Island continent of the southern hemisphere and self-governing federal state of the British Empire. Originally a penal settlement during the Orange reign of terror in Ireland towards the end of the 18th century, many Catholic Irish and subsequently many prominent political offenders were deported to the convict establishment at Botany Bay. Among the first convicts were three Catholic priests, but they were not allowed to exercise their ministry. In 1803Father Dixon was conditionally emancipated and celebrated the first official Mass in Sydney; his privileges were rescinded in the following year. Catholics received no further ministrations but were forced to attend Protestant services. In 1817 Father Jeremiah O'Flynn, appointed Prefect Apostolic of New Holland, was arrested soon after landing in Australia and deported. This action brought matters to the notice of the British authorities and in 1821Fathers John J. Therry and Philip Conolly were appointed chaplains; but they were hampered by numerous restrictions. In 1833 the Benedictine Father William Ullathorne (afterwards Bishop of Birmingham, England) was appointed vicar-general of Australia, and in 1834 the mainland, Tasmania, and adjacent islands were formed into the Vicariate Apostolic of New Holland, with John B. Polding, a Benedictine, as first bishop. The Church Act, passed in 1836, was Australia's first charter of religious liberty, and thenceforth the Catholic population increased rapidly, necessitating the erection of numerous dioceses. In 1882 education was secularized and state aid withdrawn from denominational schools; Catholic primary schools, however, proved self-supporting. Patrick F. Moran was created Australia's first cardinal in 1885, and in 1914 an Apostolic delegate was appointed. In September 1928, the International Eucharistic Congress was held in Sydney, Australia.

Ecclesiastically the country is governed by the archdioceses of

Adelaide
Brisbane
Canberra
Hobart
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney

and the dioceses of

Armidale
Ballarat
Bathurst
Broken Bay
Broome
Bunbury
Cairns
Darwin
Geraldton
Lismore
Maitland-Newcastle
Parramatta
Port Pirie
Rockhampton, Queensland
Sale
Sandhurst
Toowoomba
Townsville
Wagga Wagga
Wilcannia-Forbes
Wollongong

Other ecclesiastical designations include

Australian Military Ordinariate
Kalumburu (Mission "Sui Iuris")
King George Sounde - The Sound (Vicariate Apostolic)
New Norcia (Territorial Abbey)
Saint Maron of Sydney (Maronite) (Eparchy)
Saint Michael's of Sydney (Melkite) (Eparchy)
Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne (Ukrainian) (Eparchy)

Bible Dictionaries Australia

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

Bible Dictionaries
Australia