more than just a ‘piquant and provocative’ broadcaster, seeing him as one of their major sectarian opponents. They responded to Rumble’s Catholic apologetics as sectarian polemics, as these remarks demonstrate:

11 Campion, E., ‘Leslie Audoen Rumble’ in The Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16: 1940-1980 (eds), Ritchie, J. & Langmore, D., (Melbourne University Press: 2002) pp.150-151. 127

His [Rumble’s] attacks on Protestantism were well-known

– his lies about The Rock, Chiniquy, history and

Protestantism were legion.12

Dr Rumble complained that he was often misrepresented by Protestant clergymen. He felt that Anglican clergy in particular, fearful of proselytism, sought to undermine his influence and credibility.13 Rumble felt so aggrieved by these alleged slurs and misrepresentations that he published five-instalments of autobiographical writings in the Catholic Weekly in 1953 under the title, ‘Not as

One Beating the Air’. In the preface to these articles he remarked,

It would be too much to hope that my doing so will put an end

to the extraordinary rumors [sic] concerning myself in

Protestant circles. But at least it will enable readers of ‘The

Catholic Weekly’ to correct wrong impressions wherever they

may happen to meet with them.14

This personal apologetic came in the midst of a major polemical exchange which had erupted between Dr Rumble and the Anglican Bishop of Ballarat, the Right

Reverend W.H. Johnson. Before he became bishop of Ballarat, Bishop Johnson had been Dean of Newcastle. While at Newcastle, he composed a biographical work, The Right Reverend George Merrick Long: A Memoir, which was a study of

Bishop Long, sometime Bishop of Bathurst (1911-1928) and Newcastle (1928-

1930) who had published a booklet in 1913 entitled Papal Pretensions: A Reply to

12 Shelton, D., The Campbell File: Memoirs of J.W. Campbell of ‘The Rock’ (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1981) p.103. 13 The Catholic Weekly 26 Feb 1953, p.12. 128

Roman Catholic Assertions.15 This treatise dealt with the standard themes and concerns of anti-Catholic polemic, such as refuting the claims of papal supremacy. It seems that Bishop Johnson was quite the disciple of Bishop Long, for not only did he compose a biography of Bishop Long, but he also borrowed the title and themes of Bishop Long’s anti-Catholic booklet for his own booklet of

1953.

Bishop Johnson strongly objected to Dr Rumble’s ‘persistent attacks’ upon the

Church of England and this was his motive for composing his tract Roman

Catholic Assertions.16 The booklet was largely concerned with rebutting the views expressed by Dr Rumble in his question-box session on radio 2-SM.17 Over the years, Dr Rumble earned a reputation for himself as a fierce critic of Anglicanism, which he had at times described as ‘heretical and schismatic’, ‘vague and confused’, and ‘contradictory’.18 By his own admission, in his programme he frequently dealt with questions concerning the Anglican Church,

Where non-Catholic Churches are concerned, all come up

for discussion at times, but more questions have to do with

Anglicanism than with other forms of Protestantism for

14 The Catholic Weekly 26 February 1953, p.12. 15 Johnson, W., The Right Reverend George Merrick Long: A Memoir, (The St John’s College Press, Morpeth: 1930); Long, G.M., Papal Pretensions: A Reply to Roman Catholic Assertions, (Church Book Store, Sydney: 1913). 16 Johnson, W.H., Roman Catholic Assertions: A Reply (Baxter & Stubbs, Ballarat: 1952) p.2; The Catholic Weekly 1 May 1952 p.12; 24 April 1952, p.12. 17 Some examples of Dr Rumble’s critique of Anglicanism feature in his Question Box transcripts in The Catholic Weekly 23 October 1953, p.12; 19 March 1953 p.12; 22 May 1952 p.12. 18 Rumble, L., Radio Replies in Defence of Religion, (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1933) p.219; Catholic Weekly 10 April 1952, p.12; Catholic Weekly 19 March 1952, p.12. 129

the simple reason that Anglicans happen to be numerically

in the majority in this country.19

Bishop Johnson hit back at Dr Rumble, maintaining that ‘the official attitude of the Roman Catholic Church, and the methods of Roman Catholic controversialists, make the Roman Catholic Church a divisive influence in

Christianity today, just as she was when she caused the division of the Church in centuries gone by’.20 In this booklet, Bishop Johnson challenged Dr Rumble’s notion that the Church of England was ‘vague and confused’, countering it with accusations that ‘perversions that helped to cause the Reformation still flourish in the Roman Church’, dismissing arguments of papal supremacy, criticising

Catholic Marian devotion and asserting that the decree of papal infallibility is

‘unsatisfactory…from the point of view of Christian standards’.21

Whilst The Anglican may have heralded the publication of Bishop Johnson’s booklet as ‘Bishop Refutes Roman Critic’, Bishop Johnson had not had the last word.22 In 1953, Rumble published Reply to the Anglican Bishops in Australia, his own response to Bishop Johnson’s booklet, in which he examined Bishop

Johnson’s tract and sought to repudiate its arguments, all the while maintaining that he was not using his radio programme to engage in a personal sectarian attack upon the Church of England:

And when asked why I think Anglicanism defective

compared with Catholicism, or wherein Anglican

19 Rumble, L., Reply to the Anglican Bishops in Australia (Annals Publications, Kensington NSW: 1953). 20 Johnson, W.H., Roman Catholic Assertions: A Reply, (Baxter & Stubbs, Ballarat: 1952). 21 Ibid. 130

objections to Catholicism are at fault, I declare my mind

clearly and dispassionately on the subject. To suggest that

such replies to enquiries are gratuitous attacks upon the

Church of England is to distort the position entirely.23

Bishop Johnson’s booklet had the imprimatur of an impressive array of Anglican prelates: the Archbishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia, Dr Mowll, the archbishops of Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, the bishops of Tasmania,

Adelaide, Canberra-Goulburn, Armidale, Carpentaria, Gippsland, Bendigo, St

Arnaud, Riverina, Wangarratta, Willochra, Bunbury, Bathurst, Kalgoorlie,

Grafton and Geelong; the deans of Melbourne and Sydney; the heads of the diocesan theological colleges in Sydney, Adelaide, Tasmania, Brisbane and

Auckland; as well as the Archdeacon of Hobart; the Principal of Canberra

Grammar School, Canon David Garnsey; and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr

Geoffrey Fisher. In discussing the endorsement of Bishop Johnson’s booklet by so many Anglican prelates, a tongue-in-cheek Dr Rumble remarked,

Such a weight of authority and such a display of unity

would be impressive if only Bishop Johnson’s booklet were

not an attack on the Catholic Church. Of course all

Anglican Bishops will stand together if it’s a question of

opposing Rome!24

He argued that the Church of England was a house divided in terms of theology and churchmanship:

22 The Anglican 12 June 1953, p.2. 131

Bishop Robin, of Adelaide, will then forget his direct and

public opposition to the teaching of Archbishop Mowll, of

Sydney, concerning remarriage after divorce. Bishop

Wylde, of Bathurst, will put out of his mind for the time

being the ‘Red Book Case’ which he lost at the cost of

thousands of pounds because of its ‘Romanizing’

tendencies. Archdeacon T.C. Hammond will be content to

be associated with the ‘Rev. Father Snell,’ of the Society of

the Sacred Mission, though if he himself were described as

the ‘Rev. Father T.C.Hammond’ he would be horrified…

The Anglicanism of the Sydney Archdiocese and that of

the Kelham Fathers constitute two essentially different

religions!

Dr Rumble pointed out that the only common bond amidst this disunity was anti-

Catholicism:

But all doctrinal, liturgical and disciplinary differences will

be laid aside when it is a question of a ‘united front’ in

proclaiming that ‘Rome is Wrong’. But it is not impressive

that they should present such a ‘united front’ for such a

purpose. Every sensible person would expect that. What

would be remarkable would be to find the same array of

Archbishops and Bishops, Archdeacons and Canons and

23 Rumble, L., Reply to the Anglican Bishops. 132

Deans united in proclaiming just what Anglican teaching

really is! But that will never be.25

The booklet continued with a rebuttal of Bishop Johnson’s interpretation of standard matters of sectarian historiographical and theological dispute between

Anglicans and Catholics: the authority of church teachings; interpreting the

English Reformation especially as regards Henry VIII; papal authority; papal infallibility; ecclesiology; and, Mariolatry. This was by no means a new form of sectarian polemic of the mid-twentieth century: rather, it forms yet another link in the chain of sectarian discourse.

Bishop Johnson was not alone in his frustrations with Dr Rumble, who was also a favoured target of The Rock, the notoriously anti-Catholic newspaper which will be discussed more fully later in this chapter. The Rock complained of his ‘chiding of Protestants’ and in its own hard-hitting style, The Rock unleashed a barrage of anti-Catholic vitriol and accusation against Dr Rumble and his church.26 Two lengthy replies to Dr Rumble were published in The Rock in 1950. The first such reply, written ‘in everlasting protest’, by H.W. Crittenden is a prime example of the fusion of ethnicity, politics and religion in sectarian polemic. Under the headline, ‘Stand Up, Father Rumble’, with a subheading of biblical allusion, ‘The

Second Epistle to the Romans’, Crittenden used nearly every disposable weapon in the armoury of anti-Catholic typology in his assault on Dr Rumble. Within the

24 Ibid. p.1 25 Ibid. 26 The Rock 7 May 1953, p.7. 133

opening paragraph of this ‘epistle’, Dr Rumble and the Catholic Church were sneered at in a fairly vicious manner:

Dear Father,

Only my Anglo-Saxon sense of humour permits me to address

you thus. Your front page ‘Reply to Bertrand Russell’ in the

‘Catholic Weekly’, which inspired this epistle, labels you as a

‘Doctor’ which is unacceptable to me; I do not suggest that it

would prejudice the dignity of less pretentious witch-doctors of

other more primitive branches of pagan theology.27

However, the diatribe deteriorated, invoking both ethnic and class prejudices:

Your application of Rafferty’s rules to the art of debate makes it

difficult for me to accept that you were trained for the Anglican

ministry in the English traditions of decency, as you still permit

your readers to believe. It seems that St Ligouri’s villainous

‘Moral Theology’ is hardly the text book for transforming

congenitally handicapped Irish students into gentlemen.28

A personal attack on Dr Rumble followed, describing him as ‘a relatively obscure, and from the liberal education viewpoint, very ignorant priest’. An even more vociferous attack on Catholicism, described as ‘a perfectly balanced compound of polytheistic paganism and Machiavellian politics’. Crittenden argued that the

Catholic Church was ‘the hybridised product of the union of early Christianity

27 The Rock 13 August 1950. 28 Ibid. 134

with still earlier paganisms’, and ‘that foul racial-religious-political combination that has given us Rafferty politicians; corrupted all our British institutions in

Australia; poisoned our National soul; and, from its present domination, now threatens our entire future as a great State’.29 The second reply, written under the headline ‘We Accept Your Challenge, Dr Rumble…And Issue One’, was written by the editor of The Rock, J.W. Campbell. Referring to the ‘church of the popes’ as the ‘Synagogue of Satan’, Campbell presented a historical survey, detailing the struggles of reformers over the centuries such as Wycliffe, Huss, Luther and Knox as well as tales of Catholic atrocities such as the massacre of St Bartholomew’s day – all standard themes of anti-Catholic literature – before issuing his challenge to Dr Rumble:

Now, Dr. Rumble, we who publish ‘The Rock’ are

Protestants. We see no cause to apologise to any man for

that. Least of all would we give a second thought to the

opinion of a priest of Rome. However, because we believe

that you have a certain following – albeit deluded – the

writer of this article would be prepared to meet you in

debate. We would not object if you arranged that the

debate be broadcast on the National Stations. Now,

there’s a tempting offer, sir! Think of the good you could

do for the cause you espouse, if you have a case. Or would

29 Ibid. 135

you prefer to just go along quietly, sniping at us from the

security of your own private radio station? 30

A public debate was not forthcoming. According to the Reverend Dennis Shelton, who had associations with The Rock, ‘Challenges to public debate were always studiously ignored by the Romanist [Dr Rumble]’.31

Whilst his own apologetic work may not have intentionally been sectarian polemic, the response that Rumble received, the nature of his contribution to public apologetics and religious discourse and the context in which he operated meant that his name was associated with sectarian polemic. Certainly this was how his opponents wished him to be seen. The Rock made him a favourite target and the advent of ‘The Case for Protestantism’, on the NSW CC controlled broadcaster 2-CH, meant that there was a definite sectarian polemic being played out through the religious media. It is indicative of the sectarian mood of the postwar era that, despite his desire to be seen as non-sectarian and as a rational, dispassionate apologist, Dr Rumble was nevertheless associated with sectarian polemic.

The Case for Protestantism The launch of ‘The Case for Protestantism’ in 1953, broadcast over 2-CH, shows that Dr Rumble’s Catholic propaganda was taken seriously enough by Protestants that they felt the need to launch a counter-programme. This was a sign that ‘the doctrinal battles of the Reformation were still alive and public religious

30 The Rock 19 October 1950, p.3. 31 Shelton, D., The Campbell File, p.103. 136

controversy was endemic’.32 Archdeacon T.C. Hammond, the Reverend Bernard

Judd and Dr Cumming Thom were regular contributors to ‘What Protestants

Think’ and ‘The Case for Protestantism’. Archdeacon Hammond complained in one broadcast:

The Rev Dr Rumble takes Protestants to task. We always

welcome criticism. It makes us careful as to what we say.

But, of course, we reserve the right to examine the

arguments of our critics and to reject them if they are

unconvincing. Dr Rumble is very unconvincing.33

Hammond then devoted that entire broadcast to rebuffing Dr Rumble’s complaint, ‘If people want to object to Catholic teachings and practices, the least they can do is to try to grasp and describe those teachings and practices as they really are’, with Hammond arguing that Dr Rumble’s own understanding of

Catholic teaching and doctrine was inadequate: ‘We fear that it is Dr. Rumble who is really ignorant of Roman Catholic teaching’.34 Hammond continued to make his case, concentrating on traditional dogmatic themes of sectarian significance, such as transubstantiation and papal authority.

Archdeacon Hammond (1877-1960) was born in Cork and was ordained in the

Church of Ireland (Anglican) in 1903. He became the Superintendent of the Irish

Church Missions, an evangelistic organisation within the Church of Ireland that sought to proselytise Catholics, and was often involved in controversies, ‘not

32 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, p.402. 33 The Rock 7 May 1953, p.7. 34 Ibid. 137

without danger and excitement’.35 In 1926, Hammond visited Australia while giving an international lecture tour, sponsored by evangelical Anglicans who were opposed to the proposed revised 1928 Book of Common Prayer on the basis that it subverted Anglican doctrine and introduced Catholic practices.36 Hammond left a favourable impression among Sydney Anglicans on this tour and ten years later, in 1936, he was invited to become principal of Moore College and Rector of St

Phillip’s Church Hill by Archbishop Mowll, who was keen to place a conservative evangelical at the helm of his diocese’s theological education.37 Hammond, a fine evangelical scholar who published various theological texts, was also a redoubtable anti-Catholic, Sir Marcus Loane dubbed him, ‘a master of the Roman controversy’, and amongst his other ecclesiastical appointments Hammond also served as Chaplain General of the LOI in Sydney and was awarded the LOI’s

Order of Merit in 1947.38 In 1960, Hammond was elected Grand Master of the

LOI, although according to his biographer he ‘never took office’ and was not a

‘driving force’ in the Orange Movement, although he found their company

‘congenial’.39

Hammond’s radio broadcasts in the ‘Case for Protestantism’ series on 2CH as well as his other writings and statements against Romanism which appeared from

35 The Rock 14 December 1961, p.6. 36Nelson, W., T.C.Hammond Irish Christian: His Life and Legacy in Ireland and Australia, (Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh: 1994) p. 83; Piggin, S., Evangelical Christianity, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne: 1996) p.120. 37 Nelson, W., ‘T.C. Hammond’, The Australian Evangelical Dictionary of Biography, (ed)Dickey, B. (Evangelical History Association, Sydney: 1994) p.151. 38 Loane, M.L., Mark these Men, (Acorn Press, Canberra: 1985) p.72. 39 Nelson,W., T.C. Hammond Irish Christian, p.118. 138

time to time in The Rock and other sources, made him a key participant in the evangelical anti-Catholic crusade. Nelson remarks:

Australia was reflecting something of the power struggle with a

confident Catholicism that Hammond had known in Ireland and

he was in his element. The controversial style Hammond

adopted in his exchanges with Catholic spokesmen reinforced

Hammond’s public role as the unyielding leader and spokesman

of conservative evangelicalism…’40

Hammond’s keen intellect and the tenacity of his arguments ensured that he presented his ‘Case for Protestantism’ with much authority and persuasion. His broadcast subjects generally favoured classic themes and figures from

Reformation history interspersed with theological swipes at Catholicism. Topics covered included: Why Ridley Died; Why Cranmer Died; Henry VIII and the

Reformation; Problems Associated with the Mass; Communion in One Kind; The

Sacrifice of the Mass; The Sacraments; Who was John XXIII?; Protestants and the

Interpretation of Scripture; Mixed Marriages; Roman Catholic Dissensions;

Indulgences; Distortions of History; What the Reformation Did; Interpretation of the

Church. These subjects and their treatment neatly conformed with the traditional sectarian typology of anti-Catholicism in the British tradition, and accordingly they greatly appealed to The Rock which published many of these broadcast addresses over the years. These addresses were highly charged with anti-Catholic feeling and show the continued influence of traditional sectarian discourse.

40 Nelson, W., ‘Hammond, T.C.’ ,The Australian Evangelical Dictionary of Biography, p.152. 139

Hammond’s style was certainly that of a controversialist and polemicist. The present Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen has commented that Hammond’s name ‘is associated with controversy and polemic’, especially in relation to his

‘life-time joust with Roman Catholicism’ but also points out that Hammond was also greatly concerned with ‘the errors of liberalism and Anglo-Catholicism’.41

Hammond’s self-understanding, according to Archbishop Jensen, as ‘an evangelical first and an Anglican second’ was the basis for his readiness to mix with those of other denominations in the pursuit of his ‘quarrel with Rome and the liberals’.42 This mindset is representative of the synthesis that was developing in conservative Protestantism in this period.

Whereas Archdeacon Hammond may have preferred to deal with dogmatic matters in his ongoing polemic with Catholicism, his friend and fellow Irish

Protestant crusader, Miss Monica Farrell, was quite comfortable expanding her anti-Catholic polemic from dogmatic matters to the moral, political and institutional failings of Catholicism. Archdeacon Hammond and Monica Farrell found themselves very much at home in the militant Protestant culture of Sydney

Anglicanism. Like Hammond, Farrell was an Irish convert from Catholicism to the strident evangelical Anglicanism of the Church of Ireland. Born into a large

Catholic family, Farrell was orphaned at the age of seven. Religion was strong in the Farrell family. Three of her sisters were Dominican nuns, one brother a priest

41 Jensen, P., ‘Caleb in the Antipodes: The Pivotal Role of T.C.Hammond’, The T.C. Hammond Lecture (Southern Cross, June 2005). 42 Ibid. 140

and another brother a monk.43 Farrell’s conversion to Protestantism was in 1918 and she soon entered into training with the Irish Church Mission where she stayed until 1937 when T.C. Hammond arranged for her to be invited to

Australia. Farrell, accompanied by her friend Miss Emily Norbury, who in 1939 became principal of Deaconess House and head deaconess in the Diocese of

Sydney, came to Australia with a mandate ‘to preach and emphasise the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel and, point out the errors of the Church of

Rome, many of which were creeping back into a section of the Church of

44 45 England, styling itself Anglo-Catholic’. ,

Farrell accepted her brief with great enthusiasm, evangelising, conducting lecture tours, speaking in the Domain and composing tracts all the while allegedly being stalked, drugged, sabotaged, and put in danger of assassination and abduction by

‘Catholic Actionists’.46 Her autobiographical writings unfold with all the melodrama, sensation and suspense of tales of espionage and international mystery. For example, in Laughing with God, Farrell describes an occasion in

1937 when she went to visit her sister in a Dominican convent in Adelaide.

According to Farrell she was given dinner by the mother superior in the company of four other nuns and was then driven by the nuns back to her ship. She says that on arriving at the ship, ‘I began to act strangely’, as though she were drunk,

43 Farrell, M., From Rome to Christ: The Story of a Spiritual Pilgrimage (Protestant Publications, 1981) p.5. 44 Hyland, N., ‘Norbury, Emily’, The Australian Evangelical Dictionary of Biography Dickey, B. (ed), p.287. 45 Farrell, M., From Rome to Christ. p. 30; see also Nelson, W. entry for Hammond, T.C.; and Hammond, C.K., entry for ‘Farrell, Monica’, The Australian Evangelical Dictionary of Biography, p.152, p.110. 46 Farrell, M., Laughing with God (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1957) see pp.30-31. 141

and then slept for two nights and a day.47 Her other symptoms included sores on her lips and an impaired sense of taste. Farrell deduced for herself that she had been drugged at the convent and had only avoided death because she was ‘under the protection of God’.48

Farrell’s activities certainly sought to provoke sectarian conflict, and a large part of her crusade was fuelled by her own conspiracy theories that Catholic agents wished to silence her. Farrell asserts in Laughing with God that her public meetings were frequently interrupted and disturbed by ‘Catholic Actionists’. She describes one such incident in Fremantle where her talk ‘Life inside the Church of Rome’ was unable to proceed because, she claimed, the local priest had ‘told his people’ to ‘turn up in strength’ and disrupt her meeting by singing ‘God Save

The King’, ‘Roll Out the Barrell’, ‘Three Blind Mice’, and ‘to clap their hands, stamp their feet and in any other ways make such a din’. Farrell says that 500

Catholics and about 50 Protestants attended the meeting, although her flair for the dramatic and sensational would suggest these figures should not be relied on.

The meeting was duly interrupted, as Farrell explained:

As soon as I stood up to read the Scriptures, a drunk man

stood and shouted, ‘I object! I Object!’ With a leer in his

face and a muddle in his voice he then preceded to lead

the ludicrous singing of ‘God Save The King’, beating time

and gesticulating before a jeering mob. This was the signal

47 Ibid, p.30. 48 Ibid. 142

for bedlem [sic] let loose which lasted for an hour or

more…49

In her description of this incident Farrell makes the point that the Catholic people attending the meeting were pressured to behave as they did by four priests inside the hall who ‘paraded up and down watching their poor silly goats to see

50 they “did their stuff” ’. Her comments assert the standard anti-Catholic accusation that lay Catholics were brow-beaten by their clergy.

Farrell’s many publications included titles such as The Evil of Mixed Marriages, A

Ready Answer to R.C. Arguments, Ravening Wolves: A Story of R.C. Ustashi

Atrocities under cover of WWII, Laughing with God, From Rome to Christ, and Why

Am I A Protestant Daddy? Farrell was a friend of The Rock and her activities, addresses and reports filled many pages of that publication over the years. Her work with ‘The Builders’ continued for ten years and then in 1947 she began freelance evangelistic work as well as her work as a representative of the Light and Truth Gospel Crusade which she founded. The Light and Truth Gospel

Crusade was based on the Irish Church Mission, with which Farrell was well acquainted. The Crusade met every Tuesday at St Phillip Church Hall, Church

Hill, where all concerned could ‘Hear the Truth of God’s Word contrasted with

Roman Error’ as expounded by Monica Farrell.51 Her writings demonstrate a clear nexus between her evangelical faith and her intense anti-Catholicism. Her anti-Catholicism in fact appears pervasive and consuming, mirroring that of J.W.

49 Ibid, pp. 26-27. 50 Ibid. 51 This was a regular slogan in ‘Light and Truth Gospel Crusade’ advertisements in The Rock. 143

Campbell. She viewed Catholics as bewitched victims of priestcraft, ‘As I looked down from the platform on this scene [a riot at one of her public meetings], a deep sense of pity for these poor victims of priestcraft filled my heart’, and she spent her energies in efforts to proselytise men and women from ‘the pit of popery’. 52

Hammond and Farrell’s activities demonstrate the way that dogmatic sectarianism was deeply embedded in the institutional and cultural life of Sydney

Anglicanism and evangelicalism generally. To some extent Hammond and Farrell personify the sectarian nexus of theology and politics that existed between conservative evangelicalism and the troubles of Ireland which was distinctive of

Protestantism in Sydney. However, it is apparent that whilst the politics of

Ireland may have provided an ideological context for their anti-Catholicism and helps to explain the intensity of their theological commitment to evangelical

Protestantism, theirs was first and foremost an expression of sectarianism that focused on doctrinal matters and was fuelled by religious zeal. It is for this reason that their cause was taken up by others within the Sydney Anglican tradition, such as the Reverend Bernard Judd and the Reverend Canon Dr D. Broughton

Knox. Judd (1918-1999), ‘one of Sydney’s best known clergymen in the eyes of the general public’, 53 was ordained in 1943 and spent a large part of his ministry as rector of East Sydney. He was heavily influenced by Hammond who was principal of Moore College while Judd was a student there, and he was a

52 Farrell, M., Laughing with God, pp. 26, 28 53 Obituary Sydney Morning Herald 13 January 1999. 144

renowned advocate of ‘extreme Protestantism’, which he was able to articulate through his weekly broadcasts from the 1940s on radio station, 2CH.54 His obituary spoke of his links with The Rock and his ‘doing battle with the Sacred

Heart priest Dr Leslie Rumble on 2SM’.55 Through his role as the Secretary of the

NSW CC, Judd was able to add another degree of significance to his anti-

Catholic pronouncements.56 He frequently spoke out against the interests of the

Catholic Church during the state aid debates of the 1960s, as will be discussed later in this thesis. Whilst acknowledging his proclivity for anti-Catholic polemic,

Judd’s obituary stated, ‘His views about ‘Rome’ and ‘Romish tendencies’ among his fellow Anglicans mellowed considerably in the [1970s] and beyond’.57

Broughton Knox supplemented his duties as principal of Moore College with polemical activities. In addition to editing the Australian Church Record, he followed in the well trodden path of Hammond by frequently critiquing

Catholicism during his weekly radio broadcasts on 2-CH. Cameron notes that half of the broadcasts made by Knox in the 1960s directly concerned matters of

Catholic doctrine.58 While Cameron asserts in her biography of Knox that ‘his tone was never polemic’, his subject matter certainly was, featuring traditional polemical topics – purgatory, the papacy, indulgences, Marianism, transubstantiation, confession, worship and authority.59

54 Obituary for Judd in Southern Cross March 1999. 55 Sydney Morning Herald 13 January 1999. 56 He was also involved with the Temperance Union and the United Council of Protestant Action0. 57Sydney Morning Herald 13 January 1999. 58 Cameron, M., An Enigmatic Life: David Broughton Knox, (Acorn Press, Victoria: 2006) p.207. 59 Ibid; Birkett, K., D. Broughton Knox, Selected Works: Volume II Church and Ministry, (Matthias Media, Sydney: 2003) pp.393-423. 145

The Rock

The most notorious sectarian polemic of the postwar era was that of the anti-

Catholic newspaper, The Rock. The Rock was the brainchild of J.W.W. Campbell,

1906-1979, resident of Glebe. Campbell was a self-styled ‘Protestant Crusader

Journalist’ and returned WWII service man. Campbell had provided the initiative and most of the funding behind the publication, which was initially edited until

1947 by his half-brother, W.W. Campbell who relinquished editorial duties to devote himself full time ‘to maintaining our existence, and prepare means to handle our rapid expansion’. 60 J.W.W. Campbell’s introduction as The Rock’s new editor described him in this way:

Qualified in ‘human understanding’ by experience

extending through life in outback Australia, to the eastern

cities where he became an engineer, he is a firm believer in

the destiny of this great continent. Service in the second

A.I.F. included Tobruk, Syria and New Guinea, and

experience gained by studying the obvious papal set-up

behind the armies of our enemies, forced upon him the

conviction that the absence of war does not mean the

presence of peace. 61

The rapid expansion anticipated at The Rock was not to be. By the 1960s, monthly circulation had reduced to around 1,500 copies.62 Brian Thomas, a

60 The Rock 2 January 1947, p.3; see also Shelton, D.C., ‘The History of ‘The Rock’’ in The Campbell File, p.42. 61 The Rock 2 January 1947, p.3. 62 Interview with Brian Thomas by Benjamin Edwards, 26 June 2003. 146

minister of the Presbyterian Reformed Church who came into contact with The

Rock in the 1960s and developed a friendship with J.W.W. Campbell, comments that it was very much Campbell’s production with assistance from a handful of employees and associates:

There was the office, books and junk piled there. Then

you'd go into the printing rooms and he collected printing

presses and of course linotype machines, two linotypes and

four or five printing machines, old guillotines the lot. It

was the biggest one man printery in the southern

hemisphere. It was huge. The roof leaked. When he set

type, if it was raining he had to drape this huge plastic

sheet over the hot metal linotype machine to type out the

slugs…And that's how The Rock was produced by him… I

didn't come onto the scene until the very early 60s. By that

stage Wally had a secretary, her name was Winpeck, she

was a sort of Seventh Day Adventist, but she was very

faithful and it was only he and her. She lived on the

Central Coast, and Wally lived on the site, and he

occasionally had people that floated in and out. I think

that some people took advantage of him because he was

very open, very generous, gave him a bit of a hand. But at

that stage, by the time the 60s arrived, the old days when 147

there was 40,000 copies a week, you see it had become a

monthly in the '50s. He was just essentially it.63

The Rock was financed by Campbell personally, as well as through the commercial activities of his publishing companies, as Thomas explains:

The Rock had three areas: The Rock Newspaper Company …

Protestant Publications which was the literature arm and

the Liberty Press which was the printing arm. Liberty Press

to survive did secular jobs. Certain things it wouldn't print.

It wouldn't print anything to do with gambling or the

liquor trade. It had regular clients who didn't know that

Liberty Press was also Campbell. A liner – I think Shore

Saville – they did their printing; a lot of businesses…so

therefore some of the people employed at The Rock were

just printers, technicians, probably of no religious

affiliation.64

First published under the masthead ‘Uniting Protestants for their Own Welfare’ on 4

January 1945, The Rock was initially a weekly newspaper with a print-run of seventy-five copies. Within four years it boasted a circulation of over 50,000 copies each week ‘with a tremendous circulation and a contentious reputation’.65

It had a two-fold raison d’être, seeking to awaken Protestants to the peril that

63 Ibid. 64 Ibid. 65 Shelton, D.C., ‘The History of ‘The Rock’’ in The Campbell File, p.42. 148

threatened them from Catholics and to expose anti-Protestant activity. The Rock asserted that there was a universal Catholic conspiracy to destroy Protestantism.

Thus, it sought to warn the ‘Protestant Empire’ of this peril. In this regard it complained that the contemporary Protestant journals, such as the Victorian journal Vigilant, were too lax in warning Protestant Australia of the peril it faced.

The Rock is an example par excellence of the continued effort to appropriate traditional British anti-Catholic sectarian discourse to Australian culture in the postwar era. A close study of The Rock offers many insights into the development of sectarian typology in the postwar era, as well as the efforts made to render sectarianism a meaningful ideological, religious and social force. The Rock sought to ‘expose and resist’ the abuses and dangers of anti-Protestant quarters. These abuses invariably related to the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church and its perceived implication in totalitarian regimes. It was alarmist; it denounced

Catholicism as unchristian; it used theological and biblical reasoning to justify its anti-Catholicism; it heralded eschatological doom for Catholicism; it saw itself as a ‘voice in the wilderness’ crusading against a powerful and menacing foe; and saw itself as opposed to Catholicism and not individual Catholics.66 As J.W.W.

Campbell declared:

To those of our readers who happen to be Roman

Catholic, J.W.Campbell desires it to be understood that

our attack is not personal, but is directed against that

system of papal government which is responsible for the 149

low grade of society prevailing in all countries where they

hold dominant. God Save the King.67

In many ways, the motifs of The Rock were outright appropriations of traditional

Protestant discourse, as its general content indicates. It can be categorised into these main groupings: vice and scandal of Catholic priests and religious; persecution of Protestants; Vatican world domination conspiracies; immigration –

Catholic entryism and control in ‘Protestant’ Australia; theological polemic. In virtually any of its editions, it is possible to find articles describing the debauchery and drunkenness of priests and the maliciousness of nuns and brothers. Allegations of abuse were framed within the anti-Catholic discursive tradition. Reports of the vice and scandal of Catholic clergy, nuns and monks were presented as confirmation of the evil and moral degeneracy of Catholicism.

The Rock was careful not to focus its attacks on the Catholic laity, who it portrayed as ‘brainwashed’, ‘unthinking’ or ‘afraid’. Its agenda was foremost anti- clerical. Examples of such articles include: Priest charged with enticing 15-year-old girl Four priests arrested; R.C. Priest on sex charge: ‘hush’ case; Priest given two years’ gaol; Priest’s murder confession; Priestly spies arrested; Blackmailer Nuns; Widow’s story of R.C. murders;; Romanism and drink;; Has Earlwood a priestly sex pervert? 68

The Rock sought to demonstrate that what it saw as the moral corruption of

Catholic priests was symptomatic of the moral bankruptcy of Catholicism. It

66 The masthead of The Rock was ‘We oppose the RC system, not the individual’. 67 The Rock 2 January 1947, p.3. 68 The Rock 12 February 1953, p.1; The Rock 12 March 1953, p.3; The Rock 8 March 1956, p.1; The Rock 28 May 1953, p.1; The Rock 23 October 1952, p.2; The Rock 30 October1952, p.8; The Rock 6 November 1952; p.1; The Rock 25 December1952, p.1; The Rock 16 October 1952, p.1; The Rock 1 November 1945 150

asserted that perversion, corruption, exploitation and abuse were endemic in the

Catholic Church and Catholic practices and rituals were constructed and interpreted by The Rock as expressions of the moral depravity of the Church.

Vice and scandal needed to be neither current, nor local to feature in The Rock.

The headline, ‘Priest Given Two Years’ Gaol’ referred to an incident in the United

States, the headline ‘Priest Fined’ referred to a case in Canada. ‘Four Priests

Arrested’ was in France, and the notorious ‘Priestly Spies’ were in Eastern

Europe. Currency was not a major concern to The Rock, which printed an article in 1945 warning about the dangers of mixed marriages based on the case of a

Catholic charged with bigamy. The article detailing the offence begins ‘Last

Thursday…’ It is not until one reaches the end of the article that it is evident that it in fact is not a journalistic report, but rather a re-production of a Hansard transcript from 1921.69 Exaggeration and over-dramatisation were typical features of The Rock’s tabloid scandal reports. For instance, the headline article of

November 6 1952, ‘Blackmailer Nuns’ was one of a series of articles to be found in The Rock that year complaining against nuns ‘harassing’ businessmen and shopkeepers for donations and the quizzical headline, ‘Nun has baby on bus’ which referred to something much more mundane and much more innocent than the headline implied.

Both Catholic doctrine and practice, often through their misinterpretation and misrepresentation, were used to fuel the accusations of conspiracy, manipulation,

69 The Rock 8 November 1945. 151

exploitation and abuse that were incessantly made by The Rock. It claimed to have a range of ex-nun and ex-priest informants who were finally disclosing the realities of Catholicism to its concerned readers in the long standing tradition of Maria

Monk, Lucien Vinet, Charles Chiniquy and contemporaneously, Monica Farrell.

The veracity of the allegations made is questionable. Many of these priests and nuns are only referred to anonymously as ‘an ex-priest or ex-nun. Furthermore, the motives of such people, if they did exist, may not have made them the most credible or independent witnesses. They may have been defrocked, excommunicated, may have been rejected by the Church as persons unsuitable for religious life or may have left religious life for their own personal reasons.

What is worth noting is that The Rock relied on an assumption of a general mistrust or uneasiness with the perceived secretive and authoritarian nature of

Catholicism in the wider community and accordingly, sought to perpetuate and exaggerate these concerns.

The Rock’s maligning of auricular confession is demonstrative of its attacks upon

Catholic doctrine and religious practice. In keeping with the tradition of anti-

Catholic literature that saw the confessional as ‘the scene of the most disgusting sex crimes’, the confessional was portrayed by The Rock as an instrument used for the satisfaction of perverted priestly desires for detailed knowledge of the sexual lives of their parishioners and The Rock often cautioned against the dangers of sexual abuse of minors when the priest was alone with children at confession.70 It

70 Vinet, L., I was a Priest, (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1951) p.66; Some examples of this genre that The Rock drew upon heavily include: Vinet, L., ‘The Mental Tortures of Confession’, I was a Priest, pp.60-

152

also alleged that confession was also an instrument in the power play of the

Catholic Church – a way of getting children to ‘dob in’ their parents and to have emotional power over people. It undermined the authority of husbands over their wives and children and intruded into the most intimate aspects of marital relations.71 In fact, The Rock was so concerned about the issue of confessional abuse that it sought to import copies of The Priest, the Woman and the

Confessional, written by the well known Canadian ‘ex-priest’ the Reverend

Charles Chiniquy (1809-1899).72 It claimed that the book, an anti-Catholic classic of the Victorian era, was prohibited from import and that its publishing firm, Protestant Publications, printed the book itself in defiance ‘of this attempt to restrict the circulation of Protestant literature in Australia’.73

The saga of the ‘Laundry Slaves’ made front-page news of The Rock on numerous occasions. Exploitation for commercial gain of girls put in the charge of nuns at rehabilitation convents was a persistent allegation.

The saga of the ‘laundry slaves’ was an ongoing crusade of The Rock which claimed that convents were operating commercial laundries at Tempe and

69 ; Chiniquy, C., The Priest, the Woman and the Confessional, (Chick Publications, Ontario: Undated reprint); Chiniquy, C., Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, (Protestant Literature Depository: London 1886). 71 Vinet, L., I was a Priest, p.66-68; Chiniquy, C., ‘Auricular Confession destroys all the Sacred Ties of Marriage and Human Society’ in The Priest, the Woman and the Confessional, pp. 59-79. 72 Vinet, L., I was a Priest, p142. 153

Ashfield, for Catholic revenue raising, and exploiting the labour of both nuns and wards. These were not the first allegations brought against such laundries. The

Laundrymen’s Wages Board and trade union officials of the Associated Laundries

Union of New South Wales had brought complaints against the convent operated laundries before courts and industrial tribunals in the inter-war years.74 During the 1910s and 1920s, concerns were raised about the laundries’ breach of industrial standards in legal cases where claims of underpricing, exploitation and unfair competition were made. Allegations made in The Rock were often based on

‘anonymous phone calls’ and the accusations levelled against the convents also pertained to breaches of industrial standards, as well as the use of floggings and other corporal punishment, solitary confinement, child labour, and other ‘ghoulish things that are incomprehensible to the average Britisher’.75

Certainly conditions in the Tempe convent were far from luxurious. Margaret

Walsh comments on the nature of life at the Tempe convent:

Although it was hard – everything was washed by hand

before moving through the various wringing, drying,

starching, dampening down, rolling, ironing, packing and

dispatching processes – the girls could move away from it

whenever they liked, and working hours were limited to a

39-hour week. It was unpaid labour, but the sisters argued

that they provided food, clothing, a home, rehabilitation at

73 Ibid. 74 Walsh, M., The Good Sams : Sisters of the Good Samaritan 1857-1969 (Mulgrave, Victoria: 2001) pp.174-176. 154

no expense to society, that they did not operate for profit

and that they did not undercut prices. There were no

holidays except for Sundays, Christmas Day, New Year’s

Day, and a half-day on Good Friday.76

Coupled with these industrial concerns were also concerns that the convents were proselytising and forcibly converting their wards. Again, Margaret Walsh’s account of the ‘unapologetically Catholic’ religious life in the community at

Tempe – manifest by the adoption of new Christian names for wards on arrival at

Tempe, compulsory attendances at daily Mass, denial of contact with family, recitation of the Rosary, auricular confession, and other religious observances – elucidates the concerns expressed by The Rock that the girls were held as prisoners in the convent and were being brainwashed.77 The Rock interpreted the

Catholic culture and the happenstance of the ‘convent slaves’ within its own world view which meant that no matter how noble or charitable were the intentions of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan or the Sisters of the Good

Shepherd, the nuns would always be seen by The Rock as acting malevolently; exploiting their charges and treating them callously. The allegations of abuse and oppression in convents were grounded within the long tradition of scandalising conventual and monastic life by anti-Catholic polemicists, extending back to

75 The Rock 24 October 1946, p.1. 76 Walsh, M., The Good Sams, p.176. 77 Walsh, M., The Good Sams, p.178. 155

Tudor England, and was no doubt fuelled by the famous local incident of Sister

Ligouri, which itself had ‘fanned smouldering sectarian bitterness’ in 1920.78

The Rock rallied support in its crusade against the abuse of the ‘laundry slaves’.

Monica Farrell described how she became involved in activism on the ‘convent laundry tragedies’:

The convent laundries had interested me for years. I had

prayed and called upon others to pray, that God would

raise up someone who would champion the cause of these

poor slaves. When I answered the phone one day I

discovered that the founder of ‘The Rock’ was ringing to

ask if I would interest myself in a case involving a girl in

the Tempe Convent Laundry. Needless to say, I responded

willingly. This incident opened up another phase in the

work, and it soon became obvious to me that the future

held storms and riots.79

The convent laundry stories featured quite frequently as the front-page headline of The Rock. Examples include: R.C. Convent Slave Laundry Mystery; R.C. Slave

Laundry Undercuts Public Laundry; Sydney Detective Agency Raids Convent

Laundry; Dragged From Bed of Illness – Callous Treatment of Innocent Girl by Nuns

78Blacklow, N. & West, E., ‘Sectarianism and Sisterood: Research in Progress’, Rural Society, 10 No.2, Spring 2003, pp.243-244; Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.190; Campion, E., Rockchoppers, pp.91-92; Denholm, Z., ‘Partridge, Bridget [Sister M. Liguori] (1860-1966)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 1988) p.152. 79 Farrell, M., From Rome to Christ: The Story of a Spiritual Pilgrimage, (Protestant Publications: Glebe 1981) p. 30. 156

in Laundry; 2 Girls Rescued From Sydney R.C. Laundry; Laundry Slaves Escapee

Story Smothered; R.C. Laundry Slaves Sensational Bid For Freedom; O’Donnell’s

Sudden Death: Laundry Exposures Continue.

The veracity of any of these allegations is indeterminable. Hyperbole was certainly a technique frequently employed by The Rock and ‘cover ups’ were an alleged standard Catholic response to scandal or controversy. Perhaps the intended lawsuit initiated by Archdeacon [sic] O’Donnell suing The Rock for libel may have been an appropriate forum for determining whether there was any substance to the allegations. Unfortunately, these proceedings did not materialise, for two days after the archdeacon filed his writ, he died. Naturally,

The Rock interpreted this development as divine intervention.

In an effort to bring an end to the ‘exploitation of the laundry slaves’, The Rock not only published exposés, but also conducted a series of rescue missions to save the slaves held captive in the convents, such as that featured in a front page article on October 24, 1946, under the heading ‘Two girls rescued from Sydney

R.C. Laundry: Stories of Cruelty and Slavery’. The article claimed, in somewhat hyperbolic fashion, that the convent was secured by barbed wire, broken glass cemented on top of its brick walls, a mad bull that guarded the ground between a fence and the perimeter wall, as well as a savage Alsatian dog, and car loads of

‘priests and nuns on lookout’, stalking family members and hunting down escapees from the convent. Another bizarre incident, reported on its front page of

1 April 1948, led to the entrapment of men from The Rock while they were attempting to rescue a nun from a convent. It reported, ‘a few score of highly 157

trained assassins’ of ‘murderous intent’, co-ordinated by the Jesuits, plotted to capture the liberators. One cannot but help notice that this was the April Fool’s

Day edition, although it is difficult to know who was being fooled by whom.

April Fools’ Day prank or daring rescue mission? Source: The Rock, 1 April 1948

The drunken antics of debauching priests, another standard motif of anti-Catholic discourse, featured with monotonous regularity in The Rock which expressed its indignation that invariably priests charged with drink driving or drunk and disorderly offences had their matters heard in closed courts, and rarely was their occupation recorded as ‘priest’ but generally as ‘clerk’ to avoid media attention. It claimed that drunkenness was endemic in the Catholic Church. When reporting an incident under the headline of ‘R.C. Priest on Drunken Driving Charge’, the editor inserted the following remarks:

The Rock is not so much interested in the fact that a priest

got drunk. Such conduct by members of the hierarchy of

the Italian church is rapidly becoming accepted as normal

in this country. 80

80 The Rock 8 January 1953. 158

In Protestant temperance tradition, it also took issue with the Catholic Church’s tolerance of alcohol and gambling, and it seized the opportunity whenever possible to expose what it saw as the inherent evil and folly of these practices. It particularly liked to portray the Catholic Church as money hungry, in a tradition dating back to Luther’s disquiet in the face of Indulgences sold to pay for the completion of St Peter’s in Rome. It alleged that the Catholic Church had sold out its Christian values for profit. In contrast, Protestantism was characterised by a strong work ethic, thrift and temperance.

