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Mary was sent to Sydney as a convict when she was just 15.
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In 1825 she was appointed one of the governors of the Free Grammar School.
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The Church Act was approved by the Colonial Office in 1836. The Act provided funding to the Catholic, Church of England and Presbyterian churches to employ clergy and erect churches.
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Caroline Chisholm arrived in Sydney in the Emerald Isle in September 1838.
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In 1838, five nuns from the Sisters of Charity travelled from Ireland to Australia. They were compelled by the original vision of their founder, to care for the poor and vulnerable in the newly established colony.
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In 1840 William Davis donated the land on which St Patrick’s is built.
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In 1841, she established the Female Emigrant's Home in Sydney which provided shelter and helped women find work in the city.
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Fr Patrick Geoghegan laid the foundation stone in 1841, he named the church in honour of St Francis of Assisi, the founder of his order.
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MacKillop was born in Australia to poor Scottish immigrants
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St John’s Catholic School was established in the “old” school house adjacent to the Church in 1843.
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The Christian Brothers first came to Sydney, Australia in 1843.
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St. john’s Cathedral is the earliest Roman Catholic church building in Western Australia.
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The Sisters of Mercy first came to Australia in 1846. Dedicated to serving people who suffer from injustices related to poverty, sickness or lack of education.
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It was designed by A W Pugin and built from 1849 to 1850 by Alexander Goold and Andrew Petrie.
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In 7 months, 2.4 million pounds of gold was transported to nearby capital cities. The gold rushes caused a huge influx of people from overseas. Australia's total population more than tripled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871.
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The St Vincent de Paul Society was established in Australia at St Francis' Church in Melbourne on 5 March 1854 after witnessing the plight of people following the discovery of gold in Victoria.
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Julian arrived in Tasmania in 1855, aged 23
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The Sisters of the Good Samaritan was commenced by Bede Polding in Sydney in 1857. The congregation was the first religious congregation to be founded in Australia.
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In 1866 MacKillop and Fr Julian Woods founded Australia’s first order of nuns, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and also established St. Joseph’s School in a converted stable in Penola, providing a free education to children from the area.
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The Presentation Sisters first came to Richmond in Tasmania in October 1866, to Victoria in 1873 and to New South Wales in 1874.
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In 1867 MacKillop took vows and became the first mother superior of the sisters. The following year the sisters opened schools in other Australian cities, as well as an orphanage and a refuge for women released from prison.
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The Dukes arrival stirred sectarian violence.
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Fr Julian was a much loved missioner in Tasmania. It was during his first year on the island state that he founded the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Brisbane.
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In 1875 she was appointed superior general of the order and held this title until her death.
