FAITH-BASED CHARITY AND PROFESSIONAL AMBITION IN THE LIFE OF CHARLES GORDON O’NEILL (1828-1900) Submitted by Stephen Utick M.Sc.Soc. M.Litt. M.A. A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Arts and Sciences (NSW) Faculty of Arts and Sciences Australian Catholic University Graduate Research Studies PO Box 968 North Sydney New South Wales 2059 August 2012 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP AND SOURCES This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. All research procedures reported in the thesis received the approval of the relevant Ethics Committee (where required) or a relevant safety committee if the matter is referred to such a committee. (signed) Stephen Utick Date: 14 August 2012 iii ABSTRACT This translocational biography provides an interpretation of the life of Catholic philanthropist, colonial parliamentarian and civil engineer Charles Gordon O’Neill (1828-1900). Focusing on the two most significant elements in his life, commitment to faith-based charity and professional ambition in pursuit of an empire career in civil engineering, it also examines the balance between O’Neill’s Irish Catholic and British identities. Covering O’Neill’s life in Victorian Scotland (1828-1863), colonial New Zealand (1864-1880) and pre-Federation New South Wales (1881-1900), the biography traces the sequence and patterns of these two respective elements through a broadly chronological theme-based historiography. This biography analyses O’Neill’s greatest professional achievements, particularly in New Zealand in such endeavours as town planning, and railways and tramways development. It also reveals his prescient environmental concerns, through his promotion of forest conservation and the advocacy of global forest-climate connection in the New Zealand Parliament between 1868 and 1874. Of more enduring memory was O’Neill’s commitment to faith-based charity through his pioneering of the St Vincent de Paul Society in all three societies. The defining moment of his life was to embrace a faith-based mission to the Australian colonies beginning in 1880, leading to the establishment of the St Vincent de Paul Society in New South Wales. The growth of the Society’s outdoor relief for the poor in Sydney owed much to the expertise O’Neill gained previously in Glasgow and Wellington. The thesis explains the Catholic religious influences that transformed O’Neill into a pioneer of non- intrusive charity during the 1880s. A key theme, examining three cycles of the vicissitudes of O’Neill’s life, reveals the pattern of fusion and fragmentation of the two elements of commitment to faith-based charity and professional ambition. The thesis concludes with a brief thanatography and analysis of subsequent hagiographic interpretations of O’Neill’s life that had ended with a final submission in faith. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to gratefully acknowledge the guidance and historical expertise of Professor Malcolm Prentis, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Australian Catholic University as my principal supervisor in undertaking this PhD research. The breadth and scope of his scholarship in Scots history in Australia and New Zealand, as well as pre-Federation church history, has been invaluable to me. I also thank Professor Robert Gascoigne, School of Theology and Philosophy, Australian Catholic University as my assistant supervisor for his excellent advice on relevant theological background and in helping me refine certain points about Charles O’Neill’s spirituality. My completion of the environmental aspects of this historical biography owes much to the advice of two New Zealand historians, Associate Professor James Beattie of the University of Waikato and Professor Tom Brooking of the University of Otago. I acknowledge the support of the St Vincent de Paul Society Archives in Canberra (National Council) and Lewisham, Sydney (New South Wales State Council), and particularly the assistance of Michael Moran, the Society’s National Archivist. I thank Associate Professor John Murphy of the University of Melbourne for directing me to some useful references. I also wish to thank Ailsa Solley, librarian at the Australian National University for her translation of key fragments of the Ernest Michel volumes. Finally, heartfelt thanks to my Vincentian colleague Vince Dever who has continued to be a companion along my journey of understanding about Charles O’Neill. v BIBLICAL REFERENCES This thesis is a historical thesis but has incorporated some biblical