More than nine kilos of insight and excellence
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It is, at 582 pages long, an extraordinarily comprehensive account of not just the good works of Mary MacKillop, but of how her ideals and way of thinking and teaching spread across South Australia.
Should you wish to read up on anything about the history of Josephite education in South Australia, then there can surely be one starting point only.
Paul Murphy may be retired from his many years as a teacher and school principal (which he never expected to be) across our state but his work ethic is undimmed.
His latest literary foray is We Are But Travellers Here, delving into the 119 schools once supported by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in South Australia and it is little short of an epic undertaking.
It is, at 582 pages long, an extraordinarily comprehensive account of not just the good works of Mary MacKillop, but of how her ideals and way of thinking and teaching spread across South Australia.
All 120 copies from the first run – at $60 each – have been sold and Paul (pictured), who is a member of the Plympton parish, is considering a reprint. Anyone thinking about buying it should act quickly. This book is an absolute gem.
What you see is what you get. We Are But Travellers Here is a heavyweight offering, coming in at 9.35 kilograms on the scales, but it’s value is in the breadth it offers on Josephite teaching.
“It’s something that has grown over 160 years from the small town of Penola. It’s a beautiful story of courage,” he said of Mary MacKillop’s journey. “The Josephites saw a need and they would go where the people were.”
Paul is a committed Josephite Companion (a layperson following the Josephite way of life) and has travelled the length and breadth of SA to uncover stories to commit to his book. It has been three years in the making and is something of a family affair. His wife Anne played a significant supporting role, while his son Luke (a graphic designer) is responsible for the look and feel of the tome.
Intriguingly, a favourite author is the spy thriller writer David Silva he said, a man who research shows converted from Catholicism to
Judaism when marrying his wife. It is an open mind of the sort adopted by Paul who has left possibly no stone at all uncovered in his research for his book.
Another book, his third all up, to be called A Parish by the Sea will cover the history of Glenelg and we can expect a similar dedication to accuracy and insight.
But for now, the Josephites hold sway. Mary MacKillop, patently, can’t read Paul’s book but if she could she would undoubtedly be very impressed.