Reports of the persecution of Protestants in Catholic countries were another significant aspect of The Rock’s reporting which drew heavily on elements of traditional sectarian discourse. In a tradition extending back to John Foxe,

Catholic ‘tyranny’ was reported in all its ‘horror’ to remind Protestant society of the ‘terrors’ that Catholic dominance would deliver unto them. The reports of persecution in Latin countries – the so-called ‘priest-cursed lands’ – such as Italy,

Spain and Colombia – were used to stress the dangers of Catholic domination.

Invariably Catholic social and political domination was identified with totalitarian regimes. Franco in Spain; Mussolini in Italy; the dictatorships of South America, and of course the Vatican. Headlines ran such as Protestant Extermination in

Spain; Protestant Churches Closed; R.C.s murder Presbyterian; Why the R.C. Church

Persecutes; R.C. Persecution and the Vatican. 81

81 The Rock 16 October1952; The Rock 23 October 1952, p.5; The Rock 30 October 1952, p.3; The Rock 6 November1952, p.3. 159

The Rock frequently spoke of the Vatican’s ‘tentacles’ and warned its readers that for many years the Vatican had masterminded a conspiracy aimed at attaining

Catholic world domination through ‘The Movement’ and Catholic Action. It felt that Catholic activity in the Labor Party (ALP) and Australian Trade Union

Movement was the local manifestation of a Vatican international conspiracy, which internationally it held to encompass WWII and the Cold War. The Rock maintained that the Vatican had promoted war with Russia in order to divert attention from its own imperialistic ambitions. Similarly, it maintained that the

Vatican had complied with Hitler and Mussolini in the initial years of their regimes as a ploy to ensure protection and the propagation of Vatican ideals and aspirations as well as the ruination of Protestant powers. Wherever totalitarian regimes ruled The Rock had an extraordinary ability to produce theories of

Vatican compliance or conspiracies in extremely intricate ways: the pope himself was accused by The Rock of being a communist.82

Immigration levels increased dramatically in the postwar years, peaking at

185,099 in 1969-70, and this was a major concern for The Rock.83 Headlines proclaimed the ‘RC Immigration Plan to Flood Australia’.84 The Rock strongly objected to the number of Catholic and non-British migrants that were arriving in

Australia, and pointed out that Catholic dominated countries tended to be ruled by despots and marked by oppression, in contrast to Protestant and British ideals

82 The Rock 12 February 1948. 83 Commonwealth Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, ‘Key Facts in Immigration’ Cited at http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/02key.htm, 16/2/2005. 84 The Rock 29 January 1948, p.1. 160

of freedom and decency. 85 Demographically, the Catholic Church benefited more from postwar immigration than any Protestant denominations, and this was interpreted by The Rock as part of a conspiracy between the Vatican and the

Catholic Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, to catholicise Australia. 86

Other sectarian lietmotifs that featured regularly in The Rock included an obsessive interest in disputing the doctrine of transubstantiation; allegations of the compliance of the Vatican with the Nazis; the censorship of Protestant books and films; opposition to state aid for Catholic Schools; the fraudulence of miracles especially Lourdes and Fatima; disparaging identification of Catholic rituals and beliefs as superstition; questioning the loyalties of ‘subversive’

Catholics; as well as a regular column entitled ‘Is the Church of Rome a Pagan

Institution?’ Another specialisation of The Rock was the use of inverted commas around the word father whenever referring to a Catholic Priest. Similar treatment was applied to the words brother and sister when referring to religious and it strongly objected to Catholic priests being referred to as clergymen.

So, who read The Rock and to what extent is it a useful historical source? Its audience is difficult to gauge. Its enormous initial publication of between seventy- five and fifty thousand copies per week was not sustained for long. Within its first six months of publication The Rock faced serious financial troubles. On 2 June

1945, a ‘crisis meeting’ was held at which hundreds of pounds were collected, and

85 These fears were shared by the Australian Church Record . See Australian Church Record 26 September 1957, p.1. 86 Mol, H., Religion in Australia: A Sociological Investigation, p.4. 161

a committee and business manager were appointed. This saved it from extinction and The Rock continued weekly publication until 1953, when financial constraints forced it to limit itself to monthly production. This early threat to its continuation suggests the limited relevance and appeal of its opinion in Australian society at that time. A survey of advertising in The Rock indicates that by 1953 there was a significant lag in paid advertisements. However, the advertisements featured belonged to ordinary companies, such as the Shell Garage in Pitt Street Sydney, undertakers, electrical appliance suppliers and furniture stores. Such mainstream advertisers would suggest that The Rock was not considered generally to be on the

‘lunatic fringe’ although it may equally be the case that these were businesses whose proprietors were Orangemen or other members of its inner circle. Yet by

1953, more and more of its advertisements were for other publications of

Protestant Publications – the printing firm that published The Rock. Certainly its forced reduction to monthly publication in 1953 is indicative of the financial and market pressures that it faced.

In assessing the usefulness of The Rock as an indicator of sectarianism in Australia during this period, one must take care to avoid the temptation to impose contemporary cultural and political values. At first glance, The Rock appears hysterical, fanatical and paranoid, and at times it was those things. However, it must not be simply dismissed because of that. Regarding anti-Catholic feeling,

Steve Bruce comments that often what may appear to have been naïve and paranoid suspicions were confirmed in the official Vatican position, especially through its pretensions of exclusive spiritual authority. These remarks made by 162

Bruce indicate the need for care when dealing with an historical source such as

The Rock:

One of the greatest obstacles to understanding militant Protestants

is the widespread assumption that their vision of the Roman

Catholic Church is paranoid and hysterical. From our largely

secular viewpoint we look back on a Dill Macky or an Alexander

Ratcliffe and suppose that they were wrong in their attribution of

certain vices to the Catholic Church; that they were wrong to such

an extent that they must secretly have known they were wrong; and

hence their anti-Catholicism must have been something other than

a reasonable response to the real world. It is then explained as

personal psychopathology or social pathology. Social stresses are

cited as the real reason for anti-Catholicism… but our

understanding of the phenomena will be improved if we recognize

that many of the criticisms made of Catholicism by militant

Protestants were perfectly reasonable.87

What may appear to be paranoid ranting of a lunatic fringe group must be interpreted with care. It is important to note that The Rock’s theological framework was that of mainstream conservative evangelical Protestantism and that it was not merely a phenomenon of the fanatical fringe. The Rock frequently quoted and featured the sermons, speeches and articles of the major denominational leaders in Sydney, especially those of Anglican and Presbyterian 163

clergymen.88 Furthermore, the criticisms that it made were not always unreasonable or without substance. In fact, within Catholicism others were making criticisms of the anti-liberal medievalism of the Catholic Church and calling for aggiornamento. It was such critical reflection and recognition of the need for change that precipitated John XXIII’s summoning of the Second Vatican

Council.89 However, The Rock’s penchant for sensationalism, exaggeration and conspiracy, as well as the often bizarre conclusions that it drew, tend to discredit its critique of Catholicism.

The Rock is not only an example of the way that anti-Catholic polemic was appropriated; it also indicates the declining socio-political influence of sectarian discourse. Hogan’s indictment that ‘The Rock had become an embarrassment to

Protestants and a joke to many Catholics’ is indicative of the way many see The

Rock as having been a spectacular failure.90 Its vicissitudes represent the struggle of committed sectarian polemicists to advance their cause in a context where traditional political, social, imperial and religious meanings and alignments were either disintegrating or shifting significantly. The demise of The Rock’s relevance and representation of Protestant sectarian politics in Australia is representative of the devolution of sectarianism in the postwar period. Over the course of its lifespan, the significance of sectarianism in Australian political and socio-cultural

87 Bruce, S., Conservative Protestant Politics, (Oxford University Press, Oxford:1998) p.200. 88 That these religious leaders’ opinions are representative of those within their broader denominations should not be assumed, however they are representative of the response of conservative Protestants, who were particularly concentrated in Sydney. 89 Haatings, A., ‘Council of Vatican II’, Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 2000) pp.738-739. 90 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.243. 164

life declined. This corresponded with the overall trend of rising secularism, the decline of Protestantism as a political and social force and other demographic shifts in Australian society.91

The Rock’s rise and fall demonstrates the shifts in society and religious culture in this period and the struggle of Protestant polemicists to keep sectarian flames alive during a period of immense change. The Rock’s own mission, to rekindle

Protestant enthusiasm and awareness, is confessional of this fact. The Rock continually lamented the indifference of Protestants to anti-Catholic causes, and this draws attention to the fact that its views were not at all synchronous with those of the Protestant majority. The fact that a group of fundamentalist

Protestants felt compelled to respond in such a manner to the perceived decline of Protestant values and ascendancy in Australia, and their insistence that there existed a concerted movement for Catholic ascendancy in Australia are indicative of the social changes that had occurred in Australia over the twentieth century.

However, it is certainly premature to say that The Rock outlived sectarianism in

New South Wales. The anachronistic concepts of ‘Australian’, ‘Protestant’ and

‘British’ identity that The Rock preserved and sought to revive did not simply or quietly disappear from the Australian landscape. The sectarian typology through which it sought to awaken Protestant Australia to the threats of Catholicism was failing to excite the imagination of secular society. Thus, The Rock’s story is one of the diminishing significance of sectarianism and sectarian discourse in Australian society in this period.

91Brett, J., Australian Liberals, pp.130-132. 165

The controversies and polemic that this chapter has outlined show that in a general sense, religious cultures in the 1950s were very amenable to sectarian polemic and that tense, dogmatic confrontations between leading churchmen were not uncommon. Whilst contingencies of the 1950s aroused polemical exchanges, it is also apparent that traditional matters of sectarian controversy continued to feature strongly in this discourse. However, all the while sectarianism was dissolving and its mainstream influence waning. 166

CHAPTER 7:

SIGNS OF TOLERANCE AND RAPPROCHEMENT

Despite the general tendency for sectarianism to colour Protestant-Catholic relations and the abundance of sectarian polemic in the 1950s, at this time some religious leaders were beginning to find that Protestant-Catholic interdenominational co-operation could sometimes prove useful both in achieving mutual political interests and in providing a united Christian witness. Church leaders were eager to influence society, which they feared was threatened by the forces of communism, secularism and moral degeneracy. Certainly there was a strong sense in the religious press, of both Protestant and Catholic varieties, that these were grave times for the churches and that they needed to present a united witness to the world. The Catholic Weekly saw secularisation as ‘to-day’s deadliest heresy’1 and The Congregationalist felt it necessary to make ‘strenuous efforts… to present a united Christian front to the forces which threaten the destruction of civilisation’.2 Catholic leaders had even been calling for some co-operation with

Protestants in the face of these rising threats. In their 1949 Social Justice

Statement, the Catholic Bishops of Australia urged Christians to ‘co-operate for education’, arguing that ‘Too long have the enemies of God triumphed because of divisions among Christians’.3 Then in 1950, Pope Pius XII, prompted by fears of the threat of communism, appealed for Christian unity as a bulwark against the

1 Catholic Weekly 16 December 1948, p.2. 2 NSW Congregationalist October 1950, p.1. 3 Social Justice Statement of the Catholic Bishops 1949, cited in Catholic Weekly 1 September 1949, p.1. 167

‘godless ideology’ in his encyclical Sempiternus Rex.4 He restated these concerns at the inauguration of the Holy Year in 1950:

If on other occasions an invitation to unity has been sent forth

from this Apostolic See, on this occasion we repeat it more

warmly and paternally. We feel that we are urged by the

pleadings and prayers of numerous believers scattered over the

whole earth who, after suffering tragic and painful events, turn

their eyes towards this Apostolic See as toward an anchor of

salvation for the whole world.5

One of the most remarkable instances of ecumenical co-operation in this period occurred in November 1951, when Protestant and Catholic leaders countersigned the Call to the People of Australia. ‘The Call’ was organised by the prominent

Catholic layman, writer and diplomat Paul McGuire6 and Sir Edmund Herring,

Chief Justice of Victoria, eminent Anglican layman and sometime chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne. 7 ‘The Call’ was endorsed by the heads of the

Anglican and other major Protestant churches as well as by the entire Australian

Catholic hierarchy.8 ‘Never was a message more necessary or more timely’, declared The Methodist.9 This consensus among religious leaders was not without precedent – just a few years before the Anglican and Catholic Archbishops of

4 Pius XII cited in Connellan, J.A., Christian Unity in God’s Way, (Annals Publications, Kensington: 1951). 5 Pope Pius XII at inauguration of Holy Year, 1950 cited in Connellan, J. A. Christian Unity in God's Way. 6 Massam, K., ‘McGuire, Dominic Paul Mary (1903-1978)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 15 (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 2000) pp.222-225. 7Obituary for Sir Edmund Herring The Age 6 January 1982. 168

Sydney had issued a joint statement presenting a similar appeal to conservative

Christian values as a solution to the problems of postwar society.10 The widespread endorsement of The Call is demonstrative of the seriousness with which the churches looked upon secularism and the perceived threats to social and religious order in the postwar era and the outlook of religious cultures at this time that saw social stability and order contingent upon upholding Christian religious belief and moral values.11 Over the coming years mutual concern would align Catholic and Protestants on occasion, although it would not be until the mid-1960s that meaningful alliances were forged.

A milestone on the journey towards healing sectarian divisions occurred in

Sydney in December 1957 when the first annual ecumenical Christmas pageants were held under the auspices of the Crusade for Christian Christmas Committee.

These pageants saw Protestants and Catholics co-operate in an effort to remind their society, which they feared was in grave danger of secularisation, of the meaning of Christmas. The Congregationalist saw this co-operation as a breakthrough:

A conspicuous feature of the arrangements which has aroused

considerable interest and much favourable comment was the

evidence of co-operation by so many branches of the Christian

Church. For reasons of its own, it is the practice of the

8 Catholic Weekly 29 November 1951, p.1. 9 The Methodist 17 November 1957, p.3. 10 Frappell, S. Building Jerusalem, p.54. 11 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, p.410; Hilliard, D., ‘Church, Family and Sexuality in Australia in the 1950s’, p.134. 169

Roman Catholic Church to hold aloof from all religious

gatherings other than those held within its ritual. On this

occasion the practice was departed from and, apparently,

official sanction was given to the participation of its leaders in

the prescribed programme, and its people found themselves

free to share in the occasion…12

Despite its apparent enthusiasm for this ecumenical breakthrough, the language used by The Congregationalist had sectarian overtones. For instance, it identified the Catholic Church as the obstacle to such possibilities in the past. Even though

Catholic law may not have encouraged such activity, it must be noted that the desire for the Protestant churches to include Catholics in such activity in the past would not have been overwhelming. Secondly, the reference to the Catholic people being ‘free’ to share in the occasion carries with it sectarian overtones, portraying the Catholic laity as oppressed by their clergy. The Congregationalist lamented the existence of sectarian division:

We are too well aware of the impending and, in some respects, the

deplorable effect of sectarianism both within the Church and upon

the community it seeks to influence. Our trouble lies not in our

divisions, in the sense of our differing approaches to the mysteries

of our faith: our trouble lies in our refusal to acknowledge that,

while we may have our differences, we are one in Christ, and to

own therefore a common fellowship. The denial of this unity and

12 NSW Congregationalist January 1958, p. 9. 170

this fellowship is sectarianism. In a remark at the announcement of

the arranging of the pageants, Monsignor Thomas, national director

of Catholic Missions, said ‘this is probably the first time that the

Christian Churches of Sydney have been able to get together in

harmony’. A serious indictment!13

However, it was also circumspect in its assessment of the long-term significance or impact of this ecumenical ‘breakthrough’:

It may be that now a new spirit is at work amongst us! Anyhow, we

have got together. It remains to be seen whether we will retreat

again into the old exclusiveness, or whether we will go forward to

give further evidence of the harmony which our faith and our

witness demand.14

Ecumenism was gathering momentum in the late 1950s and was to have increasing impact on religious culture in terms of church politics, public opinion and inter-denominational relations. The announcement by Pope John XXIII in

1959 that a Vatican Council was to be convened in 1962 aroused great expectations of ecumenical breakthrough between Catholicism and

Protestantism. In the period leading up to the Council, ventures of pragmatic ecumenism gained momentum and vitality, and a watershed era for ecumenism was inaugurated. There was much talk and speculation in the church press about what the Vatican Council might or might not achieve. Significant points of

13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 171

ecumenical contact became more and more frequent in the years preceding the

Vatican Council, signs of the hopes that were being pinned on the Council as a means to enhance and accelerate ecumenism. A major shift away from sectarian distrust and segregation towards ecumenical rapprochement was beginning.

Many commentators felt it necessary to remind ecumenical enthusiasts that unity

of the churches was still a long-term struggle rather than a short term goal. The

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Hugh Gough, writing in Southern Cross

commented: ‘Union of Churches may indeed be desirable and in certain

countries possible in the near future. In other countries, including Australia I

doubt whether it will be feasible in this generation…’15 Bishop T.B. McCall,

Anglican Bishop of Rockhampton, also went on record to warn that ‘Reunion is

not just round the corner’.16 The advent of the Second Vatican Council added

momentum and vitality to ventures of pragmatic ecumenism. In anticipation of

an ecumenical breakthrough, Catholic and Protestant ecumenical enthusiasts

commenced informal ecumenical engagements, both prior to and during the

years of the Council and there were significant achievements made in the later

years of the long 1950s that worked towards turning those ecumenical dreams

into realities.

In January 1960, All Saints’ Theological College, which was a joint venture of the

Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian churches established the Australian

15 Southern Cross June 1961, p.2. 16 Catholic Weekly 20 September 1962; See also the Catholic Weekly 29 November 1962, p.1. 172

School for Ecumenical Mission.17 The following month, in February 1960, the first National Conference of Churches was held at the University of Melbourne, with twelve Protestant and Orthodox churches participating and two Catholic priests attending as observers and the Australian Council of Churches (ACC) – which had just changed its name having been the Australian Council for the

World Council of Churches until 1960 – announced its intention to establish an ecumenical institute. July 1960 saw the opening of a new United Church in

Darwin, of which the NSW Presbyterian noted ‘the significant thing is that the new Darwin United Church is above labels and tags, and the Spirit of the Lord is at work’.18

In October 1960, the Vatican Secretariat for the Unity of Christians was established, a development designed to allow non-Catholics to follow the work of the Vatican Council. This was a significant gesture and indicator of the importance that the Second Vatican Council was to attach to ecumenism. In 1961

Archbishop Fisher of Canterbury visited the Pope and, for the first time, Catholic representatives visited an Assembly of the WCC. Meanwhile in Australia, ecumenical contacts continued to develop. In 1960 plans were announced for the construction of a non-denominational chapel at HMAS Watson.19 In 1961,

Catholic officials attended the annual conference of the Christian Television

Association and in September that year, Archbishop Woods of Melbourne acted as chairman of a session of ‘Christian Social Week’ at which the speaker was the

17 NSW Congregationalist January 1960, p.4. 18 NSW Presbyterian 9 September 1960, p.1. 19 The Methodist 1 October 1960, p.1. 173

Jesuit priest and ecumenical expert the Reverend Father Bernard Leeming. Other ecumenical engagements that year included non-Catholic experts giving guest lectures at the Paulian Association. In November 1961 a symposium, broadcast on ABN2, featured an ecumenical panel comprising the Anglican co-adjutor

Bishop of Adelaide, Bishop John Vockler, Fr Bernard Leeming SJ, and the

Reverend Professor J. Davis McCaughey, Master of Ormond Presbyterian

College, University of Melbourne.20

After the controversies of the mid-1950s, further initiatives for adaptation of the

Anzac Day service to make it amenable not only to attendance by Catholic laity but also to participation by Catholic clergy were undertaken, capitalising on the growing Catholic interest in ecumenism.21 Finally, a consensus was achieved so that in 1962 Catholic clergy and laity could attend the united service at which one clergyman would give a patriotic – not religious – address allocated by an annual rotation between the major denominations.22 This represented a major shift in popular thinking. The NSW Presbyterian editorial in June 1962 spoke of the ‘widening ecumenical spirit’ that had begun to emerge and warned its readership, ‘We cannot afford to perpetuate throughout Australia that vicious destroyer of community harmony and co-operation which is sectarianism’.23 All of

20 NSW Congregationalist December 1961, p.3; Catholic Weekly 21 September, 1961; Catholic Weekly 28 September, 1961; Catholic Weekly 28 November, 1961. 21 Luttrell, J. Cardinal Gilroy’s Anzac Day Problem, p.10. 22 See Ibid, pp.1-19 for a detailed study of this process. 23Comment in editorial of NSW Presbyterian 15 June 1962, p.2. 174

these ecumenical activities and associations gave the sense of ‘better relations’ and this was reflected upon in media commentary and church documents.24

Against this backdrop of expanding ecumenical engagement, a more discernible

division began to emerge between those supporting and opposing the ecumenical

movement within the churches. The more ecumenical engagement was discussed

and occurred, the more sectarian polemicists felt compelled to resist it. A strong

divergence of Protestant attitudes to ecumenism began to unfold in the late

1950s which was to be of long-term significance, shaping responses to

Protestant-Catholic inter-relations. Conservative evangelicalism, as embodied by

Sydney Anglicanism, the Baptist Union and some elements of the Presbyterian

Church, was hostile to ecumenical engagement with Catholicism, whereas within

liberal Protestantism, which had stronger influence among Congregationalists,

Methodists and Presbyterians, as well as mainstream Anglicans, there was a

greater willingness to engage with Catholicism and each other ecumenically.

These tendencies are generally reflected in the editorial stances of the respective denominational newspapers. For example, throughout the 1960s, the NSW

Presbyterian took a progressive lead on ecumenism among the NSW denominational newspapers, calling for a retreat from ‘unthinking prejudice against fellow Christians’, and supporting ecumenical interaction, whereas press

24 For example Catholic Weekly 23 November 1961, p.15; ‘Churches Find ‘New Humility’ in Prospects of Unity’ in Catholic Weekly 13 July 1961, p.1. 175

organs of denominations with stronger conservative factions would be less enthusiastic about the ecumenical cause, if not openly critical.25

In stark contrast to the sectarian stance of the Australian Church Record,

Australian Baptist, Southern Cross and other conservative evangelical opinion, the

NSW Presbyterian was concerned about gratuitous sectarian opportunism. For

example, regarding the commemoration of Reformation Day, the NSW

Presbyterian cautioned:

There is however one danger in this revival in our Church of an

emphasis on the Reformation. It lies in too narrow an emphasis

being given to the day. Let this worthwhile reminder of our

heritage be presented to the church community more as a

recovery of Biblical truth than as an occasion for sectarianism.26

The conservative attitude that discouraged ecumenism at this time insisted that ecumenical co-operation was both impossible and futile without ‘unity in truth’ or

‘unity in spirit’.27 Conservative evangelicals feared any signs of doctrinal compromise, and equally feared that any signs of co-operation or unity with

Catholics would imply doctrinal compromise on the part of Protestantism. They reminded their adherents, at almost any available opportunity, that the doctrinal differences between Protestantism and Catholicism were all pervasive and of the greatest significance. For example, on the occasion of the death of Pope Pius XII

25 NSW Presbyterian 5 February 1965, p.2; further examples include NSW Presbyterian March 23 1956, p.2; NSW Presbyterian 25 January 1952, p.4; .q.v. Part IV, Sectarianism in the post-Vatican II Era. 26 NSW Presbyterian 19 June 1959, p. 2. 176

in 1958, the Australian Church Record offered condolences to Australian

Catholics:

Australians whatever their religious allegiance will feel

sympathy with the Roman Catholic members of the

community in the death of their supreme pontiff, Pope Pius

XII, who was a sincere man of good will. They will also follow

with interest the election of his successor.28

However, these were not unqualified sentiments, but rather were adjoined by an almost histrionic warning of the dangers of Catholicism in the usual terms, speaking of ‘papal claims and pretensions’, questioning the loyalty of Catholic citizens, and discussing the persecution of Protestants by Catholics.29

Conservative evangelicals insisted that without doctrinal unity, or ‘unity in truth’, ecumenical unity was not to be desired nor could it be attained. Either way, the assertion was that unless churches could agree on key dogmatic issues – for evangelicals this meant Biblical authority and adherence to the Reformation teachings on salvation and the rejection of papal authority– they could not have unity in truth or spirit and therefore they could not ecumenically interact in any meaningful way. Furthermore, conservatives were also concerned that by ecumenically fraternising with churches that held ‘erroneous dogma’ they might

27 For example, Australian Church Record 1 March 1956, p.10; Southern Cross 12 October 1961, p.2; Southern Cross 3 March 1964, p.5. 28 Australian Church Record 6 November 1958, p.2. 29Australian Church Record 6 November 1958, p.2; see also editorial ‘Papal claims and pretensions’ in Australian Church Record 13 November 1958, p.2. 177

give the impression that doctrinal difference was not significant, or worse still their own doctrine might be tarnished.

The more liberal attitude to ecumenism that was emerging in this period minimised doctrinal concerns and emphasised the common elements of faith held by Protestants and Catholics and saw ecumenical encounter as a means of deepening that commonly held faith and critically reflecting on one another’s beliefs and learning in this process, as well as a necessary witness to a world that was in danger of materialism and secularism:

Christians are beginning to realise that a divided Church

cannot hope to overcome the world… Today, against the

challenge of dialectic materialism that aims to capture the

world, Protestants look at their unhappy division in a new light.

And the great new fact of the last decade has been the coming

into being of the Church of South India – a union of episcopal

and non-episcopal Churches. It has really happened. And men

are starting to believe.30

Sectarian polemicists were finding it necessary to arrest the ecumenical momentum that was gathering in the lead up to Vatican II. Often polemicists were also to be found pouring cold water on what they described as unrealistic or sentimental ecumenical hopes, pointing out that church union was not a realistic goal. It is interesting to note the usage of the terms ecumenism and church union

30 The Methodist 12 April 1958, p.8. 178

in Protestant sources at this time. The WCC was emphatic during the 1950s that the ecumenical movement that it embodied was not a conspiracy to coerce church unions or to create a global super-church. In fact, negotiating and arranging church union was not the brief of the WCC at all. The WCC’s raison d’être was to facilitate ecumenical encounter and co-operation as well as to promote the ideals of ecumenism. Church union or church unity on the other hand suggested inter- denominational engagement that sought to achieve institutional or organic union of churches. Thus, there was a nuance between the bonds of unity that the ecumenical movement sought to promote and develop and the movements working towards organic church unions. It is apparent that in many of their statements, conservative evangelicals frequently spoke in terms of church union rather than ecumenism, or reduced the aims of the ecumenical movement to church unions. This may have been a very deliberate strategy designed to maximise reservations among concerned Protestants, preying on fears of

Protestant submission and compromise and Catholic domination. Protestant polemicists, as well as making use of traditional sectarian arguments, gave a particular emphasis to the problems of doctrinal difference and the need for

‘unity in truth’ in their anti-ecumenical pronouncements.

This was the attitude expressed by some when the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the Vatican, when the Second Vatican Council was announced, and while other ecumenical initiatives were capturing the imagination and aspirations of many. For example, in Sydney, Archdeacon Hammond was reminding Protestants that church unity should not be allowed to compromise doctrinal truth: 179

There is a popular cry at the present day of ecumenicity, and of

course we are all in favour of a movement that unites Christian

people, but it is sometimes overlooked in the zeal for unity that

there is a paramount consideration, and that is that unity must

be based on truth.31

This was a theme that Archdeacon Hammond had expounded for some time, and it had grown to become a common concern regarding ecumenism throughout evangelical Christianity.32

On 10 November 1960, the editorial of the Australian Church Record saw the impending visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Fisher, to the Pope as ‘more likely to do harm to the Church of England and the cause of reunion’, arguing that courtesy visits and mutual displays of goodwill were a distraction from

‘careful analysis of the points at issue’ and implied ‘a willingness to compromise over them’, all the while insisting that any doctrinal compromise would be at the cost of being false to the ‘deepest convictions of the Church of England’ and that this could not be justified by any complimentary advantage.33 Then on the 24th of

November, the Australian Church Record also featured a quote from the English evangelical newspaper The English Churchman:

31 The Rock 8 December 1960, p.2. 32 The Rock 14 May 1953, p.7. 33 Australian Church Record 10 November 1960, p.2; It must also be noted that not all Catholics were enthused by the visit of Dr Fisher to the Vatican. Cardinal Bea, in 1960, spelt out the various concerns held about the impending visit, pointing out that some saw in the visit important preliminary steps to union, others saw it ‘more realistically’ stressing the importance differences of faith between Anglicans and Catholics, and others still held ‘a visit of this sort could achieve little or nothing’. See Bea, Augustin Cardinal, The Unity of Christians, (ed). Leeming, B. (Chapman, London: 1963) p.64. 180

…The spirit of courtesy and friendship – yes, but let us not

forget the Spirit of Truth. ‘Thy Word is Truth.’ The great need is

for all unreformed Churches to embrace the great scriptural

principles of the Reformation; not for the Church of England to

abandon them. There must be no peace with Rome until Rome

makes peace with God, on the basis of his revealed truth.34

These comments echoed the objections voiced by evangelical Anglicans in

England. For evangelical Protestants, dogmatic difference was seen as not only an obstacle to ecumenism but as an important reason to resist it and it seemed to them that by visiting the Vatican the Archbishop of Canterbury was undermining the significance of such differences. In England, evangelicals maintained ‘There must be no peace with Rome until Rome makes peace with God on the basis of

His revealed truth’.35 The Australian Church Record argued that the dogmatic differences between the Church of England and the Catholic Church were down- played or compromised through such visits, which gave the misleading impression that church unity was a possibility.36 Other quotes by prominent evangelicals were used by the Australian Church Record to point out the ‘great barriers of doctrine’ that existed between the Church of England and the Catholic

Church, as well as the considerable anxieties that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit caused for evangelical Anglicans.37

34 Australian Church Record 24 November 1960, p.1. 35 Ibid. 36Australian Church Record 10 November1960, p.2. 37 Australian Church Record 24 November 1960, p.1. 181

The reticence and suspicions of evangelicals regarding ecumenism and church union are also evident in comments made by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most

Reverend Hugh Gough, writing in his diocesan magazine Southern Cross, in 1961, despite an initial impression of support and enthusiasm for ecumenism and church union.38 However, the Archbishop was more alert to the distinctions of church union and ecumenical unity, and this suited his purposes well. He promptly placed a caveat on the extent to which ecumenism and church unity were seen as desirable, advocating the desirability of spiritual union, that is to say ecumenical fellowship, as opposed to organic or institutional union, and urging patience in the pursuit of such.39

There were many points of sectarian tension throughout the ‘long 1950s’. These sectarian controversies and rivalries were provoked by the attitudes and actions of both the Catholic and the Protestant churches, in relation both to historical dogmatic disputes as well as the contingencies of the religious culture of the

1950s, and were often a compound of both.

Ecumenical co-operation amongst Protestants had developed in the 1950s on account of the influence of the international ecumenical movement as well as local contingencies that aligned Protestant political and missional interests.

Cultic segregation reinforced the sense of sectarian dichotomisation in society and the culture of sectarian rivalry. Signs of Catholic militancy further stimulated

38 Southern Cross June 1961, pp.1-2. 39 Southern Cross June 1961, p.2. 182

Protestant co-operative activities, with Protestants bonding through a common anti-Catholicism. Sectarian polemic was rife throughout the 1950s, fuelled by ongoing traditional sectarian disputes and contemporaneous contingencies. The

1950s were marked by sectarian rivalry, polemic and tension.

Yet, in the 1950s there were also pioneering ecumenical engagements that were to have a great influence on the development of inter-denominational relations in the following decade. By the late 1950s, some Protestants were reflecting on the possibilities of ecumenism in a much more liberal way. With increasing hopes and prospects of Catholic participation in ecumenism, some Protestants eagerly sought to engage with their Catholic brethren and enthusiastically awaited the

Vatican’s endorsement of ecumenism. Others, however, continued to see inter- denominational co-operation in terms of doctrinal alliances, and feared the breakdown of the united Protestant stance against Catholicism. Thus, it can be seen that the ecumenical co-operation of Protestants in the 1950s produced two different responses to ecumenism: an initial conservative response which maximised the importance of doctrinal agreement, where inter-denominational co-operation was achieved among Protestants collaborating against Catholic doctrinal aberration and militancy; and a liberal doctrinal minimalist response, that saw ecumenical encounter as a means to develop dialogues between churches despite doctrinal differences and as a natural progression and necessity of survival for Protestants and Catholics who both faced common enemies in communism, materialism and secularism.

183

The 1950s was thus a transitional decade for interdenominational relations, with growing trends toward church unity shifting the nature of inter-denominational relations to ones of increased co-operation and interaction. This was to pave the way for greater ecumenical encounter and co-operation in the 1960s, as well as to provoke sectarian fears and opposition. However, in the shorter term, political expediency and other impulses would place sectarianism at the centre stage of national political life. However, sectarian polemicists and opportunists were to find that the new context of burgeoning ecumenism was to affect the reliability of sectarian strategies.

184

PART III

State Aid and the (Sectarian) Politics of (Religious) Education in NSW,

1961-1964

The Anti-Christ Pope, holding out his papal hat to collect government money, menaces public education. Traditional anti-Catholic imagery, such as this bestial-demonic depiction of the pope, whose shadow looms over free society, was frequently invoked by Protestant controversialists to articulate contemporaneous sectarian concerns. Source: The Rock, 3 November 1949.

INTRODUCTION

‘Not for a generation has there been such a flaring of sectarian bitterness in

N.S.W,’ noted the Sydney Morning Herald in July 1962.1 The sectarian bitterness of which the Sydney Morning Herald spoke was associated with the highly contentious issue of ‘state aid’ for non-government schools: an issue which brought sectarianism to the centre-stage of Australian politics in the late 1950s

1 Sydney Morning Herald 22 July 1962, p.34. 185

and early 1960s. The ‘antique question of State Aid’ brought to the surface many latent sectarian values that were embedded in Australian society in the postwar period, as well as demonstrating their declining potency.2 Religious leaders, testing and exerting their political influence, sought to capitalise on the political volatility of state aid. State aid also provided a platform for the aeration of both long-standing and new sectarian grievances by sectarian controversialists who were nonplussed by the developing trend towards ecumenism in the lead up to the Second Vatican Council.

Comprising two chapters, Part III closely examines the Goulburn ‘schools closure’ or ‘schools strike’ of 1962.3 Chapter Eight establishes the historical and political context of state aid and the Goulburn schools closure. Chapter Nine is a textual analysis of responses to the closure. It explores the ways in which church leaders, the media, politicians and the general public responded to this incident in order to gauge whether this incident gave new impetus to or rejected longstanding sectarian interests in Australian political and social life. It argues that the role of sectarianism in this important political debate is demonstrative of the shifts in Australian religious and political cultures and the decline of sectarian discursive power in this period. It is evident that while traditional sectarian labels still carried meaning and were readily applied in this debate, they no longer

2 Campion, E. Australian Catholics, (Viking, Victoria: 1987) p.170. 3 The use of the word strike was hotly contested at the time by Catholics who insisted that as they were not financed by the State they could not be considered to be on strike. For example, see Sydney Morning Herald 16 July 1962, p.4. The use of the term strike may also be loaded in terms of class, used as an identification of Catholics with the industrial and trade union movements, and alluding to the traditional over representations of Catholics in the Australian working class. The use of the term strike considerably upset Bishop Cullinane: see Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record, The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 2. The Department Strikes’, Australasian Catholic Record, October 1984, p.406. 186

captured the mood of the general public, which was becoming more inclined to reject sectarian outbursts in public affairs and political life. 187

CHAPTER 8:

STATE AID AND THE GOULBURN SCHOOLS CLOSURE:

HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXTS

Schooling of children has been a traditional source of sectarian conflict in

Australia, generating much controversy and arousing sectarian feelings since colonial times.1 Donald Horne observed in the 1960s that, ‘The flavour of both

Catholicism and anti-Catholicism is revealed most significantly in the question of government aid to Church schools’.2 The first schools in the colonies had been operated by the churches with some financial assistance from colonial administrations. The NSW Public Instruction Act of 1880 effective from 1883, and other similar legislation across the colonies, turned the tables by mandating that unless schools acquiesced to the authority of the State they would be denied public funding.3 The Catholic Church strongly insisted on the importance of religious education and, through the labours of the men and women religious, who came to Australia with the various Catholic teaching orders, developed its own parochial school system, operating alongside the secular state system.4 While the overwhelming majority of Protestant primary schools did not survive the withdrawal of state funding, a select number of elite Protestant schools remained in operation, modelled on the English public and grammar schools.

1 See Anderson, D., ‘The Public/Private Division in Australian Schooling: Social and Educational Effects’, Schooling and Society in Australia: Sociological Perspectives (eds), Saha, L. & Keeves, P., (ANU Press, Canberra: 1990) pp.87-89. 2 Horne, D., The Lucky Country: Australia in the Sixities (Angus and Robertson, Sydney: 1967) p.52. 3 Gregory, J. ‘State Aid to Religion in the Australian Colonies 1788-1895’, Victorian Historical Journal, 70, No.2, November 1999, p.140. 4 Philips, W., ‘Defending a Christian Country’: Churchmen and Society in New South Wales in the 1880s and After, (University of Queensland Press, St Lucia: 1981), p.207. 188

By the mid-twentieth century, a well established public and private ‘dual system’ of schools had developed; divided between mainstream government schools and independent schools, of which the Catholic school system was by far the largest sector.5 The poor relation in the ‘dual system’ was the Catholic parochial system, within which many schools had inadequate facilities and over-sized classes. A perennial ambition of the Catholic community in Australia, state aid for non- government schools was the focus of renewed campaigns of great intensity and momentum that eventually saw state aid became a major political issue in the

1950s and 1960s. Indeed, it was considered by Michael Hogan to have been the most dominant domestic issue of Australian politics in the 1960s.6

Since the nineteenth century, the Catholic school system, ‘an essential dimension of the health and survival of the Catholic community in Australia’, had developed as a bastion of Catholic teaching and identity in the face of anti-Catholic sectarianism for the large Catholic minority in Australia.7 The Catholic Church in Australia was seriously committed to its educational system as the focus of life for the Catholic community. Its ethos was significantly shaped by the Irish culture of Australian Catholicism, as Edmund Campion observes:

The Catholic school system is the Irish bishops’ greatest

monument. For a century it has dominated the Catholic history

of Australia. Its establishment and maintenance have formed

5 Santamaria, B.A., State Aid in Perspective, (The Hawthorn Press, Melbourne: 1966), p.5; The elite private schools represent sub-divisions within this overarching divide. 6 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.253. 7 Ryan, M., ‘Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools: Three Historical Snapshots’, Journal of Religious Education, 50, 3, 2002, p.2. 189

the Catholic community to a greater extent than any other

single factor. It has conditioned radically the relations of the

Catholics with other groups in society and with society as a

whole.8

Schools were invariably closely associated with local parochial life and religious communities, providing a day-to-day religious interface between the Church and its community. Catholic leaders hoped that a sound Catholic education would form good Catholics and build Catholic community. To this end, Catholic education defined itself against the secular state system. Aggressive Catholic apologetic and disdain for the secular and Protestant were the counter-cultural curricula of Catholic parochial schools. Religious instruction was a significant component of Catholic education and Catholic schools were highly successful in inculcating a strong sense of Catholic identity and Catholic worldview in their student communities.9

Catholic education had many critics. It was seen as a cause of social segregation, and its religious dimension was seen by some to contradict the spirit of free thinking educational inquiry. The perceived method of indoctrination into the

Catholic faith that occurred in parochial schools was typical of the criticism levelled at Catholic schools. Accusations of brainwashing, priestly domination and intense indoctrination were commonly levelled against the Catholic Church and

8 Campion, E., Rockchoppers, p.67. 9 Porter, M., Land of the Spirit: The Australian Religious Experience, (World Council of Churches Publications, Geneva: 1990) p.51. 190

its schools. These are accusations that David Gibson recalls being made against

Catholic education when he was at school:

More or less, some people used to suggest they wouldn't send

their children to those sort of schools because they got

brainwashed. There was an element of brainwashing, not in a

bad sense, but it was just a sort of hothouse.10

Such accusations rest within the broader tradition of sectarian ideology and polemic. The charge of brainwashing and indoctrination was frequently made against the Catholic hierarchy, who were invariably portrayed by Protestant polemicists as manipulative, shadowy figures exploiting the ‘ignorance’ and

‘vulnerability’ of the Catholic lay person. Catholic education was often criticised as ‘indoctrination’ or brainwashing and was decried as contrary to the spirit of education which should encourage free intellectual inquiry. Teaching standards were also typically criticised as being substandard on account of the tradition of religious orders running Catholic schools, with many religious lacking formal teacher training and other teachers possessing minimal qualifications. Fr Frank

Martin, head of the Catholic Education Office in Victoria recalled that in the

1960s some of these criticisms were surfacing from within the Catholic community:

People, on the other hand, were beginning to ask

questions – parents were – about standards in Catholic

schools because of the class sizes… because of the one

10 Interview with David Gibson by Benjamin Edwards. 191

year training of teachers, because we did not have any

money to provide resources. You know, the schools were

largely just classrooms, no libraries in primary schools at

all, science blocks very ordinary in most secondary

schools…11

Criticism of the teaching standards in Catholic schools persisted in the postwar era. There were certainly strains on the system: even though the proportion of religious teachers was declining and the Catholic school system was recruiting more and more trained lay teachers, in many instances staffing levels were inadequate and ‘inordinate pressure on teachers and children’ was causing concern about the quality of education in Catholic schools.12

11 ‘Interview with Fr Frank Martin by Anne O’Brien October 1993’, Re-gaining State aid 1960-80: Interviews by Br John Luttrell, (Catholic Education Office Sydney, 2003) p.200. 12 By 1971 more than half the body of Catholic school teachers were lay men and women. Source: Bourke, J.E. ‘Catholic Education in Australia: Problems and Issues’, The Organization and Administration of Catholic Education in Australia, Tannock, P.D. (ed.), (University of Queensland Press, St Lucia: 1975) p.6;Santamaria, B., State Aid in Perspective. p.16; These concerns continued to dominate how many ‘outsiders’ saw the Catholic school system, well into the 1970s. In 1975, the following remarks were made at a conference of Catholic educators: ‘To many non-Catholics (and I write as a non-Catholic), Catholic schools are still a closed shop and are regarded with a certain amount of suspicion. This, I suggest, is to some extent a real political disadvantage. In my view Peter Gill is on the right track in arguing that for the sake of the future of Catholic schools the old stockade attitude or siege mentality should go’. Harman, G.S. ‘The Political Constraints on Catholic Education’, The Organisation and Administration of Catholic Education, (ed.)Tannock, P.D., p.172. 192

In 1947, 18.22 percent of Australian children attended Catholic schools.13 By

1966, the total of Australian children enrolled in Catholic schools had risen to

19.1 percent, a little less than an increase of one percent after some14 years.14

Whilst this may not seem to be a significant increase, the actual number of

Catholic children in the Australian population had increased dramatically in the same period, by more than 100 percent.15 This influx of students caused a tremendous strain of demand on the Catholic system, a system already under pressure, especially in terms of teacher provision and resources. Adding further strain, in the period between 1950 and 1960 there was a marked increase in the number of students completing their senior secondary schooling. This rate increased dramatically in the postwar decade, and through to the 1990s, a period in which ‘Industrialisation, immigration, full employment policies and new levels of urbanisation helped create a silent social revolution, where secondary

13 Hans Mol notes, ‘Catholic schools in 1971 numbered 1,769; and they enrolled 494,725 pupils, 329,682 at the primary level, and 165,043 at the secondary level. These schools account for an enrolment of 17.6 percent of the 2.8 million pupils enrolled in all Australian schools. Of the remainder, 78.2 percent are enrolled in government schools, and 4.2 percent in other independent schools. There are variations between states in the proportion of children in Catholic schools, ranging from 19.1 percent in New South Wales and Victoria (with the Australian Capital Territory higher at 22.5 percent) down to 9.7 percent in South Australia. These variations stem partly from differing proportions of Catholics in various states, and partly from other historical and social factors. The enrolment in Catholic schools in 1971 was 33.4 percent secondary. In this respect their enrolment more closely resembles that of government schools (34.1 percent secondary) than that of other independent schools (65.9 percent secondary). The total enrolment in Catholic schools continues to grow year by year.’ See Mol, H., Religion in Australia, p. 179; See also Bourke, J.E., Catholic Education in Australia,. p.3. 14 Mol, H., Religion in Australia. p.179. The peak of Catholic enrolments as a percentage of Roman Catholic children in the period 1947-1966 was reached in 1961, at 19.64percent; Inglis observes, ‘the proportion of Catholic children in State schools has risen since 1950, largely on account of European immigration’ – see Inglis, K.S., ‘The Australian Catholic Community’, Catholics and the Free Society: An Australian Symposium (ed) Mayer, H., (Cheshire, Melbourne: 1961) p.12; However, the statistical data indicates that proportionally the increase did not begin until after 1961. Rather, there was a numerical increase in the number of Catholic children attending both State and Catholic schools prior to 1961. It is important not to confuse these distinct representations. 15Inglis, K.S., ‘The Australian Catholic Community’, p.12; There were 212000 school age Catholics in 1947 and 478,422 in 1966; Mol, H., Religion in Australia. pp.178-180; O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1985) p.415. 193

education was ‘consumed’ for personal economic advancement’.16 For socially aspiring Australians, secondary education for their children was now both desirable and economically viable. Catholic schools found this a particularly heavy burden when compounded by the already increased market for Catholic education created by the postwar baby boom and the intake of the children of

European immigrants who were predominantly Catholic.17 These difficulties were further complicated by a supply shortage of teachers for the Catholic system: the religious teaching orders who traditionally staffed Catholic schools were declining in number. Between 1965 and 1971 the proportion of lay teachers in Catholic schools dramatically increased to fill the void and meet the growing numerical demand for teachers in Catholic schools.18 Lay teachers presented a new financial burden for Catholic schools, and this was a cost that had to be absorbed by already thinly stretched school fees revenues.

