Intercolonial

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 16, 22 April 1909, Page 635

Intercolonial

The ladies of Hobart are making a movement to present a memento -to Lady :Edeline Strickland upon the oc-casion-of her deprarture frota Tasmania. ' ', Perth (W.A.) had an enthusiastic St. Patrick's Day. After High Mass in the Cathedral there was a processio-n to the sports ground, where 10,000 people. \ve& -present. In the evening there was a national concert. Bishop Gibney took- part in the procession. Mr. Sydney Kidman, "the Cattle King, has received news by cable that the English company has paid a deposit for the purchase) of Victorian Downs, Carltpn Hill, and Northcote Stations. The purchase price was £200,000. It isexpected>that the cattle when mustered for delivery will number about 100,000. On Sunday, March 28, his Lordship the Bishop «f Sandhurst (the Right Rev. Dr. Reville) administered the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. James' Church, Elsternwick, to 140 candidates; and in the afternoon of the same day his Lordship confirmed, at St. Mary's, St. Kilda, 422 candidates, including 100 adults, "many of whom were converts. • ' , The following item, cabled from- London, appeared recently in the Melbourne daily papers: — Messrs. J; and N. Tait, who are arranging the tour which Miss Amy Castles is to take in Australia, have completed the formation ojF the company which is to appear with, the Australian singer. It includes a tenor, a baritone, a pianist, and a violinist. The tour will open "with a concert- in Melbourne on August 21. . • Of the £707 subscribed by the Hibernians to tlie funds of the Irish Parliamentary Party — part of the £1000 promised in 1905— when Mr. William Redmond was in Australia — Victoria has contributed £219, New South Wales £186, Queensland £124, South Australia £62, New Zealand £59, Tasmania £30, Western Australia £26. The twenty-five branches in South Australia also contributed their share to this fund, which is made up of shilling contributions. '" ' A few Sundays ago the Very Rev. Dean Phelan, V.G., blessed the additions recently erected at the Abbotsford Convent for the exclusive use of penitents. These comprise a refectory which will seat 500, a class hall, a recreation room, dormitories, reception rooms for visitors, and a new oratory. The buildings have cost over £8000, but the ceremony of opening them was a private one, and no appeal was made to the public for funds. The Rev. Mother says that tie number of applications received from penitents was greater in 1908 than in any year since the convent was founded in 1865. The closing scene of. the great demonstration held >n Sydney in honor of St. Patrick might be said to have taken place on Monday evening,, April 5, at St. Mary's presbytery, when the final committee meeting was held (says the Freeman's Journal). His Eminence Cardinal Moran presided. Mr. R,. J. B. Stephen's read the report and balance sheet. The financial results "were considered very satisfactory. A gratifying feature lof the report was the announcement that the" suni of ' £80 is available "for," distribution to' each of the following Catholic institutions : — Kincumber Orphanage, Manly Industrial Orphanage, Westmead Boys' Home,- Gore Hill Orphanage, Waitara Foundling Home, Baulkham Hills Orphanage, Ryde Orphanage, and St. Ann's Orphanage, Liverpool. The gross receipts were £1100. • ' - - , The death is reported of >Mr. Dwyer, father .of the Right Rev. Dr. Dwyer/ Coa&juter-Bishop of Maitland. The deceased, who had been connected with education in New South Wales for close on half" a century, was born in Kilkenny in 1834, and having passed through the Dublin Training School was placed in .charge of a National School in Kilkenny in 1852. , He was selected for educational work in New South Wales iri 1855. After spending some years in charge of schools in various districts, Tie was appointed inspector in 1862, and district inspector in 1889, a position which he held for ten years, when he retired on a pension. How thoroughly Christian and Catholic was the atmosphere of the Dwyer household (says the Catholic Press) may be gleaned from the fact that, among the members of his excellent family, three gave themselves to the service of the Church — the first Australianborn Bishop, in the person of the Coadjutor of Maitland • Father Joseph Dwyer, Adm. of Albury; and Rev. Mother Columba, Superior of the Deaf and Dumb Institute, conducted by the Dominican Nuns at. Waratah. It is in no way surprising that the home of such a" man should have proved a nursery of religious vocations. His own life was permeated with the salt of the religious principle.