The establishment of a Catholic Diocese in Queensland had its beginnings in the 1850s when the citizens of Moreton Bay and the Darling Downs wanted ‘self government’ to throw off control from Sydney. Southern governments and merchants were reaping profits from Brisbane exports of wool, boiling down products and timber) and returning very little in the way of improvements such as marking a safe entrance to the Bay and River, roads, bridges, and law and order.
Other colonies had been formed some years earlier – Victoria, 1851; New South Wales, 1855; Tasmania and South Australia, 1856.
Bishops had been appointed to these colonies long before they were given self government – Sydney in 1834 which included Brisbane until 1859, Hobart in 1842, Adelaide in 1844, Perth in 1845 and Melbourne in 1848. In the 1840s and 1850s there had been rumours that Moreton Bay was to become a bishopric as a result of Fr John McEncroe’s recommendation to Rome.
By 1858, it was certain that Moreton Bay would soon be constituted the centre of an independent colony. The Church’s policy was that new diocesan boundaries would be in ‘accord with’ civil jurisdiction. In late 1858, Archbishop Polding from Sydney came to the frontiers of his diocese to see the progress and prospects before advising Rome on the requirements of a suitable appointee.
Events moved quickly. James Quinn was named bishop elect, ‘Bishop of Brisbane, New South Wales’, on 14 April, 1859. Quinn accepted and was consecrated in Dublin on 29 June 1859. News of this consecration reached Australia in August and from then, Dean Rigney acted as Bishop Quinn’s agent or administrator in Brisbane until his arrival in on 10 May, 1861.
(Thanks to Fr Denis Martin of the Sesquicentenary Committee for this historical background)