16 Burke, G. & Spaull, A., Australian Schools: participation and funding 1901-2000, (ABS, Canberra: 2001) p.15; In NSW government schools 13 percent of students were retained to leaving certificate in 1948; in 1958 this had risen to 48 percent and in 1968 72 percent were retained for the HSC. Source: Staying on at School: Improving Student Retention in Australia Report for the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts, Lamb, S., Walstab, A, Teese, R, Vickers, M & Rumberger, R., (Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Melbourne, Melbourne: 2004). 17 However, it must be noted that the government schools absorbed the lion’s share of the baby-boomer enrolments, see ibid. p.11. 18 In 1965, 72.3 percent of teachers were religious and 27.7 percent lay; in 1971, 47.8 percent were religious and 52.2 percent lay. Source: Bourke, J., Catholic Education in Australia, .pp.3-6; O’Farrell comments: ‘In the 1960s the expansion of education and the decline in religious vocations brought about a virtual revolution in the composition of Catholic school staffing. The example of New South Wales typifies the trend. By 1965, 27 percent of Catholic school teachers were lay persons, a situation regarded then as a radical departure from previous practice. By 1971, it was 52 percent and still rising. This transformation produced large and rapid cost rises only partly offset by increasing government grants: fee increases in Catholic schools had the effect of gradually restricting entry to the children of the middle classes. This was intensified by the shrinkage of the provision of Catholic education in relation to the growing demand. In 1963, 30 percent of Australian Catholic children were enrolled in state schools; by 1970 this percentage had risen to an estimated 40 percent and was steadily rising. In some states the proportion of Catholic children in state schools was much higher – 61 percent in South Australia, nearly 50 percent in Tasmania.’ O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community, p.415. 194

Catholic petitions and demands for state aid had been made ever since it was withdrawn altogether in New South Wales under Sir Henry Parkes; but, in a postwar context of ever increasing enrolments and higher operational costs, a new urgency intensified pressure from the Catholic Church in the 1950s and 1960s for government financial assistance.19 Traditionally, state aid for Catholic schools had not been a compelling political issue for either Labor or the conservative parties. Labor, which traditionally secured a strong Catholic vote, was commonly acknowledged as standing to gain little but the ire of non-Catholics and those opposed to state aid by pursuing a policy of state aid. The conservative parties faced little electoral pressure to embark upon such a policy and their Protestant support base, through Protestant bodies such as the Protestant Defence

Association and the National Council of Churches, was vocal in its opposition to state aid. Opposition to state aid was a consensus between the Protestant churches and the conservative political parties, and those committed to this stance opposed state aid because it flew in the face of the ideal of an equal, liberal, free and secular education. Anti-Catholicism was a strong motive for opposition to state aid. Anti-Catholic polemicists argued that maintaining

Catholic education was socially divisive, subversive and inadequate. As has already been argued in this thesis, opposition to state aid successfully drew

Protestants together in anti-Catholic campaigns. However, not all opposition to state aid was sectarian. Some, committed to the principle of liberal secular education, opposed state aid upon ideological grounds. Opposition to state aid

19 For comprehensive studies of state aid see Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State aid : A Study of

195

was thus an admixture of ideological and sectarian motives and had been a consistent policy of Protestant religious leaders since the turn of the century.

Prime Minister Menzies considered the question of state aid in the early 1950s, and in 1956 the Menzies Government decided to subsidise interest repayments for building projects of non-government schools in the A.C.T.20 However, this gesture met with heated criticism from Protestant church leaders, who frequently spoke out against state aid through their own church press and in public rallies, denominational assemblies and synods. For example, the Presbyterian General

Assembly of Australia expressed its opposition to state aid proposals at its sessions in 1951, 1954 and 1957.

In August 1960, the Country Party released a new policy statement in support of state aid. This change in policy, from what was an essentially Protestant party, was quite dramatic. The driving force behind the change was Sir Davis Hughes,

Member for Armidale, who had authored a report recommending that the

Country Party should support state aid to denominational schools, arguing that there was electoral advantage to be gained from this.21 The Party accepted the report and it then remained for Hughes and his colleague, Charles Cutler, to sway the parliamentary party that it too should support the policy change. After debate on the subject again in 1962, members of the parliamentary party accepted the policy change.

a Pressure Group Campaign in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory 1950-1972 (Catholic Theological Faculty, Sydney: 1978). 20 Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State aid, p.20. 196

Protestant church leaders and opinion makers were not so easily convinced of the merits of state aid. In July 1961, the NSW Presbyterian declared that ‘nothing has happened since [1880] to change the policy of this Church on the granting of state Aid to denominational schools’.22 At its session in October 1960, the Synod of the Church of England Diocese of Sydney reiterated its traditional opposition to state aid and again in a report published by the Church of England Committee on state aid to Church Schools in June 1961.23 On 10 September 1960 a public demonstration against state aid was held at the Lyceum Theatre. All speakers at the demonstration were leading Protestant clergymen – Anglican, Presbyterian,

Methodist and Baptist.

However, whilst Protestant church leaders seemed to be uniformly opposed to state aid, the Country Party was claiming that many Protestants dissented from the official views of their churches on the subject. In fact, according to a Gallop

Poll, the majority of Australians (by the mid-1950s 51 percent) favoured state aid.24 The Presbyterian, recognising this tendency, but also drawing attention to the fact that not all Catholic parents opposed the state education systems, felt that the only way to truly conclude the matter was by a referendum.25 Whilst

Bishop Loane, coadjutor Anglican bishop of Sydney, was declaring that ‘State aid

21 cf. Aitkin, D., The Country Party of NSW: A Study of Organisation and Survival (ANU Press, Canberra: 1972); Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State aid, pp.25-26. 22 NSW Presbyterian 14 July 1961, p.2. 23 ‘Summary of Proceeding of the First Ordinary Session of the Thirty-second Synod of the Diocese of Sydney, October 1960’, Diocese of Sydney Year Book 1961, (William Andrews Printing, Sydney: 1961) p. 248. 24 Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State Aid, p.5. 25 NSW Presbyterian 22 September 1961, p.2. 197

will lead to disintegration and fragmentation of education’ as well as ‘promote religious segregation in schools’, the Catholic Weekly was quoting Catholic

Archbishop Eris O’Brien of Canberra and Goulburn who, whilst opening extensions at the Sisters of Mercy hospital at Cootamundra, spoke out on the subject of state aid. Archbishop O’Brien felt that historians would ‘judge harshly’ contemporary society for its ‘tendency to ignore the social and economic value of

Catholic schools’ and argued that the Australian economy was dependent for its welfare on the ‘religiously inspired activities’ of the Catholic Church, such as its orphanages, hospitals and schools.26 The Australian Baptist was not taken in by such arguments, dismissing them as ‘specious’.27 Whilst acknowledging that

Catholic schools did alleviate the government’s educational financial burden, the

Australian Baptist dismissed this argument, stating, ‘No one has ever asked the

Papists to do what they are doing’.28 Aside from using the pejorative term ‘papist’, the Australian Baptist coloured its discussion of the state aid issue with blatant sectarian sentiments, reinforcing its arguments against Catholic education with a claim that ‘criminal records reveal a preponderance of crimes committed by

Roman Catholics’ and dismissing Catholic education as ‘a purely sectarian indoctrination course’.29 Presaging events over the next few years, the Australian

Baptist maintained that ultimately the state aid impasse would be decided ‘on the question of political expediency’.30

26 The Catholic Weekly 17 March 1960, p.6. 27 Australian Baptist 14 February 1962, p.2. 28 Australian Baptist 14 February 1962, p.15. 29 Australian Baptist 14 February 1962, p.15. 30 Australian Baptist 14 February 1962, p.2. 198

In July 1962, the heightening Catholic pressure for state aid met with political opportunity in a dramatic protest known as the ‘Goulburn Strike’ or schools closure. 1962 was an opportune time for such a protest: it was an election year in

NSW, and in Canberra the Menzies Federal Government held a slim majority of only two seats in the House of Representatives. The series of events leading up to the closure has already been accounted for in detail in a series of articles by

Bishop John Cullinane and by Michael Hogan.31 However, a brief outline of the chain of events leading up to the closure is necessary for understanding its motives and context.

The schools closure was a dramatic response made by the local Catholic community, triggered by mounting bureaucratic frustrations. These frustrations dated back to July 1957, when the Director of Education for the Southern Area issued a Certificate of Efficiency subject to future provision of amenities – that is additional lavatories – at the Our Lady of Mercy College, Goulburn.32 Despite the school’s failure to comply with the Department’s instruction, it was issued with a new Certificate of Efficiency in November 1959 and continued to operate as normal. Two years later, in December 1961, the Department of Education actually withheld a Certificate of Efficiency from the Our Lady of Mercy Prep

School. The school’s principal wrote to the Department, advising that the school was not in a financial position to meet the requirements for the Certificate of

31 Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State Aid, pp.63-9; Cullinane, J., ‘The Department Strikes’; Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record: The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 3. ‘The Strike Back’ in Australasian Catholic Record, 62, No.1, January 1985, pp.68-79. 32 The granting of a Certificate of Efficiency was required under the NSW Public Instruction (Amendment) Act of 1916 for schools to be registered. 199

Efficiency, and despite further correspondence from the school to the NSW

Department of Health the Certificate of Efficiency was not renewed and expired on December 31, 1961.33

Nevertheless, the school re-opened for the new school year in January 1962 but now the Department of Health was also involved. In March 1962 notice was given that adequate toilet facilities must be provided within twelve weeks or the school would be subject to daily fines. The school continued to negotiate with the authorities and other influential parties, and after the intervention of the local

Labor Member of Parliament, who contacted the minister for education in late

March 1962, the Director of Education for the Southern Area issued a new

Certificate of Efficiency valid to 31 Dec 1962.

However, the Department of Health’s deadline of 6 June 1962 for the installation of new lavatories was quickly approaching. In May 1962, the school advised the

Area Director that it would be subject to an initial fine of twenty pounds and then five pounds per day for non-compliance with the Department of Health requirement, and thus, even though the certificate of efficiency had been extended, the school would not be permitted to open after the term break. Bishop

Cullinane, then auxiliary Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, describes this as ‘the first formal indication…that the school might be closed’.34 According to Bishop

Cullinane, the Director General of Education suggested to him that the closure of the school could perhaps be averted by seeking an extension for compliance from

33Cullinane, J., ‘The Department Strikes’, p.407. 200

the local council, which on the 5 June 1962, one day before the original Health

Department deadline, gave the school an extension of six months for compliance.35

The whole matter aroused considerable frustration and anger within the Goulburn

Catholic community. At the heart of the matter lay the sense of injustice that a government bureaucracy, which gave no financial support to the school, was regulating how that school should operate. Peter Murray, a Catholic parent and founding member of the Hunter Valley Federation of Parents Committees for

Christian Education, describes this sense of injustice:

What motivated us was our belief that there was a justice issue,

in that we all had lots of kids. It was a baby boom era.

Everybody we knew had eight children or more…So it was a

pressing issue. We were very much at home worrying about

financing schools, because we were spending the money. So it

was a justice issue that had been talked about in the Church for

years and years earlier, but it seemed to be the time to have a

go.36

The Catholic community’s sense of economic burden, social injustice and inequity was acute and the matter was not left to rest. The school also considered that even with the extra six months granted they would not be in an economic position to meet the requirements. Instead, the Church and school officials determined to

34 Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record: The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened Part 4.The Pre-Strike Week’ in Australasian Catholic Record, 62 No.2, April 1985, p177. 35Cullinane, J., ‘The Department Strikes’. p.416. 201

insist on the provision of the additional lavatories to the school at the State’s expense. Bishop Cullinane, reflecting on this decision, commented, ‘Our determination to make a stand on the matter had now hardened to a firm intention of closing the school until additional facilities were provided for the children. Only the date of giving effect to such intention remained to be determined.’37 He also commented:

We were intent on closing the school unless the necessary

closets were provided, whether there were five or three. We had

no intention of providing them ourselves without first drawing

attention to the hypocritical use of regulations by the

Department of Education and its apparent dependence on the

continuance of our overcrowded schools. 38

Bishop Cullinane has discussed how requests were subsequently made by the local Mayor for the Premier to give an opinion on the matter and how these requests met with no response. 39 In fact, the Premier was on holidays at the time of the closure, which was itself a topic of extended media coverage during this crisis.40 Financial assistance from the government to enable compliance with the requirements of the Department of Health was not forthcoming. Bishop

Cullinane advised the Minister for Education on the 5 July 1962 that an

36 ‘Interview with Peter Murray 25th June 2002’, Luttrell, J., Re-gaining State Aid, p.97. 37 Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record: The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 3. ‘The Strike Back’ in Australasian Catholic Record, 62 no.1, January 1985, p.69. 38 Cullinane, J., ‘The Strike Back’, p.70. 39 Ibid. 40 For example, see the Daily Mirror articles of 16 July 1962, p.14 ‘Heffron Ducks’ and 19 July 1962. p.7 ‘School Aid Stirs Premier to Anger’. 202

emergency meeting had been planned for the following Monday evening. The night before the meeting a provisional meeting was convened by Bishop Cullinane with somewhere between forty and sixty local lay men present, and according to

Bishop Cullinane Mr J Mullen, former mayor of Goulburn, proposed to the meeting that all schools should be closed.41 Bishop Cullinane states that he indicated to the meeting that he would defer to his Archbishop before a formal decision was made.

The following day, at a larger meeting of parents and parishioners, and attended by Archbishop O’Brien and Bishop Cullinane, the course of action considered the previous evening was confirmed and a motion was passed and sent to the

Minister for Education expressing the ‘bitter disappointment’ felt by the Catholic community which felt denied of ‘a fair share of the public purse for its education system’. The telegram explained that the closure sought ‘to draw public attention to the almost insurmountable plight in which Catholics find themselves’.42

Speaking in terms of ‘citizen action’ and ‘justice’ the telegram was composed as an expression of the attitude of the Catholic community, arising out of their common ‘plight’, attributing the grievance to the Catholic community as ‘our claim’. Its tenor of justice and entitlement is in keeping with the driving motivations expressed by parent campaigners referred to above.

Yet it must also be noted that when it spoke of the ‘Catholic community’, and the

‘Catholic claim’ it also, intentionally or otherwise, invoked sectarian factors which

41 Bishop Cullinane says there were sixty men present at this meeting. Hogan states that there were

203

meant that the protest gesture at Goulburn could be interpreted as a sectarian ploy: as an act of the Catholic Church seeking to exact its own sectarian influence by applying political pressure. This type of language also risked provoking a sectarian response from those outside the Catholic community with an anti-

Catholic agenda.

forty. 42 Catholic Weekly 12 July 1962, p.1. 204

CHAPTER 9:

SECTARIAN RESPONSES TO THE GOULBURN SCHOOLS CLOSURE

This chapter examines sectarian responses to the Goulburn Schools Closure of

July 1962. It is a discursive analysis, exploring the language, tropes, and themes associated with traditional sectarian discourse and ideology that featured in media representations, political comment and the utterances of church leaders relating to the ‘Goulburn Strike’. It examines the response of Protestant leaders to the Goulburn Schools Closure and argues that Protestant leaders contributed significantly to the sectarianisation of the incident, invoking traditional anti-

Catholic discourse in their opposition to state aid and the Goulburn campaign. It then examines the responses of the NSW Government and the metropolitan press to the Goulburn incident, arguing that both the Government and the press also played significant roles in fuelling the sectarian dimension of the controversy.

The Protestant Campaign against State Aid

Statements made by Protestant leaders at the time of the schools closure are indicative that sectarianism was a strong motive and feature of their opposition to state aid. Various Protestant groups sought to capitalise on the sectarian potential of the Goulburn schools closure, with militant Protestant bodies, as well as the mainstream Protestant denominations, using the events of July 1962 as an opportunity to re-deploy their anti-Catholic arguments and fears. For example,

‘Rome has come out in her true colours’, was The Baptist’s response to the schools closure. The Baptist saw the strike as a sign of the ‘bullying and demanding’ 205

nature of the Catholic Church and sneered that it was ‘greedy for gain and not always careful with truth’.43

The anti-state aid campaign, led by the NSW Council of Churches (NSW CC), was essentially the continuation of traditional Protestant sectarian opposition to state aid: earlier in the 1950s the NSW CC had strongly resisted proposals by

Prime Minister Menzies that government funding to private schools might be introduced, as well as the proposal for a Catholic university. The NSW CC quickly mobilised in response to the events at Goulburn. Rallies were held, telegrams sent to political leaders, letters written to newspapers and press statements were given to offset ‘Rome’s unceasing pressure’.44 According to the

Secretary of the NSW CC, the Reverend Bernard Judd, the stakes were high.

Fearing that ‘Rome’s political voting bludgeon will hammer the labour, liberal and

Country parties into submission’, Judd stressed the urgency of speaking out against state aid; a delegation was sent to government ministers by the NSW CC and representatives of the NSW CC issued press statements and frequently entered their opinions into the public debate over the schools closure.45

For Protestant campaigners, there was no doubting that state aid was a sectarian issue that pitted the Catholic community against Protestant Australia. This is clearly conveyed in their statements and publications, such as the alarmist The

Case Against State Aid for Roman Catholic Schools by Monica Farrell. This tract is a fine example of the way that this traditional sectarian ideology was dredged up

43 Australian Baptist 25 July 1962, p.2. 206

and re-applied to the current political debate. The traditional themes of

Protestant ideology were all featured here: the alleged despotic and anti- democratic ideology of the Catholic Church; its subversive influence in society; its unscriptural and corrupted theology; its exploitation of the laity; and the need for Protestant vigilance.46

Protestant opponents of state aid, perhaps conveniently forgetting their own church schools, frequently spoke out against Catholic education as a socially divisive and subversive force: ‘It promotes segregation and division’, wrote the

Reverend Gordon Powell, who also felt that it ‘would lead to Roman Catholic domination of Australia’.47 Accusations of social division were also made against the Catholic Church by the Reverend. B.G. Judd, who remarked:

Rome’s argument about injustice is thoroughly specious. The

Roman Catholic Church does not maintain her separate

schools to relieve the State Treasury. She does it in order to

keep her people as a separate cohesive group within

society.48

Similarly, the Reverend Alan Walker, superintendent of the Central Methodist

Mission in Sydney, was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald stating:

44 The Rock Thursday 13 July 1962, p.1. 45 The Rock Thursday 13 July 1962, p.1. 46 Farrell, M., The Case Against State aid for Roman Catholic Schools (Protestant Publications, Glebe: undated) pp.1-8. 47 O’Farrell, P. Documents in Australian Catholic History Vol 2: 1884-1968, (Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London: 1969) p.423. 48 The Rock 13 July 1961, p.1. 207

Unfortunately Roman Catholic education divides the children of

the nation and creates segregation on the basis of religion. State

aid would only deepen the segregation pattern of Australian

society.49

Not only were Catholics accused of segregating their children, but also of causing detriment to the Australian way of life. This accusation captured many different sectarian themes in a very concise and powerful way. Catholics are presented in this way as a subversive and divisive force within society with little regard for the national well being and unaligned with national spirit. Others argued that state aid provoked sectarianism and should be avoided for that reason. Dr H. Maynard

Rennie, Chairman of the Congregational Union of New South Wales, stated, ‘We are also opposed to the proposal because it raises the sectarian issue and this becomes a divisive factor at a time when unity is being sought. It would only emphasise denominational differences and weaken effective cooperation between the Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches’.50

Newspaper correspondence of the time is indicative of the success achieved by those who sought to make the Goulburn incident a sectarian call-to-arms. In various letters to newspaper editors, anti-Catholic sentiment underpins objections to the schools closure. One correspondent saw the closure as ‘the latest challenge from Catholicism’.51 The closure was frequently described as a sign of Catholic despotism and anti-democracy. Correspondents spoke of ‘indoctrination’,

49 Sydney Morning Herald 28 July 1962, p.4; sentiments echoed by the Reverend Norman Lickiss, President of the Methodist Conference of NSW, in the Sun Herald 4 February 1962 p.2. 50 Sydney Morning Herald 5 February 1962, p.4. 208

‘segregation’, ‘the pressure tactics of that Church’, and of withstanding Catholic pressure, ‘We are not going to bow to Rome,’ declared the Daily Mirror.52

The Protestant campaign certainly contributed significantly to the sectarian dimension of the Goulburn strike. Catholic activists felt isolated in their struggle and opposed by Protestants. Brian Keating, one of the leading Catholic parent campaigners at Goulburn, local dentist and alderman, has commented on the surprise felt by some of the Catholic state aid campaigners who had anticipated at least sympathy, if not support, from those associated with the non-government

Protestant schools. Keating remarks:

We expected some fairness from the non-Catholic Churches –

but none came. We were sure that the non-Catholic schools and

colleges would offer sympathetic support, but no – they rejected

Government Aid absolutely because Government Aid meant

Government interference and some control.53

Keating’s comments are telling of the extent to which the issue was shrouded in sectarian tension and interpreted as a sectarian struggle. However, not all

Protestants were opposed to state aid. While the NSW CC’s pronouncements claimed that the major Protestant denominations were united in their opposition to state aid, there were Protestants who supported the introduction of state aid.

After all, as some newspaper correspondents were pointing out, Protestants also stood to gain from the introduction of state aid:

51 Daily Mirror, letters to the editor, 31 July 1962. 209

I believe that the first duty of all citizens is to clear their minds

of the attempt to put a Catholic label on the hot

issue…remember it is aid to church schools, not wholly Catholic

schools, which is being debated.54

Significantly, in the early days of the Goulburn controversy, the Anglican Dean of

Goulburn offered his public support for the schools closure.55 The Anglican

Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, the Right Reverend Ernest Burgmann, had previously suffered isolation on the bench of bishops, with the exception of the bishop of North Queensland, as well as ‘a torrent of sectarian abuse’ for his acceptance and support of the 1956 A.C.T. state aid measures proffered by the

Federal Government.56 By 1962, Bishop Burgmann was not so isolated, with others such as the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Frank Woods, also expressing their support for state aid.57 Keating’s observations indicate that the sectarian dimension of the controversy was so strong that these alternate

Protestant opinions were barely heard above the sectarian din raised by the

Goulburn incident.

Rallies and meetings of concerned Protestants continued to be held after the

Goulburn strike ended. Participants in these rallies were invariably luminaries of the NSW CC. These were not simply the extremist cries of the militant

52 Daily Mirror 13 July 1962; Daily Mirror 31 July1962. 53 ‘Interview with Brian Keating’ in Luttrell, J., Re-gaining State Aid, p.52. 54 Daily Mirror 13 July 1962, p.27. 55 Cullinane, J., ‘The Pre-Strike Week’, p.181. 56Hempenstall, P., The Meddlesome Priest: A Life of Ernest Burgmann (Allen&Unwin, St Leonards: 1993) p.302. 57 Hogan, M. The Catholic Campaign for State aid, p.234; See also Catholic Weekly 18 October 1962, p.11. 210

Protestant fringe, but rather were sustained campaigns supported, guided and sanctioned by the leaders of the mainstream Protestant Churches. Marcus Loane, then co-adjutant Bishop of Sydney, was a prominent participant in such events, as well as the Reverend Alan Walker of the Methodist Central Mission and the

Reverend MacNeil Saunders of the Presbyterian Church.

The Goulburn schools closure provided Protestant campaigners with an opportunity to restate their long-standing opposition to state aid. With this campaign, as with others before it, anti-Catholicism was both its driving force and a feature of it.

The NSW Government Response

At the time of the Goulburn incident, the NSW Government found it politically expedient to dismiss the closure as a sectarian squabble that did not concern the

Government. The Premier, Mr Heffron, was on holiday in Queensland when the schools closure began. The unfolding crisis in Goulburn did not bring him back to duty; rather, he remained tacit on the subject much to the annoyance of those campaigning for state aid as well as the newspapers:

When a serious political crisis strikes a country it is usual to find

the government’s leader hurrying to his headquarters. It was not

the fault of Mr Heffron, that he happened to be holidaying at

Cairns when the storm over government aid to church schools

burst over Goulburn and rapidly engulfed the whole State. But

at least one would have expected him to speed to Sydney, 211

summon his cabinet and make a firm statement of policy, one

way or the other, on the subject. Instead, what do we find? The

elderly, leisurely Premier treats the whole thing as if it didn’t

exist and decides to stay as far away from Sydney – and

Goulburn – as he can.58

The Premier instead preferred to let his Minister in charge – ‘who can be depended on to do his job’ – handle the situation.59 When the Premier did return from holidays and gave a press conference, he did his best to downplay the situation, saying he would not be ‘inveigled into some kind of sectarian fight’.60

By making the whole strike issue seem like a sectarian affair he was dismissing it as unimportant, and trying to minimise its political urgency. Catholic campaigners of course were incensed by this response and asserted that this was not at all a sectarian issue, as was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Members of the anti-Heffron group [of parents at Goulburn]

said today a published statement by the Premier on state-aid

‘got our backs up’ – and gained dozens of new supporters for

their move to keep the schools closed. They said Mr Heffron

had blundered by his use of the expression: ‘sectarian fight’. In a

Press statement on the Goulburn schools’ closure Mr Heffron

said last week he was ‘not going to be inveigled into some kind

of sectarian fight’. A leading Roman Catholic layman in

58 Daily Mirror 16 July1962, p.14. 59 Daily Mirror 19 July 1962, p.7. 60 Sydney Morning Herald 20 July 1962, p.4. 212

Goulburn said: ‘If Mr Heffron thinks this is a sectarian

argument he has been singularly misinformed’.61

This raised the ire of Catholic state aid campaigners who had endeavoured to have the matter dealt with as a serious political concern. A local solicitor and sometime mayor of Goulburn and prominent Catholic layman, Jack Mullen, clearly articulated the sense of frustration that this treatment from the Premier had aroused, stating, ‘If he is prepared to make a statement like that at the conclusion of a holiday, I strongly suggest that he go away for another long holiday’.62 The strong rejection of the accusation that the schools closure was a sectarian dispute or matter was consistent with the overall theme of the Catholic argument throughout the campaign: Catholic state aid campaigners consistently maintained that this was a civic, political matter, not a sectarian one.

The Premier would not involve himself with the matter – his was a politically expedient silence.63 Federal ALP policy was definitively opposed to state aid to non-government schools. With its hands tied in terms of policy, on the surface the

Heffron Government stood to gain very little from granting state aid, other than a conflict with the Federal Executive and the possible alienation of Protestant voters or others opposed to state aid.64

61 Sydney Morning Herald 22 July 1962, p.7. 62 Sydney Morning Herald 23 July 1962, p.1. 63 Sydney Morning Herald 19 July 1962, p.7. 64 B. A Santamaria comments, ‘[The Liberals] believed that the great bulk of the Catholic vote went to Labor, which it did, and therefore [they] had nothing to gain by conceding State aid. [The Liberals] couldn't wean any of the Catholic vote from Labor by conceding it. On the other hand, the Labor Party felt that it had the Catholic vote in its pocket and therefore had nothing to gain by offering it. So for that reason, there was an impasse.’ Timeframe, ABC Radio National, 10 April 1997, Transcript cited at http://www.abc.net.au/time/episodes/ep7.htm, 9/5/2004. 213

However, speaking out against state aid and the closure was not a viable alternative. The breakaway of Catholic Labor into the Democratic Labor Party

(DLP) was not as pronounced in NSW as it had been in Victoria and the NSW

Government was still dominated by right-wing Catholics. The Catholic hierarchy in Sydney, led by Cardinal Gilroy, continued to enjoy close relations with the

Labor government, consistently refusing to endorse the DLP, unlike in

Melbourne where Archbishop Mannix extolled the virtues of the DLP and chastised the ALP.65 This dynamic had led to several clashes between the NSW

Labor Government and the Federal ALP and Executive, which in 1957 had reasserted traditional Labor opposition to state aid as party policy. The delicacy of the Premier’s position was generally well appreciated as these comments from the Sydney Morning Herald attest:

The Roman Catholic vote is said to have enabled Labour [sic] to

remain in power, generally with small majorities, for 20 years…If Mr

Heffron does not offer any prospect of Labour support for State aid

he could run the risk of losing the Roman Catholic vote to the

Liberal party if Mr Askin promises State aid…On the other hand, Mr

Heffron, by moving towards State aid, could alienate Protestant

support within Labour’s [sic] ranks.66

65 Duncan, B., Crusade or Conspiracy, pp.316, 329; O’Farrell,P., Catholic Community, p.272; According to T. Truman, Cardinal Gilroy understood that if he supported the DLP the Labor Government of NSW ‘the only Government where militant Catholics had any influence’ would collapse and the Liberal- Country Party Coalition would walk back into power. See Truman, T., Catholic Action and Politics, (Georgian House, Melbourne: 1960) p.177; The Advocate 3 November 1955. 66 Sydney Morning Herald 6 February 1962, p.1. 214

The reality that it was not in the interests of a Labor Government to pursue state aid was clear to all, even to those leading the closure. Bishop Cullinane reflects,

‘We knew very well that the Government could not help because of Australian

Labor Party policy on non-government schools…’67 By ignoring the mounting crisis in Goulburn and dismissing it as a ‘sectarian squabble’ and not a serious political issue, the Premier sought to downplay the issue and minimise its political fall out for his government. However, whilst the Heffron Government may have wished to simply dismiss the controversy as a ‘sectarian fight’, there were political ramifications, and the Government itself became involved in the intrigue.

Rumours abounded that secret agreements were being reached between the

Labor Government of NSW and the Catholic hierarchy. Government officials and the Church apparatus denied any such arrangements, as Mr Coulburne, the

Minister for Education, asserted:

There has been no secret agreement entered into between

the Catholic Church and myself and no request …The

report was a deliberate fabrication designed to split the

Labor Party on a bitter sectarian issue.68

The media began to suspect that the Catholic Church would apply pressure to the

Catholic dominated Labor Government of NSW:

The Roman Catholic Church in NSW is prepared to swing

support away from [Mr Heffron’s] Government if he does

not change its policy against State aid…Reports circulating

67 Cullinane, J., ‘The Department Strikes’, p.412. 215

in Labor Party circles last night said the Roman Catholic

Church was prepared to launch a strong campaign during

the election campaign supporting the principle of State aid

for Church schools.69

The Press Response

Joining with Protestant leaders and politicians, the press invoked sectarianism in the public discussion of the Goulburn Schools Closure. Reportage of the

Goulburn schools closure in the major metropolitan newspapers emphasised the religious and sectarian dimension of the controversy, giving little consideration to the educational and economic claims and concerns that had initiated the action in

Goulburn. The events unfolding in Goulburn quickly became national news and received extensive media coverage. Metropolitan media coverage of the Goulburn schools closure reveals the way in which sectarian discourse featured in their reportage of the Goulburn Schools Closure.

The Sydney daily newspapers not only capitalised upon the sectarian potential of the public debate about the schools closure and state aid, but they also incited and advanced sectarianism within the debate. The press sensationalised the sectarian dimension of the affair, used sectarian discourse in its reportage and at times displayed considerable sectarian bias. Sectarian division provided an instant narrative framework for the media’s analysis of the controversy that had erupted in Goulburn. The sectarian ranting of Protestant church leaders opposed to state

68 Sydney Morning Herald 9 February1962, p.3; Sun Herald 4 February 1962, p.2. 216

aid made ‘good copy’ and so the sermons of Protestant ministers criticising state aid, the representations of Protestant ministers to politicians and other public comments found their way into the media coverage; surely to the satisfaction of

Protestant polemicists. However, much of the media coverage and editorial comment itself betrays a latent sectarianism in Australian society in the 1960s.

The schools closure was portrayed in the press as a cause of sectarian tension. Source: Daily Mirror 18 July 1962

The press coverage of the Goulburn Schools Closure shows a broad usage of traditional anti-Catholic tropes, at times blatant and at other times more nuanced in their application. The Catholic Church was frequently described in press reports as ‘powerful’, ‘anti-democratic’, ‘intimidating’, ‘bullying’ and

‘blackmailing’, ‘thoughtless’ ‘foolish’, ‘subversive’, and ‘divisive’. Other consistent themes in the critique of the Catholic Church and the schools closure include accusations that the Church was exploiting the children as political pawns; that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was manipulating the laity; and that the

Church was responsible for inciting sectarianism. It is important to be attentive

69 Sun Herald 4 February 1962, p.2.

217

to these tendencies in analysis of the press response to the Goulburn Schools

Closure. The appearance of sectarian discourse in the press coverage is indicative of both the press’s efforts to sensationalise the Schools Closure as a sectarian conflict and the latent anti-Catholic bias of the press.

It is not particularly surprising that the press sensationalised the dramatic events in Goulburn, but it is telling that the press sought to sensationalise the Goulburn incident as a sectarian dispute. The press, particularly the Daily Mirror and the

Sydney Morning Herald, made a significant contribution to the incitement of sectarian feeling through editorial bias and dichotomous interpretation and analysis of the events at Goulburn, framing them within a context of sectarian antagonism and rivalry.70 Headlines such as, ‘State aid pressure by Roman

Catholics’, ‘Church Leaders Differ on School Strike’, and reports that spoke of

Catholic ‘pressure tactics’ and attempts to frighten the government into submission’, brought sectarianism to the fore of the reportage of the events at

Goulburn. The Sydney Morning Herald felt that the schools closure ‘would undoubtedly heighten the sectarian feeling which lies, potentially disruptive, beneath the surface of our communal life’.71 The Daily Mirror saw the schools closure as ‘a subject that could divide families and even break up friendships’, and it fulfilled its tabloid obligations, sensationalising the schools closure with

70 It must be noted that it is not always possible to precisely pin point sectarian insinuations or sneers from the reports. They must be looked at as a corpus rather than just by searching for individual examples. Looking across the reporting of the schools closure in 1962 one becomes sensitive to a generally anti-Catholic tone in the reporting of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Mirror. Not only is this to do with the content of reports or the tone of editorials, but it is very much to do with how the newspapers themselves dealt with covering the issue. 218

dramatic tropes such as, ‘State aid for church schools…the burning question of the day…brought to the point of explosion by the Goulburn Roman Catholic parents…’72 In fact, Bishop Cullinane, and others, complained that the media sought ‘to portray the closure as an ecclesiastical sectarian intrigue rather [than] a parental citizen action’. Bishop Cullinane commented, ‘On one occasion answers of mine were bent to support this interpretation’.73 A report in the Sunday Mirror is illustrative of the tendency toward sectarian sensationalism of the schools closure:

‘Parents Fight in Street: Children shocked by R.C. row’

– ‘The religious row which split Goulburn this week has

shocked and bewildered the town’s children and has

angered and worried the parents…Fights have broken out

in hotels….74

The language used in this report is telling. The schools closure is described here as a ‘religious row’, not as a form of political activism and the venting of bureaucratic frustrations. This interpretation is a strong tendency in much of the reporting of the Goulburn Schools Closure. Furthermore, the report of fights breaking out in hotels actually referred to an incident in a Goulburn pub involving two inebriated men that was quickly resolved; hardly an indicator of widespread

71 Sydney Morning Herald 11 July1962; Sydney Morning Herald 11 July 1962, p.5; Daily Telegraph 11 July 1962 pp.1-2; Sydney Morning Herald 6 February 1962, p.2. 72 Daily Mirror 12 July 1962, p.5. 73 Cullinane’s frustrations with the media coverage of the schools closure are expressed in detail in Cullinane, J., ‘The Pre-Strike Week’, pp.177-178 and Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 1. Introduction’ in Australasian Catholic Record,.61 No.3, July 1984, pp.312- 320. 74 Sunday Mirror 15 July 1962, p.4. 219

sectarian conflict or unrest throughout the city of Goulburn, as the report suggests.

Constant references to Catholicism, identifying people in reported events as

Catholic or Protestant, and labouring on the tension between the Catholic

Church and the State were ways in which the newspapers enflamed the sectarian dimension of the schools closure. Analysing the reports and editorials concerning the closure reveals that this episode awakened a high incidence of traditional sectarian language and ideology.

The sectarian undercurrent that had so quickly surfaced and that was exploited by the press frustrated Catholic state aid campaigners, such as Bishop Cullinane, who were desperate to avoid the affair turning into a sectarian dogfight. Catholic arguments for state aid at the time emphasised the rights of Catholics and the notion of justice in economic and educational terms and were insistent that the action taken in the closure of the schools was a valid democratic protest by aggrieved citizens, rather than the political manipulation of a ‘powerful Church’ as was seen by the Sydney Morning Herald.75 In his memoir of the period, Bishop

Cullinane has queried the motive of the newspapers in seeking out the public comment of the Goulburn Ministers’ Fraternal, questioning the relevance of interviewing the local clergy about what was in his opinion a question of education policy: ‘One could see the relevance of a statement from the State

School teachers or even the Parents and Citizens Associations, but why the 220

Ministers Fraternal?’.76 However, state aid could not yet be discussed without sectarian implications. Some church leaders were doing their utmost to ensure that.

Press reports insinuated that the Catholic people of Goulburn had been harangued into the ‘strike’ by their clergy. The Daily Mirror identified Bishop

Cullinane as the source of the closure idea. ‘Man Who Set It Going’ ran the Daily

Mirror’s headline for a story about Bishop Cullinane on the 11th of July. ‘The resolution put to the public meeting on Monday night had arisen from his suggestion the night before’, it claimed.77 The Sunday Mirror reported: ‘There seems no doubt that the large Roman Catholic population is generally against the decision to close down the church schools. They have had a decision forced upon them which they do not support or even agree with’.78 Similarly, the Sydney

Morning Herald stated that the matter was nothing to do with the parents, but that it was a conflict between a ‘powerful and wealthy church’ and the state.79

Bishop Cullinane has argued that the schools closure was an initiative of the laity, not his imposed agenda.80 His eagerness to present himself as the champion of the people’s cause, rather than the mastermind of a brilliant political campaign, suggests that to some extent hostility towards the hierarchy and its perceived authoritarianism was still current or was at least something that the hierarchy

75 Sydney Morning Herald 12 July1962, p.2. 76 Cullinane, J., ‘The Pre-Strike Week’, p.180. 77 Daily Mirror 11 July 1962, p.2. 78 Sunday Mirror 15 July 1962, p.4. 79 Sydney Morning Herald 12 July1962. 221

itself was still sensitive to, even twenty years later when Bishop Cullinane composed his articles on those events of 1962. In his memoir of the schools closure, Bishop Cullinane takes exception to the way he feels he was portrayed as a domineering prelate by the press at the time and he seeks to deflect the sectarian claim that he manipulated the laity. He writes in a very defensive manner and with a great sense of frustration.81 His frustrations are no doubt born of his perception that the media had distorted the account of events that precipitated the Goulburn schools closure – a distortion predicated upon what were to a considerable extent sectarian ideas.

Michael Hogan has observed that prior to the Goulburn crisis state aid was ‘a problem for the bishops and their advisers’ and not a matter entrusted to the laity by the hierarchy.82 He describes the Sydney Parents and Friends Association as

‘completely docile and amenable to hierarchical control’ and comments that it was not ‘an effective State Aid body before 1962’.83 However, it is apparent that parental frustrations with this arrangement surfaced in 1962. Looking back on this incident, Doris Brauer, one time assistant secretary of the Association for

Educational Freedom, recalls this sense of frustration:

We were told that the Bishops had it all in hand and were

negotiating with the Government – ‘see how we are getting

somewhere: we now have free travel to school and free

80 Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record: The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 1. Introduction’ in Australasian Catholic Record, 61, No.3, July, 1984, p.312. 81 Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 5. The ‘Strike’ Week’ in The Australasian Catholic Record, 62, No.3, July 1985, pp.293-304. 82 Hogan, M. The Catholic Campaign, p.137. 222

milk’…I was unhappy with the situation. Things weren’t

happening quickly enough. We were told to sit down and that

everything was going to be done quietly behind the scenes, so

that no one was upset. They didn’t think that we were upset,

did they!84

Brauer remarks that she saw the Goulburn school strike as ‘at last the go ahead for the parents by the clergy at Goulburn.’85 This certainly gives an impression that the protest at Goulburn was to a considerable extent a manifestation of the deeper feelings of parents, rather than a manipulation of parents by the clergy.

When one takes into account the significant parental involvement and mobilisation required for the success of the strike manoeuvre, as well as the influence of the parents at Goulburn on the nature of the action taken, Bishop

Cullinane’s frustrations with the ‘clerical dominance’ theme used by the media seem justified. Prominent lay men, such as the Deputy Mayor of Goulburn, local dentist and leading parent campaigner, Brian Keating, and the former mayor of

Goulburn, Mr Mullens, played significant roles in bringing about the schools closure. Furthermore, Michael Hogan argues that at the preparatory meeting of 8

July 1962, the night before the public meeting was to be held, the men at the meeting rejected the proposal of Bishop Cullinane and Mr Keating, and insisted that it was to be an all or nothing closure, involving all the Goulburn schools or

83 Ibid. 84 ‘Interview with Doris Brauer 22nd August 2001’ in Luttrell, J., Re-gaining State Aid 1960-80, p.6. 85 Ibid. 223

none of them.86 It is also important to note that according to reports of the meeting on 9 July 1962, it was not until after the parents had made their decision on the course of action to close all the schools that Archbishop O’Brien offered his support. Keating, who was at both meetings, suggests that the Archbishop reluctantly endorsed the proposed closure:

I believe that the Archbishop was aware that the proposal was

to close one school and, being the highly intelligent man that he

was, he assumed that the government would see this as a

protest, and that would be it – and that kind of protest would

not have upset the Archbishop. But when he went to the

meeting and he became aware of the intensity of the feeling and

the size of the decision, I think he was somewhat overwhelmed.

While he did say at the time that he would support his people

and he wouldn’t oppose them, I’m sure he was worried.87

This certainly is not consistent with the suggestion that the parents were bullied into the schools closure by the hierarchy who were hotly pursuing their own agenda and this all suggests that the events in Goulburn were not a manipulation and mobilisation of the laity by the hierarchy, as the media suggested, but were actually a manifestation of their true feelings.88

86 Hogan, M. The Catholic Campaign for State Aid, p.68. 87 Luttrell, J., ‘Interview with Brian Keating’, p.50; Brian Keating was president of the state aid lobby group the Association for Educational Freedom from its inception in August 1962 until 1977. 88 Hogan’s discussion of the eagerness of the hierarchy to take charge of the issue again after the strike also indicates that the laity were not simply acting under orders. See The Catholic Campaign for State Aid, pp.75-76. 224

Press coverage was generally unsympathetic to the action of the Goulburn

Catholic community, and was felt by Bishop Cullinane to have been ‘uniformly hostile…to our cause’.89 The sensitivity of some newspaper correspondents indicates that they too perceived a sectarian bias in the press, ‘I was bitterly disgusted at the manner in which you attacked the Goulburn Catholic church authorities and parents’, wrote one correspondent to the Daily Mirror.90 From the outset, the Daily Mirror was also unsympathetic to the protest at Goulburn, labelling it as the action of ‘indignant Goulburn Roman Catholics,’ the Daily

Mirror hoped that they would ‘see the good sense of reversing their sensational decision’91 – a decision which the Daily Mirror saw as, ‘impassioned by the thoughtless, maybe desperate, action of the bishops and parents’.92

One of the clearest examples of media bias in this controversy centres on a news poll conducted by the Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror, which had consistently opposed the schools closure and the state aid cause, publicised its poll on the front page of its late issue on 12th July 1962, under the headline, ‘You decide on

State aid’, expressing concern that ‘nobody knows what the people really think’.93

Concerned readers were asked to participate in this ‘urgent snap poll’ by returning a coupon to the Daily Mirror so that the public could express its opinion to ‘our politicians and church leaders…on this grave and mishandled problem’. When the results from this ‘all important’ poll were finally tallied, the

89Cullinane, J., ‘The Pre-Strike Week’, p.178. 90 Daily Mirror 31 July 1962, p.27. 91 Daily Mirror 11 July 1962, p.1. 92 Sunday Mirror 15 July 1962, p.2. 93 Daily Mirror 12 July 1962, p.1. 225

Daily Mirror found itself in a difficult situation. The results were not at all acceptable to the editorial staff with the vote in favour of state aid reaching

10,332 and the vote against reaching only 7,365. ‘We beg to differ,’ ran the by- line for the editorial column of the Sunday Mirror, with the editorial defiantly stating, ‘The Mirror does not agree that independent schools of any kind, church or otherwise, should be subsidised by a State…It believes that State aid not only runs counter to the ideal of free and secular education for all but that it could lead to a perpetuation and intensification of community barriers’.94

The Daily Mirror had seriously misjudged its readership’s sentiment on the issue of state aid. The anti-Catholic agenda that the Daily Mirror had pushed, whilst evoking much latent sectarianism, was no longer potent enough to significantly lead public opinion, or at least its readership’s, against state aid. This episode is demonstrative of the breakdown in sectarian discursive force that was occurring

94 Sunday Mirror 15 July 1962, p.2 226

at this time. Thus, whilst the sectarian language and reference points were still current and meaningful, the ideology that they sought to advance was losing popular support and influence. Sectarianism was now failing to capture the imagination of the general public and the public certainly was not gravely fearful that state aid would underwrite greater power and influence for Catholics in

Australian society. This also demonstrates the way that the media’s efforts at emphasising the sectarian dimension of the issue were not entirely successful. Old sectarian ideological divisions were losing their potency and could no longer be taken for granted.95

The schools closure lasted only one week. While some saw the early end of the closure as a sign of its failure, others saw that it was unnecessary to prolong it, as it had made a very clear point and other parents wanted the disruption to their children’s schooling to come to an end. In any case, the Goulburn incident inaugurated a new and intense campaign for state aid. Prime Minister Menzies, who had called an election for 1963 in hope of increasing his slender two-seat majority in the House of Representatives, found it was now politically expedient to exploit the issue of state aid. Menzies’ change of heart was met with cynicism by some, such as the leading Catholic lay man and political activist, B.A.

