, Mudgee Catholic Church :: History

History

Early History

The first Mass was celebrated in Mudgee in February 1839 by Fr Michael O'Reilly only six months after the sale of the very first allotments of land in Mudgee. The first church, a slab and bark roofed structure was built in 1843. The Archbishop of Sydney appointed Father Callaghan McCarthy Parish Priest of Hartley about 1847. Fr McCarthy soon realised that Mudgee, one of his outposts, was a more logical centre for a parish and he was appointed Parish Priest of Mudgee in 1852.

On 6th July 1852 the first recorded wedding was celebrated in the new parish between locals Patrick Connelly and Jane Finucane. The first recorded baptism in the parish was of Catherine Johnstone on 5th August the same year.

Father McCarthy was at Mudgee for 15 years. He built the first stone church, the sanctuary of which formed the sanctuary of the third church on the site, and is still in use. He was the first priest to celebrate Mass in Coonamble in 1855 which was part of the parish that extended west and north to undefined boundaries.  When the colony of Queensland was established on 6th June 1859, the parish then had a defined northern boundary. In 1867 Father McCarthy was transferred to Manly. His replacement, Father John O'Donovan, did not arrive until almost twelve months later. In the interim Father William Nugent supplied. In 1871 Fr O'Donovan received an assistant priest, Father John Dunne, who would later become the third bishop of Bathurst. Fr O'Donovan was Parish Priest for 44 years and organised the building of the Convent of Mercy, the present St Mary's Church, and churches at Gulgong, Rylstone and Wollar. He died in 1912 and is buried in the church.

The third Parish Priest was Fr Edward Flanagan.  He was PP for 45 years, dying at 94 in 1957.  He oversaw the completion of the Convent of Mercy and construction of the new school.

The Church Buildings

The first church was built in 1843 of slabs with a bark roof near the site of the present presbytery. Fr Callaghan McCarthy, the first priest to reside in Mudgee, commenced the construction of the second church, sanctuary and sacristy in 1857 from local sandstone. It was blessed and officially opened in 1860 by Archbishop Polding.

The foundations of the present church buildings were commenced on 7th December 1873. The original sacristy and sanctuary were incorporated into the new building by architect Edward Gell. The builder was  Mr Webb from Tambaroora (near Hill End) and Mr Burns of Bathurst was the stonemason. The sandstone blocks were quarried at Botobolar and brought to Mudgee by bullock teams.

St. Mary's church was officially opened on 11th November 1876. The ornate stencilling and beautiful stained glass windows were from the firm Lyon, Cottier and Co.

The sanctuary consists of a marble altar, the marble sourced from the Rockhampton district of Queensland. The other marble, with the exception of some green marble from Sweden, is Carrara marble from Italy. It was cut in Sydney in small parts and assembled in Mudgee by Mr William Dryden. The stone pulpit and the statues of Sts Peter and Paul below it was the work of Mr Sullivan.

The Stations of the Cross were painted by George de Pyro in London. These paintings were send to Australia unframed and they were subsequently framed by a Swiss firm in Sydney.

The Pipe Organ was built by J. W. Walker in London in 1866 and was originally installed in St Jude's, Randwick. It was purchased in October 1904 and rebuilt by Charles Richardson. It was installed in St. Mary's in 1907.

In 1903 the bell was placed in the tower and in 1911 the copper sheathed spire was added to the tower.

The maple pews were given on the occasion of Monsignor Flanagan's Golden Jubilee on 7th July 1937.

The Presbytery

The first presbytery, consisting of the current front four rooms and an outdoor kitchen was built by Father Callaghan McCarthy at his own expense in 1851. The presbytery has had numerous extensions over time. To this day the presbytery remains in use. It is one of the oldest buildings in Mudgee and continues to be the residence of the Catholic priests appointed to Mudgee Parish. It is the oldest building in Mudgee still used for the original purpose for which it was built.