and other theological references conducive to further understanding of the topic. Scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. vi ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Archives (other than those not abbreviated) ATL - Alexander Turnbull Library (Wellington, New Zealand) D.S.A. - Dictionary of Scottish Architects (online, University of St Andrews, Scotland) ICEArchives – Institution of Engineers Archives, London. MArcHH - Marist Archives, Hunters Hill (Hunters Hill, New South Wales) Marist Archives – Marist Archives (Wellington, New Zealand) SAA - Sydney (Catholic) Archdiocesan Archives (St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales) ScottishCathArchives - Scottish Catholic Archives (Edinburgh, Scotland) SVDPA - St Vincent de Paul Society Archives, Sydney (Lewisham), New South Wales) NSWRegBD&M - New South Wales Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Sydney, New South Wales) NZArchives - New Zealand Archives (Wellington, New Zealand) WCArchives – Wellington City Archives (Wellington, New Zealand) CoManual - Manual of the Society of St Vincent De Paul, with Subsequent Annotations and Pasted Cuttings by Charles O' Neill (possibly published in Dublin, 1877). General References anon - anonymous (usually author or journalist) vii Government (other than those not abbreviated) MHA - Member of the House of Assembly (i.e. New Zealand Parliament) MLA - Member of the Legislative Assembly (including in the New South Wales Parliament) MLC - Member of the Legislative Council (including in the New South Wales Parliament) NZG - New Zealand Gazette NZGG - New Zealand Government Gazette NZPD - New Zealand Parliamentary Debates Journals and Magazines These are not abbreviated. Titles have been provided in full. Newspapers AS - Australian Star (Sydney, New South Wales) AuckStar - Auckland Star (Auckland, New Zealand) BH - Bruce Herald (Otago, New Zealand) CathPress - Catholic Press (Sydney, New South Wales) CathW - Catholic Weekly (Sydney, New South Wales) DSC - Daily Southern Cross (Auckland, New Zealand) DT - Dunstan Times (Dunstan, New Zealand) DTel - Daily Telegraph (Sydney, New South Wales) DumH - Dumbarton Herald (Dumbarton, Britain) EdG - Edinburgh Gazette (Edinburgh, Britain) EP - The Evening Post (Wellington, New Zealand) FJ - Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, New South Wales) GFP - Glasgow Free Press (Glasgow, Britain) GRA - Grey River Argus (West Coast, New Zealand) viii HBHerald - Hawke’s Bay Herald (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand) MMH - Melbourne Morning Herald (Melbourne,Victoria) NelE - Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle (Nelson, New Zealand) NMH&MA - Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (Newcastle, New South Wales) NST&MP - North Shore Times and Manly Press (North Sydney, New South Wales) NthOtT - North Otago Times (North Otago, New Zealand) NZH - New Zealand Herald (Auckland, New Zealand) NZT - New Zealand Tablet (National New Zealand) OamaruT - Oamaru Times (North Otago, New Zealand) Observer - Observer (Auckland, New Zealand) ODT - Otago Daily Times (Otago, New Zealand) OW - Otago Witness (Otago, New Zealand) PortG&NGA - Portland Gazette and Normanby General Advertiser (Portland, Victoria) SCr - Southern Cross (Sydney, New South Wales) SilverA - The Silver Age (Silverton, New South Wales) SMH - Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales) SouthlandT - Southland Times (Otago, New Zealand) Star - Star (Canterbury, New Zealand) ThA - Thames Advertiser (Thames, New Zealand) TimH - Timaru Herald (Canterbury, New Zealand) TaranH - Taranaki Herald (Taranaki, New Zealand) TuapekaT - Tuapeka Times (Otago, New Zealand) WangHer - Wanganui Herald (Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand) WCTimes - West Coast Times (West Coast, New Zealand) WI - Wellington Independent (Wellington, New Zealand) ix Organisations (other than those not abbreviated) COS(Melbourne) - Charity Organisation Society of Melbourne EngAssNSW - Engineering Association of New South Wales H.A.C.B.S. - Hibernian-Australian Catholic Benefit Society HolyNameParishCHComm - Holy Name Parish Centenary History Committee (Rydalmere, Sydney) I.C.E. - Institution of Civil Engineers, London SVDP - St Vincent de Paul Society x TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of Authorship and Sources ................................................................ ii Abstract ............................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................iv Biblical