Santamaria: ‘I have little doubt that Sir Robert Menzies was always a believer in independent schools and in the logic of the claim that they were entitled to a share of public funds – if this were politically feasible. The difference between his

95 For further discussion of the realignment of political allegiances in this period see Brett, J., Australian Liberals. 227

expressed attitude in 1960 and his practical programme from 1963 onwards depends on a single reality; it became politically feasible, and after his near defeat in the 1961 Federal election, politically necessary’.96 Menzies was able to capitalise on division within the ALP over the issue – the left wing dominated

Federal Executive were at odds with various branches over the issue – and called trumps by announcing Commonwealth science grants to non-government schools in 1964. The New South Wales Labor Party suffered the following year, losing government at the state election.

In October 1963, just before the December election and dominated by opposition of the Federal President F.E. (Joe) Chamberlain – Federal President of the ALP from 1955 to 1961 and Federal Secretary from 1961 to 1963 – the ALP still refused to change its position on state aid. The formidable Archbishop Mannix of

Melbourne remarked at the time that ‘those who believe in the religious schools can only draw the conclusion that they have nothing to hope for from the ALP’.97

Prime Minister Menzies seized the moment with his science blocks package as an election campaign feature, and Commonwealth funding to private schools was initiated after Menzies was re-elected. After this election defeat, Labor policy softened, adopting the argument that there was ‘need to prevent the system from collapsing’. State aid was now part of the bipartisan electoral success apparatus.

It could no longer be ignored or denied by the major parties, and it was building up a resistance to sectarian exploitation.

96 Santamaria, B.A., State Aid in Perspective, (Melbourne, 1966) p.2. 97 The Advocate 11 July 1963, p 2. 228

229

CONCLUSION

On the one hand, this case study has shown that there were many sectarian strands to the public discourse concerning the schools closure in 1962 and, accordingly, the controversy aroused by the Goulburn schools closure was in many respects a sectarian phenomenon. The schools closure vocalised and incited sectarian sentiment, bringing to the fore sectarian stereotypes, bigotries and rivalries that had faded, if not quite lying dormant, from the public sphere of media discourse. The sectarian explanations, accusations, responses and suspicions that the incident at Goulburn provoked or fostered were in keeping with the long standing tradition of sectarian controversy in Australian culture.

These sectarian ideologies still resonated in Australian society enough to be invoked in a highly contentious political issue like the schools closure. These ideologies were also potent enough to influence efforts to understand and explain the events at Goulburn. The Catholic campaigners’ struggle to protect their cause being subsumed into the old sectarian fights is demonstrative of the strong sectarian feelings that surrounded the issue. These feelings were certainly well articulated and disseminated by the media and other players who sought to take some advantage from the sectarian potential of the issue. The public discourse was in fact highly sectarian.

On the other hand, the Goulburn affair was both a sign of change and a force for change. Attributing blame for fanning the sectarian flames of the affair, concern about sectarianism as a cause of social division, and critical reflection on sectarianism and its influence on Australian politics were significant features of 230

the public discussion on the schools closure. The mere presence of such opinion is an indicator of a shift from sectarian bigotries in the interests of social cohesion and re-alignments of factions within society. Such responses demonstrate that the force of sectarian ideology was waning and that the political momentum behind it was dissipating. These attitudes reflect the socio-political changes wrought by the forces of secularisation and pluralism, as well as the effects of the changing dynamics of inter-denominational relations and popular attitudes to ecumenism.

In this sense the issue of state aid reflects broader social trends. However, by registering a political defeat for those who invoked sectarian wedge politics, the state aid debate of the early 1960s accelerated the demise of sectarianism in

Australian public discourse and political life.

Thus, the state aid controversy of the early 1960s chronicles the changes in the sectarian climate of Australia, and demonstrates that the various socio-cultural influences on Australian society in the postwar era were impacting on the way sectarianism functioned in Australia and the extent to which it was a powerful political and social ideology. Although sectarian ideology was still a meaningful and useful weapon in tribal disputes and conflict, it is apparent that the sectarian ideological imperative was diminishing, with people looking beyond their own sectarian community as an end in itself. Appeals to the need for national unity in the face of other uncertainties, especially communism, as well as the breakdown of traditional political alignments and the changes in denominational religious cultures in the 1960s were all factors that played a part in the lessening importance of sectarian identity and ideology in this period. 231

Some clergy began to identify the need for Protestant-Catholic co-operation in the face of secularism as an important reason to abandon traditional sectarian antagonism as the modus operandi of inter-denominational relations. At the annual assembly of the NSW Congregational Union in 1962 the Reverend Allan

Shephard, Chaplain to the Assembly, told delegates that the Public Instruction

Act of 1880 was the product of ‘intense denominational bitterness’, arguing that

‘We should be allies. The issue today is not Protestantism versus Catholicism, but

Christianity versus secularism’.98 These comments are a harbinger of a growing attitude amongst church leaders who were beginning to discover that they held many interests in common in this period, and that crossing traditional sectarian boundaries and creating what Hogan labels a ‘socially conservative Christian coalition’ could be useful in presenting a strong and united witness to a population that was becoming increasingly secularised and nominal in its religious devotion and liberal in their moral values.99

Furthermore, some political groups, such as the Country Party, found sectarian demarcations were now safe to cross, and well worth crossing, as they sought out new and larger constituencies. The Goulburn schools closure of 1962 aroused much controversy and incited sectarian tempers, however, the subsequent bipartisan support of state aid represented a move away from old bigotries toward a socio-political pragmatism.

98 The Assembly proceeded to launch an inquiry into its policy on state aid, contemplating a change from its traditional opposition. See Catholic Weekly 8 November 1962, p.9. 99 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.255. 232

Ultimately, despite the sectarian interpretation or exploitation of the issue by the media, the Government, churches and others who led sectarian campaigns for and against state aid, the successful introduction of state aid to non-government schools a short time after the dramatic events at Goulburn indicates that sectarianism’s ability to capture the imaginations of the general public and its political significance were fading. 233

PART IV

SECTARIANISM IN THE POST-VATICAN II ERA

INTRODUCTION

Part IV explores the development of Protestant-Catholic ecumenical relations in the period between Vatican II and the delivery of the 1981 High Court judgment on the constitutionality of state aid to non-government schools. Comprising three chapters, it examines both the nature of interdenominational relations and the responses to the ecumenical engagement of Protestants and Catholics by religious leaders and communities in the period. It also examines the meaning and significance of sectarianism at a time of increasing nominalism, religious upheaval and social change. Chapter Ten establishes the religious and social context of the period. Chapter Eleven examines the significant ecumenical gains achieved at the local, official and institutional levels that occurred in the wake of

Vatican II. It argues that the period following Vatican II had a significant impact on the nature of sectarianism within Australian society as the churches, their clergy and their laity embraced the ecumenical spirit that the Vatican Council had expressed and encouraged. Despite the ecumenical gains of the 1960s, there was some resistance to ecumenism and persistence of sectarianism. Chapter Ten, focusing on the period from the 1960s through to the first papal visit to Australia in 1970, explores aspects of this resistance, particularly from within the churches, and the new alignments and cleavages in religious culture that impacted on sectarianism in this period such as the growing and increasingly significant 234

division between liberal and conservative Protestants, as well as shifting politico- religious alignments.

235

CHAPTER 10:

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE POST-VATICAN II ERA

The 1960s delivered a strikingly different socio-cultural context to that of the

1950s. The changes of the 1960s, especially those occasioned by secularisation, had a major impact on religious cultures. Recent revisionist historiography has rejected the traditional notion that secularisation was a slow, gradual process whose origins lay with the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.1 In The

Death of Christian Britain, Callum Brown identifies the dismantling of Christian discursive power in 1960s Britain as marking the advent of real secularisation in

British society. He describes this process as ‘a remarkably sudden and culturally violent death.’2 Hugh McLeod has also argued that the breakdown of religious observance and consensus in society was a phenomenon of the twentieth century rather than the result of nineteenth century urbanisation and industrialisation.3

Brown’s thesis of secularisation as an aggressive force of the 1960s can also be applied to Australia, where the churches’ grave fears of secularisation, frequently vented in the 1950s, were realised in the 1960s.

The mid-1960s ushered in what David Hilliard describes as a ‘religious crisis’.4

The trend towards conservatism that had fostered the religious revival of the

1950s dramatically changed, with the rise of a subversive youth culture and the advent of the sexual revolution, second wave feminism and other anti-

1 McLeod, H., Religion and Society in England 1850-1914 (St Martin’s Press, New York: 1996); Brown, C., The Death of Christian Britain, (Routledge, London: 2001). 2 Brown, C., The Death of Christian Britain, p.175. 3 McLeod, H., Religion and Society in England 1850-1914 (St Martin’s Press, New York: 1996). 4 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’. 236

conservative phenomena. This heady mix challenged the hitherto characteristic conservatism of the major denominations, whose traditional religious and moral authority in society was being seriously challenged. This was a period of significant change for religious institutions and cultures. Within Protestantism, attempts to reconcile modern scientific thought with the pre-scientific world view of the scriptures continued and ‘modernist’, ‘radical’ and ‘liberal’ theologies were disseminated and challenged traditional orthodox teachings and formulations of belief.5 The prosperity and expansion that the churches enjoyed in the 1950s was now fading and church attendance began to decline.6 However, not all was lost.

For Catholics, the 1960s brought the billowing ‘winds of change’ of the Second

Vatican Council. In November 1964, the Second Vatican Council’s decree on ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, was promulgated, inaugurating a period of unprecedented ecumenical rapprochement and activity between Catholics and other Christians. This period was also a seed-bed for new forms of religious expression in Australia, both Christian – such as the rise of the Pentecostal /

Charismatic movement – and non-Christian.7 The mid-1960s thus delivered the churches a very different context, where their ability to co-operate was encouraged, challenged and strengthened by the ecumenical movement and church leadership alike; and where the ability to co-operate was necessitated by socio-cultural changes, such as the advent of a more overtly morally permissive

5 Ibid, p.209; Bishop John Robinson’s Honest to God is a significant contribution to this challenging of orthodoxy within mainstream Protestantism. 6 Mol, H., Religion in Australia, pp.15-16. 7 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’, p.227. 237

and secular society.8 Of all these developments and factors, David Hilliard identifies the ‘rapid crumbling of the barriers that had long separated the Roman

Catholic Church from other Christian denominations’ as the most significant social impact of religious life in this period.9

Building on the emerging signs of Protestant-Catholic ecumenical rapprochement of the late 1950s, in the lead up to Vatican II’s third session, various ecumenical initiatives were undertaken at institutional, official hierarchical and local parish levels. For example, in January 1963, plans were announced for the construction of an ecumenical chapel at the University of New England and the first public meeting was held by the Women’s Work Committee of the ACC at Wesley

College, University of Sydney.10 In May 1964, a three-day ecumenical mission was held in Melbourne, which included participation of the Catholic and Anglican

Archbishops, Protestant leaders and a Jewish religious leader.11 The ACC and the

Catholic Pontifical Mission Aid Societies co-operated by jointly sponsoring goodwill church visits to Indonesia in July as well as visits from Indonesian church groups to Australia in November 1964. At the local level too, ecumenical interaction through social events and worship was an important stimulus for the ecumenical cause. In August 1963, a joint dinner, ‘believed to have been the first function of its kind in Australia’ was held in Armidale, organised by the Church of

England Men’s Society and the Armidale Catholic Men’s Dinner Club.12

8 O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community, p.421. 9 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’, p.215. 10 The Methodist 19 January 1963, p.1; NSW Presbyterian 8 February1963 p.11. 11 Catholic Weekly 21 May 1964, p.7. 12 Catholic Weekly August 8 1963, p.14. 238

Meanwhile, a Catholic priest, Father L. Grant, was the guest speaker at the

Centenary Dinner for the local Methodist Synod in Bathurst.13 These were significant changes in inter-denominational relations between Catholics and

Protestants.

Pope John XXIII, who had summoned the Vatican Council and had excited the

Catholic world with the spirit of aggiornamento, died in June 1963, before the second session of the Vatican Council was convened. His successor, Pope Paul

VI, presided over the Council’s three remaining sessions. It was the third session of the Council, convened in 1964, that was scheduled to deal with the topical and exciting issue of ecumenism and in November 1964, at the close of its third session, the Council’s decree on ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio was promulgated. The aspirations of the Council, as expressed in Unitatis

Redintegratio, were ‘that ecumenical feeling and mutual esteem may gradually increase among all men’.14 The spirit of this decree inspired many, making a profound impact on ecumenism throughout the Christian world. Thus, Vatican II was seen not only as a watershed for the Catholic Church, but for the churches generally, ushering in a new period of ecumenical journeying, co-operation and possibility. The decree began by declaring ‘the restoration of unity among all

Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council’, expressing a profoundly different attitude to ecumenism than had ever officially

13 Catholic Weekly 8 August 1963, p.14. 14 ‘Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio’, The Documents of Vatican II, (eds), Abbot, W.M. & Gallagher, J., (Geoffrey Chapman, London & Dublin: 1966) p.362. 239

been heard before from the Vatican.15 In a subtle manner, it shifted the ecumenical discussion from one dominated by disputes over authority, hierarchy and the universal supremacy claims of the See of Rome to a dialogue that sought to open up new opportunities for Catholicism to engage with the ecumenical movement in a deeper discourse on theological and sacramental matters, such as the Eucharist, baptism, and church communions.16 The NSW Presbyterian, like other liberal Protestant press at the time, greeted these developments from the

Vatican Council enthusiastically, seeing in the decree ‘great gains for the whole of

Christendom’.17

The decree recognised and engaged with the spirit of ecumenism that had flourished among Protestant and Orthodox Christians, bringing the WCC into being, and opened the way for a deeper and more open Catholic engagement with the other churches in the ecumenical movement.18 The Council officially recognised and endorsed the participation of Catholics in ecumenical endeavours and encouraged Catholics ‘to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism’ under the guidance and stimulus of their bishops.19 Significantly, the

Council decreed that in certain circumstances, determinable by the local bishop,

‘it is allowable, indeed desirable that Catholics should join in prayer with their separated brethren’, providing a limited relaxation of official policy on cultic

15 Ibid, pp.341 16 Ibid, pp.341-346; Hastings, A. & Pyder, H. (eds), The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 2000) p.739. 17 NSW Presbyterian 16 October 1964, p.2. 18 ‘Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio’, p.342. 19 Ibid, pp.349-350. 240

segregation.20 It also encouraged a more sensitive approach to inter- denominational dialogue that gave ‘due regard to the ecumenical point of view’ and urged that theological education should not be polemical.21 These changes represented significant shifts of institutional culture and outlook. As Dr Oscar

Cullman, a Protestant observer at the Council, noted of the Decree, ‘This is more than the opening of a door; new ground has been broken. No Catholic document has ever spoken of non-Catholic Christians in this way’.22

20 Ibid, p.352. 21 Ibid, p.353. 22 Ibid p.338. 241

CHAPTER 11:

ECUMENICAL GAINS

This chapter surveys the significant ecumenical achievements made in the decade immediately following the Vatican II decree on ecumenism. It argues that in this period an ecumenical ethos pervaded religious culture and popular attitudes, eclipsing traditional sectarian rivalry and conflict as the norm for Protestant–

Catholic interdenominational relations. Unitatis Redintegratio dispelled the cultural and institutional suspicion of ecumenism that had previously characterised official Vatican attitudes and the Catholic Church’s embrace of the ecumenical movement was to have a profound impact on the way denominations interacted. This ecumenical spirit was quickly manifested at both the institutional and local levels of church activity with a flourish of ecumenical activity in the mid-

1960s. This ecumenism fostered many unprecedented initiatives and achievements in different areas of religious culture and institutional life, ranging from formal inter-denominational conversations, to joint worship, charitable endeavours and local fraternisation. This chapter explores these initiatives and achievements, arguing that old sectarian divisions were quickly transgressed in this period, concentrating on the relaxation of attitudes to cultic segregation and mixed-marriage, growing institutional linkages and co-operation between the

Catholic Church and other denominations, and looking at changing attitudes to ecumenism through a case study of the shifts in Dr Rumble’s treatment of the subject. It is apparent that during this period the remnants of sectarianism that had surfaced at the time of the Goulburn schools closure were quickly eclipsed by a general consensus that ecumenism was now de rigueur. 242

Many local communities enthusiastically and swiftly responded to the new ecumenical imperative. For example, in December 1964, within two months of the promulgation of the decree on ecumenism, a small step in the ecumenical journey was made at Gerringong Town Hall in NSW, where a Christmas party was held by the combined churches of the Kiama area. ‘All the Churches Were

There: Kiama Churches Make Local History’ was the headline in the

Presbyterian.1 The Presbyterian, taking the lead among Protestant newspapers in support of Protestant-Catholic ecumenism, saw in this event an example of how the churches could ‘demonstrate the spirit of unity reflected for each of them through the aims of the ACC or for the Roman Catholics through the Ecumenical

Council’.2 The Presbyterian identified ‘claimant [sic] need for more of this in the

Australian scene’ and saw great moment in such ecumenical fellowship:

Our national life needs to be purged of that blind, unthinking

prejudice against fellow Christians, which has affected so many

areas of our national and commercial life… Let us therefore

have more fraternisation at official levels such as inter-church

conferences and locally, around such worthwhile enterprises as

the care of the poor, as the Kiama function encouraged.3

With new possibilities of ecumenical worship that transcended the old sectarian divisions, cultic segregation was now becoming, in some ways, passé.

1 NSW Presbyterian 8 January 1965, p.11. 2 NSW Presbyterian 5 February 1965. 3 NSW Presbyterian 5 February 1965, p.2. 243

Opportunities quickly emerged for ecumenical engagement between local worshipping communities, with ecumenical study programmes, days of prayer, and special ecumenical services, which had been almost inconceivable just a short while before, becoming realities. For the first time, Catholic priests were permitted to attend ministers’ fraternal meetings as well as ecumenical services.

As of April 1965, Catholics no longer faced penalty of excommunication for attending non-Catholic church services and Catholic clergy were even found preaching sermons in Protestant churches, and vice versa.4

Small, local forms of interaction provided much stimulus for the ecumenical movement. In Townsville, charity provided an opportunity to develop an ecumenical bond between the local Anglican and Catholic communities. Funds raised from an arts festival in 1965 were donated by the city’s Anglican community to the Catholic St Vincent de Paul Society. The Dean of Townsville, the Very Reverend Bernard Tringham, saw in this gesture ‘one of the outlets of the ecumenical attitude that is rapidly growing’.5 Another local outlet of the

‘ecumenical attitude’ was found in the Snowy Mountains, where local Catholic,

Anglican and Presbyterian clergy began planning for the establishment of a non- denominational church at the village of Talbingo. The project, financed by the

Snowy Mountains Authority, was successfully completed and on April 23, 1967 the Talbingo Church was dedicated by the Catholic Archbishop of Canberra-

Goulburn, the Anglican Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, and the Moderator of the

4 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’ . 5 Catholic Weekly 12 August 1965, p.14. 244

Presbyterian Church. Monsignor Blakeney, the Catholic representative on the project, which he felt ‘a few years ago would have been impossible’, described how there had been no ‘friction or suspicion’ among the three clergymen involved in the plans, and saw the project as ‘a broadening experience’.6 In another small- scale local event, the Moderator-elect of the Presbyterian Church, the Reverend

Douglas Cole, gave a valedictory speech at a tribute dinner for the retiring

Monsignor J.F. McCosker, arranged by the Monsignor’s former parishioners at

Harris Park. This small gesture sparked the interest of the Catholic Weekly; a sign that in such simple, friendly gestures a new spirit of ecumenism was discerned, and patterns of sectarian suspicion and antagonism were disrupted.7

A change of great ecumenical significance made by the Vatican Council was the relaxation of mixed-marriage regulations. Mixed marriage had traditionally reinforced the sense of sectarian division within society and had stressed the importance and vulnerability of sectarian identity. It was a major theatre of sectarian complication in the domestic sphere, often causing personal anguish and family tensions, as well as broader sectarian hostility.8 The Fathers of the

Second Vatican Council had requested a ruling on mixed marriages, a topic that could cause pastoral as well as legal complications. Finally, in March 1970, Pope

Paul VI issued an apostolic letter Motu Proprio which relaxed the hitherto

6 NSW Presbyterian 23 November 1956. 7 Catholic Weekly 16 March 1967, p.3. 8 See Blayney, P., Catholic Marriage Law: Mixed Marriage and the Australian Debate over Ne Temere 1908- 1925, MA Hons Thesis, Macquarie University, 2003. 245

stringent canon laws on mixed marriage.9 Local bishops were now able to grant dispensations permitting mixed-marriages, provided that ‘the Catholic party shall declare that he is ready to remove dangers of falling from the faith’ and ‘make a sincere promise to do all in his power to have all the children baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church’.10 While these marriages were to follow the non-Eucharistic Rite of Marriage, introduced in 1969, they could now take place in the church proper, rather than merely ‘behind the altar’ or in the vestry, as was the previous requirement for mixed marriages. Under certain circumstances, for which an Episcopal dispensation was required, the marriage could even take place in a non-Catholic Church, officiated by a non-Catholic minister.11 Furthermore, the Canon Law penalty of excommunication of those who had contravened the

Church’s former position on mixed marriage was abrogated by Pope Paul VI.12

9 Whilst church opposition to mixed marriages was no longer obstructive and demeaning of them, mixed- marriages were not necessarily encouraged. The Australian Catholic Bishops Statement on Mixed Marriage of August 1970 gives witness to the new complexities of the subject of mixed marriage that had arisen since the softening of official attitudes in the 1960s. Whilst conceding, ‘some mixed marriages provide clear testimony of mutual faith, family love and genuine Christian virtue’, the bishops pointed out that mixed marriage was still to be discouraged because ‘such unions introduce a ‘certain division into the living cell of the Church, as the Christian family is rightly called’, and may create difficulties in the fulfilment of duties which concern Christian worship and the education of children’. The bishops also advised that whereas it was a given risk that mixed marriages could pose a ’serious threat’ to the religious harmony of a family, ‘there is not sufficient evidence available at present to show that…mixed marriages can be regarded as effective means of restoring unity amongst Christians’. Thus, the statement offered a gentle warning to people that they should not allow the new ecumenical spirit to seduce them into mixed marriages or allow them to think that mixed marriages were not difficult or divisive. See Australian Catholic Bishops’ Statements Since Vatican II, (ed.), Kerr, N., (St Paul Publications, Homebush: 1985) pp.129-130. 10 Pope Paul VI, Matrimonia Mixta, Norm 4 (1970) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_ proprio/ documents/ hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19700331_matrimonia-mixta_lt.html, 4/3/2004. 11 ‘From October 1, dispensations from the canonical form may be considered in the following cases: a) when a party is a close relation by blood or affinity with a non-Catholic minister, b) when, in the informed judgement of the Ordinary, the refusal of the dispensation from the canonical form could constitute a grave danger for the faith of the Catholic party or the peace and harmony of the spouses.’ Australian Catholic Bishops’ Statements Since Vatican II, (ed.), Kerr, N. (St Paul Publications, Homebush: 1985) p.131. 12 Matrimonia Mixta, Norm 15: ‘The penalties decreed by canon 2319 of the Code of Canon Law are all abrogated. For those who have already incurred them the effects of those penalties cease, without prejudice to the obligations mentioned in number 4 of these norms.’ Canon 2319:1:’Catholics are under

246

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the trend towards mixed marriage increased.13

It would be far too simplistic to attribute this merely to a revision of canon law, and other social forces must be factored in explanations of this, such as the declining significance of religion in society, greater ethnic diversification within the community and social mobility. The changing institutional treatment of mixed marriage was, however, a sign of the significant changes that affected the ways in which the Catholic Church and Protestant denominations interacted in this period. Old barriers were crumbling and the dire sense of self-preservation through segregation and isolation was diminishing, with the churches finding the courage to engage with each other and to address the realities of pluralism within the Christian household.

Fraternisation between the Anglican and Catholic hierarchies was an important public sign of a significant change in the inter-denominational relations of these churches. As will be discussed, these points of contact could arouse considerable criticism and condemnation and the significance of courtesy visits and fraternisation should not be underestimated. There were several important signs of fraternisation of the upper echelons of the churches in the 1960s. For example, when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Michael Ramsey, visited Australia in

an excommunication latae sententiae reserved to the Ordinary: (1) who contract marriage before a non- Catholic minister contrary to canon 1063, 51, 1; (2) who contract marriage with an explicit or implicit agreement that all children or any child be educated outside the Catholic Church; (3) who knowingly presume to present their children to non-Catholic ministers to be baptized; (4) who, being parents or taking their place, knowingly present their children to be educated or trained in a non-Catholic religion. 13 According to the 1991 Census of Population and Housing, 65.3 percent of Anglicans, 67.9 percent of Catholics, 64percent of Uniting, and 45.9 percent of Presbyterian & Reformed marriages were in- marriages. Source: Australian Social Trends 1994: Religion – Special Feature: trends in religious affiliation (ABS 1994).

247

1965, Catholic prelates were among those invited to official receptions in his honour. In Sydney, Cardinal Gilroy attended a reception for Archbishop Ramsey at Government House, and even more significantly, Cardinal Gilroy also met privately with Archbishop Ramsey.14 Bishop Carroll represented Cardinal Gilroy at a civic reception, and the Catholic Bishop of Bathurst, Bishop Albert Thomas, attended a liturgical reception for Archbishop Ramsey at All Saints’ Anglican

Cathedral in Bathurst, the first time a Catholic bishop had ever attended a service in that cathedral.15 Canon Barker, Canon Residentiary of All Saints’, was quoted in the Catholic Weekly stating, ‘The fact that we will be able to worship together on this special occasion gives added impetus to our quest for the

Christian unity that is in accordance with the will of Christ our Lord’.16

Stronger institutional links and relationships were also developing at this time between Protestants and Catholics. Dialogue and interaction were significant features and developments in this area. In 1965, the ecumenical organisation

Australian Church Women (ACW) was established. Born of the women’s inter- church councils of the various states and territories, ACW was a significant expression of the efforts of Australian Christian women to encourage inter- denominational fellowship and service. The presidency of ACW was held on an equal rotation between the member denominations. ACW is a reminder of the significant role played by women in the development of the ecumenical movement, especially at a grass roots level. The Reverend Peter Hughes recalls

14 Catholic Weekly 1 March 1965, p.1. 15 Catholic Weekly 1 March 1965, p.1. 16 Catholic Weekly 1 March 1965, p.1. 248

the significant contribution to the ecumenical movement made by women in this era:

We were having annual ecumenical services in which all the

churches participated, but the biggest factor, and of course at

that stage, and I think with credit to the women of the churches

... they would always meet together for what they called

‘Women’s world day of prayer’ , an ecumenical thing.17

He recalls that Catholic women were strong participants in these gatherings, and credits their determination for the ecumenical progress that occurred:

The Catholic women always came to the world day of prayer

and took part and they were ecumenical before the church at

large even could spell the word, and that has continued, I think,

right down the years. They weren’t going to be bound by

religious and legal strictures, and I think they were the catalyst

for what came off.18

Veronica Green, a member of ACW since the late 1960s and an executive member for many years, also remembers women making significant ecumenical progress in her community at Mordialloc in Victoria.19 The women of the area formed a Women’s Sub-Committee of the Mordialloc Inter-Church Council and engaged in a range of social welfare activities.

17 Interview with Peter Hughes by Benjamin Edwards 2003 18 Ibid. 19 Interview with Veronica Green by Benjamin Edwards 2003 249

Other formal ecumenical activities took place under the auspices of the

Australian Council of Churches (ACC). In 1966, the Church and Life Movement was launched through the ACC. This was an ecumenical endeavour to promote

Christian values in contemporary society, ecumenical understanding and interaction through local inter-church study groups. Also in that year, at the annual meeting of the ACC proposals were made for a permanent basis of co- operation between the ACC member churches and the Catholic Church. In his report to the ACC the Rev’d Frank Cuttriss (1917-1998), a ‘pioneer ecumenist’20 and rector of St James’s Church, Sydney from 1962-1975, noted, ‘The ecumenical purpose of the Second Vatican Council will not remain for us a series of pious platitudes if we are ready to enter into dialogue with our brethren of the post- conciliar Roman Catholic Church’.21 In 1967, Anglicans and Catholics began such dialogue and collaborative work through a Joint Preparatory Commission which met at Gezzada, Italy, out of which was established the Anglican-Roman

Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), which formally began its work in

1970. Also in 1967, the Joint Working Group of the ACC and the Episcopal

Conference of the Roman Catholic Church was convened for the first time22, at which, according to the Congregationalist, ‘A great deal was done at the meeting to clear up misunderstandings’.23 The Joint Working Group held major conferences on the themes of Baptism, Ministering the Word of God, the

Eucharist and Ministry, publishing reports and stimulating further discussion and

20 Memorial #149 on North Wall, St James’s Church, Sydney. 21 NSW Congregationalist March 1966, p.9. 22 Engel, F. Christians in Australia: Times of Change 1918-1978 Vol. II, (Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne: 1993) p.263. 250

study, finding ‘we have a good deal of common ground, consisting mainly, perhaps, of two things: the new climate of willingness to understand and appreciate differing points of view, and the recent developments in biblical scholarship in all churches’.24

Greater theological and intellectual engagement between Protestants and

Catholics in Australia also followed the Vatican decree on ecumenism. University campuses saw joint seminars and conferences held by the Australian Student

Christian Movement (SCM), an ecumenical Protestant student body that had been instrumental in the establishment of the WCC in Australia, and the Catholic students’ Newman Society. The Reverend James Minchin, former SCM President at Melbourne University, recollects that until the early 1960s, ‘all that I knew of the Roman Catholic Church was the prejudice that I [had grown] up with as

Protestant’. However, he recalls that through the ‘remarkable experience’ of co- operation between the SCM and the Newman Society in 1961-1962, the division between Catholics and Protestants ‘began to be addressed or crossed’.25 Also, at

Monash University in the mid-1960s, the SCM was co-operating with the

Newman Society in establishing a joint Theological Association.26

23 NSW Congregationalist December 1967, p.11. 24 Preface to the Report and Papers from the Fourth Meeting of the Joint Working Group of the Australian Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church held in Sydney May 25-29, 1970 (Australian Council of Churches, Kent Street, Sydney: 1970) p.1; The ecumenical impetus does seem to have waned after the 1970s, and this certainly may be accounted for by a lacklustre approach to ecumenism from the clergy. In the Combined Churches Survey conducted by the Christian Research Association in 1987, the overwhelming majority of clergy indicated they did not believe that the churches should work towards unity. See Hughes, P., The Australian Clergy (CRA, Kew: 1989) p. 46. 25 ASCM Interview with Fr James Minchin by Jane Yule, Melbourne 16 April 1997, p. 8 cited 12 May 2006 http:// www.ascm.org.au/friends/Minchin.pdf. 26 ASCM Interview with Dr Helen Hill by Jane Yule, Melbourne 23 April 1997, p. 5 cited 12 May 2006 http://www.ascm.org.au/friends/Hill.pdf. 251

Co-operation in the field of theological education was a sign of dramatic changes in the relations between Catholics and Protestants in the post-Vatican II era. In

1966, the ecumenical Australian and New Zealand Society for Theological

Studies was established and, within a few years of the Vatican II decree,

Catholics had joined with Protestant denominations as members of united theological faculties and interdenominational colleges of divinity. In 1969, the ecumenical United Faculty of Theology was established within the Melbourne

College of Divinity, comprising Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and

Anglican theological colleges. In 1972, the Catholic Church became a constituent member of the MCD when the Jesuit College joined the ecumenical United

Faculty of Theology. In Adelaide, theological education was pioneered within a secular university: the Adelaide College of Divinity was established as an ecumenical consortium in 1979, comprising the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic and

Uniting Churches, and the Bible College of South Australia. The Brisbane

College of Theology was established in 1983 as an ecumenical teaching venture of the Catholic (Pius XII), Anglican (St Francis) and Uniting (Trinity) theological colleges. Also in 1983, the Sydney College of Divinity was established, with

Catholic, Uniting and other denominational institutes becoming members.

Conspicuously, the Anglican theological college in Sydney, Moore College, did not become a member of the Sydney College of Divinity. David Hilliard cites concern ‘that ecumenical groupings fostered doctrinal liberalism’, as the basis for

Moore College’s decision not to join the Sydney College of Divinity – an 252

expression of conservative Protestants’ distrust of ecumenism.27 In 1985, the

Perth College of Divinity was established, bringing together the Anglican

Institute of Theology, the Catholic Institute for Adult and Tertiary Education, the

Australian Baptist Theological College of Western Australia and the Uniting

Church Theological Hall into an ecumenical teaching institute. These theological consortia turned ecumenism into institutional realities that embodied the growing strength of ecumenism and the commitment to it by the churches.

Within Protestantism, this period also saw major ecumenical achievements. In

1977, after many decades of proposals, formal discussions, votes and prayer, the

Uniting Church in Australia was born of the organic union of the Congregational,

Methodist and majority of the Presbyterian churches.28 The formation of the

Uniting Church made ecumenical dreams attainable and provided a stimulus for further ecumenical endeavour. This was the most significant ecumenical achievement in terms of organic unity that has been made in Australia.

However, it must be noted that not all Protestants supported nor were encouraged by these movements. The theological tensions that had been simmering between liberals and evangelicals within the Presbyterian Church of

NSW since the so-called ‘Angus affair’ of the 1930s came to a head in the late

27 Hilliard, D., ‘Pluralism and New Alignments in Society and Church’, Anglicanism in Australia (ed.), Kaye, B., (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 2002) p.138. This reticence fits within a general trend of suspicion and aversion to ecumenism by evangelical institutions, and this isolationist response was also to characterise the Diocese of Sydney’s attitude to ecumenism, as will be discussed below.

28 Engel, F., Churches in Australia, pp.331-333; Emilsen, W., & Emilsen, S., (eds), The Uniting Church in Australia: The First 25 Years, (Melbourne Publishing Group, Melbourne: 2003). 253

1960s amid the debates over church union.29 Some disaffected conservatives defected from the Presbyterian Church and established the schismatic

Presbyterian Reformed Church which came into being in 1967. Others remained within it and opposed the union proposal, even resorting to legal action. The extent of the division within Presbyterianism was apparent when only 64 percent of Presbyterian congregations entered the Uniting Church.30 Those that did not enter into the Uniting Church were styled ‘Continuing Presbyterians’.

These examples of ecumenism in praxis in institutional, hierarchical, liturgical and local contexts are demonstrative of the enthusiastic response that was made to the changing culture of inter-denominational relations at this time. Popular support for ecumenism was high. The momentum that the movement had gathered in the lead up to, during and following the Second Vatican Council as well as the many ecumenical achievements and successes that were so swiftly attained demonstrate the extent to which the laity, clergy and hierarchies of denominations shared this ecumenical vision. These changes also affected the nature of public religious discourse and apologetics.

In The Lucky Country, Donald Horne noted of Vatican II, ‘When Rome beckoned even the greatest opponents of change became apostles of liberalization’.31 The increasing influence of ecumenism meant that the tone and manner in which church unity and ecumenism was discussed within Catholic institutional life

29 Dougan, A., 'Angus, Samuel (1881-1943)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 7, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1979), pp 73-74; Hutchinson, M., Iron in Our Blood: A History of the Presbyterian Church in NSW, 1788-2001 (Ferguson Publications: 2001) pp.372-373. 30 Celebrating Our Foundations, http://buildafuture.nsw.uca.org.au/documents/history.pdf, 13/01/2007. 254

shifted considerably after the Second Vatican Council. For example, in the report of the Australian delegation to the Third World Congress of the Lay Apostolate in

Rome in 1967, there is a clear sense of the depth of the changes experienced in the relationships of Catholics and Protestants during the years immediately following the Council. The report spoke of ‘a thawing of the cold war’ between

Catholics and Protestants and developing ‘mutual collaboration’ and ‘a recognition that it was unreal to regard as a matter of practice most Protestants as people in bad faith’.

The changes in Catholic attitudes to ecumenism, both those of the official

Church hierarchy and among lay Australian Catholics, are well represented in Dr

Rumble’s writings and broadcasts of the 1960s. The public apostolate of Dr

Rumble bridges the shift from a combative sectarian polemic to the spirit of ecumenical dialogue in Catholic apologetic. It is demonstrative of the significant shifts within Catholicism and in particular of the changes in the inter-relations of

Catholics and Protestants and of the tensions and changes that accompanied them.

Key themes in Rumble’s pre-Vatican II discussion of the subject of Church unity were that Protestantism was erroneous, caused division and was devoid of any binding faith.32 Dr Rumble had argued that, ‘There is no such thing as the

Protestant faith’, and that it was ‘subject to the whims of men and their own flawed interpretations of Scripture which continued the cycle of division and

31 Horne, D., The Lucky Country: Australia in the Sixties, (Angus & Robertson, Sydney: 1967) p.51. 255

disunity’.33 Dr Rumble at one time felt confident to say, ‘As religious systems I say that all Protestant sects are wrong’.34 In the 1936 edition of his Radio Replies in Defence of Religion, his remarks on the subject of Church unity included the following statement:

All non-Catholic forms of professing Christianity are

broken and discarded spokes, no longer in the wheel at all

as churches, whilst most of the members of these churches

disown all connection with the wheel they abandoned at

the Reformation.35

And on the subject of Protestantism, Dr Rumble remarked in that volume:

The Catholic Church has to condemn Protestantism as a

system. But she desires to insult no single Protestant. As a

matter of fact, in so far as Protestants are human beings

we Catholic love them, and it is our very interest in them

which makes us want to give them the best religion in the

world – Catholicism. Protestantism is not good enough for

them.36

However, in the 1960s, Rumble’s discussion of Church unity and other denominations was of a different nature, tempered by the Vatican’s new commitment to ecumenism. His 1972 book, Questions People Ask About the

32Rumble, L. Radio Replies in Defence of Religion, (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1933) p.71. 33 Ibid, p.71. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid, p.63. 36 Ibid, p.68. 256

Catholic Church, an anthology of questions and answers from his radio broadcasts between 1962-1968, offers an insight into the adjustments that confronted

Catholic apologists and laity in the period of change that was occasioned by the

Second Vatican Council, especially when compared with his 1936 publication

Radio Replies in Defence of Religion. One outstanding difference between these two compendiums is that the earlier edition contained a chapter entitled ‘The

Failure of Protestantism’ whereas the later edition included instead a chapter on the ecumenical movement.

Especially in the period after Vatican II, Rumble was emphatic that he was an apologist rather than a polemicist, and stressed the need of apologetics for

‘genuine ecumenical progress’. He commented:

I speak of apologetics, not polemics which imply

acrimonious disputes intent on the defeat of those

regarded to as hostile to one’s own position. No place

should ever be given to acrimony, although one may be

called upon to take a definite stand uncompromisingly,

giving his reasons for it as he sees them, and speaking

always with ecumenical sympathy and charity.37

Dr Rumble did not suddenly become an enthused supporter of ecumenism.

Rather, his treatment of that subject suggests a sense of reservation and a personal ambivalence or guardedness to the ecumenical project, although he was

37 Rumble, L., Questions People Ask About the Catholic Church (Chevalier Books, Kensington: 1975) p.xi 257

never disloyal to official church teaching and policy. Rumble insisted that idealistic or romantic ecumenism was a distraction and that ecumenism must be discussed with a realistic awareness of where denominations differed and where lay the obstacles to unity. A blunt realism characterised his response to ecumenism. In reply to a listener’s remark, ‘I feel extremely sad that no one seems able to lead us to unity in practice’, Dr Rumble replied, ‘Your admirable zeal is impatient at the slow progress of Christians toward unity. You want reunion here and now. But we cannot undo centuries of history in a day’.38 He frequently pointed out that the task of the ecumenical project would take much time,

It takes time for the findings of a few specialists to filter

down to the general body of adherents whom they

represent. Nor does one change the mentality of a lifetime

in a moment.39

Perhaps there was a little self-disclosure in these remarks. Dr Rumble was certainly adamant that considerable effort and patience was required as well as change of mindsets and personalities. He did not hold great expectations for the success of the ecumenical movement, reflecting on the many obstacles to reunion he declared ‘enthusiasts for reunion tend, if anything, to underestimate them’.40

When discussing these many obstacles to unity he declared, ‘You do not wish things were easier than I do; but we must face realities’.41 He cautioned one

38 Ibid, p.345. 39 Ibid, p.341. 40 Ibid, pp.345, 346. 41 Ibid, p.347. 258

correspondent that the visits in recent times of Archbishops Fisher and Ramsey of Canterbury to the Pope were courtesy visits of no immediate theological significance and that ‘we must not draw exaggerated conclusions from them’.42

Even though his treatment of the subject of ecumenism was grounded in the complex realities of disunity, he maintained the official line of the Catholic

Church –being open to the idea of ecumenism without compromising Catholic integrity in its pursuit. Dr Rumble had no hesitation in holding the Catholic line that certain dogmatic matters were not negotiable when it came to the subject of church unity, such as papal supremacy. However, these obstructions to ultimate church unity were not exploited in a sectarian way by Rumble as excuses to avoid ecumenical dialogue or co-operation that would open deeper inter- denominational understanding and fellowship. Rather, he saw that these ventures, as well as ‘mutual study, discussion of our problems, and the sheer gift of God in answer to fervent prayers’ might bring about that organic unity so desired.43

In discussion of division in the Church at the time of Vatican II, Dr Rumble stated,

We know how, since the 16th century, Western

Christendom has been rent by divisions, the multiplication

of denominations with conflicting presentations of the

Christian religion rendering its apostolate to a large extent

ineffective. There is no need to dwell upon the motives of

42 Ibid, p.345. 259

those originally responsible for this state of affairs. But

their descendants in all sincerity today can at least look

into things for themselves, realising that there is no reason

why they should perpetuate mistakes made by others

centuries ago. The ecumenical movements ask those who

are loyal to Christianity as they have been taught it to seek

a total loyalty to Christ which in its very nature excludes

inherited separations from their fellow members of Christ.

It is in and for Christ that we seek unity in every way

conscience permits, praying earnestly to God for His

assistance in our efforts.44

These remarks on the one hand seem to take a swipe at Protestantism for causing division in the Church, whilst at the same time seeking to support efforts promoting Christian unity. Perhaps these remarks betray something of the struggle that Dr Rumble faced in this period. Certainly, it seems that Dr Rumble could not discard ‘in a moment’ the mindset that had shaped his responses, despite the Vatican’s new official policy. He certainly was not alone. Old certainties had been quickly swept aside leaving many Catholics to feel confused and even betrayed, struggling to come to terms with the new Vatican II ethos of liturgical change and a changed paradigm of interdenominational relations that

43 Ibid, p.352. 44 Ibid, p.344. 260

was ‘disintegrating and disorientating’ and led to a ‘confusing and painful search’ for new identity.45

Dr Rumble was quite aware of the awkwardness of his position in the post-

Vatican II era: official policy had changed and he found that he, like other polemicists, was faced with the dilemma that their own attitudes or style needed to be re-oriented in keeping with the changes of the era:

Catholics ... are obliged in a spirit of faith and in

conscience to accept conciliar decisions, adjusting their

ways of thinking, speaking and acting to the guidance

afforded by them.46

Dr Rumble noted in the introduction to his 1975 edition of Questions People Ask

About the Catholic Church, ‘As for my pre-conciliar replies, some of the positions

I earlier maintained no longer hold good’.47 It was not necessarily an easy transition to make – especially when so much sectarian feeling was embedded in religious discourse. However, an effort was made, nonetheless, to embrace and articulate the new ecumenical attitude: a sign of the significant shifts from sectarian hostility to ecumenical rapprochement in religious culture during the

1960s.

