Building on blessings of the past
Local
Community spirit, a tradition of welcoming migrants and the presence of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH Sisters) – these are the blessings for which the Clearview-Kilburn parish will give thanks when it celebrates three significant milestones this month.
It’s a community spirit that goes back to the 1940s and 50s when a growing number of European migrants moved into the northern suburbs as they found work at places like the Islington Rail Yards and the British Tube Mills plant.
By 1946 Kilburn’s Catholic population, previously part of the North Adelaide Dominican parish, was large enough to warrant a parish of its own and Fr Pat Walsh was appointed parish priest.
The Dominican school, St Joseph’s, was also growing rapidly and when Archbishop Matthew Beovich invited the OLSH Sisters to Adelaide in 1947, they chose this school because it was where the need was greatest. Their first convent was established in a cottage in Le Hunte Street and there has been an OLSH community of varying sizes in that street ever since.
Housing Trust homes were being built and were quickly taken up by mainly Maltese, Italian and Polish migrants. At one point there were 470 children in the parish hall and an army hut was brought in by Fr Walsh for the overflow. In 1949 an additional classroom was built on the southern end of the church hall.
The concept of community was simple back then; people knew their neighbours and helped each other out. OLSH Sister Pat Smith was a child of that era, attending ‘kinder’ at St Brigid’s, and remembers people looking after one another.
“When mum had a baby and went to hospital the family next door took us all in, fed us, put dad’s meal away for when he got home from the hospital, that’s the sort of people they were, they looked after the Sisters but they also looked after one another,” she said.
With the parish hall used for school during the week, social activities on Saturday and Mass on Sundays, and with congestion in the two classrooms continuing, it was time to build a new church.
A building appeal raised 2000 pounds and the foundation stone was laid by Prior O’Rourke OP in August 1953. The official opening was celebrated by Archbishop Beovich on May 23 1954.
In the early 1960s overcrowding was still a problem at St Joseph’s and in 1963 plans were made to build a new school and presbytery, both of which were completed in 1964. The school was renamed Sr Brigid’s at this time.
A few kilometres away in Clearview, Catholics were part of the Walkerville parish until 1952 when it became Clearview/Enfield parish under the guidance of Fr Michael Dunne. Like Kilburn, Housing Trust homes were being built in the area and the migrant hostel at Gepps Cross was a source of new parishioners.
In the 1950s worship was conducted in a church hall called the Church of the Blessed Sacrament which from 1955 doubled as St Gabriel’s School. Opened by the OLSH Sisters under the direction of Sr Mary Barbara, there were 85 children from grades 1 to 3 and by the end of the year enrolments had reached 113.
In 1958 further boundary changes resulted in Enfield becoming part of the new parish of Greenacres. Northfield, Pooraka and Ingle Farm became part of Clearview parish.
Fr Robin Sutherland was appointed parish priest in 1962 and he soon began raising funds and in-kind support from tradesmen for the building of the Good Shepherd Church which was opened on August 23 1964.
Fr Leon Czechowicz, who was parish priest of Clearview/Kilburn for 14 years, remembers Fr Sutherland being able to “wangle all sorts of things”.
“I think the church was relatively inexpensive because a hell of a lot of it was done by Fr Rob ‘manipulating’ people,” he said.
“Even the artwork, which is really outstanding, he managed to get Voitre Marek to do it, and I think it was at very low cost.”
The parish continued to thrive under Fr Jim Sayers who was parish priest for 30 years, from 1974 to 2004.
Under the next parish priest Fr David Thoroughgood, the twinning of Clearview and Kilburn parishes took place in 2004. This resulted in one administration, parish pastoral and finance council and one parish priest but with an emphasis on ensuring worship and a strong sense of community continued at St Brigid’s and Good Shepherd churches.
Fr Selva Raj.
Four years ago Fr Selva Raj Leenaiah took over as parish priest and he said he was grateful for the work done by Fr Czechowicz in “striking a balance between two churches”.
He said the parish was more multicultural today than ever with an influx of Vietnamese, Filipino, Indian and African families in recent times.
“They are very involved in the church,” he said, adding that Saturday morning Mass at Kilburn had never been more popular.
Groups such as Knights of the Southern Cross, the Legion of Mary, Catholic Women’s League and Vinnies continue to provide “extraordinary support”.
Sr Pat Irvin, one of the three OLSH Sisters in Kilburn, said a Vinnies group was established even before the church was built with Fr Pat Walsh inviting the leader of the St Vincent de Paul Society to a meeting in 1951.
Today Vinnies runs the House of Welcome for refugees and asylum seekers in Le Hunte St and is partnering with the parish, the two primary schools, Caritas Australia and the Archdiocese in the Draw Near Project which will be launched at the anniversary celebrations.
Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council, Frank Scali, said the celebrations were “a chance to say thank you to those who have come before us”.
“When I came on board it was about building community and we’ve almost got to go back 100 years ago to see how we did it then and do that today…make the time to be together, don’t just take off straight after Mass,” he said.
Frank, who grew up and has lived in Kilburn since the late 60s, attended St Brigid’s school and used to know most people in the neighbourhood, but he said now people were more transient, moving in and out of the local area.
“You don’t get that same feeling anymore, and people are more time poor,” he said.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the parishioners’ love and affection for the OLSH Sisters.
“They still look after us, they feed us, we’ve got so much food in our fridge we’re never going to finish it, and we’ve got fruit flowing out the door,” said Sr Yvonne Gleeson.
“But we share whatever we have.”
Clearview’s second oldest parishioner, 95-year-old Brian Callahan, said he enjoyed the company and people of the parish.
Not long ago he could still be seen on a ladder doing some maintenance work and he is still on the counting roster. He moved to the area 24 years ago to be closer to his children after his wife died and is grateful for the friendship of parishioners, particularly Iris Daly, the former pastoral associate, who takes him shopping and has been “very good to me”.
A regular at the clergy-laity golf days, he still plays golf with Fr Czechowicz even though the retired priest “beats me every time”.
Tracey Evans is another stalwart of the Clearview parish, a former Parish Finance Council chair and active volunteer: “I was baptised here, I have done everything here, when I die, I’ll be here,” she said.
“I like the community spirit, there are a lot of parishioners here that I’ve known since I was little.”
Gary and Marie Lockwood moved into the parish in 1966 and became close friends with many of the English migrants.
“Many of them survived and got a go through Fr Dunne,” Gary said.
“He fed them and looked after them, they got a lot of help through the St Gabriel’s community, they just became the heart of the parish.”
Social life revolved around parish activities including the annual Anawim charity concert and the Lockwoods still catch up once a month at the Grand North with a family group established as part of an initiative by parish priest Fr Jim Sayers.
On August 11 Archbishop O’Regan will celebrate the 70th anniversary of St Brigid Church at 9am and the 60th anniversary of Good Shepherd Church at 11am. All are welcome to attend a celebratory lunch at the Founders Restaurant at 1pm. Booking are essential via events.humanitix.com/clearview-kilburn-catholic-parish-celebration-lunch
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