It can therefore be seen that the 1960s-1970s witnessed a shift away from a dominant culture of sectarian rivalry to one of ecumenical rapprochement and co- operation in Australian religious cultures. This new spirit of ecumenical co-

45 O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community, p.425. 261

operation challenged the traditional nature of inter-denominational relations in

Australia, undermining Protestant-Catholic cultic segregation and sectarian rivalry. At various levels of church life – official dialogues and commissions, theological education, clerical fraternisation, political collaboration, local parish activities and public discourse and apologetics– ecumenism was embraced and flourished.

46 Ibid, p.ix. 47 Ibid, p.xi. 262

CHAPTER 12:

REALIGNMENTS

This chapter explores the re-alignments that occurred in the 1960s on account of the changing religious and political contexts. It argues that while the traditional sectarian division of Catholic and Protestant was challenged in this period by the changes in religious culture and broader society outlined in Chapter Nine, there was resistance to the ecumenical movement from certain elements within the churches, especially among conservative evangelical Protestants. This chapter traces the emergence of a growing gulf between liberal and conservative

Protestant attitudes to ecumenism and argues that attitudes to ecumenism further exacerbated divisions between liberal and conservative Protestants in this period. It shows that conservative evangelicals were inherently suspicious of ecumenical rapprochement with Catholicism, fearing dogmatic compromise and a surrender of Reformation principles, and argues that whilst conservative evangelicals were unwilling or unable to relinquish dogmatic sectarian attitudes to

Catholicism, such attitudes were increasingly seen as regrettable bigotries of bygone days – a sign that sectarianism no longer had the leverage and resonance in mainstream religious cultures and broader society that it once had.

Conservative Evangelical Resistance and Suspicion

In 1963, an article by Richard Hall entitled, ‘Togetherness?: Not With Rome?’ appeared in The Bulletin. The article discussed events previously reported in various church newspapers concerning the participation of Catholic nuns and priests in courses at the Summer Institute of Linguistics, held at the Belgrave 263

Heights Conference Centre under the auspices of the Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Hall described the controversy, which had been aroused by conservative evangelicals objecting to the participation of these Catholic clergy and religious at the summer school, as, ‘proof that not all Protestants are happy about the new spirit of togetherness in the Christian Churches, particularly when Rome is involved’.1 Conservative evangelicals had been objecting to the participation of

Catholics at the courses because of their perceived need to ‘protect a valued institution from the insidious inroads of dangerous error’, and the Australian

Church Record, the mouthpiece of conservative evangelicalism for the Anglican

Diocese of Sydney, took a prominent part in questioning ‘the whole question of fraternisation with Rome’.2 What is interesting to note in this reportage is The

Bulletin’s observation that ‘not all Protestants’ were happy about the new ecumenical endeavours.

Indeed, not all church leaders were keen to open their windows to allow the winds of ecumenism to blow in. Some were determined to do their best to resist such change, especially those of conservative evangelical persuasion, in particular the

Baptist Church and the Sydney hierarchy of the Church of England. This was a period of tensions in the transition and development of religious cultures and institutional life in Australia. On the one hand, the ecumenical forces of change were active and achieving some successes, whereas on the other hand conservative evangelical Protestantism continued to provide a theological impulse

1 The Bulletin 13 April 1963, p. 7. 2 The Bulletin 13 April 1963, p. 7; Australian Church Record 28 March 1963, p.1. 264

to sectarian polemic. As discussed above, by the time of Vatican II, evangelicals had become wary of ecumenical dealings with Catholics. In the 1960s, despite the widespread support for the ecumenical movement, evangelical Protestantism exhibited a low tolerance for ecumenical endeavours, and avoided any activity of co-operation or mutuality that might imply the surrender of a dogmatic principle.

Evangelicals preferred to isolate themselves from the perceived dangers of ecumenism, Catholicism and liberalism, and even from their own denominations.

Evangelical distrust of ecumenism and the enthusiastic embrace of the ecumenical ideals by moderate and liberal Protestants caused tensions within denominations between those in favour and those against ecumenism. A writer to the Presbyterian complained of the newspaper’s enthusiasm for ecumenism, complaining of ‘coquetting with Rome’ and taking some consolation from the different approach to the subject made by other Protestant organisations, ‘At least the N.S.W. Council of Churches has the courage to stand up for the principles of our reformed faith and not be ashamed of them’.3 These comments draw attention to the friction that had been developing within the Protestant churches, between those that supported and resisted ecumenism. The NSW CC was seen as representative of those who preferred traditional sectarian boundaries to new ecumenical encounter with regard to Catholics.

Tensions between liberal and conservative attitudes to ecumenism, as well as other theological matters, were starting to affect Protestant attitudes that had hitherto been taken for granted by sectarian controversialists and forces within

3 NSW Presbyterian 5 March 1965, p.8. 265

the churches. Appeals to rise above sectarian bigotry and to embrace the spirit of ecumenism appeared in church press editorials and other sources. Aside from indicating the support for ecumenism of their authors, they indicate also that there was still considerable resistance that needed to be overcome, and that resistance was often thought to stem from church leaders. For instance, in these remarks from a 1962 editorial of the NSW Presbyterian, the desires of the average layperson and religious leaders are dichotomised:

We believe, however, that the average churchman hates

sectarianism and without throwing his convictions

overboard, wishes that ecclesiastical enthusiasts of all

kinds would remember that ‘love which suffereth long and

is kind.4

In 1962, the NSW Assembly of the Presbyterian Church launched an inquiry as to whether it should withdraw its membership from the NSW CC. This was yet another indication of the growing division in Protestant attitudes to the ecumenical movement and the emerging gulf between liberals and conservatives.

The Reverend D. Webster, Chaplain of Scots School Bathurst, raised concerns that the co-existence of the NSW CC and the NSW Ecumenical Council ‘causes confusion in the public mind and distracts attention and efficiency of the Church from the important work of the ecumenical movement’. He also described the

NSW CC as ‘completely anti-ecumenical’.5 Other moderate Protestants were

4 NSW Presbyterian 15 July1962, p.2. 5 NSW Presbyterian 1 July1962, p.1. 266

concerned by the co-existence of these councils. In 1963, at its annual session, the NSW Methodist Conference unsuccessfully urged the NSW CC and the NSW

State Committee of the ACC to amalgamate. The same call was made in 1964 by the Congregationalist, and again it went unheeded.6

Unlike other less dogmatic theological positions which were more willing to engage with contemporary issues and attitudes, conservative evangelicalism was very much committed to the re-articulation of Reformation theology and dogmatic battles. This form of Protestantism constantly appealed to the ideals and struggles of the British and Continental Reformers, and a corollary of this was that evangelical Protestantism had a dualistic reliance on defining itself against Catholicism.7 This branch of Protestantism continued to see itself in sixteenth century terms as a protest movement against Catholicism and what it considered to be other erroneous doctrinal systems, such as liberal theology. A strong commitment to ‘Reformation principles’ meant that evangelicals were unwilling to participate in any forms of association or co-operative measures that

6 NSW Congregationalist November 1964 p.9. 7 Archbishop Peter Jensen has postulated an appropriation of the term Protestant to transcend this narrow, dualistic self-definition of Protestantism. In a lecture entitled ‘The Protestant Conscience’ given at St Andrew’s House, Sydney in April 2005, he stated ‘I want to say that the word must now be shaped not merely by its encounter with Roman Catholicism, but by its encounter with secular humanism which is our common enemy. It is here that we must join together to ‘Protest’. Dr Jensen’s desire to expand the Protestant sense of self-definition is indicative of the increased obsolescence of its self-definition against Catholicism since the 1960s, where ecumenism, secularism and theological changes have overridden the traditional binary rivalry between Protestants and Catholics in western Christianity. However, these are developments that have followed in the wake of the ecumenical progress and other changes of the 1960s and it is clear from the writings and statements of evangelical polemicists and apologists in the 1960s that their self-definition came through a definition against Catholic dogma and through seeing themselves as the successors of the Reformers in the struggle with Rome, Jensen, P., The Protestant Conscience, April 2005, http://www.msw.churches .com/moopa-media/-sites/nswchurches/attachments/ 5%20April%2005% 20-B%20Judd%20Jensen%20protcon.doc, 25/5/2006.

267

might ‘imply a dilution of Reformation principles’.8 Their commitment to

‘Reformation principles’ was dogmatic and uncompromising. Ecumenical rapprochement with Rome was strongly felt to compromise these principles. It was such an attitude that led Baptists to remain aloof from the Vatican Council.

‘Baptists Say ‘No’ to Vatican Approach’ was the headline of the Australian Baptist reporting on the decision of the Executive Committee of the Baptist World

Alliance to decline any prospective invitation from the Vatican Secretariat

Promoting Christian Unity for the alliance to send an observer to the Second

Vatican Council.9 Baptists were not prepared to give any indication that ecumenical contact with the Catholic Church was possible for them. Similar fears were held by the Anglican Church League – the conservative evangelical faction of the Diocese of Sydney – which was concerned that church unity would result in a ‘return to Rome’ and a submission to the papacy, which would be ‘a surrender of truth’ and ‘compromising measures’.10

Rather than speak of ecumenical possibilities, evangelicals spoke of church union impossibilities. The insistence that doctrinal difference was an impediment to church unity became a standard barrier to ecumenical dialogue and engagement for evangelicals who were generally suspicious of ecumenism. This strategy provided them with a principled stance against ecumenical contamination without

8 Hilliard, D. ‘Pluralism and New Alignments in Society and Church’, Anglicanism in Australia, (ed.), Kaye, B., (Melbourne University Press, 2002) p.138. 9 Australian Baptist 19 September 1962; For Baptists, ecumenical association even with other Protestants was still a matter of contention: two Baptist congregations withdrew from the Tasmanian Baptist Union in 1962, concerned by its association with the Tasmanian Council of Churches. See Australian Baptist 4 July 1962, p.12. 10 Australian Church Record 22 April 1965, p.7. 268

it appearing to be sectarian. Thus, they could quite consistently appeal to their desire for unity as long as it was a unity in truth, and that truth was their truth and their doctrine. In 1962, Archbishop Gough maintained that it would only be through the Vatican Council’s reform of ‘the errors of doctrine which, as

Protestants, we believe mar that Church’ that any possibility of church unity would be improved.11 He urged his Anglican flock to pray ‘that spiritual reformation and revival may come to our brethren’.12 A similar attitude was expressed by his successor as archbishop of Sydney, Sir Marcus Loane.

Addressing his diocesan synod in 1967, Archbishop Loane spoke on the subject of church unity, taking issue with the notion that church unity could be achieved without dogmatic alignment, thinking ‘our differences are of no real significance’ and treating matters of doctrine and worship as of secondary importance to unity.

13 He maintained that as ‘no change in the traditional dogmas of the Church of

Rome is contemplated…the historical lines of demarcation therefore remain unchanged’.14 Whilst acknowledging the world-wide enthusiasm for church unity, which he saw as inspired by a variety of motives ‘some of which are intelligent and some merely sentimental’, his comments warn against the dangers of doctrinal compromise in the pursuit of unity, a unity that he held could not be a real unity as it would not be founded in dogmatic agreement and Biblical theology. This attitude was to characterise the attitude of the Sydney Diocese to ecumenical engagement, especially where Catholics were involved.

11 Southern Cross October 1962, pp.1-2. 12 Ibid. 13 Southern Cross November 1967, pp8-10; Australian Church Record 19 October 1967, p.5. 14 Ibid, p.9. 269

For conservative evangelicals, their emphasis on dogmatic unity meant that ecumenism did not need to contemplate Catholicism. Writing in Southern Cross in

September 1964, Archdeacon G.R. Delbridge referred to the ecumenical successes of the era:

In Australia there have been many united efforts of various

kinds. Because some of them have not had an ‘official’

character, this is of no real significance for they are a

manifestation of unity. The weeks of prayer for missions or

for unity are examples of this. Various bodies such as the

Christian Endeavour, whilst having a specific objective,

express a sense of oneness. Denominational differences

have either been ignored or considered irrelevant. There

have been Councils of Churches in each State for many

years which have acted unitedly in various ways in the

name of their member Church. The Council of Churches

in N.S.W. is such a body. A noted example of acting

together was expressed through the visit of Dr. Billy

Graham. The effort was evangelistic in nature, and many

congregations and churches were strengthened by an

influx of new members. It is sad that the united efforts 270

were not followed up, as they might have been a means of

churches continuing together in evangelism.15

That Archdeacon Delbridge could write such an article with no reference to the inclusion or exclusion of the Catholic Church conveys the tacit attitude of conservative evangelicals to Catholics at that time – Catholicism was a different religion altogether and that there was no prospect of meaningful or worthwhile ecumenical engagement with it.

Writing on ‘Reformation Sunday’ in October 1963, Joy Parker, a regular columnist for the Anglican Diocese of Sydney’s Southern Cross, stated that she owed to the Reformation ‘the insight into how far toleration can go and when there can be no further toleration’ and explained that as soon as dogmatic compromise was at stake, toleration must give way.16 Again, in July 1964, Parker invoked doctrinal assimilation as the only means of church union: ‘For union to be worthwhile, there is an essential nucleus of doctrine which must be common to all churches’.17 On Reformation Sunday in 1964, the Reverend Bernard Judd, in a speech that was highly critical of the Catholic Church, articulated the standard conservative Protestant attitude to ecumenism, referring to Catholic ecumenical engagement disparagingly as ‘Pope John’s Unity Offensive’. He maintained that the doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants were

‘insurmountable’.18 And a month later, with the decree on ecumenism freshly

15 Southern Cross, September 1964. 16 Southern Cross October 1963, p. 8. 17 Southern Cross July 1964, p.7. 18 NSW Presbyterian 13 November 1964, p.3. 271

promulgated, the Reverend Neil MacLeod was asking in the NSW Presbyterian,

‘But Does Rome Change?’ and answering his own question, deciding that any signs of change were superficial:

Yes, indeed, the winds of change are blowing and

blustering round the Roman citadel and the ecclesiastical

climate has significantly changed for the better, but the

seed plot remains the same.19

Keen to protect their dogmatic integrity from compromise or tainting by

Catholics and liberals, conservative evangelicals preferred to collaborate with fellow evangelicals across Protestant denominational lines. Across various university campuses, for instance, evangelical groups isolated themselves from other Christian societies. At both Monash and Melbourne Universities the SCM found it easier to co-operate with the Newman Society than with the EU:

I seem to recall we [SCM] had some regular meetings with

the Newman Society and the EU committees. But we

always found it much easier to co-operate with the

Newman Society,…after a while we gave up on trying to

have even public meetings…co-sponsored with the

EU….because the EU had this policy that all speakers had

to agree to their articles of faith, [and] we usually couldn’t

find speakers who would necessarily agree with that. So we

tended to co-sponsor lectures with either the Newman 272

Society or the Anti-Conscription Society, if we were

collaborating with other groups on campus.20

Similarly, at Melbourne University, James Minchin found that co-operation between the Student Christian Movement and the Evangelical Union was fraught with difficulties:

I remember we met [the SCM and EU central

committees] in the Vice-Master’s lodge at Ormond

College, John Alexander was Vice-Master at Ormond, and

you could have cut the air with a knife. The suspicion from

the EU side towards these wicked liberals, and the sense

of dislike, I suppose, I’m not quite sure what the right

word is, from the SCM side really didn’t bode well. Even

to pray together was an enormous effort because the SCM

style of prayer was far less given to free-flowing, free

association, pouring forth towards God. I’d discovered

already in the evangelical circles [that this] could be highly

political, [for] by addressing God you could say all sorts of

nasty things about your brother or sister [or the world at

large]. Very convenient, but that wasn’t the SCM pattern.

There was certainly room for spontaneity but our way of

19NSW Presbyterian 27 November 1964, p.9. 20 ASCM Interview with Dr Helen Hill. 273

praying was much more ordered…Yes, the relationship

with the Catholics was far more productive.21

By the 1970s, self-imposed segregation became a standard response of evangelicals, eager to avoid contact with theologically ‘impure’ or ‘corrupt’ forms of Christianity. In late 1970, Pope Paul VI became the first pontiff to visit

Australia. A large ecumenical service of Christian unity was to be held in the presence of Pope Paul VI at the Sydney Town Hall on December 2, 1970. Staying true to ‘Reformation principles’ and not wishing to appear to dilute them,

Archbishop Loane declined to attend the ecumenical service as well as a function at Government House to which the Pope was invited. Whilst Archbishop Loane wrote in his diocesan magazine Southern Cross, ‘One is also glad to reflect that the political and sectarian bitterness and recrimination in the earlier history of New

South Wales have now largely subsided’, and, ‘We find ourselves today in a situation in which there is much more understanding between the Roman

Catholic and the Protestant Churches on many moral and social issues,’ he again cited dogmatic differences as an obstacle to unity.22 He maintained that ‘the

Roman Catholic Church continues to adhere to certain dogmas which are totally alien to the whole character of the New Testament’. He listed the major dogmatic concerns: papal infallibility, tradition being held on equal normative footing with scripture, transubstantiation, the sacrifice of the Mass, the cult of Mary and the doctrine of justification.23 All of these were traditional matters of dispute between

Catholics and Protestants, extending back to the sixteenth century. Archbishop

21 ASCM Interview with Fr James Minchin. 274

Loane asserted that these traditional dogmatic differences between Catholics and

Protestants ‘still create lines of cleavage which it is impossible to ignore’ and held that ‘they are all summed up in the office which is held by the Pope’.24 He maintained ‘there are questions of truth which must be resolved before we can share in common worship or unfettered fellowship’. It was on this basis that he declined to attend the ecumenical gathering at the Town Hall.25

The Sydney Morning Herald editorial was not at all sympathetic with Archbishop

Loane’s stance. The Sydney Morning Herald felt it ‘regrettable that there are still some local dignitaries of the Anglican Church who refuse to take part in the ecumenical service this week’.26 Fellow Anglicans were also critical of the decision and the Church Chronicle, official organ of the Diocese of Brisbane, took the opportunity to publish a strongly worded critique of the Diocese of Sydney, commenting, amongst other things, that ‘It is both the genius and the pain of

Anglicanism that it has always put up with groups like that in the Diocese of

Sydney’.27 In his biography of Bishop Loane, Bishop John Reid argues that it was not ‘antipathy for Rome’ but rather his ‘keen sense of history, and theological principles’ that saw him refuse to attend these functions.28 Nevertheless, it is clear that the reasoning he gave for his refusal to attend featured traditional sectarian arguments against Catholicism. Perhaps even if the Archbishop held no

22 Southern Cross October 1970, p. 4. 23 Ibid, p. 5. 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid. 26 Sydney Morning Herald 30 November 1970, p.2. 27 The Church Chronicle November 1970. 28 Reid, J.R., Marcus L. Loane, A Biography p.104 (Acorn Press, Melbourne: 2004). 275

personal antipathy for Rome he was ‘duty bound’, or at least politically bound, as

Engel remarks, by ‘the strong and aggressive evangelical tradition of his diocese with its history of anti-Romanism’.29

Not all conservative evangelical opponents of the Pope, or the ecumenical ideals that he embodied, stayed away from the Town Hall that night. The Reverend

Frank Channing, a minister of the Bible Presbyterian Church from Palmerston,

New Zealand, intended to make a personal protest at the ecumenical service.

Channing’s grievance was with Protestant leaders who he considered would be

‘selling out true biblical Protestantism’ by attending the service with the Pope and was supportive of Archbishop Loane’s stance in refusing to attend. Channing had also sought to arrange for the Reverend Ian Paisley to come to Sydney at the time of the Pope’s visit as a focus of anti-Catholic sentiment. His cause was not a popular one, as the Sydney Morning Herald heading ‘One Voice to Oppose Pope’, indicated, yet this did not deter him in pursuing his protest.30 On the evening of the ecumenical service he caused some disturbance by removing his coat to reveal a white tunic with the messages, ‘No authority but the Bible’ and ‘No Priest but

Jesus Christ’ on the front and back. He was ejected from the Town Hall by two policemen and according to press reports was booed by people in the crowd.31 He was supported outside the Town Hall by a band of about thirty supporters who held placards and distributed leaflets.

29 Engel, F., Christians in Australia, p.264. 30 Sydney Morning Herald 23 November 1970, p.5. 31 Sydney Morning Herald 3 December 1970, p.1. 276

Mr Channing’s lonely protest demonstrated the extent to which mainstream attitudes had shifted to favour ecumenical rapprochement. Source: Sydney Morning Herald 23 November 1970, p.5

These antics did not impede the success of the service. It was attended by representatives of Protestant Churches, Catholic bishops as well as a congregation of over two thousand people. The Sydney Morning Herald saw the service as ‘extraordinary…the finest ceremony of its kind in Australia and perhaps the first of its kind in the world’, yet also noted that it was ‘avoided by several

Sydney Churchmen’.32 Despite the disapproval of the local Anglican hierarchy,

Anglicans were not left unrepresented at the service. The Right Reverend David

Garnsey, Bishop of Gippsland and President of the ACC, and the Archbishop of

Melbourne, Dr Frank Woods, joined with Presbyterian, Methodist, Orthodox,

Salvation Army, Catholic and other representatives at the service.

32 Ibid. 277

In January 1971, Sydney Anglicans were still agitated by the Pope’s visit. A special pamphlet essay on ‘Protestants and the Pope’ by the Reverend Canon

(later Archbishop) Donald Robinson was included in the January edition of the diocesan magazine, Southern Cross. In this essay Robinson used the premise ‘the

Pope embodies in a unique way all that the Roman Catholic Church stands for’ to establish that the doctrines, beliefs and practices represented by the Pope were a

‘huge obstacle to which the sons of the Reformation are as much opposed today as they have been for the past 450 years’. 33 His argument relied on establishing that the Catholic and Protestant understandings of the papacy are irreconcilable, and that the rejection of papal authority is central to Protestantism and as the papacy has not changed, so too Protestantism’s rejection of it must not change.

He stated that ‘Only the ignorant would think there was any obvious way forward’,34 and considered that the differences of opinion between Protestants and Catholics as to what the project of Christian unity meant was a source of further confusion for ecumenical progress, for whilst ‘some are willing to overlook the anomaly of praying together for Christian unity while differing as to what they understand by unity…Others think it is a false economy, a disservice to truth, to join in this kind of prayer at present’.35 The Diocese of Sydney obviously fell into the latter category.

It is important to note that, despite the efforts of conservative evangelicals to incite sectarian feeling and to resist the ecumenical movement, the vast majority

33 Robinson, D. ‘Protestants and the Pope’, Southern Cross, (January 1970) pp.2,7. 34 Ibid, p.6 35 Ibid, p.8 278

of the population did not share these views. 70 percent of those polled in 1965 supported efforts for Catholic and Protestant Churches to unite.36 Hans Mol also found that despite the ‘conservative, ambivalent or negative’ view of merger attempts taken by evangelical Protestants, this did not actually translate into any stronger degree of disfavour of church mergers amongst this constituency and, as

Chapter Nine has shown, significant ecumenical achievements were made in a variety of ways in the period.37

Dogs with a Bone of Contention

Sectarianism also lingered in the continued campaign against state aid throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s. With financial support from the federal government introduced in 1963, state governments were soon allocating aid to non-government schools. When the Queensland Government made per capita grants for students in non-government schools in 1969, the future of Catholic education seemed much brighter than it had at the start of that decade.

However, some uncertainty had lingered over the long-term provision of state aid and throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, pressure to permanently secure state aid was applied by various lobby groups such as the Association for

Educational Freedom and the Sydney Federation of Parents and Friends

Associations, who convened meetings and distributed literature, amidst fears that state aid could suddenly be taken away.38 In 1972, the Liberal McMahon

Government introduced a funding scheme in partnership with state governments.

36 Mol, H. The Faith of Australians, (Allen and Unwin, Sydney: 1985) p.24. 37 Ibid, p.30. 38 Luttrell, J., Regaining State Aid, p.21. 279

However, it was not until 1974 that the government of Prime Minister Whitlam guaranteed and enacted the recommendations made in the 1973 Karmel Report of the Schools Commission. Ryan notes, ‘this allowed Catholic education officials to move away from the survival mode mindset of the 1950s and early 1960s, to a more confident outlook on the future of Catholic education’.39

However, opposition to state aid did not simply die away once direct state aid was re-introduced. In fact, a sustained campaign with sectarian undertones was one response to the introduction of state aid. Various lobby groups led or supported campaigns against state aid: the Australian Council of State School Organisations

(ACSSO); the Victorian Protestant Federation (VPF); the Loyal Orange Institute

(LOI); the Australian Teachers Union; the NSW Association for the Preservation of Public School Education; the NSW CC; the Secular Education Committee of

NSW; the Australian Protestant Council; the NSW Federation of Parents’ and

Citizens’ Associations, and; the NSW Teachers’ Federation. In September 1963, more than twelve months after the Goulburn schools closure, the Australian

Protestant Council was still extremely alarmed and was urging ‘action on the part of the Protestant community throughout Australia’.40 Deputations to politicians, such as that led by the NSW CC to the NSW Premier in September 1962, continued for some time, as well as the publication of pamphlets and the convening of anti-state aid rallies.41

39 Ryan, M., ‘Catholic Schools: three historical snapshots’ in Journal of Religious Education 50, No.3, 2002 p.4 40 The Rock 13 September 1962, p.1. 41 The Rock 11 October 1962, p.1. 280

The VPF was so incensed by the granting of state aid that it sought to challenge the legality of state aid in the High Court. The VPF believed that under Section

116 of the Australian Constitution, which prohibits the Commonwealth from establishing religion, state aid was unconstitutional.42 This challenge did not reach the High Court as the litigants failed to obtain fiat to plead in that jurisdiction.43

In August 1964, the Council for the Defence of Government Schools -self-styled as ‘DOGS’ – was formed at the annual conference of the Australian Council of

State Schools Organisations. DOGS quickly became the chief lobby group against state aid. DOGS took up the cause for mounting a High Court challenge to state aid and persisted right throughout the 1970s, fighting to bring an action in that jurisdiction. DOGS received institutional support from sectarian and political opponents of state aid: Protestant federations and alliances, and teachers’ unions. Its critique of state aid was an interesting synthesis of concerns from all of these groups, combining anti-Catholic, anti-elitist, secular humanist, and other concerns but sectarian resistance to state aid was the driving force behind the campaign to eradicate state aid. The arguments against state aid put forward by DOGS were generally on the basis that: state aid was given at the expense of government schools; state aid was unconstitutional, contravening section 116 of the Australian Constitution; it contributed significantly to social division by segregating children; it endowed the wealthy at the expense of the working-classes; it advanced sectarianism and sectarian interests.

42 ‘The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth,’ Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act s.116. 281

Opposition to state aid was still strong in Protestant quarters. The Reverend

Canon D. Broughton Knox, principal of Moore College, made the following statement in a radio broadcast in 1969:

Roman Catholic schools are founded to propagate Roman

Catholic teaching, and we must say that this is

superstitious teaching, and is the exact contradiction of

the Christian gospel with regard to the most important of

all topics – forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God

– and we ought not to be asked to support from the taxes

to which we contribute schools which aim to propagate

such superstitious aberrations from the Christian faith.44

DOGS was strongly affiliated with various Protestant lobby groups, and their most significant branch, the Victorian branch, was ‘branch stacked’ and its executive dominated by members of Protestant organisations such as the VPF and the LOI of Victoria. In a letter from the Assistant Secretary of the VPF, Mr

J.S.Davis, to the United Protestant Association (UPA) of Queensland, the sectarian dimension of the campaign is made clear:

The Council for D.O.G.S. was first formed in Melbourne in

1964 and re-organised in 1967. It was in 1967 that

Protestants gained prominent positions in the D.O.G.S

Victorian Executive and since that time the D.O.G.S have led

43 Birch, I., ‘State-Aid at the Bar: The DOGS CASE’, Melbourne Studies in Education, 1984, p.35. 282

the fight against State Aid. We realise your problems in

Queensland. However if Protestants do not become involved

with the D.O.G.S. then same will die a certain death, for it is

Protestantism which knows the value of religious freedom and

separation of Church and State. We in Victoria have to

associate with Humanists, and others, to achieve our common

aim – to stop State Aid. However, the position with our

Executive is now firmly Protestant.45

Of the twelve Executive members of the Victorian branch, five were members of the VPF; five also were members of the LOI of Victoria; of the three members who belonged to neither the VPF nor LOI, one had been a member of the

Protestant Progressive Party; the second was Jewish ; and the other was a Baptist and ‘staunch Protestant’. The letter continues:

So you can see we have things ‘sown up’. This was

achieved only through working to achieve this aim. You

can be assured that any donations invested with the Vic.

D.O.G.S. will be well utilised. It will be the Vic. D.O.G.S.

that will take the challenge to the High Court. This could

never have been done if not for our strong Protestant voice

on the Executive. We simply work as a team. This

information is confidential and must be kept in secret by

44 Campion, E., Rockchoppers, p.94. 45 Letter of 11 July 1972 from J.S. Davis, Assistant Secretary Victorian Protestant Federation, to the State Secretary, United Protestant Association of Qld. Original held in The Rock archives by Dennis Shelton. 283

those Members of your Executive who read same. The

general Membership of the Vic D.O.G.S. are not aware of

the religious convictions of the Members of the Executive,

nor can we tell you the affiliations of the N.S.W., Tas., or

W.A. DOGS Members, for we do not have this

information. We can though, recommend the N.S.W.

Branch and in particular Mrs Kath Taylor, who is the

Secretary. She is a tower of strength to us all. If it wasn’t

for Mrs. Taylor we would not have a Branch in N.S.W.

However she is not a Protestant, which is to be regretted.46

It is evident from the letter of Mr Davis that the VPF was able to pursue its failed efforts at a High Court challenge to state aid through the Council for the DOGS.

This correspondence is compelling evidence of a clearly sectarian campaign. It betrays the sectarian motives and collusion in the anti-state aid campaign and the anti-Catholic subtext of much of the DOGS propaganda and rationale. The same old sectarian ideology and language used at the time of the Goulburn schools closure is re-voiced. For instance, in the DOGS press release of 12 July 1971, on the occasion of the election of the new Anglican primate, there is a strong emphasis on the segregating effects of state aid with the somewhat ironic inference that this is contrary to the spirit of ecumenism:

Anglican’s [sic] have remained one of the few

congregations of people sufficiently concerned to

46 Ibid. 284

steadfastly maintain a resolution opposing State aid to

church and private schools… …Anglicans must select a

leader who is prepared to strongly support Anglican

resolutions. A leader, if he preaches ecumenism to adults

does NOT advocate segregating our children in schools. A

leader who fully comprehends that ecumenism begins in

the tender years and must be practised in our schools if we

are not to be termed hypocrites… …For more than a

decade Australians have witnessed the degrading practice

of the two major political parties buying Roman Catholic

votes with promises of more and yet more State aid.

Indeed we have witnessed the policies of our governments

being subjected to the dictates of one particular church…47

The blatant anti-Catholic sentiment that was intermittently revealed in DOGS press statements suggests that such appeals to ecumenism were opportunistic rather than heartfelt. In fact, it is apparent that DOGS campaigners draw heavily on the rich tradition of anti-Catholic controversial literature and the strong links of DOGS executive members with militant Protestant organisations explain the use of anti-Catholic discursive devices in DOGS’s campaigns. DOGS spoke of

‘blatant’ and ‘undisguised attempts to intimidate governments’ by Catholics, described Catholic schools as ‘duplicating and wasteful sectarian schools which exist solely for the purpose of instilling the dogmas of the one particular sect’, and

47 DOGS Press Statement, 12 July1971. 285

spoke of Catholic political agitation as ‘blackmail’, remarking that ‘our community will no longer tolerate these threats which constitute a direct and deliberate attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to control matters of State’.48

However, DOGS’s use of well worn sectarian accusations and themes compromised their credibility – an indication of changes in the sectarian climate of Australia.

‘Old Masters and New Masters’: another Inside Job! D.O.G.S. presence will add that extra little fillip to Prime Minister MCMahon’s vote buying efforts when he officially opens the annual art show of the Parents’ and Friends’ Committee of Santa Maria del Monte Convent…the prep. school for posh, swimming-pooled Santa Sabina College. Bishop E. Kelly, auxiliary to Archbishop Freeman, will also be there – perhaps to officially hand over a large parcel of Roman Catholic votes to Mr McMahon in return for his lavish ‘State Aid’ gifts already received, and his recent extravagant promises of still more loot for Roman Catholic schools if they return him to office.’ Source: DOGS Press Release 18 July 1972

Blaming the Catholic school system for segregation and sectarianism was a favoured strategy of the Australian Council of State School Organisations, who published the following statements in 1964:

48 DOGS Press Statement, 10 September 1971. 286

Probably the worst effect of a dual system of schools is the

social divisions it creates within the community…We

believe that there is no place in our country for educational

apartheid – religious segregation – sponsored by any

Australian Government.49

A familiar anti-Catholic ploy that had been employed exhaustively by many during the Goulburn Schools closure, it was also appropriated by the DOGS anti- state aid campaign:

The persistent and bitter refusal [of Catholic authorities]

to sanction the integration of Roman Catholic children

with the rest of our community’s children in community

schools makes Roman Catholic protestations of

ecumenism sound rather hollow.50

In his tract, ‘State aid in Perspective’, B.A. Santamaria, whilst acknowledging that there had been sectarian division in Australian society, repudiated the argument that denominational schools were to blame for such division:

An argument commonly used to justify a monolithic school

system is that different systems of education tend to divide

the community…There have been periods of sectarian

bitterness. These should not be blamed on the schools but

rather on political, economic and racial differences

49 State aid for Non-State Schools is Dangerous, (Australian Council of State School Organisations, Melbourne: 1964) pp.10-11. 50 DOGS press release, 27 June 1972.

287

between members of different religions. Taken to its

logical conclusion, as it is in some countries, this ‘divisive

influence’ argument involves the repression of religions.51

DOGS also sought to discredit state aid as ‘vote buying’, as these comments from a press release on the occasion of the opening of the Santa Sabina College’s Art

Show by the Prime Minister, Mr McMahon, demonstrate:

Bishop E. Kelly, auxiliary to Archbishop Freeman, will also

be there – perhaps to officially hand over a large parcel of

Roman Catholic votes to Mr McMahon in return for his

lavish ‘State aid’ gifts already received, and his recent

extravagant promises of still more loot for Roman Catholic

schools if they return him to office.52

DOGS had the explicit goal of mounting a legal challenge on constitutional grounds to the legislation granting state aid enacted by the Menzies government that year. DOGS gained the moral and financial support of various other organisations such as the ACSSO which determined to support the legal challenge at its annual conference in 1964.53 After faltering and many delays

DOGS launched their High Court challenge in September 1971, and they eventually did have their day in court in 1980.54 They challenged the provision of state aid to non-government schools under section 116 of the Australian

51 Santamaria, B.A., State Aid in Perspective,. p.15. 52 DOGS Press Release, 18 July 1972. 53 Report of 18th Annual Conference of A.C.S.S.O., October 12 1964, p.15. 54 Attorney-General (Vict); Ex Rel.Black v. The Commonwealth [1981] 146 CLR 559 (2 February 1981). 288

constitution, that the parliament ‘shall not make any law for establishing any religion’. A six to one majority of the full bench of the High Court found in favour of the defendant. In the judgment handed down in 1981, the case was dismissed.

The Chief Justice reasoned:

…I consider that the words ‘The Commonwealth shall not

make any law for establishing any religion’, where they

appear in s.116, mean that the Commonwealth Parliament

shall not make any law for conferring on a particular

religion or religious body the position of a state (or

national) religion or church…27.No doubt some members

of the public hold strong and sincere views on the question

whether any government should provide financial aid to

church schools, but the resolution of the differences that

exist must be left to the democratic processes which exist

under the Constitution; s.116 does not resolve them.55

The long awaited case, ‘one of the epics of English speaking Legal History’ according to DOGS’ own history of the case, was a spectacular failure for

DOGS.56 Nor did DOGS succeed in inciting significant sectarian opposition to state aid. Enrolments in non-government schools had steadily increased in the period from 1963 through to 1990. In 1963 non-government school enrolments

55Attorney-General (Vict); Ex Rel.Black v. The Commonwealth [1981] 146 CLR 559 (2 February 1981) Judgment of Gibbs CJ., p.604. 56 Nilsen, R., DOGS and the High Court Case, http://www.adogs.info/dogs_high_court_case1.htm#00a ,Council for Defence of Government Schools (Victoria), 10/5/2004. 289

tallied just below 24% of school enrolments. In 1999, this figure exceeded 30%57.

Secondary retention rates – the major demographic group of most non-Catholic private schools – had also increased steadily from 22.7% in 1968 to 72.3% in

1999.58 Thus, the non-Catholic private schools stood to gain much from state aid, and so opposition to state aid by Protestant denominations out of anti-Catholic sectarian bigotry did not prevail. Protestants discovered that they not only had a vested economic interest in state aid but also a deeper interest in greater co- operation with Catholics. The ecumenical movement attained great momentum in this period, with interdenominational interaction and dialogue reaching unprecedented levels. Also, Michael Hogan has identified how the state aid campaign aligned Catholic and Protestant interests in Australian political affairs in a new way, resulting in what he describes as ‘outstanding cooperation’ between denominations which gave rise to the creation of a ‘Christian coalition’.59 Hogan argues that the overall result of the state aid issue was ‘the end of distinctively

Catholic politics and the beginning of a socially conservative Christian coalition which was to mount a strong challenge to the liberalising tendencies in modern

Australian society’.60 These changes presented difficulties for those still campaigning against state aid.

Recourse to traditional battle lines and allegiances was not successful, and DOGS found it necessary to tread a fine balance, trying to mobilise any latent Protestant opposition to state aid whilst at the same time voicing criticism of Protestant

57 Burke, G. & Spaull, A.. Australian Schools: participation and funding 1901-2000, p.11. 58 Ibid, p.20. 59 Hogan,M., The Sectarian Strand, pp.254-255. 290

schools receiving state aid benefits. To this end, it worded its propaganda carefully, making it clear that in its sights were elitist ‘fat cat’ Protestant ‘schools with pools’ that catered to the elite Protestant minority. ‘The Protestant Churches have ignored the plight of the State school child’, complained a DOGS press release, ‘instead choosing to champion the cause of yet more luxuries for the 4% of Protestant children attending their wealthy schools’.61 However, the DOGS campaign failed to successfully adjust to the changes in the Australian religious and political contexts and the result was a campaign that relied on out of date sectarian strategies and lacked mainstream political support. In this period of increasing secularisation, ecumenical rapprochement and social change, the sectarian baggage of DOGS proved more of a political liability than a political weapon, and as Michael Hogan observes, DOGS ‘was to limit its own political effectiveness by reintroducing a discredited anti-Catholic sectarianism into the debate’.62

CONCLUSION

It may therefore be understood that in the post-Vatican II era there were significant changes in the ethos of Australian religious cultures and broader society that led to the rapid demise of sectarian discourse as a force in Australian politics and inter-denominational relations. The post-Vatican II period was characterised by an enthusiastic mainstream embrace of ecumenism in Australian religious culture and there were many significant ecumenical achievements and breakthroughs made at this time. However, it is also apparent that there was

60 Ibid, p.255. 291

resistance to this cultural change: Baptists and Sydney Anglicans were pre- eminent in resisting the swelling ecumenical ethos, and political lobby groups, such as DOGS, continued to invoke traditional sectarian discourse. However, despite these lingering repositories of sectarianism, the radical change in

Australian religious cultures and society that accelerated in the 1960s effected the demise of sectarianism as a mainstream socio-cultural phenomenon in Australian society. Sectarianism had quickly shifted from being a mainstream phenomenon to a peripheral and increasingly impotent issue.

61 DOGS Press Release 27 June 1972. 62 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.254. 292

PART V

REMEMBERING SECTARIANISM

INTRODUCTION

Despite the demise of sectarianism in public discourse, sectarianism lingers in the lives of men and women and in social memory. Part V of this thesis explores sectarianism as a remembered phenomenon. It includes an analysis of the tropes of sectarianism and a series of biographical case studies that draw on testimony gathered through oral history interviews and a selection of literary sources. Oral testimony is an important tool for exploring the nature and experiences of sectarianism, illuminating historical understanding of the emotion, impact and significance of sectarianism in the lives of men and women across a range of generations revealing the ongoing meanings applied to sectarianism through which linkages are made between the remembered past and the present.

John Murphy has cautioned that, ‘Memory is not a pristine objectification to be simply brought to the surface and articulated as historical knowledge’.1 For this reason, oral testimony requires careful interpretation, with sensitivity and alertness to the plethora of forces that shape memory: both personal and external.

Ian Watson stresses that one important technique for interpreting the subjectivity of oral testimony is alertness to the distinction between semantic and episodic memory, especially with regard to the way in which semantic memory shapes the

1 Murphy, J., ‘The Voice of Memory: History, Autobiography and Oral Memory’, Historical Studies, 22, No.87, October 1986, p.166. 293

narration of episodic memories.2 Semantic and episodic memory are both forms of declarative memory – memories of experience and fact. Episodic memory refers to memory of particular incidents, with reference to time and place, whereas semantic memory refers to memories of knowledge, meaning and understanding without reference to particular events, time or place. Whilst these forms of memory are different, they are interdependent and interact with each other. Similarly, personal and social memory interact with each other in the formation of memory. Alessandro Portelli comments that, ‘Sense of the past is produced through public representations and through private memory’.3 These factors – semantic and episodic memory, social and personal memory – are all important interpretive tools used in the analysis and contextualisation of the oral testimony that follows.

Chapter Thirteen, ‘Reminiscence, Tropes and Social Memory’, surveys the influence of social memory and cultural tropes on the formation and narration of sectarian memories. Chapter Fourteen, the most important section of Part V, contains biographical case studies. This section interprets personal memories of sectarianism within the context of dominant social memories of sectarianism, as discussed in Chapter Thirteen, and personal contingencies of ideology, class position, ethnicity and religion that have bearing on ‘how we remember and tell

2 See Watson, I. ‘Class Memory: An Alternative Approach to Class Identity’, Labour History, 67, 1994, pp.31-32. 3 Portelli, A. ‘What Makes Oral History Different’, The Oral History Reader, (eds), Parks, R & Thomson, A., (Routledge, London: 1998) p.76 294

our lives’.4 It also explores the subjective impact of sectarianism upon the lives of individuals, exploring the historic and ongoing significance of sectarianism for them: the long-term sinews of sectarianism that reach from the postwar era into the present. Thus, in these case studies the participants themselves are the ‘living documents’ on which the analysis is based. Through their life experiences are explored both the factors that intensified or mitigated sectarianism for them and the manner by which sectarianism shaped their long-term futures.

Individuals from diverse backgrounds – in terms of class position, ethnicity, religious devotion etc – have experienced and interpreted sectarianism differently.

At times the interviewees’ testimonies and life experiences feature strong parallels and commonalities and at other times they are contradictory. Their differing experiences and outcomes demonstrate on a micro-scale the wider social patterns underlying the various experiences and responses to sectarianism made in this period of significant social change. These case studies reveal that experiences of sectarianism are varied and complex and that the experience of sectarianism in this period was significantly influenced by circumstances of family life, class position, locale, schooling, social memory and sheer chance. In their variegation and points of agreement, these memories are indicative of the tensions and shifts of sectarianism in the postwar era.

4 Sangster, J., ‘Telling Our Stories: Feminist debates and the use of oral history’, The Oral History Reader, p.89. 295

Methodology

Participants for the oral history project were recruited through public advertisement in a variety of publications, including local newspapers, church journals and the UNSW publication Uniken.5 The participation in this project by members of the general public was of great importance due to its potential to yield a range of both predicted and unanticipated experiences, with the potential to hear different perspectives from a diverse sample of people. The recruitment process generated a very good public response, with around fifty people expressing an interest in participating in the project. Those who responded shared the sense that sectarianism played a significant role in their lives, with a range of factors from both childhood and adult life affecting them: the trauma of growing up in a mixed marriage household and the challenges of being in a mixed marriage; socio-economic frustrations and class self-placement; personal image and style; professional interest; intellectual and spiritual reaction against sectarianism; and being an ‘outsider’ to the main sectarian groups. For most respondents, it was a combination of these factors that prompted them to share their memories; common to all is a sense that their experience and memories of sectarianism are historically significant. They are not necessarily representative of

Australians of their generations. To some extent an interest in sectarianism strong enough to prompt their response to these advertisements sets them apart as a distinct group.

5 Local newspapers such as The North Shore Times, The Manly Daily, Penrith Press, as well as some national and other diocesan journals of all major denominations published articles, Southern Cross (Anglican Diocese of Sydney), Insights (Uniting Church in Australia), The Catholic Weekly (Archdiocese of Sydney), The Anglican Encounter (Diocese of Newcastle). 296

Alongside the general recruitment drive, a focused recruitment of retired clergy was made on the basis that clergy were at the coalface of sectarianism and the changes in religious culture in this period, and accordingly they had both personal and professional experiences and insights into the subject. Contact was made with the Anglican Retirement Villages in Sydney who agreed to inform retired clergy of the project. The Uniting Church newspaper advertisement generated responses from a retired minister and a minister of the Presbyterian Reformed

Church also volunteered to participate. With a good response from Protestant clergy, contact was then made with the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney through

Monsignor Kerry Bayada, who agreed to approach suitable clergy. Only one response from a Catholic priest was received with whom an interview could not be arranged. The writings of Edmund Campion are thus used in this section to bring an informed Catholic clerical perspective into the analysis.

A questionnaire was issued to all respondents, designed to obtain demographic and biographical information from volunteers. It also invited them to make a personal statement about their experiences and memories of sectarianism. Thirty- seven respondents returned questionnaires. A preliminary telephone interview was conducted with all respondents in order to discuss the nature of the project and interview process, and to obtain a general sense of the subject's life experience and suitability for participation. Some respondents were not considered beyond this point because they related observations about sectarianism rather than direct experiences and only had generalised and historically insignificant information to offer. 297

Following the telephone interviews, a further selection process was undertaken.

The following criteria were used in selecting candidates for interview: a diversity of Protestant and Catholic participants, as broad a span of generations as possible, the inclusion of non-Christian perspective, a mix of those who had been to public and private schools, those who grew up in metropolitan and regional areas and a variety of class and occupation categories. After other logistical factors (location and availability for interview) and health concerns were considered, fourteen participants were interviewed.6 Several of the respondents, and three interviewees, were clergymen who have a professional interest in the subject of sectarianism as well as personal issues. These interviews form the base of primary material for this case study. In accordance with University Ethics

Committee policy, all oral history interviewees are given pseudonyms.

Table of Interviewees

Number Male Female

Catholic 5 3 2

Anglican 6 5 1

Uniting 1 1 0

Other Protestant 1 1 0

Non-Christian 1 0 1

Total 14 10 4

6 Some respondents had not understood the nature of the research and were not suitable for interview. Others could not participate in interviews due to health problems. 298

CHAPTER 13:

REMINISCENCE, TROPES AND SOCIAL MEMORY

Memories of sectarianism can be viewed within a context of cultural remembrance and reference that comprises the arts, media, entertainment, social memory and ‘collective myths’ of the past.7 Sectarian discourse and culture have generated and perpetuated a variety of sectarian tropes that have become culturally embedded. For example, memories of Catholics as Irish working-class

Labor supporters and Protestants as ascendant conservatives – WASPS (White

Anglo-Saxon Protestants) – are dominant cultural tropes associated with sectarianism. Paula Hamilton describes the ‘penetration of popular culture in the remembering process’ and refers to the ‘colonisation of memory by mass media’.8

Her observations highlight the significant influence of popular media in the formation of social memory and myth. Autobiographical literature, fiction, stage and screen, and media reports have all contributed to the development of the cultural tropes and social memory of sectarianism and religious culture, factors which in turn shape personal memory.

Exoticism of Catholic religious life through tales of ordained and conventual life features prominently among tropes of religion in popular culture. There are numerous examples, such as Morris West’s autobiographical novel The Moon in

My Pocket (1945), which explores his struggle to leave religious life with Christian

7 Darian-Smith, K. & Hamilton, P., Memory and History in Twentieth-Century Australia, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne: 1994) p.2. 8 Hamilton, P., ‘The Knife Edge: Debates about Memory and History’, Memory and History, Darian- Smith, K. & Hamilton, P., p.26. 299

Brothers and return to secular life, and Fred Schepisi’s film The Devil’s Playground

(1976), which explores the conflict between religious sexual repression and natural desire in the context of a Catholic boarding school. Sexual repression is also a theme in Ron Blair’s play The Christian Brothers (1975), which is a study of the brutality and horrors of religious education in the 1950s. The TV mini-series

Brides of Christ (1992), with its portrayal of conventual life in the turbulent years of the 1960s, the inner conflict of postulants and tension between modernisation and tradition, also juxtaposes romanticised images of religious life with the reality of physical and emotional denial. Other examples of cultural sources contributing to the social memory of religious culture include the TV mini-series The Leaving of

Liverpool (1992), with its horrific portrayal of postwar child migration schemes,

Colleen McCullough’s novel The Thorn Birds (1983), Hannie Rayson’s play

Inheritance (2003), in which a long-standing family rift due to mixed marriage points to the shadowy influence of sectarianism in Australia, as well as various novels by Thomas Keneally, such as Three Cheers for the Paraclete (1968).

International contributions to the social memory of religious culture include films that have found a significant audience in Australia such as The Magdalene Sisters

(2002), with its depiction of cruelty in an asylum for ‘wayward girls’ overseen by nuns.

Humorists and satirists have found that sectarianism can provide fertile ground for their musings. For example, there is the tongue-in-cheek Growing up Catholic 300

by Gabrielle Lord et al which features a segment on ‘Catholics and Publics’.9 Anti-

Catholicism has been a recurring theme in the witticisms of ‘Dame Edna

Everage’:

She [Dame Edna] had from the start an ear for catching

every cliché and prevailing prejudice. It could be

dangerous territory. Even in her first shows she was

talking about the Catholics. Had we noticed where they

placed their churches? Her voice would go up octave by

octave until, as one critic put it, it had the power of a

factory whistle: ‘They always get the best places, don't

they?’10

It would seem that by the 1970s and 1980s sectarianism could be safely satirised.

Examples of this include the 1970s sit-com The Last of the Australians and the early 1980s sit-com Kingswood Country. The ‘generation gap’ was a major theme in these programmes, juxtaposing the bigotries of an older generation of Australians

(in these cases WASPs) with the progressive ideas of their university age children.

In The Last of the Australians the principal character Ted Cook (played by Alwyn

Kurts) held many bigotries, among which was anti-Catholicism. Similarly, in

Kingswood Country Ted Bullpitt (played by Ross Higgins) was anti-Catholic, made apparent through his ongoing feud with Sister Maria, ‘that pushy nun from St

Joseph’s College for the Chronically Catholic’ and his ranting against ‘bloody

Micks’. His disapproval of his daughter’s husband Bruno, who was a Catholic,

9Lord, G. et al., Growing Up Catholic (Ellsyd Press, Sydney: 1986) pp.34-35. 301

ALP supporting Italian-Australian, is representative of the cocktail of social prejudices which sectarianism vents. While the stereotypes, exaggerations and generalities in which comedians trade may satirise sectarianism, they also contribute to the enculturation and continued dissemination of those tropes.

Politics and the press are two other significant contributors to the enculturation of sectarianism. For instance, press reports in the 1990s concerning the republic debate brought to the surface various sectarian tropes that some thought had long disappeared from Australian society. In September 1993, when then Prime

Minister Keating told an Irish TV interviewer that his republicanism was partially attributable to ‘the Catholic in me’, the Opposition Leader, Dr John Hewson and others, accused him of ‘dragging divisive sectarian thoughts into the republic debate’.11 Tony Wright commented at the time in the Sydney Morning Herald, ‘He has sprayed petrol on the flames of the conspiracy theories of those who have long suspected that the republican movement is simply a plot hatched by anti-

British Catholics…It is an impertinence of the first order to suggest that a national political debate can be won or lost on religious grounds, or even has anything to do with religion’.12

However, it would seem that the sectarian bogeyman had already been lurking around the republic debate for some time. A few months before the Prime

Minister’s Irish interview, in May 1993, Geoffrey Barker, writing in The Age feared that ‘the republican debate provides potentially fertile soil in which old

10 Dunstan, K., ‘The Evolution of Edna’, The Age Arts Review 21 January 2006. 302

tribal hatreds might be revived’ and observed the sectarian cleavages featuring in the debate:

Some monarchists, pointing to the extent to which the

republican debate is being pushed by leaders of the New

South Wales Catholic Right, mutter darkly about popish

plots. Some republicans see the issue as an opportunity for

Australia’s Irish Catholics to pay back the Protestant

Poms.13

And in June 1992, Gerard Henderson observed ‘there are signs that

[sectarianism] is making something of a comeback in the increasingly heartfelt debates over republicanism and the flag’. He identified comments from the

National Party backbencher Michael Cobb, who remarked that Prime Minister

Keating was intent on removing the Union Jack from the Australian flag because of his ‘bog Irish coming out’, as signalling this tendency.14 The invocation of sectarian loyalties in the republic debate re-invigorated the cultural tropes associated with sectarianism and demonstrates the extent to which they have shaped Australian political and social demarcations and remain part of the national psyche. The political ascendancy of Catholic politicians within the

Liberal Party in since the 1980s (two Liberal premiers of NSW were Catholic

Nick Greiner and John Fahey as well as various prominent Federal Ministers in

11 Sydney Morning Herald 22 September 1993, p.16. 12 Sydney Morning Herald 18 September 1993, p.26. 13 The Age 1 May 1993, p.17. 14Sydney Morning Herald 9 June 1992. 303

the Howard Government, such as Tony Abbott) have challenged culturally entrenched sectarian demarcations in Australian society.

Folklore is another significant contributor to social memory of sectarianism. Val

Hawkes, born in 1940, a social historian and former Catholic, writes of her childhood, ‘as small children we learned the reciprocal insults of sectarian hatred’.15 Memories of daily rituals of sectarian confrontation, with exchange of taunts and fisticuffs on the way home from school and in the playground are part of a school-based folkloric tradition of sectarianism. Memories of specific chants and insults abound in reminiscences of school yard sectarian rivalries. Labels such as ‘prodhoppers’, ‘left-footers’, ‘cattleticks’, ‘micks’, ‘tikes’, and ‘rockchoppers’ were features of the sectarian repertoire of insults and abuse that survived over several generations in Australian schools. 16 Ida McInley, at school in Balmain

NSW in the 1930s recalls chanting ‘Publics, publics ring the bell, while all the

Catholics go to hell’. This chant is widely remembered and features amongst other sectarian taunts in Cinderella Dressed in Yella, a collection of Australian childhood verse and rhyme.17 Other chants, and their variants, such as ‘Proddie dogs will always yell, when they feel the fires of hell!’, ‘Catholics, Catholics sit like frogs, in your Holy Water,’ 'The Catholic dogs, jump like frogs, eat no meat on

Friday', ‘Catholic dogs jump like frogs in and out the water’, ‘Protestant cats sit on mats eating maggots out of rats’ and ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God, Send me

15 Hawkes, V., ‘Treaties and bargains with God’, Sweet Mothers, Sweet Maids: Journeys from Catholic Childhoods, (eds)Nelson, K & Nelson, D.,(Penguin Books, Ringwood, Victoria: 1986) p.10. 16 Turner, I., Factor, J. & Lowenstein, W., Cinderella Dressed in Yella (Heinemann Educational Australia: 1978) p.159. 17 Ibid, p.159. 304

down a chocolate frog’ are also well remembered.18 The preponderance of these chants in people’s memories is indicative of the extent to which they have become part of the folklore or social memory of sectarianism and schooling.

Intervening personal experience shapes the way these chants are interpreted and appropriated into personal narratives. For example, Deirdre Cooke, who was a nun for nine years before returning to secular life, writes of her childhood in a lower middle class Brisbane suburb, ‘My only clear memory of any kind of contact with children from state schools was the passing of our segregated buses and our good-natured chant through the windows’.19 From the safe vantage point of 1986,

Cooke is able to describe this as ‘good-natured’, implying it was a benign rivalry.

Whilst Cooke may remember ‘good-natured chants’, for the most part the language used in constructing accounts of sectarianism in the school context is combative and militarised. Other memories are coloured by this combative language. Val Hawkes describes the rivalry that existed between school children in much stronger terms than Cooke, commenting, ‘In some ways we created a mini-

Belfast with the state school Protestants as willing combatants’. She recalls that,

‘verbal abuse led to stone throwing and the last five hundred yards past the state

18 Oral History Interview with Veronica Brady by Robin Hughes, 7 December 1993, http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/brady/intertext3.html; Interview with Albert Sweeney for Australians at War Film Archive http://www.australiansatwarfilmarchive.gov.au/aawfa/interviews/ 1430.aspx; Factor, J., ‘Sticks and Stones’ in Eureka Street (April 2001); Turner argues that generally children’s rhymes of taunts and insults do not betray any sign of prejudice among the children themselves ‘except for the unpleasant taunts which Catholic and Protestant children hurl at each other’, which he explains is attributable to sectarian school rivalry being the only significant break in the homogeneity of Australian culture of which children were aware. See Turner, I., et al, Cinderella Dressed in Yella, p.159. 19 Cooke, D., “Straying from the Straight and Narrow”, Sweet Mothers, Sweet Maids, pp.15-16. 305

school offered the perils and terrors of a front line’.20 Impenetrable sectarian

‘walls’, ‘divides’, ‘barriers’, ‘front lines’, ‘camps’ and ‘segregation’ feature regularly in these accounts and form a cultural trope that is drawn upon frequently in oral testimony and features in other sources of reminiscence and in fiction.21 Aspects of this will be discussed in the biographical case studies.

Another strand of sectarian folklore relates to sectarian prejudice in the workforce, with oral testimony and anecdotal evidence pointing to a strong cultural memory of sectarian rivalry and discrimination across a broad range of occupations and professions, as well as in the public service.22 Franklin has commented, ‘it is difficult to prove that any given failure to get a job is due to underhand motives’, and Geoffrey Bolton points out documentary evidence of this sort of discrimination is essentially non-existent and for this reason it has not been the subject of scholarly attention.23 Thus, whilst scholarship has acknowledged the existence of workplace sectarian preferment and prejudice, it has found it difficult to probe it beyond the level of anecdote.24

In recent years several high profile public figures have commented publicly on their awareness and experience of sectarian preferment and prejudice in their own professions and occupations. It would seem that in the late twentieth century little

20 Hawkes,V., ‘Treaties and bargains with God’, Sweet Mothers, Sweet Maids, p.10. 21 For example see Lord, G. et al., Growing Up Catholic, pp.34-35 and Murray, K., Walking Home with Marie-Claire (Allen and Unwin, Sydney: 2002). 22 Murray, R., Proddies and Micks (Quadrant Sydney), 49, No.4, April 2005, p.33. 23 Franklin, J., Catholics Versus Masons, p.9; Bolton, G., The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 5 (Oxford UP, 1996) p.126. 24 Kildea,J. & Brett, J., ‘Sectarianism, Politics and Australia’s Catholics’ in The Sydney Papers Winter 2002 p162; for anecdotal evidence see Campion, E., ‘Long Divisions’, Eureka Street (October 2002) p.9 and Murray, R., pp.32-33; Nelson,W. T.C.Hammond Irish Christian,. p.117. 306

was to be lost in making such admissions or accusations. For example, in 1999,

Justice Spigelman, Chief Justice of NSW, reminisced about sectarian division within the legal profession:

When I was pursuing my legal studies at this University

[University of Sydney] in the late ‘60s, only 30 years ago,

the significance of this division was quite apparent in the

law. There were law firms in this city which had never had

a Catholic employee, let alone partner. There were others,

which had never had a Protestant.25

Justice Spigelman also commented on a long-standing arrangement in the police force that commissioners would alternate between Catholic and Masonic appointments to ‘keep the peace’ within the force.26 The remembered rivalry between Freemasons and Catholics in the workplace is a major feature of the reminiscence of sectarianism in the workplace.27 Discussing this rivalry, Hogan cautions that ‘the mutual hostility can often be exaggerated’, arguing instead that each group can be seen to be ‘looking after its own’ more than antagonising the other.28

25 Address by The Honourable J J Spigelman, Chief Justice of New South Wales, University of Sydney Parliament House Dinner, 6 September 1999 cited 14 September 2006, http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/ lawlink/ supreme_court/ll_sc.nsf/vwPrint1/SCO_speech_spigelman_060999, 21/8/2006. 26 Ibid. 27Jeff Kildea has traced aspects of this rivalry back to the period between 1915 and 1920 when the Catholic Federation was instructed that it was no longer to portray the Government as the oppressor of Catholic rights and thus searched for a new arch rival which it found in ‘this pestilent organisation’, Freemasonry. See Kildea, J., Tearing the Fabric, p.133. 28 Ibid, p.202. 307

There was, nevertheless, a strong perception of discrimination. As Jim Franklin observes in his paper Catholics Versus Masons:

Catholics believed that up to about 1960, at least, most

positions of power in organisations like the armed services,

many public service departments, the private banks, and so

on, were virtually barred to them by a conspiracy of

Masons looking after one another.29

Popular cultural memory closely associates the remembered rivalry between

Freemasons and Catholics with broader sectarian rivalry. Tony Lauer, born in

1935, was NSW Commissioner of Police from 1991-1996 and became Grand

Master of the NSW and ACT Masonic Lodges in 2002. Of his time in the NSW

Police Force he stated, ‘there was clearly a division between Masons and

Catholics, to the extent that in the ‘60s, the police commissioner issued the directive that religion was to be obliterated from all personal police service records’.30 This remark is demonstrative of the obfuscation of sectarianism and other rivalries. It shows that in sectarian folklore, the rivalry between Masons and Catholics was understood as sectarian rivalry. Franklin has pointed out that anti-Catholic discrimination could stem from various motives: Protestant prejudice against Catholics, anti-Irish feeling or Masonic rivalry.31 Where one form of preferment or prejudice ends and another begins is very difficult to

29 Franklin, J., ‘Catholics versus Masons’, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 20 (1999) pp.8-9 30 van Nunen, L., ‘A Nod, A Wink and a Handshake’, The Weekend Australian Magazine (27-28 July 2002) p20. 31 Franklin, J., ‘Catholics Versus Masons’, p.9. 308

discern. What matters is that this is yet another example both of how sectarian rivalry can be blurred with other cleavages, and of the ambivalences of memory.

These cultural influences – politics and the media, literature and the arts, folklore, stage and screen – all contribute to social memory of sectarianism. Together they help construct a common discourse of sectarianism, providing stereotypes, vocabulary and tropes for the development of social memory. They also shape semantic memory of sectarianism – the way in which sectarianism is given meaning, identified, understood and interpreted in reconstructions of the past. It is important to be alert to these factors in exploring sectarianism as a remembered phenomenon.

309

Chapter 14:

REMEMBERING SECTARIANISM:

BIOGRAPHICAL CASE STUDIES

The biographical case studies in this chapter are arranged in a sequence that categorises them according to the nature of the personal experiences of sectarianism they present. These categories are structured in a sequence that roughly follows a life-cycle pattern: those who experienced sectarian trauma growing up in mixed marriage households; those for whom sectarianism was an important factor in their class self-placement or socio-economic frustrations; those who were affected by sectarianism in their adult life; clergy who had both professional and personal interests in sectarianism; those for whom sectarianism was incongruent with their own spiritual and intellectual outlook and who were committed to ecumenism; and those whose experience of sectarianism was that of an outsider or onlooker. It is important to note that these categories are fluid and are not mutually exclusive. However, this structural arrangement is used as it allows for direct comparison of similar sectarian experiences across a range of interviewees of differing age groups, personal backgrounds and geographic origins.

This chapter argues that despite the broad age span of interviewees (born between 1919 and 1959) and the diversity of their personal responses to sectarianism, there is continuity in their experience and remembering of sectarianism. It is apparent that certain leitmotifs feature in these memories which are significantly shaped by culturally embedded sectarian discourse and social 310

memory. It will also be shown that few of these people, including those who were personally traumatised by sectarianism, remain embittered or continue to hold strong sectarian feelings, although for some their worldview is still influenced by sectarian ideas. Ultimately, these case studies demonstrate that the experience of sectarianism in this period was significantly affected by circumstances of family life, class position, locale, schooling, social memory and chance.

Robert Wilson, born in Sydney in 1930, is a Catholic and retired engineer. He was the child of a mixed marriage; his father was nominally Anglican and his mother a practising Catholic. In interview, Wilson spoke of the tensions that his parents’ mixed marriage generated within his family and of the further ructions caused by his childhood conversion to Catholicism from Anglicanism. He also related the impact of sectarian identity upon his relationships at school and at work. His traumatic experience of sectarian division within his own household and the circumstances of his own conversion made him insecure about his

Catholicism, seeing it as a liability that stifled him at various stages in life.

Sectarianism was a force that affected him personally and deeply.

His parents’ mixed marriage was a source of tension in his extended family. He comments that his father had ‘a family background of strong religion’ and a ‘long- standing family tradition of Protestantism’. He recalls his grandparents ‘always being cranky and not liking Mum, particularly…they were never very receptive of my mother’. He attributes his mother’s ostracism ‘one hundred percent’ to her

Catholicism and notes that even though ‘they only lived five minutes’ walk away’ his family had very little contact with his grandparents. 311

Over time the Wilson’s domestic situation became further complicated. His mother started taking Wilson and his siblings to Mass on Sunday mornings

‘behind our father’s back’. This choice of words suggests he feels his mother’s actions were less than honourable and were in defiance of his father’s authority.

He describes how he would sit through Mass ‘all in Latin, not understanding a word of it, wondering why we were there’. Instruction in the faith, through catechism classes and First Communion preparation, soon followed: all without his father’s knowledge. While he does conjecture, ‘I suppose [Dad] knew we went up to Mass with Mum, but he didn’t know anything about all this’, he recalls that his father was ‘furious’ when he eventually found out what had been occurring

‘behind his back’ and that he ‘burnt and tore up all the little things we were given, like prayer books and little medals and things like that were all destroyed because he was so annoyed’.

It is evident that his mother aggressively pursued her own religious agenda within the family. Not only did she secretly convert her children to Catholicism, Wilson recalls that she would invite the priest to visit at home and that she ‘seemed to be trying to convert Dad to Catholicism’. Tensions soon surfaced and his father put an end to the priestly visitations. His mother’s efforts to convert her household must have exacerbated the underlying sectarian friction and it is little wonder that he remembers sectarianism as a source of tension within his family life.

The sectarian tensions and traumas that Wilson experienced at home were compounded by his school experiences. He attended a public primary school and 312

then a Catholic primary school for his final primary year, before going on to a state high school. He thus straddled both identities of ‘public’ and Catholic school student. In both school systems he found himself alienated from the mainstream and Wilson remembers himself as a victim of sectarianism. Wilson attended North Sydney Boys High School in the 1940s and recalls being aware of a dominant Protestant ethos at the school. He remembers that there were ‘only a handful of Catholics’ at the school who were ‘all rather subdued kids’ who felt intimidated by the anti-Catholic bigotry they experienced there. Accustomed to keeping his Catholicism secret from his father at home, he also remembers

‘feeling different from the rest of the community’ at school and that ‘we had to keep quiet this business about being Catholics’. His admission that he felt compelled to conceal his Catholicism suggests an awareness that the sectarian distinction between him and the dominant Protestant culture of the school was somehow important and that it was in his interest not to pronounce it.

He could not always conceal his Catholicism, however, and his memories convey a sense of the trauma this caused: he comments that the weekly division into scripture classes was ‘hard’ and ‘harmful’ because ‘everybody saw what you were’.

According to Wilson sectarian bigotry affected his friendships and was prevalent in the school environment:

The friends that we selected were the type of friends who

didn’t care if we were Catholics. There were plenty of

boys around who did – there were all sorts of dirty jokes, 313

there were jibes and criticisms of Catholics and we were

exposed to that, so we learnt to just conceal it.

He remembers ‘a bunch of kids who made it as difficult as possible for us

Catholic kids’ and feels that he was discriminated against on a sectarian basis:

If anything came along in the way of an election for

somebody to head a little group or to be a captain of a

sporting team or something, you could be pretty sure you

wouldn’t even be on the list…I believe to this day I was

held back from being a prefect partly because I was a

Catholic.

Wilson also recalls a further sense of alienation from local Catholic boys whom he was associated with through the local Catholic parish and its peripheral social groups:

The fact that I went to North Sydney Boys High put me on

the outer for both groups. The Riverview and Joey’s and

St Aloysius’ boys thought of me as a heathen, ‘He hasn’t

had a proper Catholic education.’ 1

These comments indicate the insecurity and self-consciousness felt by Wilson. His sense of displacement and of conflicting or ill-defined social identity is similar to

1 These remarks would indicate that in one sense, as he observed the attitude of the boys from Catholic high schools, the divide was about schools rather than religion. However, for Wilson, the issue was not simply Publics-Catholics. His recollection is of anti-Catholic behaviour that permeated the ethos of the high school he attended. Unfortunately for him, in his own context, he bore the brunt of both the sectarian and systemic dimensions of the divide. 314

that felt by Therese Radic. Radic, a musicologist and playwright, describes the sense of inferiority she felt at her Catholic school because she was a ‘spiritual-half breed’: her mother was a Presbyterian and her father a Catholic. She describes feeling ‘tainted’ and feels she ‘wasn’t of the same stock as the rest of the thoroughbreds’. Radic’s sense of the stigma of her parents’ mixed marriage affected her:

Nothing good could come of me. I was bound to make a

Mixed Marriage and put my own children in jeopardy.

Which is why, I suppose, I was determinedly a virgin the

day I paraded my Catholic husband down the aisle of St

Pat’s…When you are told that sin is more natural to you

than the rest of the sinners, you don’t accept the verdict,

you defy it.2

Robert Wilson’s sense of sectarian social alienation was further intensified by his experience dating a non-Catholic girl in his teenage years in the 1940s. He suspects the fear of proselytism brought this romance to a premature conclusion.

He describes making the ‘mistake’ of taking his Protestant girlfriend into his church one afternoon and sending her home with pamphlets on ‘how to become a

Catholic’. He recalls, ‘I was chopped off almost immediately’, and assumes that the girl showed her mother the pamphlet. He explains this incident in sectarian terms and adopts suitable religious language to convey this in his narrative:

2 Radic, T., ‘Extracts from a Half-Breed’s Diary’, Sweet Mothers, Sweet Maids, pp.116-117. 315

She’d obviously been told by her mother that the work of

the devil was underway, you know, and [to] keep away

from that wicked Catholic boy.

His use of the spiritually loaded phrases ‘work of the devil’ and ‘wicked Catholic boy’ give an insight into his imagining of anti-Catholic sentiment and the intensity of sectarian division that he remembers.

Wilson continued to experience sectarianism in his professional life as an engineer. Just as he had felt his Catholicism hindered him from becoming a school prefect, so too in the professional sphere he felt his Catholicism was a hindrance to career progression. He relates that when the factory manager in one company where he was working resigned, he filled the role of acting factory manager for over a year. Eventually he sought to have this role made permanent, only to be advised ‘over a beer one night’ by a subordinate, ‘Look, you’ll never get anywhere in this company because you’re a Catholic and we’re all Freemasons’.

This is a significant episode in Wilson’s narration, symbolising his transition from being a victim of sectarianism to overcoming it. Wilson heeded the advice and sought alternate employment. At his next job interview, eager to avoid any repetition of this scenario, he decided to declare upfront that he was a Catholic, ‘I made sure they knew’, to make sure that this would not hinder his career progression, only to discover that at Lend Lease Corporation ‘all the chief people there were Catholics’ and that it would not be a liability in that company. Of his time at Lend Lease, he comments, ‘I never had to worry about being a Catholic in the least. From that time on, it was really a non-issue’. 316

Wilson happily remained at Lend Lease from 1967 until 1978 and found, to his surprise, that in this corporation his Catholicism was advantageous: ‘It didn’t occur to me that somebody might give me a good job because of it. Never occurred to me…It just didn’t occur [to me] that anyone could have been prejudiced in that direction.’ His experience at Lend Lease meant that he was able to see ‘religious prejudice was alive and well in both directions’. He describes the company as having ‘a strong Catholic influence’ and he recalls how they did work ‘at a very good price’ for St Vincent’s Hospital, Loreto Convent, and ‘all the big Catholic schools and hospitals around’.

It would seem that having experienced both negative and positive forms of sectarian discrimination, Wilson is able to assess sectarianism in a detached manner and is little affected by his earlier experiences of sectarian victimisation.

Despite his childhood insecurities in relation to his Catholicism and frustrations in later life, his experience of positive sectarian discrimination helped him find a new confidence and security in his Catholic identity. His marriage to his wife

Margot also assisted in this regard, providing him with the Catholic company he craved in his adolescence. Their children were all raised Catholic and Wilson and his wife continue to attend Mass regularly.

Wilson’s experiences of sectarian victimisation and trauma, and his eventual recovery or escape from them, have significantly shaped his semantic memory, explaining his remembered sense of social alienation and other personal frustrations. His episodic memories of sectarianism – not being chosen for 317

sporting teams at school, being overlooked to be a prefect, unsuccessful romances, career frustrations and so on – are organised and interpreted according to his semantic memory of sectarianism. This interaction of his semantic and episodic memories allows him to create a teleological narrative that describes his journey from sectarian trauma and victimisation to confidence and security in his own religious identity.

Tony Ryan, born in 1932, is a retired barrister and Catholic. Ryan was the child of a mixed marriage: his father was a nominal Anglican and his mother was a practising Catholic. Like Wilson, sectarianism also had a penetrating and traumatic effect on his childhood personal life. Ryan grew up in Queensland, attending the convent school at Moorooka from 1937-1945 and then the

Christian Brothers School at South Brisbane from 1946-1949. He recalled childhood awareness of the importance of sectarian identity and the tensions that sectarianism placed on his family life.

According to Ryan, his mother’s family saw non-Catholics as ‘outsiders’ whose religious beliefs and practices were ‘invalid and inadequate, and probably blasphemous’. He recalls that in this family ‘married Protestant clergy were sneered at’ and that ‘it was strongly inferred if not openly said, that Protestants had low morals’. He recalls that in his mother’s family ‘it was inculcated that non-

Catholics were united against Catholics and used their superior powers against

Catholics, especially through the Masons’.

318

Ryan recalls that the attitude of his mother’s family toward non-Catholics strained relations between his father and members of the extended family. This brought sectarian tension into the domestic sphere where his mother’s family

‘treated him as an outsider and actual or potential enemy’. Ryan, showing sympathy for his father, recalls that his father responded to this treatment ‘with some degree of bitterness, naturally’.

He also notes that his father was a Freemason which made him ‘doubly suspect’ with his in-laws and exacerbated the sectarian tensions between them. These tensions within the wider family also began to affect relations between Ryan and his father:

As far as my relationship with my non-Catholic father was

concerned, the result was disastrous…Relations between us

were poisoned and religion was the prime cause.

These are strong words indeed and reflect the intensity of the strain he felt sectarianism placed on relationships in his household. His experience demonstrates the extent to which sectarianism could impinge on personal relationships, even between parent and child, and the way in which the sectarian attitudes of older generations affected the lives and formation of those that followed.

Ryan’s negative experiences of sectarianism did not affect his religious convictions. At one stage, between 1961 and 1963, he studied at a Catholic seminary, Corpus Christi College at Werribee-Glen Waverley in Victoria. Ryan 319

married a Catholic and their children were all raised Catholic. He continues to attend Mass regularly.

Like Robert Wilson and Tony Ryan, Edward Glover had traumatic experiences of sectarianism in his childhood. Glover’s memories are indicative of the heady mix of religion, ethnicity, politics and class position that sectarianism articulates and demonstrate the intense and destructive personal impact of sectarianism upon him. His family was dominated by his Irish Protestant grandmother who, together with his father, infected his mind with anti-Catholic conspiracies. In his early adult life Glover developed mental illness, manifest in terms of an intense paranoia of the Catholic Church. In the 1960s he was institutionalised and treated with electroconvulsive shock therapy for acute schizophrenia and agoraphobia.

Glover, a retired compositor, was born into an Anglican family in 1943. His father was Australian and his mother had emigrated from Northern Ireland.

Glover attended Coogee Public School from 1947-1952, then high school at

Randwick Boys’ from 1952-1954 and finally Macquarie Boys’ High School at

Parramatta from 1954-1957. Glover is now married to a Baptist and they have one married son.

Glover’s perceptions of the power of the Catholic Church and the affluence of

Catholics feature strongly throughout his testimony. For Glover, conspiracies of

Catholic power and wealth explained his family’s socio-economic circumstances – why his family lived in the ‘servants’ quarters’ of a house belonging to a Catholic 320

family for whom his parents both worked. His mother was a domestic worker for this Catholic family and describes that his father was employed as a ‘slave labourer’ for them. Glover describes these people as ‘rich’ and recalls that the family owned a theatre in Sydney, property on the Gold Coast – ‘they used to go up there every winter and sit in the nice sun while we were freezing cold’ – and tenement lodgings in Kings Cross. He comments, ‘They had everything - they were the millionaires and we were the bums more or less’.

Glover’s testimony is intriguing because of his inversion of traditional sectarian class assumptions and perceptions. Glover felt vulnerable in socio-economic and political terms because he was Protestant, experiencing a strong sense of Catholic wealth and power. This is contrary to the more prevalent stereotype of Australian

Catholics as working-class. In explaining his own experiences, Glover inverts and distorts the usual sectarian tropes.

Glover saw signs of power and wealth in Catholicism, even at a very mundane level:

If you want a plumber, you see George and he'll get his

mate who's a Catholic and has a plumbing business. He'll

work for you – and they work amongst themselves like that.

He reflects that, ‘Catholics always fared better than the Protestants’, that ‘their education was higher’ and that ‘they used to seem to do business among themselves’. These mundane signs of power and wealth demonstrate that the underlying grievances of his family’s anti-Catholicism were class-based signs of prosperity and affluence. 321

Glover was able to make sense of his perception that Catholics fared better by incorporating it into a larger context of Catholic power and wealth, extending from the mundane level of Catholic tradesmen giving fellow Catholics better deals right up to the political sphere. A sense of global Catholic conspiracy permeates Glover’s recollections. He recalls believing that ‘the pope was all- powerful’ and that Protestant institutions and government leaders, and even the monarchy, were ‘just a figurehead’ and that ‘the Catholics were in the background pulling the strings’. He comments, ‘I felt really terrified of them because I thought they ruled the world. The pope to me was the king of the world’. There are echoes here of Edna Everage’s knowing observation of Catholics, ‘They always get the best positions; they’re running the country I hear tell’.3 As has been seen, accusations of Catholic world domination plots and other conspiracy theories were common to Protestant anti-Catholic polemic over the centuries. It is apparent that Glover’s exposure to anti-Catholic conspiracy theories, through

The Rock and the LOI, shaped his worldview and were made real to him through his family’s circumstances.

It is clear that the socio-economic frustrations of Glover’s family are a driving force in his recollections, which are indicative of the powerful connection often drawn between sectarianism and class. These are associations that Glover continues to draw. He links his memories with the present, commenting that

‘even today’ he sees Catholics ‘talking business among themselves’ outside the

3 Henderson, G., ‘Humphries Has Gone Soft, Possums’, Sydney Morning Herald 16 March 1999, p.15. 322

local church. For Glover and his family, sectarianism articulated and contextualised their socio-economic frustrations in a lasting way.

One wonders, then, both why and how Glover’s family, who held intense anti-

Catholic views, worked so closely with Catholic employers. His family kept this arrangement throughout Glover’s primary school years. Glover explains these circumstances as a basic matter of economics, remarking of his father (who he says was an alcoholic): ‘as far [sic] as the money was coming in for his grog, he didn’t care where it came from’.

Yet there were outlets for their frustrations. Glover’s father compelled him to fight for his ‘Protestant honour’ each week at the Police Boys’ Club against the

Catholic boy for whose family Glover’s parents worked. Glover relates how he had to box this boy every week ‘to prove we were better than him’ and ‘better than the Catholics’. He describes how his father would ‘abuse us for losing’ and that ‘He'd make us get up and fight again. He used to do that all the time. He'd make us [Glover and his brother] fight until we were just about unconscious’.

Glover’s narration of these disturbing events is most telling. He appears to have made sense of the abuse he suffered by interpreting the conflict he was embroiled in as part of a larger sectarian conflict. He quite casually comments, ‘My father, being Protestant, used to make us put on the boxing gloves with him every Friday night’, as though it was a perfectly natural link. Whether his father’s motives were purely sectarian cannot be known for certain. However, the fact that the boy

Patrick that Glover refers to was the son of the Catholic family that his parents worked for would suggest that more than religious honour was being fought out 323

in the boxing ring at the Police Boys’ Club. Glover’s depiction of himself as the underdog is a further indication that class was a factor in this struggle. He points out that he ‘never won’ any of these contests and his rival Patrick’s family owned a gymnasium and sauna, where Patrick would train ‘in all aspects of self-defence’.

Ethnicity also plays a significant role in Glover’s memories. He attended meetings of the Loyal Orange Lodge and Ulster Association with his grandmother and father – an activity that fused his religious and ethnic identities. According to

Glover, his grandmother exercised a powerful influence in his household. Her intense anti-Catholicism made a lasting impression on the young Glover. A

Protestant immigrant from Belfast, she was a member of the Loyal Orange

Institute (LOI) and manifested an intense hatred of Catholics. Glover recalls that his grandmother would ‘abuse the nuns’, to whom he himself still pejoratively refers to as ‘the old black crows’, and would ‘get violent’ with the priests, knocking and hitting them, ‘because she hated them that much’.

He recalls being taken to Orange Day commemorations between 1946 and 1952

– ‘that was the big day of the year’ – and describes the Orange Lodge meetings as

‘the top thing you could do if you were Irish and Protestant’. A sense of belonging to a larger cause or movement, in this case Protestantism, meant that the sectarian cause that his Irish grandmother advocated had resonance and relevance for him in postwar Australia, giving him and his friends a sense of purpose and meaning:

We used to think that this was wonderful. I mean, this was

us Protestants and we were going to form this miracle army 324

and go back against the Catholics and defeat the Catholics

… That was our aim in life and that was promoted amongst

the Loyal Orange Lodge – that we were going to be the

next generation and we were going to wipe the Catholics

out in Ireland and it was going to be a Protestant country.

Glover’s use of Irish identity in his recollections of sectarianism is, however, inconsistent. In his recollections of Orange Lodge meetings, for instance, he emphasises the Irish identity of the Orangemen. He recalls, ‘we couldn't understand them because they spoke Irish – their accents were so broad that we couldn't understand them’. Yet, he does seem to have understood at least part of what they said: ‘all they used to talk about was the troubles, as they called it, in

Ireland and they used to get real upset about the things the Catholics had done – the IRA – to the Protestants’. Likewise, when speaking of Orange Day, he recalls,

‘For the Irishmen that was their day, it was like St Patrick's Day was for the

Catholics, and they were wrapped in it’. Again, at another point he remarks,

‘Basically even though we were Protestant and more English upbringing in

Australia, we classed ourselves as Irish’. The sectarian rivalry in these cases is depicted as being between Ulster Irishmen and Catholics; yet at other times this changes, the Irish no longer being described by Glover as ‘us’, but ‘them’. He comments at one point, ‘We were brought up that way, the Protestants on one side, the Irish on the other and no matter what happened you'd never get on’. In this recollection the Catholics are ‘the Irish’, whereas in his account of the

Orange Lodge it is the Orangemen who are the ‘Irishmen’ and are juxtaposed 325

with the Catholics. In a similar vain, he recounts, ‘I lived in a block of flats and the two storeys above me were Catholics and a boy, his name was Patrick, he was of Irish ancestry, and he went to the Catholic school and he used to hate us, he used to pick on us all the time’. These inconsistencies and blurred lines demonstrate the complexities of ethnic and religious identity in Glover’s memory, as well as in sectarian categories generally. They serve to reinforce that, for

Glover, Catholicism was the real enemy, not Irish ethnic identity and he interprets these struggles as exclusively sectarian. That this is how Glover interprets these events, how he understood them at the time and how he remembers them to this day, is highly significant. His experience demonstrates that sectarianism was a potent enough form of identification and conflict for it to appear to explain by itself the conflict, violence and social distinction in his own childhood context. The potent cocktail of religion, family and ethnicity in his life gave strength to sectarianism and allowed sectarian identity to retain a hold over

Glover’s notions of personal, familial and social identity. The fact that in his twenties Glover developed a mental disorder, suffering paranoid delusions of

Catholic conspiracy, would suggest that his childhood exposure to sectarian scandal, conflict and conspiracy became deeply enmeshed within his psyche as a young adult.

Glover’s experience of sectarianism left him with a strong sense of victimisation, alienation and inferiority. Describing his years at school at Randwick NSW in the late 1940s, he remembers Catholics being ‘a community unto themselves’. He recalled a strong sense of sectarian segregation: ‘they were on their side of the 326

fence and we were on ours, and that's where you stayed – you had to stay’. In his memories, this was a structural imposition over which children had no control –

‘You were put in that pocket’ – and he uses the image of Ireland to explain: ‘You were a Protestant, you stayed on the Protestant side of the line…the way Ireland's divided’. For Glover, schools played a highly significant role in creating this perceived divide. He recalls of his primary school years, ‘at school there wasn’t

[sic] many Catholics’ and that ‘we used to talk about the Catholics amongst ourselves and call them derogatory terms and call them ‘cattleticks’ and ‘left- footers’, and this sort of stuff’. He remembers ‘many fights with them’ on the way home from school, recalling ‘we used to fight them all the time’. This suggests that to a large extent for Glover and his friends finding solidarity in their sectarian identity was an important aspect of forging their own group identity.

Glover’s episodic memories all capture the symbolic, dramatic and important aspects of his experience of sectarianism. It is clear that these memories are semantically organised, communicating his sense of the sectarian victimisation and associated class frustrations that have so seriously affected him. Throughout his narrative, Glover reads sectarian discrimination and victimisation into a variety of disappointments and frustrations throughout his life. He saw his own

Protestant group as the ‘underdogs in the whole scene’ of school based sectarian rivalry. He describes how he and his friends were overwhelmed and ambushed by

Catholics – ‘which ever way you went there’d be a [Catholic] school’ – and that

Catholic children would ‘spring out of the bushes’ and ‘the fight would be on’.

This underdog status is significant in Glover’s own case, reflecting his overall 327

sense of sectarianism as a struggle against an all-powerful, sinister Catholicism that secretly dominated world affairs. He does concede, however, that it wasn’t an entirely one-sided affair:

We used to intimidate the Catholics every Friday, by

eating meat pies in front of them, as they always ate fish

on that day. The Catholics called us Prodhoppers and we

called Catholics left-footers or Cattleticks.

He continues to see himself as a victim of sectarianism, using sectarianism to explain a range of personal frustrations. For example, he holds that on leaving school in the late 1950s, he was knocked back by several employers, including

Mark Foys, ‘because I wasn’t a Catholic’. He says he knows this because he was asked his religion at the job interview. As Franklin notes, such discrimination is difficult to prove objectively 4 and in Glover’s case there are certainly other factors, such as his serious psychiatric disorders, that may explain his lack of success in the job market. Indeed Glover was, in a sense, a victim of sectarianism itself. His mental illness, manifest in paranoia of the Catholic Church and fear that he was ‘being punished by God’, are no doubt associated with his intense childhood sectarian formation at home.

Glover is now a nominal Baptist. He became estranged from the Church of

England at the time of his marriage – the local Anglican vicar refused to marry

Glover and his bride because she was pregnant at the time. Instead, he was 328

married in the Baptist Church – his wife’s denomination – and his children were raised Baptist. He has not been a church-goer in adult life. He still retains many of his class attitudes toward Catholics. He remarks, ‘I’ve always believed that the

Catholics, even to this day, do achieve more than the Protestants’. His struggles in life, with an abusive, alcoholic father, the powerful influence of his bigoted grandmother, his sense of socio-economic inferiority, his frustrations in adult life and his experience of mental illness, give sectarianism an important status in

Glover’s self-understanding and personal history, and sectarianism continues to be a powerful, shaping force of his world-view. For Glover, sectarianism explains his ‘victimhood’ and locates it within broader experience: though interestingly, his son married a Catholic of whom Glover says, ‘I accept the fact that she’s a

Catholic girl and accept her as my daughter-in-law – I’ve changed totally since those days’.

Class tropes and sectarian stereotypes feature strongly in Andrew Richards’s testimony. Richards, a marketing manager, was born in Sydney in 1959. His mother was Anglican and his father Methodist. He attended Mowbray Public

School and Newington College, a Methodist then Uniting Church GPS school located at Stanmore in Sydney’s inner-western suburbs. Richards’ interest in sectarianism stems from his personal experience of marrying into a Catholic family. Born in 1959, Richards was the youngest of those interviewed in this project. He offers insights into what sectarianism and religious identity mean for someone growing up in the latter half of the period with which this thesis is

4 Franklin, J., ‘Catholics Versus Masons’, p.9. 329

concerned. Though he was only forty-four years of age when interviewed in 2003, sectarianism is an important means of self-identification for Richards. He draws on social memory of sectarianism in the telling of his personal history.

Richards recalls limited social contact with Catholics in his childhood and that he considered them to be ‘segregated and different from the majority’. He expresses this difference in terms of class position. He describes his neighbourhood as being devoid of Catholics5, and that those few Catholic households were conspicuous, ‘not having as much money as everyone else’. He recalls, ‘You'd know them because they always had a Holden, they'd be the Holden drivers, the

Labor voters, and have the large families’. These implicit assumptions are made by Richards, even though he can have had little means of knowing the particular voting habits of people in his community with whom he confesses he had no interaction. For Richards, identification of Australian Catholics with the working classes and the Labor Party (ALP) is natural and unquestioned. His assumption taps into broader trends. The fact is, however, by the 1960s when he was a child,

Catholic social mobility and the Labor Split of the mid-1950s had contributed to the breakdown of Catholic over-representation in the Labor movement and the

5According to the 1971 census, Catholics were under-represented in the Lane Cove local government area, although by no means was this an area ‘devoid’ of Catholics, with Catholics comprising 23.9 percent of the population of the Lane Cove Local Government Area. (The average Catholic population across Sydney Local Government Areas in 1971 was 29.9 percent.) Davis, JR and Spearritt, P., Sydney at the Census: 1971 A Social Atlas, (Urban Research Unit, Australian National University, Canberra: 1974) Map 22. Richards’s memories of Lane Cove being devoid of Catholics are quite contrary to those of Renata Stein who lived in the Lane Cove at the same time and felt it was a ‘predominantly Catholic area’, although she does note that there was a Catholic church and parochial school in her street which may account for the concentration of Catholics there. 330

working class, and equable relations between the Catholic hierarchy and the ALP could no longer be taken for granted, especially in Victoria.6

Richards light-heartedly uses the term ‘mafia’ to describe his wife’s family network of Catholic friends. His appropriation of the term is telling both of his own preoccupation with class position – the term mafia being applied to organised criminals – as well as his own longing for the sense of cohesion and community with which stereotypes of the mafia may be imbued. Richards relates how his own family life was ‘quite insular’ and did not have ‘that depth’ of inter- generational community obtaining in his wife’s family and suggests that envy of this family and social network may underlie the significance he attaches to this.

He identifies this ‘mafia’ network as being primarily structured around the schools that his wife and her family attended:

My wife's mother and my wife's father and all their friends

are their extended friends, they all went to Riverview in

terms of their parents and so too of their children. So

there's just been this one and two generations of Catholic

community and it’s a huge community. Very strong, very

tight and very friendly.

Interestingly, Richards does not here name Loreto Kirribilli, the prestigious

Catholic girls’ schools that his wife and her female relatives attended, but collapses this network into an association with Riverview, a boys’ school that his

6 Mol, H., Religion in Australia, pp.81, 285-288; Massam, K., Sacred Threads, p.18; Spann, R.N., ‘The Catholic Vote in Australia’, Catholics and the Free Society: An Australian Symposium (ed) Mayer, H., (Cheshire, Melbourne: 1961) p.115. 331

wife’s mother could never possibly have attended. This may be because Richards sees Riverview as representative of a class of school, or it may be an indication of an underlying ‘on the field’ rivalry between his school and Riverview. Even so, although he sees the ‘mafia’ network as established through school communities, he also sees that religion plays a significant role in consolidating them:

The ritual on Sunday just sort of reinforces that

[community bond] and then the coming together of that

group [at] weddings and funerals and baptisms and

religious occasions. So, I think they're so intertwined you

can't really pull them apart.

Richards’ close association of class and sectarianism may have enabled him to find his own place within society, buying into the stereotype of Protestant ascendancy and Irish Catholic inferiority. This perhaps allows him to overcome any sense of his own inferiority. Richards’ childhood was spent on a class periphery. Whilst he attended a GPS school, it was not on the affluent North

Shore where his wife’s family went to school. Richards himself lived on the fringe of the North Shore and his family were ‘not as successful in business’ as his wife’s family. Sectarian class tropes provide him with a sense of his own identity and status in society. Whilst his family did not have the wealth his wife’s family had, he sees his own status affirmed by his WASP identity – with its connotations of cultivation and social status.

Even today, class distinction has strong sectarian associations for Richards. He continues to apply these tropes, linking his sectarian stereotypes of the past with 332

the present. For example, he asserts the significance of pronunciation and accent as a signifier not only of class position and educational attainment, but of sectarian identity:

The thing that really, and still today, to me identifies a

Catholic straight away, in every meeting I'm in or start to

typecast that person is the pronunciation of aitch. And

that's…now at fourty-four, twenty, thirty years later and

someone says B. Haitch P. or the guy who was heading up

HIH was calling it haitch I haitch, and immediately I'm

sort of typecasting that person as lesser educated I

suppose.

This association of pronunciation and sectarian identity is commonly attested and is part of a broad cultural trend: as Sue Butler, publisher of the Macquarie

Dictionary, notes, ‘In Australia the haitch pronunciation has been linked with

Irish Catholics’.7 These observations made by Julian Burnside, a high profile commercial barrister, also show that Richards’ response to ‘haitch’ is not unusual:

Although the spirit of our times is generous, forgiving and

tolerant, the choice between aitch and haitch can cause a

good deal of anxiety and even hostility. Generally

speaking, haitch is used by those educated in that part of

the Roman Catholic system which traces its origins to

Ireland. Aitch is preferred by the rest. Some apostates

7 Butler, S., To Aitch or Haitch? http://www.abc.net.au/wordmap/rel_stories/aitch.htm, 23/8/2006. 333

deny their origins by abandoning haitch; but there is little

traffic in the other direction. When I was a child, I was

forbidden to say haitch; friends who said haitch were

appalled that I ate meat on Fridays.8

Class memory associated with sectarianism plays a significant role in Professor

Thomas Miller’s testimony. His memories show how sectarian tropes influence and feature in personal experience as well as how sectarianism can be invoked not only to articulate social cleavages and frustrations, but also to help construct an image of self. For Miller, sectarianism has significance in his memories as he juxtaposes his self-image as a ‘cultivated man’ with that of his ‘ocker’ Irish

Catholic colleagues.

Miller was born at Strathfield in Sydney in 1919 and, aged eighty-four when interviewed, was the oldest participant in this project. He describes his parents as nominally Anglican and ‘lower middle-class’. His father worked as a clerk for the

NSW Government Railways and his mother was a nurse. He describes his parents’ marriage as ‘unhappy’ and relates that his childhood ‘was somewhat disturbed by unsuited parents’.

Miller attended Homebush Primary School and Fort Street High School. He then studied at the University of Sydney. After work in the Department of Agriculture during WWII he undertook postgraduate study at University College, Oxford in the late 1940s. On his return from Oxford, he worked in both the public service

8 http://malcolmfarnsworth.com/english/usage/haitch-aitch-burnside.shtml (1587), 30/8/2006. 334

and private sector, and in 1958 he took an academic appointment at the

University of NSW. Sectarianism is a major theme in Miller’s constructed narrative of his years at UNSW, a period of twenty years. His memories feature certain sectarian tropes that align social class position and sectarian identity.

Accordingly, all manner of class assumptions about Catholics feature in his testimony, class memories that enable Miller to establish his own social status.

For Miller, ethno-sectarian identity is an important class signifier. In his memories there are innate class differences between Catholics and Protestants:

Catholics are innately brutish, ‘ocker’ and working class and Protestants are naturally cultured and genteel, even those of the lower classes, whose

Protestantism mitigates their poverty. This is particularly significant given his lower middle-class origins.

He recalls that the faculty’s clerical staff were predominantly Catholic and makes the gendered judgment, ‘it was a marvellous opportunity for the Catholic girls to get jobs as typists’. Whilst Miller may have considered clerical work appropriate for Catholic ‘girls’, he certainly did not think Irish Catholic men were well suited to being academics. He describes his colleagues as ‘Irish Catholics fighting the

Battle of the Boyne or something’ and he recalls being accused of ‘Protestant arrogance’ by colleagues in his earliest days in the faculty. Miller describes the ethos of his department as ‘parochial and narrow’ and his colleagues as vulgar and unsophisticated, ‘They were a lot of roughies, they were at their best in the beef and burgundy club and they were coarse’. He relates how this ‘rough’ working- class culture hit him ‘in the face’ and in his testimony he proudly locates himself 335

outside of the dominant culture in that workplace – ‘I knew I didn't belong’. It would seem that Miller’s class prejudices against Catholics made it difficult for him to accept them as academic colleagues and he says the Irish Catholic ethos

‘led to a lot of second rate people being recruited’. He refers to the dean of his faculty as ‘a dreadful specimen’ who ‘didn’t even have university degree’ but whose position was owed to the Irish Catholic mafia of the faculty. In his history of UNSW, Patrick O’Farrell rejects the accusation of Catholic dominance at

UNSW, commenting that the University was a ‘rigorously secular institution’ and that it was not controlled by a ‘Vatican connection’. However, he also notes that this was, nevertheless, a perception held by some:

Its [UNSW’s] openness to Catholics of ability, and its

connections with the New South Wales public service,

convinced some – unused to encountering Catholics in

universities – that the university was in thrall to an Irish

Catholic ‘ocker-in-group’, not gentlemen, but ‘the naked

ocker at his very worst, posing as an academic’.9

O’Farrell may very well be referring to Miller, whose class memory makes him resent what he sees as undeserved social mobility among Irish Catholic ‘beef and burgundy’ types.

Miller comments, ‘anybody who didn't go down to the pub drinking with the boys at 5 o'clock and didn't talk with their sort of accent – and I've always had a decent accent – you know, we were the enemy. That really ran right through the place’. 336

Anne O’Brien has identified feminine traits such as smooth hands, a polished manner, well-modulated accent, courtesy and graciousness as traditional caste signs of the ‘cultivated’ man in contrast with men of the middling classes.10 It is apparent that Miller invokes these traditional signs of caste in his testimony, ascribing them to himself to assert a superior status for himself. Miller may have indeed found his colleagues to be crude and unsophisticated ‘ockers’, but one wonders whether they were homophobic. The fact that Miller is gay, something definitely not tolerated in the 1950s, may underlie and explain some of the tension and distance between him and his colleagues.

In his testimony, Miller’s response to the upward social mobility of his Catholic colleagues stands in juxtaposition to his own social rise, with the inference that his rise was merited while theirs was not. This betrays his unease with the wave of

Catholic upward social mobility in the postwar era which endangered his own sense of social superiority. Miller’s own social rise points to certain ambivalences in his own class self-perception. Generally he juxtaposes his own superior class image with that of his colleagues; however this is at times contradicted in his narrative. Miller’s own family could not afford to send him to university. He ‘won an exhibition’ – a non-stipendiary scholarship – to the University of Sydney and his mother successfully petitioned the registrar for Miller to be given a stipend so that he might be able to take up university studies:

9 O’Farrell, P., UNSW – A Portrait, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1999) p.132. 10 O’Brien, A., ‘The ‘Cultivated Man’: Class, Gender and the Church of the Establishment in Interwar Australia’, Australian Historical Studies, 107, 1996, p.251; see also Watson, I., ‘Class Memory’, p.36. 337

He [the Registrar] liked the look of her and she said ‘we

haven’t got much money’. He said ‘Of Course’. Twenty

pounds a year I think. It allowed me to do science.

This incident tends to function as a synecdoche in his narrative: his mother’s attractiveness is a sign of distinction used by Miller to point to the innate gentility and refinement of his family background. The inference is that he has the traits of

‘breeding’ and a natural disposition to ‘cultivation’ – in stark contrast to his ‘ocker’

Catholic colleagues.

Whilst he strongly identifies with Protestantism on class grounds, he describes his own circle as ‘musical, a bit avant-garde, almost on the fringe of bohemian and agnostic – they were bright young men’. Whilst this self-image seems incongruent with his image of Protestant establishment, there are links that can be identified.

Protestant establishment ‘cultivation’ is a major sectarian class signifier for Miller.

Similarly, his description of his milieu as ‘bohemian’ and ‘musical’ is a signifier of their cultural sophistication and artistic sensitivities. Despite their seeming contradiction, these two images of bohemianism and Establishment stand together in juxtaposition to his image of Catholics who were ‘at their best at the beef and burgundy club’.

Sectarianism continues to provide a framework for Miller’s personal narrative, as his testimony shows, and he does not suggest at any stage that the stereotypes he engages are not accurate or no longer valid. It is apparent that ideas of class and sectarianism have significantly affected his semantic memory. Sectarian class memory plays an important role in his worldview, explaining his sense of 338

disconnection from and tension with colleagues and providing him with an external proof of his social superiority.

There is a strong tendency in the testimonies of Thomas Miller, Edward Glover and Andrew Richards for class position to be aligned with sectarian identity.

Interestingly, all three men belong to different generations of the postwar era.

Miller was born just after the First World War, Glover during WWII and Richards was a postwar baby. Their reminiscences are helpful for understanding the way that the historical tropes of sectarianism continue in their influence and make sectarianism a useful category for some in constructing their remembrance of the past. It is apparent that their own memories of class and sectarianism have significantly shaped their semantic memories. For Miller, sectarianism sustained him in a turbulent work environment, offering him a sense of social superiority and identity. For Glover, sectarianism focused and explained his socio-economic frustrations. For Richards, sectarian tropes give him a sense of social position as he relates to his Catholic in-laws. All three men were Anglican, though Miller converted to Greek Orthodoxy ‘to please a male friend’ in the 1980s.

While their sectarian identity gave Miller and Richards a sense of superiority, for

Glover it had the opposite effect due to the particularities of his own circumstances. Yet for each of these men, sectarianism, and in particular anti-

Catholicism, was and continues to be invoked to articulate other social cleavages or to assert their own identity, creating for each of them an ‘other’ from whom they can attain a sense of superiority or onto whom they project their own frustrations. Their reminiscences demonstrate the interconnectedness of 339

sectarianism with other social issues, particularly class position and its associated cultural tropes, and show that sectarianism continues to be meaningful and relevant for them in the construction of their remembrance of the past.

Bruce and Ida McInley’s experience of sectarian pain and healing demonstrates the significant changes in religious culture that occurred during their adult lives.

Bruce, a Catholic, was born in 1922 and Ida, an Anglican, was born in 1923.

Whilst neither Bruce nor Ida experienced any sectarian trauma in their childhood, their mixed marriage brought the pain and frustration of sectarianism into their adult lives.

The question of mixed marriage traditionally had great potential for sectarian hostilities or difficulties within families, and the controversies associated with mixed marriage also reached into politics.11 When Bruce and Ida became engaged in 1950, they experienced the typical range of complications associated with mixed marriage:

We went to the basilica and we got…this priest, Fr Roach,

and Ida and I were getting on in years, and we explained

the situation to him, that we wished to get married, and so

he said ‘Yes, you can get married in the Catholic church’,

but I said ‘No, we’d like to get married in the Anglican

church’.

‘You can’t marry her’. 340

That was the way it was, cut and dry: ‘you can’t marry

her’.12

This uncompromising, authoritarian rejection left them quite troubled. Ida

recalls that they ‘took fifteen months after being engaged to decide how to

overcome it’. They eventually married in the Anglican Church. Whilst Ida had

no hesitation about entering into a mixed marriage, she was unprepared to

promise to have her children raised Catholic and so Bruce took longer to

decide. Under the influence of a ‘staunch Catholic friend’ who counselled

Bruce, ‘if you love her, that’s it’, Bruce decided to ‘give in’ and with the blessing

of friends and family, the couple eventually married in the Anglican Church.

They married at St James’s in Sydney because of its High Church tradition, so

that Bruce would ‘feel married’.

The Catholic Church had very strict rules when it came to mixed marriage. The

various regulations for an approved mixed marriage and the penalty of

excommunication for marriage outside the Church (not lifted until 1966) acted

as a strong reminder to Catholics that mixed marriage was not looked on

favourably by the Church. Whilst their marriage had the blessing of family and

friends, the desire for the blessing of his Church continued to haunt Bruce. For

Bruce, the legacy of contracting a mixed marriage and marrying ‘outside the

11 Literature on mixed marriage: see Mol, H., Religion in Australia; Fleming ,T.V., For Your Protestant Friend: The Catholic Point of View (Catholic Truth Society: 1957) No. 1274; Rumble, L., Five Pre-Marriage Instructions on the Catholic Religion (Annals Publications, Kensington: 1947). 12 Their desire to marry according to the rites of Ida’s church is statistically unusual, with the normal tendency being marriage according to the rites of the bridegroom. See Porter, M., Sex, Marriage and the Church: Patterns of Change, (Dove, Melbourne: 1996). 341

Church’ meant that he was alienated from the sacramental life of his Church,

which was to be an ongoing source of pain for him. Whilst he continued to

attend Mass each week, he was unable to receive communion. Even though

attitudes to mixed marriage softened in the late 1960s and 1970s, Bruce carried

the burden of his mixed marriage for over thirty years.

Eventually, in the mid-1980s, Bruce approached his parish priest about being

married in the sight of the Catholic Church,

One day I told him the story and he said, ‘Look, leave it

with me Jim; I’ll get it fixed up for you. I’ll write off to the

bishop’. So what happened was that he finally got in touch

with me and he said there was no problem… So he said,

‘Where do you want to get married, at home or in the

church’, and I said we’d do it at home.

Bruce and Ida were married again according to Catholic rites in a quiet ceremony at their home, thirty-four years after they were first married. Their experience illustrates both the way that the pain of sectarian division, in their case caused by cultic segregation, lingered in their lives, as well as the significant changes that occurred within their own lifetimes that allowed for healing of that pain.

The changes in religious culture and the progress of the ecumenical movement in the 1960s had personal and professional significances for clergy who ministered at this time. Edmund Campion, Catholic priest, writer and emeritus professor of the Australian Catholic University, describing the novelty of ecumenism in the early post Vatican II days from the perspective of Catholic priests, recalls it was ‘a 342

new experience for many of us’ who ‘had to unlearn lessons from the past.’13 He recalls a sense of ‘history happening before our eyes’ when Cardinal Gilroy was invited to preach at St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Macquarie Street,

Sydney, and the reciprocal invitation of the Reverend Graham Hardie to preach at St Mary’s Cathedral.14 ‘Gradually it dawned on me that the old denominational lines were evaporating’, he comments, although he recognises that denominational subcultures have survived in some places. Campion sees the breakdown of denominational lines as accelerated by the ‘protestantising’ of

Catholicism through Vatican II – through cultural and theological shifts such as the introduction of the vernacular as the liturgical language and its emphasis on the Bible. His reminiscence conveys the ‘sense of history’ he associates with

Vatican II, seeing it as ‘a springtime in Catholicism’, and a period of ‘seismic changes’ in which religious landscapes changed. These descriptions convey a strong sense of the energy, enthusiasm and excitement that flowed into religious culture at this time and still characterise memories of that era.15

The changes in religious culture in the postwar era had a direct bearing on the

Reverend Arthur Higgins, a retired Anglican clergyman. Higgins was born to

Anglican parents in 1927. He attended Sydney Church of England Grammar

School and then studied at Moore Theological College, Sydney. After various curacies and incumbencies in the dioceses of Sydney and Gippsland he took up a chaplaincy position at St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, and Westmead

13 Campion, E., A Place in the City (Penguin, Ringwood, Victoria: 1994) p.75. 14 Ibid, p.182. 15 Ibid. 343

Hospital. He experienced the ‘ecumenical change’ at the coalface during his ministry in the 1960s and beyond. His memories offer insights into the way in which these changes in religious culture affected him professionally and personally.

Higgins did not recall sectarianism being personally significant during his childhood or adolescence, ‘Well, I didn't think about it then to any extent’. He was, though, able to recall being aware of a sectarian divide within his extended family:

I had cousins who were Roman Catholics. I could see

there was some line down the centre somewhere there, you

know. My grandparents, apparently, on my mother's side,

weren't prepared to go to the wedding of their daughter

who married a Roman Catholic, so my mother and my

father represented them there. So that's the sort of

situation.

Thus, whilst he ‘didn’t think about it’, it would seem he didn’t need to.

Sectarianism was something that he was intuitively aware of in the life of his extended family. Higgins’s memory of a ‘line’ down the centre of his family draws attention to the power of sectarianism to severely impact upon personal relationships causing family feuds and divisions, particularly in relation to the vexed issue of mixed marriage.

344

His memories of his ministry during the 1950s and 1960s – a period of significant changes in inter-denominational relations – make his life an interesting

‘document’ of the changes in religious culture. Ordained in Sydney in 1954, he recalls very limited contact with Catholic clergy during his first three clerical appointments at Miranda, West Kembla and South Granville. He reports, ‘we had nothing to do with them’ and that ‘people were still out to put the Catholics down’ and synecdochically he recalls ‘talk about town’ that the Catholic priest at

Kembla cavorted ‘with a young woman in a big Cadillac’, although he never saw this himself.

While rector of the Gippsland parish of Mirboo North, 1962 – 1968, Higgins found interest was developing in ecumenical matters both among clergy and laity.

He recalls he ‘benefited greatly’ from dialogue with Catholic clergy and lay people at this time. He sensed ‘in some cases’ they were ‘beginning to open up about their ministry’ and he was ‘happy to respond likewise’. He recalls greater co- operation developing at that time between Catholics and Protestants through community organisations and combined church activities, such as the 1966

Church and Life Movement interdenominational study. He sees that these ecumenical developments were made possible because of the changing ethos of

Catholicism, ‘they were getting more into the community themselves’, alluding to the breakdown of self-imposed Catholic cultic and social segregation.

In the late 1960s, Higgins moved on from these initial ecumenical experiences in rural Victoria to ecumenical chaplaincy work at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.

At St Vincent’s, a Sisters of Charity hospital, Higgins did not encounter any 345

significant barriers as he went about his ministry. Higgins recalls a conversation he had with Archbishop Loane when he was appointed to St Vincent’s:

Well, Archbishop Loane said, ‘The nuns will be very

gracious to you and you, in return, are to be gracious to

them’. I guess he let me have the job because he thought I

wouldn't get down their throats or I wouldn't be overcome

by them, and turn to Rome.

He recalls that indeed he was ‘very graciously received’ by the nuns and that he was ‘almost overwhelmed by the fact that this was the best time I ever had, they were kind’. In fact, Higgins’s interaction with the nuns at the hospital went deeper than social pleasantries. Through his good rapport and professional engagement with the nuns at St Vincent’s, he was invited to be involved in the establishment of the hospital’s pastoral care programme. Higgins, who had training in pastoral education, felt the nuns saw ‘something that their own priests were lacking in’ in his ministry and this provided an opportunity for him to collaborate with them:

So [the nuns] got in touch with some Catholics in

America, a Marist Father, who certainly had done a lot of

work in the United States …so he set up a department of

pastoral care of which I was a member and he was a

member, but the actual [Catholic] chaplain remained

outside that because he saw he had the sacramental role

and he had to fulfil that. 346

He clearly attributes the good working relationship he had with the nuns to the changes of Vatican II:

So, it would be correct then to say that in your ministry [at the

hospital] you found really no great barriers between Protestant

and Catholic ministry?

That was because of the Second Vatican Council. See, the

nuns were taking off their rotten black things and they

were liberated.

Higgins’s comments about the nuns draw attention to the ambiguous placement of nuns in sectarian controversy. On the one hand, sectarian polemical works frequently demonised nuns, portraying them as cruel, and morally and sexually deviant.16 However, at other times, sectarian polemic portrayed nuns as victims of

Catholic tyranny and oppression – attempts to rescue nuns, as well as ‘ex-nun’ biographies are examples of this tendency.17 O’Brien has also shown that the activity of nuns within local communities often mitigated sectarian feeling against them and in some ways, such as teaching in schools or teaching the piano, bridged the sectarian divide of Protestants and Catholics.18 Their humble status could also engender solidarity and compassion for the nuns, especially among those who saw them as oppressed and tyrannised by priests and the institutional church. Higgins’s reference to traditional nuns habits as ‘rotten black things’ and

16 Examples of this tendency appear in much anti-Catholic literature. For example, see John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs; Whalley, G.H., Patrick Murphy on Popery in Ireland or Confessionals, Abductions, Nunneries, Fenians and Orangemen (London, 1865). 17 For examples of this literature see Billington, R., The Protestant Crusade, pp.98-117; Reid, U., Six Months in a Convent; Arnstein, W.L., Protestant Versus Catholic. 18 O’Brien, A. God’s Willing Workers, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2005) pp.200, 208. 347

his reference to nuns being ‘liberated’ indicates that at a personal level he felt some compassion for the nuns, whose habits symbolised their subjugation to an oppressive, anachronistic hierarchical structure. His reference to the ‘rotten black things’ and the liberation of religious is also indicative of the significance given in his narration and interpretation of the past to the changes in religious culture in the 1960s. Higgins sees the 1960s as a formative time in his life, both in terms of his personal theological development as well as in practical terms in his ministry.

A man of his times, his personal spiritual and professional journey took the same trajectory as the major shifts in religious culture. He describes his own reading of

Bishop John Robinson’s Honest to God as an awakening that led him out of his

‘evangelical fundamentalist ways’ and on ‘a sort of journey’ that freed him from the confines of narrow doctrinarism. Higgins’s description of the buoyant sense of ecumenical progress and religious cultural change that he experienced and embraced in the period of own ministry stands in contrast to his deflated observations of contemporary religious culture. He laments the lack of interest in ecumenism in Sydney today, remarking of Archbishops Jensen and Pell, ‘I think they're just struggling now to preserve their own Empire’, and comments ‘I'm less optimistic about ecumenism now than I was say twenty years ago’.

The Reverend Peter Hughes, born at Warialda in 1928, is a retired Methodist /

Uniting Church minister. His own experiences of sectarian bitterness made him enthusiastic about the ecumenical progress made during the span of his ministry.

He was the third child of a mixed-marriage – his father attended Mass every

Sunday while his mother took Hughes and his siblings to the Methodist Church. 348

This arrangement worked smoothly and Hughes remarks, ‘I can't remember any friction from that point of view, from the word go’, although he notes that this was something that would have required negotiation between his parents. He was the third child of the family and reflects ‘it would have been resolved before I came along’. He grew up in the rural New South Wales town of Inverell in the

1930s-1940s and recalls that in those days his Protestant ‘camp’ had ‘no contact whatsoever with Catholic children’.

For Hughes, the demise of cultic segregation was a significant feature of his ministry that he remembers as ‘a big step’ in the devolution of sectarianism and the progress of ecumenism. Cultic segregation had caused pain within his family.

Hughes’s father died when Hughes was in his final year of theological college. He recalls that his mother approached the local Catholic priest to take the funeral for her husband and the priest refused, because Hughes’s father had been married

‘outside the church’:

My mother said, ‘Look he never renounced his faith, his

Catholic faith, couldn't we just have a brief service from

the home?’ Even that was hit on the head. That left a bitter

taste in my own mouth. Somehow there wasn't any

Christian charity shown by the priest.

Whilst a service in church was not allowed, the priest did agree to conduct a graveside service. Hughes recalls that he found it ‘very strange’ at the time that his Protestant professor of theology attended this Catholic burial service: a 349

pastoral gesture that had lasting meaning for Hughes as a sign of Christian charity and tolerance.

This negative personal experience of sectarianism prompted Hughes’s ready acceptance in his ministry of the ecumenical movement. He recalls inviting the local Catholic priest to preach in his church in the 1970s, which he describes as

‘unheard of before the 1960s’. He comments, ‘Before we didn’t mix together. You had no idea what was going on over that wall’. He remembers that in the 1950s and 1960s at Cowra in NSW, there was little association between the local

Protestant clergy and the Catholic priests, ‘Well, they kept very much to themselves, they would not join in any ecumenical things at all, you were almost kind of banging your head against a wall’, although he does recall an occasion in the 1960s, most likely to be post-Vatican II, when he invited an Irish priest,

Monsignor O’Doherty, to speak to his men’s group at Cowra. He recalls,

I've never seen a man so nervous. He said, ‘That's the first

time I ever spoke to a Protestant group of people, and I

didn't know how I was going to be accepted’.

Hughes speculates, ‘I think he was surprised at the inter-change that he had. He came out here from Ireland, and I think it was something that was foreign to him’, drawing a dichotomy between the religious cultures of the ‘old world’ and the new ecumenical spirit that was flourishing in Australia in the 1960s.

While recalling that during the early 1960s ‘the Catholic Church wouldn’t have anything do with us at all’, Hughes explained that the ministers’ fraternal at

Cowra decided to invite the local Catholic priests along to their monthly 350

meetings, to promote fellowship among them all. However, not all members of the ministers fraternal approved of the gesture. He remembers that a Baptist minister threatened to leave the fraternal if the priest joined, and he comments,

‘Well, that didn't deter us’. This incident encapsulates the realignments that were unfolding in this period; a gap was emerging between Protestants in favour of ecumenical contact with Catholics and those opposed. However, Hughes notes that in this case, the priest did join the ministers’ fraternal and, in the end, the

Baptist minister did not leave.

Hughes’s ministry saw the demise of Protestant-Roman Catholic cultic segregation and eventually he found himself officiating at weddings and funerals alongside Catholic priests and engaging with them through social and professional contacts. His comments give a sense of a clearing of the air at this time: ‘we could meet with each other and we could talk to each other with no hang-ups’. He has drawn encouragement and hope from the breakdown of cultic segregation and other developments, such as joint commissions, charity and social justice co-operation during the span of his own ministry. Hughes compares the changes in inter-denominational relations during the course of his ministry with his parents’ experiences and observes that ecumenical changes were such that

‘neither my father nor mother could have imagined’. He comments, ‘from my point of view, things are much, much better – more Christian and harmonious for the good of us all than when I first grew up – and I think the best is yet to be’.

Not all clergy were enthused by the changes in religious culture that occurred in the postwar era. For the Reverend Brian Thomas, a minister of the Reformed 351

Presbyterian Church, Vatican II, the ecumenical movement and the influences of liberal theology were anathemas to his own conservative evangelicalism. Thomas was born in Sydney in 1939 to parents he describes as ‘nominally Anglican’ and

‘not religious at all’. He attended Turramurra North Primary School between

1945-1948, Artarmon Opportunity Class 1949-1950, and North Sydney Boys’

High School from 1951-1955. He describes having a conversion experience in his teenage years and how through this process he ‘knew that liberalism was totally wrong’ and ‘was absolutely convinced of the deity of Christ and of his atoning and propitiatory work on the cross’. Thomas sees sectarianism as a spiritual issue and in theological terms and speaks of Catholicism and Protestantism finding common enemies in liberalism and secularism. He offers interesting insights into sectarianism and how it adjusted to the changing social and religious contexts of this period. Thomas was willing to contribute to this thesis on condition of knowing the researcher’s own religious affiliation and being reassured that the research was not intent on ‘doing a hatchet job on Protestantism’.

On leaving school, Thomas became a high school maths teacher at Condobolin in the central west of NSW. During his time at Condobolin in the early 1960s, he became associated with J.W. Campbell of The Rock and Protestant Publications.

He explained that a Catholic student in his roll-call class, named Wendy

Cameron, was ‘abducted’. According to Thomas the girl’s step-mother reported her to the police as an ‘uncontrollable child’:

they took her down to the padded cell at Condobolin jail –

and I have actually seen the cell and been in there – and 352

then they took her up to the hospital, and I don't whether

they sedated her or not and then took her in the car by

night to Sydney to this wretched slave labour laundry in

Tempe, kids were taken to courts and others under the

guise of social welfare and they were put to work in what I

found out were terrible slave labour situations and she was

just hijacked and that was it.

Whilst Thomas does not know whether the girl was sedated or not, this reference certainly adds to the drama of this incident. According to Thomas, after representations from the school principal to a member of parliament, the girl was released ‘out of the clutches of those wretched nuns at the Good Samaritan

Laundry at Tempe’ and returned to foster care in Condobolin. Thomas’s depiction of escapes from the clutches of wretched nuns contrasts dramatically with

Higgins’s experience of gracious nuns at St Vincent’s. When J.W.W. Campbell of

The Rock went to Condobolin to investigate the matter, in late 1961, Thomas struck up an acquaintance with him that developed into a lifelong association.

Thomas is highly critical of the changes in religious culture represented by

Vatican II, the ecumenical movement and liberal theology. According to him,

Vatican II was ‘just window-dressing’. Thomas, a conservative evangelical, sees his opposition to Catholicism as purely a theological opposition. He describes the changes introduced by Vatican II, such as the liturgy conducted in the vernacular, the priest facing the people during the Mass, and the abandonment of medieval habits by nuns, as superficial. He comments ‘but it was still the Mass ... it was in 353

English you could understand the blasphemy ... the priest was facing the people – how wonderful – but he’s still a priest’. Unwilling to acknowledge any significant developments from Vatican II, he remarks:

I knew Rome wouldn't change, it can't. I believe, with the

Reformers, that the papacy is the anti-Christ and so then

when nuns are dressing differently and everyone is saying

‘the winds of change’ – I think that was the phrase that was

used – I laughed. Just superficial, that's all it is.

These comments reflect one of the traditional arguments of anti-Catholic polemic, insisting that Catholicism was inherently theologically corrupt.

Thomas was also experiencing frustrations within his own denomination in the later half of the 1960s. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he sided with the conservatives in opposition to the liberal wing of the Church during the church union debates of the 1960s. Thomas recalls ‘we tackled the Liberals and we lost’.

Dissatisfied conservatives, such as Thomas, broke away from the Church. Thomas joined the Presbyterian Reformed Church at its inception in 1967. The alignment shifts of the second half of the twentieth century are clear in Thomas’s own construction of narrative and analysis.

Upon the death of J.W. Campbell in 1979, Thomas became editor of The Rock. By this stage The Rock was a spent force with a dismal circulation and sporadic issues. When asked why he continued with this ‘pointless exercise in nostalgia’19

19 Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand, p.243. 354

until 1995 he replied, ‘because of truth’. His comments demonstrate that traditional sectarian discourse continues to be of great significance to Thomas’s world-view. He comments:

... The Roman Catholic system is an abomination. There's

no question of it. If anybody believes the scriptures and

holds to justification by faith, if anybody holds to the fact

that we only have one mediator who is Christ, who alone

shed his blood, and that he needs no other priest, Hebrews

forever has buried any human priesthood, totally, the

Roman Church at almost every point opposes the Gospel

and because of my conviction that's why I continued [The

Rock].

Despite his theological objections to Catholicism, Thomas now sees common ground for Catholics and conservative Protestants in opposing liberal theology and secularism. He describes how in the 1970s and 1980s society ‘lost its moorings’ and ‘the very concept of truth and in one way salvation and of the fact that truth is truth a lie is a lie all became grey’. He observes, ‘I've got a lot more in common in one sense with a staunch theologically acute RC, than I have with a lot of Protestants,’ and he makes the observation that the conservative Catholic and Anglican archbishops of Sydney have ‘in a strange, weird sense’ ‘a lot in common, observing ‘they both cop it from the liberal media’. These observations are quite telling, for they indicate the realignments that were caused by the changes in religious culture in the 1960s. 355

Others, who had neither experiences of sectarian trauma nor professional interest in sectarianism, were inspired by their own religious convictions and yearning for social and religious harmony to relinquish sectarianism and embrace ecumenical ideals. David Gibson, a business manager, was born to Catholic parents at

Moree in 1943. He attended Ashford Primary School from 1949-1952, St

Thomas Aquinas School, Bowral from 1952-1954, Chevalier College, Burradoo from 1955-1959 and Sacred Heart School, Douglas Park in 1960. A devout

Catholic and onetime seminarian, his interest in sectarianism stems from his personal religious commitments and yearning for an ecumenical healing of sectarian divisions.

Gibson’s childhood was essentially devoid of sectarian bitterness. His father was the local police sergeant in the small rural NSW village of Ashford. Gibson recalls that even though he was from a Catholic family, he was ‘best mates’ at primary school with the son of the local Anglican vicar and that they would play together in the vicarage garden. This experience, in a small, isolated community, suggests that without the visible signs of social distinction and the institutions (dual school system) or critical mass to support it, sectarian segregation was not the norm.20 In

1954, when he was eight years old, Gibson’s family moved to the larger NSW

20This accords with Logan’s study of sectarianism in the small rural community of Ganmain. Logan maintains that sectarianism was a latent force in Ganmain, occasionally ‘aggravated by external stimuli’ observing ‘the town’s social and commercial elites had a vested interest in maintaining equable relations between Protestants and Catholics’. Logan draws a distinction between the latent nature of sectarianism in rural communities such as Ganmain, and urban sectarianism. See Logan, J., Sectarianism in Ganmain, pp.121-138; See McCalman, J., Struggletown: Public and Private Life in Richmond, 1900-1965, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 1985) p.22.

356

town of Bowral. At Bowral, Gibson attended a Catholic school, where sectarian segregation became a fact of life, although he points out that this was by default of association and not by design:

Look, it was more because the friends that went to school

we mixed with, and I became an altar boy. You were

mixing in a Catholic milieu and it wasn't by setting out to

do so, but that's the way that your friendships were more

or less channelled. So I didn't have any close friends that

were publics.

These comments are an important reminder that segregation of itself did not induce an experience of sectarianism. Gibson’s experience, growing up in a small town and then of having virtually no contact with non-Catholics at Bowral meant that sectarianism was of no consequence in his experience. His early experiences of sectarian tolerance and later ignorance of the sectarian other meant that he had no cause to sense rivalry or to dislike Protestants.

On leaving school, Gibson spent the period from 1962-1968 in Catholic seminaries at Canberra and Melbourne. He found that the ‘big changes’ of

Vatican II were already impacting on Catholicism by the time he left the seminaries and recalls sensing the beginnings of Catholic engagement with the ecumenical movement at this time. For Gibson the significance of these changes is revealed in the very mundane nature of the ‘signs’ of ecumenical progress. For instance, he has a salient memory of going from the seminary in Melbourne to have afternoon tea at the Anglican vicarage in Croydon, Victoria. Today, such 357

encounters are unexceptional. The fact that they stand out as salient features in his memory is telling of the extent of the sectarian division that was being overcome.

Upon leaving the seminary in 1968, Gibson took up a public service position in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. While he recalls an awareness of sectarian territorialism in the public service, his recollection is even handed: ‘there were departments that were Catholic and there were departments that weren't our turf’. He remembers that the Customs, Taxation and Post

Master General’s departments were ‘our [Catholic] turf’. His even handed recollection is devoid of the language of victimisation and conspiracy that permeate Edward Glover’s memories and his balanced assessment can be related back to his inexperience of sectarian tension in his childhood.

While Gibson does not claim to have been active in the ecumenical movement in any formal way, he has been involved with and supported ecumenical activities at the local parish/community level. His antipathy to sectarianism stems from his own religious and intellectual commitment to ecumenism and pastoral sensitivity.

He remarks of sectarianism, ‘I don't think it was very Christ-like to do the sorts of things we did in the past’ and he recalls an occasion when a friend was not allowed to marry in the Catholic Church commenting, ‘it shouldn't have happened’.

Veronica Green was born in Melbourne in 1936 and, since the 1960s, has been actively and formally involved in the ecumenical movement. Green, a retired 358

secretary, is a self-described ‘retired ecumenical volunteer’, ‘ecumaniac’ and executive member of the national ecumenical organisation Australian Church

Women.

Green attended a Catholic primary school in Melbourne in the 1940s and recalls

‘the taunts and throwing of stones’ by the children who lived next-door and attended the local public school. Personal contact proved to be the antidote to prejudice. She remembers, ‘Attitudes did change between the families when we visited after one of their children had an accident’. Despite these minor childhood sectarian scuffles, she had no personally traumatic sectarian experiences in her formative years.

Green explains that in her teenage years she developed an interest in ecumenism when she became aware of sectarianism in her father’s workplace. Her father worked as an electrician with the local council and she recalls he kept his

Catholicism secret from his Masonic workmates because ‘he would have lost his job’. This is unquestioned fact in her memory. Her father apparently concealed his Catholicism very well and learnt to return the ‘secret handshake’ of the

Masons. She recalls that it was not until her father’s funeral that many of his former workmates ‘discovered’ he was a Catholic.

Green’s strong sense of social justice combined with her faith, have seen her involved in various ecumenical activities over the years. Her memories convey both her sense of pride in the ecumenical achievements made during her lifetime as well as a candid expression of the frustrations and challenges that she and her 359

fellow ecumenists encountered. She first became involved in ecumenical activity through her local parish, representing the parish on the Mordialloc Christian

Fraternity and then its successor the Mordialloc Inter-Church Council. Under the auspices of the Inter-Church Council she established a women’s committee ‘to arrange social ecumenical dinners and events and to meet and get-to-know each other’. In her memory, ecumenism came much more naturally to church women than church men. She describes how through the Women’s Inter-Church Council the women ‘bonded’ forming lasting friendships, ‘we still meet for a cuppa’. She soon became involved with Australian Church Women and became the Minutes

Secretary, represented ACW at Asian Church Women’s Conferences and later became an executive member. Her testimony is an important reminder of the significant role played by women in the ecumenical movement.

Woven together with her gendered interpretation, Green juxtaposes lay enthusiasm for ecumenism with clerical ineptitude and indifference. She recalls frustration with the lack of clerical support for the pioneering ecumenical activities she was involved with at Mordialloc in Victoria in the early 1970s:

The good and big hearted Christian laity floundered

without, in some cases, the support of their clergy,

especially when the Roman Catholic members joined.

Her image of female ecumenical solidarity is quite a contrast to the picture she paints of the atmosphere before an ecumenical service held at St Brigid’s Church in Mordialloc in the mid 1970s. She describes having to ‘convince’ clergy to be present. In the end the service was attended by local clergy and other invited 360

guests: among them was the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Sir Frank Little.

Green recalls entering the vestry before the service where she found ‘fourteen grown men sitting in utter silence’. Remembering this awkwardness she links it with the present commenting, ‘I praise God for the United Theological Faculties now and for the ecumenical co-operation between the clergy today’.

Green describes how, despite a lack of clerical support, through social engagement and fellowship the Women’s Sub-Committee of the Mordialloc Inter-

Church Council persisted and together these women made significant contributions to the local community:

We worked with the City of Mordialloc Municipal Council

and supported the appointment of the first Social Worker

for the City; provided a chapel and chaplains (in turn) at a

municipal Nursing Home, and furnished a sun lounge in

another.

She recalls that adjusting to different denominational cultures provided some interesting moments:

We had some laughs ... when Barbara asked about

raffles/fetes – a no-no for most denominations– result, an

Auction/Dinner – acceptable to all and involving all

including politicians/municipal council members etc.21

21 Written statement of Barb Green to Benjamin Edwards. 361

Adjusting to different liturgical cultures after a period of intense cultic segregation also brought challenges. Green also recalls ‘learning to pray spontaneously’ to which she was unaccustomed ‘having come from a denomination of formalized prayer’.22

Green’s testimony is a reminder of the significant contribution made to the ecumenical movement at the grass roots level. Whilst she did not suffer personal trauma from sectarianism, her keen sense of Christian unity, social justice and equity made her a champion of the ecumenical cause and she devoted herself to breaking down sectarian barriers, and challenging others, clergy and laity, to do the same.

So far these case studies have explored a range of Catholic and Protestant memories of sectarianism. It is important to temper these with the perspective of those who did not identify with either of the main sectarian groupings. Renata

Stein was born in Germany in 1927. Her mother was born in the Free City of

Danzig-Gedansk and her father was German. Both were Jewish. Her family came to Australia as refugees from Nazi Germany in 1938. Renata attended primary school at the Jewish School in Mannheim, Germany from 1934-1938, then Bondi

Primary School in 1939, Mascot Primary School from 1940-1942 and Sydney

Girls’ High School from 1942-1945. Stein is a self-described secular humanist, retired school teacher and former member of the ALP and DOGS activist. Her

22 Similar recollections are made by Fr Jim Minchin of joint meetings of the Student Christian Movement and the Evangelical Union at Melbourne University in the 1960s; q.v. Part IV: Sectarianism in the post-Vatican II Era, p.272 et seq.

362

interest in sectarianism as a subject with personal meaning can be seen to stem from her political commitments. Stein offers a non-Christian and non-Anglo-

Celtic perspective on sectarianism in Australia that is important to include in this study. It is of importance to note that this subject overwhelmingly arouses the interest of people of Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Celtic heritage and that there is a telling non-Anglo silence on the subject of sectarianism in this period.

Of her school days, Stein recalls ‘a lot of name-calling, even fisticuffs’ between the public and Catholic school children as they made their way to and from school in the Mascot area. This was all ‘quite strange’ to Stein and her family. For Stein and her family, sectarianism was a strange and foreign phenomenon. Her early childhood memories from Germany do not refer to sectarianism, overshadowed as they were by other sinister and lethal prejudices. Accordingly, her observations of Australian sectarianism are most interesting. In the following remarks she recalls the culture shock of sectarianism:

When we did arrive here, we didn't strike any anti-

Semitism, even though it was fairly close to the Second

World War, but what amazed us was the sectarianism ...

Her perspective is valuable for it illumines how those who did not fall into the major sectarian groupings, and who did not have the socio-cultural or religious savvy to interpret sectarian rivalry, responded to sectarianism. Her observations are important because they suggest that sectarianism was an easily identified phenomenon in society, even for those who lacked the cultural and historical nuance to make sense of it. She remarks: 363

But, to us it seemed quite strange that people of different

labels of Christianity should have been so furious and

antagonistic to each other … the town in Germany, the

city that I came from, had a very large percentage of

Catholics, but the hostility was directed to Jews and

maybe homosexuals but I probably wouldn't have known

what that was, anyway, and certainly gypsies and anyone

different. But, to our minds, Christians are Christians, so

why get so het up about it?

Stein’s ethnicity and religion placed her outside the mainstream sectarian groupings in Australian society. On several occasions in her interview Stein mentioned that she did not personally experience any serious anti-Semitism after migrating to Australia, stressing her immunity to religious prejudice in a context of sectarianism. She comments that in some ways she fell outside the normal social divides that had developed in Australia, and considers she ‘was a neutral’ in the sectarian rivalry which ‘might have been favourable’. This is an analysis she also carries over into her discussion of sectarianism in the workplace. She sees that Christian sectarianism mitigated anti-Semitism and racism that may have otherwise impacted upon her. She reports that while she herself had no significant experiences of anti-Semitism in her student days or working-life, she was aware of sectarian tension and discrimination, both positive and negative, around her in her career as a teacher, in her involvement with the ALP and through her husband's experience. She narrates that their status as neither 364

Catholic nor Protestant brought with it some advantages. For example, she relates that when she went to teach in a Catholic school she informed the nuns that she was not Catholic and could not teach religion, ‘And they said, ‘That's all right dear, as long as you're not an Anglican.’ She comments on her Jewish husband, an industrial chemist, having a similar experience in a company where he was the first non-Catholic employee ‘that was all right because being Jewish was okay. Again that was better than being the wrong church within

Christendom’.23

Stein’s observation that the sectarianism that she encountered was irrational and defied logic is easily attributed to her status as an immigrant: the nuances of the sectarian divide were not, as a child, appreciated by her. She reflects, ‘I think I just couldn't really understand it’. Her inability to understand sectarianism undoubtedly shaped her interpretation of sectarianism as ‘irrational’ and ‘trivial’.

Whilst the context of her personal history tends to render the sectarian conflict that she discovered in Australia somewhat trivial, as has been seen in other cases already, the emotional intensity of sectarianism experienced by men and women in Australia was strong and at times destructive, and by no means trivial for all.

Stein’s memories are similar to that of Andrew Riemer. Riemer, a Sydney-based academic and writer, was born in Budapest in 1936. His parents emigrated from

Budapest to Australia in 1947. In Inside, Outside Riemer describes his family’s

23 These memories of Stein’s correspond directly with those of a ‘Jewish woman’ quoted in ‘Long Divisions: Australia’s Sectarian Histories’ in Eureka Street October 2002 pp.9-10. It is most likely that this ‘Jewish woman’ who attended the Sydney Institute discussion on sectarianism, is Stein.

365

sense of dislocation and struggle to assimilate and find a sense of belonging in

Australian society. After living in shared accommodation in Neutral Bay and

Hurlstone Park his family moved to a self-contained flat in Epping, which he describes as being ‘the heartland of the nonconformist Bible-belt’ and to his family appeared ‘homogenous and harmonious in its blandness’.24

Like Stein’s family, sectarianism was a foreign experience for his family. Riemer relates how his family’s first encounter with sectarianism opened up to them ‘the complexity of a world that had seemed until then quite simple and untroubled’.

Riemer had befriended two Irish Catholic boys, the Dunnicliffes, at school. He recalls that they were ‘victims of scatological jests which, at first, I could not understand’. He judges that they were ‘no doubt drawn together because they too were shunned by the other children, just as I was…’25 He recalls that these boys would come to play at his house and eventually this resulted in a confrontation between his landlord and his mother ‘over the defilement of their Protestant paddock, if not home and hearth. For, of course, the Dunnicliffes were

Catholics’.26 Riemer recalls his mother’s ‘genuine surprise’ at this sectarianism and how ‘at length’ she came to sense the dynamics of Catholic-Protestant sectarianism, understanding that in Epping ‘being Catholic here was not all that different from being Jewish in Mitteleuropa’. Riemer describes this incident as ‘a minor comedy of errors’ and like Stein downplays the seriousness of sectarianism,

24 Riemer, A., Inside, Outside, (Angus & Robertson, Pymble: 1992) p.8. 25 Riemer, A., Inside, Outside, p.9. 26 Ibid, p.11. 366

noting that it ‘pales into insignificance beside the brutality of the world we had left’.27

Robert Manne, (born 1947) whose parents too were Jewish refugees from

Central Europe, recounts an experience similar to Stein’s. He too recalls that he didn’t experience anti-Semitism in his ‘daily life’, but that anti-Catholic sectarianism was ‘a mild but real religious bigotry’ that he did encounter at school. He describes his primary school as ‘almost entirely Protestant’ and recalls a clash one afternoon between a group of his school friends and children from the

Catholic school:

I remember the tension between them; the insults hurled,

which included the abusive suggestion, that at the time I

did not understand, that Catholics were the kind of people

who drank human blood and ate human flesh – a

reference, as I later understood, to the Catholic sacrament

of transubstantiation.28

Manne’s recollection demonstrates that although at the time he didn’t fully understand the nature of the sectarian rivalry, he has since been able to

27 Ibid, pp.11-12. 28 Manne, R., My Country – A Personal Journey, Deakin Lecture, Melbourne, 20 May 2001, cited at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/deakin/stories/s336645.htm, 19 October 2006.

367

understand the nuances of the insults exchanged – insults that had religious significance. 368

CONCLUSION

These case studies, in the variegation and commonalities of the memories they present, are indicative of the tensions and shifts of sectarianism in the postwar era across a range of generations. They reveal common understandings of what constituted and incited sectarianism. It is apparent from both these case studies as well as other literature that the tensions of cultic segregation and mixed marriage, schoolyard name-calling, discrimination in the workforce and rivalry between Freemasons and Catholics are the leitmotifs of sectarianism in Australian experience and that they are interpreted through a culturally embedded sectarian discourse. However, it is important to note that the significance and impact of these leitmotifs was not uniform. These case studies demonstrate a range of personal responses to sectarianism and they show that sectarianism affected people in their personal lives, relationships and professional lives in very different ways. They demonstrate on a micro-scale the social patterns underlying the various experiences and responses to sectarianism in this period. It is apparent that whilst sectarianism did continue to affect people in this period, in both personal and professional terms, it was by no means a pervasive force that had predictable effects.

For some, their experiences of growing up in mixed marriage households were traumatic, whereas for others this did not cause any tension. Some suffered experiences of sectarian indoctrination, discrimination and confrontation that were psychologically destructive and left them deeply scarred, yet others recovered from sectarian experiences and continued their lives unaffected by 369

sectarianism. Others still were personally unaffected by sectarianism. For

Andrew Richards and Thomas Miller, sectarianism was an important part of their class self-placement and their development of personal style and identity, whereas

Arthur Higgins ‘didn’t think about it all’. For Brian Thomas, sectarian discourse is a fixed component of his religious commitments, whereas for David Gibson,

Veronica Green, Peter Hughes and Arthur Higgins, their spiritual commitments have made them supporters of ecumenism.

The testimony of the clergy is demonstrative of the different ways that people responded to the changes and realignments in religious culture in this period.

For some, their enthusiastic response to the ecumenical movement was predicated on their own personal experience of sectarian bitterness and for others their professional experiences and theological commitments shaped or challenged their attitudes to sectarianism and their preparedness to relinquish sectarian attitudes. For others, such as Thomas, changing religious cultures reinforced their commitment to traditional sectarian dogmatic positions and identities.

The case studies also show that while people may have experienced sectarian trauma in their early lives, the changes in society and religious culture that reduced the social and religious significance of sectarianism have meant that few of these people remain embittered or continue to be traumatised by their sectarian experiences. Thus, whilst Edward Glover’s extreme sectarian trauma continues to affect him, this is not the case for others who experienced sectarian trauma in their early lives, and for the most part, these respondents’ own attitudes to religion were not prejudiced by their experience of sectarian trauma. 370

Although, one interesting trend connected with religious affiliation is that all of those interviewed who were raised in mixed marriage households and experienced sectarian trauma as children, have married co-religionists. Their tendency to marry co-religionists may be a sign of the pain and trauma they associate with mixed marriage and of their intention to avoid similar sectarian conflict in their own adult lives.

The case studies also show that sectarianism does continue to influence the world view of some interviewees – this is most apparent among those for whom sectarianism had significant implications for their sense of social status and class position – whereas for others it merely explains the way things were.

In all, these case studies show that the experience of sectarianism in this period was significantly influenced by the circumstances of family life, class position, locale, schooling, chance and social memory. In their variegation and points of agreement, these memories are indicative of the tensions and shifts of sectarianism in the postwar era. These cases demonstrate that while sectarian discourse and tensions lingered in this period and continue to linger in the memories of people who lived through this period, few of these people retain sectarian prejudices and most are of the opinion that the devolution of sectarianism in this period was desirable. Thus, these case studies concur with the findings in the other sections of this thesis that whilst sectarian discourse lingered, this was a period of shifts and realignments in both social and religious terms that led to the demise of sectarianism as a potent discourse and force in

Australian society. 371

CONCLUSION

What then is to be said of the history of sectarianism as a socio-cultural phenomenon in postwar Australia? This thesis has argued that sectarianism is a complex socio-cultural phenomenon, both influenced by and influencing factors such as religious cultures, class rivalry, political contingencies, nationalism, ethnicity and other questions of identity as well as other social cleavages. It has shown that sectarian discourse and ideology in Australia have deep historical roots and that sectarianism has been a significant force in Australian history, with implications for the development of Australian religious, political and social cultures. However, it has also shown that in the postwar period, the discursive power of sectarianism dramatically declined in these areas of Australian socio- cultural life. Various forces contributed to the rapid breakdown of sectarianism in

Australia. It is the contention of this thesis that the diverse socio-cultural changes of the 1960s as well as the theological shifts and changes in religious cultures rendered traditional sectarian discourse no longer meaningful.

This thesis has argued that in the 1950s, traditional sectarian discourse continued to significantly influence Protestant-Catholic relations. As has been shown in Part

II, cultic segregation, sectarian rivalry and polemic were the hallmarks of

Protestant-Catholic interaction in this period. Protestant co-operation intensified in the postwar period due to the growing influence of ecumenism in international

Protestantism, promoted by the WCC, and locally, in response to perceived fears of militant Catholicism, the portents of which were the ‘Age of Mary’ and

Catholic expansion and immigration in the 1950s. In the 1950s, religious cultures 372

continued to fan the flames of sectarianism and sectarian rivalry over precedence, civic religion and dogma was rife. Protestant denominations, aligned in terms of dogmatic and ideological positions, frequently formed coalitions and collaborated to oppose Catholic interests or influence in society, such as in the campaigns co- ordinated by the NSW CC against the Eucharistic Congress and proposed

Catholic university.

By the mid-1960s the international ecumenical movement, as well as local contingencies, had challenged the entrenched sectarianism of Australian religious culture. The 1960s, as has been discussed, was a period of intense change for religious cultures. The aggiornamento of Catholicism through Vatican II inaugurated a period of unprecedented and intense ecumenical aspiration and engagement between the Catholic Church and other denominations. As outlined in Part IV, at the official institutional level, theological level and local parish level there were new ecumenical possibilities. Other changes in religious culture, such as the broadening impact of liberal theology and a common concern with the trend of increasing secularism, stimulated the ecumenical rapprochement.1 The breakdown of cultic segregation, relaxed attitudes to mixed marriage, theological dialogue and institutional co-operation and fellowship were important consequences of the ‘ecumenical spirit’ of the 1960s that undermined the significance of sectarianism in religious cultures. Thus, in 1971, Hans Mol was able to observe:

1 Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s’, p.209. 373

Catholics and Protestants now co-operate in a large

number of local and national committees from the

Australian Society for Theological Studies to a local inter-

church art committee exhibiting the entries for the Blake

Art prize. Catholic clergymen are now invited, and attend

installation and ordination services of Protestant ministers

and vice versa. Protestant ministers address local Catholic

meetings and Catholic priests address the youth clubs of

the local Anglican parish.2

While there were pockets of resistance, sectarianism no longer characterised mainstream religious culture and was incongruent with the mainstream mood of the churches at this time.

Another force that was to affect both religious cultures and the significance of sectarianism in Australian society was secularisation. Secularisation, a fast moving force of the 1960s, had a tremendous impact on the dismantling of sectarianism in Australian society. The waning social significance of religious identity and observance, the breakdown of traditional religious consensus and the rise of alternate spiritualities and religious expression rendered Protestant-

Catholic sectarianism and its traditional discourse and rivalries irrelevant to an increasing body of society. Christians rallied together across denominational lines as they combated secularism and struggled to come to terms with their diminishing socio-cultural influence. It is important to understand the breakdown

2 Mol, H., Religion in Australia, p.147. 374

of sectarian discourse within this context of the breakdown of traditional religious consensus and discourse in Western societies in this period, as identified by

Brown and McLeod.3

Shifting socio-political and religious alignments in this period meant that new rivalries and lines of demarcation were of much more urgent and pressing need than prosecuting the old sectarian rivalries. The new fault line between theologically liberal and conservative Christians, which Campion describes as ‘the fundamentalist-pluralist axis’, now pre-occupied religious cultures more than the old Catholic-Protestant divide; this new fault line, after all, could sometimes run right down the middle of denominations.4 Demographic changes brought about by postwar immigration, and the advent of non-White Australia Policy multiculturalism also created new fault lines by further diversifying Australian society and religious polity. New social cleavages and religious rivalries shadowed the significance of older sectarian rivalries. Irish Catholics and British Protestants suddenly realised that they had much more in common with each other than, say, with Vietnamese Buddhists.

Other forces and changes in the Australian political climate and broader society also contributed to the rapid demise of sectarianism. Factors such as increased

Catholic social mobility and the Labor Split contributed to the breakdown of stereotypical sectarian political allegiances. By the time of the Goulburn Schools

3 Brown, C., The Death of Christian Britain, (Routledge, Oxford : 2001); McLeod, H., Religion and Society in England 1850-1914, (St Martin’s Press, New York: 1996). 4 Campion, E., A Place in the City, p.184.

375

Closure in 1962, it was apparent that the mood of the Australian electorate had shifted, and although traditional sectarian discourse was invoked in the state aid debate, its failure to achieve desired outcomes was a sign that sectarian wedge politics was no longer a reliable political ploy.

These various factors led to the demise of sectarianism as a discursive force in

Australia, diminishing its relevance in political alignments and as a form of social dichotomisation. This thesis does not propose any one of these forces as the most significant for the demise of sectarianism as a discursive force in Australian society in this period. Rather, it asserts that it is the complex concentration and interconnectedness of these forces that led to the swift erosion of sectarianism in

Australian society. While there were some pockets of resistance towards the changes in religious culture that undermined sectarianism and some continued efforts to invoke sectarianism in religious and political struggles, it is clear that these were no longer mainstream phenomena and were out of step with popular opinion, which was overwhelmingly in favour of ecumenism. Thus, it appears that sectarianism, as a discursive force in Australia, suffered ‘a remarkably sudden and culturally violent death’ similar to that identified by Callum Brown for Christian discursive power in Britain.5 The shift in popular attitudes and the demise of sectarian discourse as a mainstream phenomenon was rapid. In a ‘remarkably sudden’ way, in the period between 1960 and 1970, sectarianism shifted from being a mainstream socio-cultural phenomenon to a more esoteric religious phenomenon. 376

However, it would be inaccurate to suggest that sectarianism vanished overnight in this period. Such an assertion would fail to recognise the shift in the nature of sectarianism from Protestant-Catholic rivalry to tensions between liberal and conservative factions within and across denominations. The contest within

Anglicanism between conservative evangelicals and High Church and liberal

Anglicans is but one sign of this trend. To claim that sectarianism has vanished would also be to deny the persistence of sectarianism in social memory and personal experience. As the oral testimony and cultural sources discussed in Part

V demonstrate, the pain, consequences and injuries of sectarian conflict, rivalry and suspicion still linger in the lives of some men and women. However, the fact that few are still traumatised by their experiences of sectarianism is a sign that its discursive power in broader society is eroded and that the shadow sectarianism cast over Australian society has almost fully receded. The second half of the twentieth century saw the rapid breakdown of sectarianism as a mainstream socio-cultural and religious discourse in Australia, relegating enduring forms of sectarianism as little more than fringe phenomena of religious bigots with no significant discursive power in Australian society.

5 Brown, C., The Death of Christian Britain, p.175. 377

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES

Books and Pamphlets Chiniquy, C., The Priest, the Woman and the Confessional, (Chick Publications, Ontario: Undated reprint). Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record, The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part1. Introduction’, Australasian Catholic Record, 61, No.3, July 1984, pp.312-320. Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record, The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 2. The Department Strikes’, Australasian Catholic Record, 61, No.4, October 1984, pp.406-417. Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record, The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 3. ‘The Strike Back’, Australasian Catholic Record, 62, No.1, January 1985, pp.68-79. Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record, The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 4.The Pre-Strike Week’ in Australasian Catholic Record, 62, No.2 , April 1985, pp.176-189. Cullinane, J., ‘Goulburn for the Record, The School ‘Strike’ as it Happened: Part 5. The ‘Strike’ Week’, The Australasian Catholic Record, 62., No.3, July1985, pp.293-304. Connellan, J. A. Christian Unity in God's Way, (Australian Catholic Truth Society, Sydney: 1951). Council for the Defence of Government Schools Press Releases, held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. Farrell, M., The Case Against State Aid for Roman Catholic Schools, (Protestant Publications, Glebe: undated). Fleming ,T.V., For Your Protestant Friend: The Catholic Point of View, (Annals Publications, Kensington: 1957). Foxe, J., Book of Martyrs: A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Deaths of the Early Christian and Protestant Martyrs, (Zondervan, Grand Rapids: 1978). Gladstone, W.E., The Vatican Decrees in their bearing on Civil Allegiance: A Political Expostulation, (London, 1874). Johnson, W.H., Roman Catholic Assertions: A Reply, (Baxter & Stubbs, Ballarat:1952). Johnson, W.H., The Right Reverend George Merrick Long: A Memoir, (The St John’s College Press, Morpeth, NSW: 1930). Lang, John Dunmore The question of questions! or, Is this colony to be transformed into a province of the Popedom? : a letter to the Protestant landholders of New South Wales, (Sydney: 1841). Lang, J.D. Popery in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere: and How to Check it Effectually: An Address to Evangelical and Influential Protestants of all Denominations in Great Britain and Ireland, (Thomas Constable: 1847). Long. G., Papal Pretensions: A Reply to Roman Catholic Assertions, (Church Book Store, Sydney: 1913). 378

Mowll, H,W.K., ‘Presidential Address to Synod 12th October 1953’, Yearbook of the Diocese of Sydney and Summary of Proceedings of the 3rd Ordinary Session of the 29th Synod of the Diocese of Sydney, (William Andrews Printing, Sydney: 1954). Phillips, J.A., Billy Graham Protestant Evangelist, (Annals Publications, Kensington: 1959). Pope Paul VI, ‘Dogmatic Constitution on the Church’, (November 1964), The Documents of Vatican II, (eds), Abbot, W.M. & Gallagher, J., (Geoffrey Chapman, London & Dublin: 1966) pp.14-24. Protestant Policy on University Education: Speeches made by His Grace the Archbishop of Sydney, the Rt.Rev. W.G.Hilliard, Rev.C.M. Dyster, Rev Alan Walker, Archdeacon T.C. Hammond & Rev W.J. Hobbin, (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1951). Reid, U., Six Months in a Convent (Publisher Unknown: 1835). Robinson, D., ‘Protestants and the Pope’, Supplement to Southern Cross, January1970. Rumble, L., Five Pre-Marriage Instructions on the Catholic Religion, (Australian Catholic Truth Society, Sydney: 1947). Rumble, L., The Presbyterians, (Australian Catholic Truth Society, Sydney: 1954). Rumble, L. Reply to the Anglican Bishops in Australia, (Australian Catholic Truth Society, Sydney: 1953). Rumble, L., Radio Replies in Defence of Religion, (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1933). Rumble, L., Questions People Ask About the Catholic Church, (Chevalier Books, Kensington: 1975). Santamaria, B.A., State Aid in Perspective, (The Hawthorn Press, Melbourne: 1966). ‘Summary of Proceeding of the First Ordinary Session of the Thirty-second Synod of the Diocese of Sydney, October 1960’, Diocese of SydneyYear Book 1961, (William Andrews Printing, Sydney: 1961). ‘Summary of the Proceedings of the First Ordinary Session of the Thirtieth Synod of the Diocese of Sydney’, Diocese of Sydney Year Book, 1955 (William Andrews Printing, Sydney: 1955). State aid for Non-State Schools is Dangerous, (Australian Council of State School Organisations, Melbourne: 1964), ‘Summary of Ecclesiastical Statistics of Australasia 1956’, Australasian Catholic Directory, (Pellegrini, Sydney: 1956) pp.510-511. The Constitution, as in force on 1 June 2003 together with Proclamation Declaring the Establishment of the Commonwealth, Letters Patent Relating to the Office of Governor-General, Statute of Westminister Adoption Act 1942, Australia Act 1986, (Attorney-General’s Department, Barton A.C.T. : 2003). Whalley, G.H., Patrick Murphy on Popery in Ireland or Confessionals, Abductions, Nunneries, Fenians and Orangemen, (Publisher Unknown, London: 1865).

379

Newspapers Australian Baptist, 1947-1967. Australian Church Record, 1955-1965. Church Chronicle, November 1970. Catholic Weekly, 1947-1970. Daily Mirror, 1961-1963. Daily Telegraph, 1961-1963. NSW Presbyterian, 1947-1965. Southern Cross: Magazine of the Diocese of Sydney, 1961-1971. Sun-Herald, 1961-1963. Sydney Morning Herald, 1955-1957, 1961-1963. The Anglican, 1952-1970. The Bulletin, 1961-1965. The Congregationalist, 1947-1960. The Methodist, 1947-1970. The NSW Congregationalist, 1961-1968.

Private Papers Davis, J.S. [Letter] To the State Secretary United Protestant Association of Queensland, Assistant Secretary Victorian Protestant Federation11 July 1972, The Rock Archives, held by the Reverend Dennis Shelton. The Rock archival material, held by the Reverend Dennis Shelton. Statement of Veronica Green, 26 January 2005 Statement of Tony Ryan, June 2003. 36 Questionnaires Sectarianism in Australia Oral History Project, names suppressed.

Oral Sources Interview with Veronica Brady by Robin Hughes, 7 December 1993, http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/brady/intertext3.html, 14/9/2006. Luttrell, J., Re-gaining State Aid 1960-80: Interviews, (Catholic Education Office Sydney, 2003). Interview with Albert Sweeney for Australians at War Film Archive, http://www.australiansatwarfilmarchive.gov.au/aawfa/interviews/1430.aspx, 23/11/2006. Interview with Fr James Minchin by Jane Yule, Melbourne 16 April 1997, http:// www.ascm.org.au/friends/Minchin.pdf, 14/9/2006. Interview with Dr Helen Hill by Jane Yule, Melbourne 23 April 1997, cited at http://www.ascm.org.au/friends/Hill.pdf, 14/9/2006. Sectarianism in postwar Australia Oral History Project, interviews conducted by Benjamin Edwards: Interview with Renata Stein, 28 May 2003. Interview with Robert Wilson, 20 June 2003. Interview with Edward Glover, 19 May 2003. Interview with Andrew Richards, 27 May 2003. Interview with Professor Thomas Miller, 3 July 2003. Interview with Bruce and Ida McInley, 20 October 2003. 380

Interview with the Reverend Arthur Higgins, 11 June 2003. Interview with the Reverend Peter Hughes, 27 June 2003. Interview with the Reverend Brian Thomas, 26 June 2003. Interview with David Gibson, 28 May 2003.

Autobiography / Memoir Campion, E. A Place in the City, (Penguin, Ringwood, Victoria: 1994). Campion, E. Rockchoppers: Growing up Catholic in Australia, (Pengiun Books, Ringwood, Victoria: 1982). Farrell, M., Laughing with God, (Sydney, 1957). Farrell, M., From Rome to Christ: The Story of a Spiritual Pilgrimage, (Protestant Publications, 1981). Riemer, A. Inside, Outside, (Angus & Robertson, Pymble: 1992). Nelson, K. & Nelson, D., (eds), Sweet Mothers, Sweet Maids, (Penguin Books, Ringwood, Victoria: 1986).

SECONDARY SOURCES

Books and Articles Adair, D., ‘Consensus and Division on a Spiritual Occasion: The Twenty-ninth International Eucharistic Congress, Sydney, 1928’, Reviving Australia: Essays on the History and Experience of Revival and Revivalism in Australian Christianity, (eds), Hutchinson, M. & Piggin, S., (Sydney Centre for the Study of Australian Christianity, Sydney: 1994) pp.202- 232. Aitkin, D., The Country Party of NSW: A Study of Organisation and Survival, (ANU Press, Canberra: 1972). Anderson, D., ‘The Public/Private Division in Australian Schooling: Social and Educational Effects’, Schooling and Society in Australia: Sociological Perspectives (eds), Saha, L. & Keeves, P., (ANU Press, 1990) pp.87-109. Arnstein, W.L., Protestant versus Catholic in Mid-Victorian England: Mr Newdegate and the Nuns, (Columbia, University of Missouri Press: 1982). Australian Social Trends 1994: Religion – Special Feature: trends in religious affiliation, (ABS 1994). Bea, Augustin Cardinal., The Unity of Christians, (ed.), Leeming, B., (Chapman, London: 1963). Billington, Ray Allen., The Protestant Crusade, 1800-1860: A Study of the Origins of American Nativism, (New York, 1958) pp 98-117. Birch, I.K.F., ‘State-Aid at the Bar: The DOGS CASE’, Melbourne Studies in Education, 1984. Birkett, K. D., Broughton Knox, Selected Works Volume II Church and Ministry, (Matthias Media, Sydney: 2003) pp.393-423. Blacklow, N. & West, E., ‘Sectarianism and Sisterhood: Research in Progress’, Rural Society, 10, No.2, 2000, pp.243-246. Bollen, J.D., Cahill, E., Mansfield, B. & O’Farrell, P., ‘Australian Religious History,1960-1980’, Journal of Religious History, 11, 1980, pp.8-44. 381

Bolton, G., The Oxford History of Australia, Volume 5, ‘The Middle Way’, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1996). Bouma, G., ’Globilization, Social Capital and the Challenge to Harmony of Recent Changes in Australia’s Religious and Spiritual Demography: 1947-2001’, Australian Religion Studies Review, 16, No. 2, Spring 2003, pp.55-68. Bourke, J.E., ‘Catholic Education in Australia: Problems and Issues’, The Organization and Administration of Catholic Education in Australia (ed.) Tannock, P.D., (University of Queensland Press, Brisbane: 1975). Brett, J., Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class : From Alfred Deakin to John Howard, (Cambridge University Press, Melbourne: 2003). Brewer, J.D. & Higgins, G.I., Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland, 1600- 1998: The Mote and the Beam, (Macmillan Press, Basingstoke & London: 1998). Brown, C., The Death of Christian Britain, (Routledge, Oxford: 2001). Bruce, S., Conservative Protestant Politics, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1998). Burke, G. & Spaull, A., Australian Schools: participation and funding 1901- 2000, (ABS, Canberra 2001). Calwell, A. A., ‘A Migrant Nation’, The World and South East Asia, November 1972, p. 156. Cameron, M., An Enigmatic Life: David Broughton Knox, (Acorn Press, Victoria: 2006). Campion, E., 'Rumble, Leslie Audoen (1892-1975)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 2002) pp. 150-151. Campion, E., ‘Long Divisions’, Eureka Street, October 2002, pp.9-10. Campion, E., Australian Catholics, (Viking, Victoria: 1987). Carey, H.M., Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Religions, (Allen & Unwin, Sydney: 1996). Carey, H.M., Breward, I., O’Brien, A., Rutland, S., & Thompson, R. ‘Australian Religion Review, 1980-2000, Part 1: Surveys, Bibliographies and Religions Other than Christianity’, Journal of Religious History, 24. No.3, October 2000, pp.296-305. Carey,H., Breward,I., Doumanis,N., Frappell,R., Hilliard,D., Massam,K., O'Brien,A., & Thompson,R., ‘Australian Religion Review, 1980-2000, Part 2: Christian Denominations’, Journal of Religious History, 25 , No.1, pp. 56–82. Champion, J. A.I., The Pillars of Priestcraft Shaken, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1992). Chiniquy, C., Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, (Protestant Literature Depository, London: 1886). Costar, B., Love, P. & Strangio, P. (eds), The Great Labor Schism: A Retrospective, (Scribe Publications, Melbourne: 2005). Darian-Smith, K. & Hamilton, P., Memory and History in Twentieth- Century Australia, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1994). 382

Davies, H., Worship and Theology in England: From Watts and Wesley to Martineau, 1690-1900, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1996). Davis, J., Australian Anglicans and their Constitution (Acorn Press, Canberra: 1993). Davis, J.R. and Spearritt, P., Sydney at the Census: 1971 A Social Atlas (Urban Research Unit, ANU, Canberra: 1974). Deery, P., ‘Permeation or Paranoia? Dr Evatt’s Exposure of the ‘The Movement’,1954’, Victorian Historical Journal, 73, No.1, April 2002, pp.51-63. Deming, J.C., Religion and Identity in Modern France: The Modernisation of the Protestant Community in Languedoc 1815-1848 (University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland: 1999). Denholm, Z., ‘Partridge, Bridget [Sister M. Liguori] (1860-1966)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 1988) pp.151-152. Dougan, A., 'Angus, Samuel (1881-1943)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, (Melbourne University Press, 1979)pp. 73-74. Duncan, B., Crusade or Conspiracy : Catholics and the Anti-Communist Struggle in Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2001). Dunstan,K., ‘The Evolution of Edna’ edited extract ‘from Moonee Ponds To Broadway’, The Age Arts Review, 21 January 2006. Edwards, D.L., Christian England Volume Three: From the 18th Century to the First World War, (Collins, London: 1984). Ely, R., ‘Church and State’, The Oxford Companion to Australian History, (eds), Davison, G., Hirst, J. & McIntyre, S., (Oxford University Press, Melbourne: 2001) pp.124-126. Emilsen, W., & Emilsen, S., (eds), The Uniting Church in Australia: The First 25 Years, (Melbourne Publishing Group, Melbourne: 2003). Engel, F., Christians in Australia: Times of Change 1918-1978, Volume Two, (Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne: 1993). Fletcher, B., ‘Anglicanism and Nationalism in Australia, 1901-1962’, Journal of Religious History, 23, No.2, June 1999, pp.215-233. Fletcher, B., ‘Anglicanism and national identity in Australia since 1962’, Journalof Religious History, 25, no.3, October 2001, pp.324-345. Franklin, J., ‘Catholics versus Masons’, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 20, 1999, pp.8-9. Frappell, R., ‘The Oxford Movement Centenary in Australia’, From Oxford to the Bush: Essays on Catholic Anglicanism in Australia (ed.), Moses, J.A., (Broughton Press & SPCK Australia: 1997) pp.126-144. Fraser, A., King Charles II, (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London: 1979). Fraser, R., ‘Anzac Day’, Southern Cross, April 1966, pp.14-15. Henderson, G., ‘Humphries Has Gone Soft, Possums’, Sydney Morning Herald,16 March 1999, p.15. Gregory, J., ‘State Aid to Religion in the Australian Colonies 1788-1895’, Victorian Historical Journal, 70, No.2, November 1999, pp.128-144. Haeusler, P., ‘Living with Hope and Fear: Advancing Catholic social ideals and the spectre of Communism’, (eds)Costar, B., Love, P. & Strangio, P., 383

The Great Labor Schism: A Retrospective (Scribe Publications, Melbourne: 2005) pp.181-200. Hall,R., ‘Goatriders and Rockchoppers – Sectarianism in Australia’, National Times, 5-11 September 1982, p.19. Hansen, D.E., ‘The Origin and Early Years of the NSW Council of Churches’, Journal of Religious History, 11, No. 2, 1981, pp.452-471. Harman, G.S., ‘The Political Constraints on Catholic Education’, The Organisation and Administration of Catholic Education in Australia, (ed.), Tannock, P.D., (University of Queensland Press, 1975). Harrington, E. ‘What God has joined let no one put asunder – not even the Church!’, Australasian Catholic Record, 78, no.2, April 2001, pp.198-209. Haydon, C., ‘‘I love my King and my Country, but a Roman Catholic I hate’: Anti-Catholicism, Xenophobia and National Identity in Eighteenth Century England’, (eds), Claydon, T. & McBride, I. Protestantism and National Identity, Britain and Ireland c.1650-c.1850, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1998) pp.33-52. Haydon, C., Anti-Catholicism in 18th Century England: A Political and Social Study, (Manchester University Press, Manchester: 1993). Hempenstall, P., The Meddlesome Priest: A Life of Ernest Burgmann, (Allen&Unwin, St Leonards: 1993). Hilliard, D., ‘Church, Family and Sexuality in Australia in the 1950s’, Australian Historical Studies, 28, No. 109, October 1997, pp.133-146. Hilliard, D., ‘Pluralism and New Alignments in Society and Church’, Anglicanism in Australia, (ed.), Kaye, B. (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 2002) pp.124-148. Hilliard, D., ‘The Religious Crisis of the 1960s: The Experience of the Australian Churches’, Journal of Religious History, 21, No.2, June 1997, pp209-227. Hilliard, D., ‘God in the Suburbs: The Religious Culture of Australian Cities in the 1950s’, Australian Historical Studies, 24, No.97, October 1991, pp.399-419. Hlyson-Smith, K., The Churches in England from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II: Volume II 1689-1833, (SCM Press Ltd, London: 1997). Hogan, M., ‘Whatever Happened to Australian Sectarianism’, Journal of Religious History, 13 No.1, June 1984, pp.83-91. Hogan, M., Australian Catholics: The Social Justice Tradition, (Collins Dove, Victoria: 1993). Hogan, M., The Catholic Campaign for State Aid : A Study of a Pressure Group Campaign in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory 1950-1972, (Catholic Theological Faculty, Sydney: 1978). Hogan, M., The Sectarian Strand: Religion in Australian History, (Penguin, Ringwood, Victoria: 1987). Horne, D., The Lucky Country: Australia in the Sixties, (Angus and Robertson, Sydney:1967). Hughes, P., The Australian Clergy, (CRA, Kew: 1989). Hutchinson, M., Iron in Our Blood: A History of the Presbyterian Church in NSW, 1788-2001, (Ferguson Publications, Sydney: 2001) pp.372-373. 384

Hyland, N., ‘Emily Norbury’, The Australian Evangelical Dictionary of Biography, (ed). Dickey, B., (Evangelical History Association, Sydney: 1994) p.287. Jensen, P., ‘Caleb in the Antipodes: The Pivotal Role of T.C.Hammond’, Southern Cross, June 2005. Judd, S. & Cable, K., Sydney Anglicans: A History of the Diocese, (Anglican Information Office, Sydney: 1987). Kerr, N., (ed.), Australian Catholic Bishops’ Statements Since Vatican II, (St Paul Publications, Homebush, NSW, 1985). Kildea, J., Tearing the Fabric: Sectarianism in Australia 1910 – 1925, (Citadel Books, Sydney: 2002). Kildea, J. & Brett, J., ‘Sectarianism, Politics and Australia’s Catholics’, The Sydney Papers, Winter 2002, pp.160-167. Lamb, S., Walstab, A., Teese, R., Vickers, M. & Rumberger, R., Staying on at School: Improving Student Retention in Australia Report for the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts, (Centre for Post- compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Melbourne, Melbourne: 2004). Lewins, F., ‘Community and Change in a Religious Organization: Some Aspects of the Australian Catholic Church’, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 16, No.4, December 1977, pp. 371-382. Lewins, F., ‘Ethnic Diversity within Australian Catholicism: A Comparative and Theoretical Analysis’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 12, No. 2, 1976, pp.126-135. Loane, M.L., Mark these Men, (Acorn Press, Canberra: 1985). Logan, J., ‘Sectarianism in Ganmain: A Local Study, 1912-21’, Rural Society, 10, no.2, 2000, pp.121-138. Lord, G., et al., Growing Up Catholic, (Ellsyd Press, Sydney: 1986). Luby, S., ‘From Sectarianism to Ecumenism: Inter-Church Relations in Australia since White Settlement’, Compass Theology Review, 22, Autumn/Winter, 1988, pp.86-92. Luttrell, J., ‘Cardinal Gilroy’s Anzac Day Problem’, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 85, Part 1, June1999, pp.1-19. Manne, R., My Country – A Personal Journey, (Deakin Lecture, Melbourne 20 May 2001). Mansfield, B., ‘Sydney History and Religion: A Memoir’, Quadrant, 49, No.11, November 2005, pp.56-59. Marotti, A., Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy: Catholic and Anti- Catholic discourses in Early Modern England, (University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana: 2005). Massam, K., Sacred Threads: Catholic Spirituality in Australia 1922-1962, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1996). Massam, K., ‘The Blue Army and the Cold War: Anti-Communist Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Australia’ in Australian Historical Studies, 24, No.97, October 1991, pp.420-429. Mayer, H., (ed) Catholics and the Free Society: An Australian Symposium, (Cheshire, Melbourne: 1961). 385

McCalman, J., Struggletown: Public and Private Life in Richmond, 1900-1965, (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne: 1985). MacCulloch, D., Reformation: Europe’s House Divided, 1490-1700, (Penguin Books, London: 2004) McKibbin, R., Classes and Culture: England 1918 –1951, (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1998). McLeod, H., Religion and Society in England 1850-1914, (St Martin’s Press, New York: 1996). Mol, H., The Faith of Australians, (Allen and Unwin, St Leonards: 1985). Mol, H., Religion in Australia: A sociological Investigation, (Nelson, Melbourne: 1971). Moore, B., ‘Sectarianism in NSW – the Ne Temere Legislation 1924-25’, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 9, No.1, 1987, pp.3- 15. Murphy, J., Imagining the Fifties: Private Sentiment and Political Culture in Menzies’ Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2000). Murphy, J., ‘The Voice of Memory: History, Autobiography and Oral Memory’, Historical Studies, 22, No.87, October 1986, pp.157-175. Murray, K., Walking Home with Marie-Claire,(Allen&Unwin: 2002). Murray, R., ‘Looking Back on Evatt and the Split’, Quadrant, 48, No. 10, October 2004, pp.20-25. Murray, R., ‘Proddies and Micks’, Quadrant, 49, No.4, April 2005, pp.30-37 Neal, F., Sectarian Violence, The Liverpool Experience 1819-1914: An Aspect of Anglo-Irish History, (Manchester U.P., 1988). Nelson,W., T.C.Hammond Irish Christian: His Life and Legacy in Ireland and Australia, (Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh: 1994). Norman, E.R., Anti-Catholicism in Victorian England, (Allen & Unwin, London: 1968). O’Brien, A., ‘The ‘Cultivated Man’: Class, Gender and the Church of the Establishment in Interwar Australia’, Australian Historical Studies, 107, 1996, pp.242-256. O’Brien, A., God’s Willing Workers, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 2005). O’Farrell, P., Documents in Australian Catholic History, Volume 1, (Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London: 1969). O’Farrell, P., Documents in Australian Catholic History, Volume 2, (Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London: 1969). O’Farrell, P., ‘Double Jeopardy: Catholic and Irish’, Humanities Research, 12, No.1, 2005, pp.7-12. O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1992). O’Farrell, P., The Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History 1788-1967, (Nelson, Melbourne: 1967). O’Farrell, P., The Irish in Australia, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1987). O’Farrell, P., UNSW – A Portrait, (UNSW Press, Sydney: 1999). Philips, W., Defending ‘a Christian Country’: Churchmen and Society in New South Wales in the 1880s and After (University of Queensland Press, 1981). Piggin, S., Evangelical Christianity in Australia, (Oxford: 1996). 386

Piggin, S., ‘Towards a Bicentennial History of Australian Evangelicalism’, Journal of Religious History, 15, No. 1, 1988, pp.20-37. Portelli, A., ‘What Makes Oral History Different’, The Oral History Reader, (eds), Parks, R & Thomson, A. (Routledge, London: 1998) pp.63-74. Porter, M., Land of the Spirit: The Australian Religious Experience, (World Council of Churches Publications, Geneva: 1990). Porter, M., Sex, Marriage and the Church: Patterns of Change, (Dove, Melbourne:1996). Puls, J., ‘The Goulburn Lockout’, The Australiasian Catholic Record, 81, No. 2, April 2004, pp.169-183. Reid, J.R., Marcus L. Loane, A Biography, (Acorn Press, Melbourne: 2004). Roe, J., ‘A Tale of Religion in Two Cities’, The Sydney-Melbourne Book, (ed.), Davidson, J. (Allen and Unwin, St Leonards: 1986), pp. 208-217. Rouse, R. & Neil, S., (eds), A History of the Ecumenical Movement 1517-1948, (SPCK, London: 1967). Ryan, M., ‘Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools: Three Historical Snapshots’, Journal of Religious Education, 50, No.3, 2002, pp.2- 6. Scalmer, S., ‘The Affluent Worker or the Divided Party? Explaining the Transformation of the ALP in the 1950s’, Australian Journal of Political Science, 32, No. 3, November 1997, pp.401-418. Shelton, D., TheCampbell File: Memoirs of J.W. Campbell of ‘The Rock’, (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1981). Sangster, J., ‘Telling Our Stories: Feminist debates and the use of oral history’, The Oral History Reader, (eds), Parks, R & Thomson, A. (Routledge, London: 1998) pp.87-101. Spann, R.N. ‘The Catholic Vote in Australia’, Catholics and the Free Societ: An Australian Symposium, (ed) Mayer, H. (Cheshire, Melbourne: 1961) pp.115-141. Steinback, W., ‘Sectarianism’s Last Stand? Mannix, Menzies and the 1954 Duntroon Colours Controversy’, Australian Defence Force Journal, No.146, January/February 2001, pp.19-25. Thompson, R., Religion in Australia: A History (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 2002). Turner, I., Factor, J. & Lowenstein, W., Cinderella Dressed in Yella, (Heinemann Educational Australia, Melbourne: 1978). Turner, N., Catholics in Australia, (Collins, Blackburn Victoria: 1992). Turner, N., Sinews of Sectarian Warfare?: State Aid in NSW 1836-1862, (ANU Press, Canberra: 1972). van Nunen, L., ‘A Nod, A Wink and a Handshake’ , The Weekend Australian Magazine, July 27-28, 2002, pp.20-23. Vinet, L., I was a Priest, (Protestant Publications, Glebe: 1951). Walsh, M., The Good Sams: Sisters of the Good Samaritan 1857-1969, (Mulgrave, Victoria: 2001). Watson, I., ‘Class Memory: An Alternative Approach to Class Identity’, Labour History, 67, 1994, pp. 23-41. 387

Watts, M. R., The Dissenters Volume II: The Expansion of Evangelical Nonconformity 1791-1859, (Clarendon Press, Oxford: 1995).

Unpublished Theses Blayney, P., Catholic Marriage Law: Mixed Marriage and the Australian Debate over Ne Temere 1908-1925, MA Hons Thesis, Macquarie University, 2003. Frappell, S., Building Jerusalem: Church and Society in NSW 1940 -1956, PhD Thesis, University of Sydney, 1995. Lyons, M., Aspects of Sectarianism, New South Wales c1865-1880, PhD Thesis, Australian National University, 1972.

Online Sources Bunting,E.J., (Cabinet Notes.[30/10/52 to 3/7/53] Personal) part 2 of the transcript of A11099, 1/30, http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/ cabinet / 1953_cabinet_notebooks/ Book30-1953.rtf. 18/5/2004. Butler, S. To Aitch or Haitch?, http://www.abc.net.au /wordmap /rel_stories/aitch.htm, 23/8/2006. Celebrating Our Foundation, http://buildafuture.nsw.uca.org.au/documents/ history.pdf, 13/01/2007. Key Facts in Immigration, Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/02key.htm, 16/2/2005. Jensen, P., The Protestant Conscience, April 2005, http://www.msw.churches .com/moopa-media/sites/nswchurches/attachments/5%20April%2005% 20-B%20Judd%20Jensen%20protcon.doc, 25/5/2006. Manne, R., My Country – A Personal Journey, Deakin Lecture, Melbourne, 20 May 2001, cited at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/deakin/stories/s336645.htm, 19 October 2006. Nilsen, R., DOGS and the High Court Case, http://www.adogs.info/dogs_high_court_case1.htm#00a, Council for Defence of Government Schools (Victoria), 10/5/2004. Spigelman, J J, Address at the University Of Sydney Parliament House Dinner, 6 September 1999, http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/supreme_ court /ll_sc.nsf/vwPrint1/SCO_speech_spigelman_060999, 21/8/2006. The Catholic Encyclopedia, ( Original Publication 1912) cited at: http:// www.newadvent. org/cathen/13121a.htm; http://www.newadvent.org /cathen/14763a.htm, 15/6/2004. Timeframe, ABC Radio National, (10 April 1997), http://www.abc.net.au/time/episodes/ep7.htm, 9/5/2004. http://malcolmfarnsworth.com/english/usage/haitch-aitch-burnside.html, 30/8/2006. Pius X, Editae Saepe, (26 May 1910), http:// www.vatican.va/ holy_father/ pius_x/ encyclicals/ documents/hf_p-x_enc_26051910_editae- saepe_en.html, 19/7/2005. Paul VI, Matrimonia Mixta, (March 1970), http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/ hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19700331_matrimonia-mixta_lt.html, 4/3/2004. 388

REFERENCE WORKS The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, (eds), Cross, F.L. & Livingstone, E.A. (Oxford University Press: 1997 3rd edition). The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, (eds), Hastings, A. & Pyder, H., (Oxford University Press: 2000). The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, (ed.), Onions, C. T. et al, (Oxford, Clarendon: 1966)p. 805. Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, (ed.), Partridge, E., (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London: 1958).