Up to the Second World War, the Australian Catholic Church maintained a strong Irish character. Priests and often Bishops were of Irish descent. Many religious congregations founded in Ireland were subsequently established in Australia. The St Patrick's Day Parade held on 17 March each year was an integral part of the local Catholic culture, acknowledging the Irish influence of the church.

After WWII, immigration to Australia was encouraged with assisted passages for would-be immigrants, resulting in 150,000 new settlers arriving each year; a total of two million in twenty years.

Australian Catholics were instrumental in welcoming the new Catholic migrants. Agencies were established to help them find jobs, housing and contacts with members of their own communities. Many Maltese people established themselves in Australia, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney.

The establishment of Catholic schools in Australia does have some bearing on the work of the SDC. The strong desire to establish and maintain Catholic schools for Catholic children goes back to the earliest days of European settlement in Australia. This desire has seen co-operation between bishops, priests and many religious and lay people who have struggled heroically to build and maintain a catholic school system.

The schools represented the dream for a better future and the wish to sustain the Catholic faith. The SDC arrived into this very strong tradition, finding infrequently that young people were not encouraged and there was no need for Catholic school children to attend the SDC activities because they attended Catholic schools. This has always been a challenge to the early Members and even today.

It has been the SDC's 'rule of thumb' to insist that the religious education we provide complements the work carried out in the home and school albeit Catholic and government schools. This is often misunderstood.

St Mary Star of the Sea parish, West Melbourne, was a flourishing parish when the SDC arrived. It was often a 'stepping-stone' appointment for clergy before taking on other roles in the Church.

One person at West Melbourne was Archbishop Justin Simonds, who was Archbishop of Hobart from 1937 until 1942. He was the first Australian-born priest to be given archepiscopal status.

In 1942, Archbishop Simonds was called to be the Coadjutor Archbishop of Melbourne with the right of succession and installed as Parish Priest of West Melbourne in November 1942. Archbishop Simonds was to succeed Archbishop Daniel Mannix, some twenty-one years later when Daniel Mannix died in 1963.

Archbishop Justin Simonds, Coadjutor Archbishop of Melbourne, was Parish Priest of St Mary's, West Melbourne from 1942 to 1963 including the time when the SDC arrived in 1956. In 1945, he was commissioned by the Australian Bishops to undertake an extensive and difficult tour of post-war Europe with a view to organising possible migration.

On a trip to Malta, Archbishop Simonds described the waterfront of Valletta as 'indescribably battered and the destruction of churches and houses is the most appalling I have seen, far exceeding that of London'. Little did he know at the time, that the SDC would establish itself, partly as a result of this immigration, in his parish at West Melbourne. Maurice Mifsud sdc of Hobart recalls that Archbishop Simonds was very interested in the work of the SDC and was particularly impressed with the greeting 'peace be with you' among the

Members, which now features so strongly in the liturgy of the Mass. When visiting Rome on his 'ad limina' visit, he told Pope Pius XII about the SDC and about this greeting. His thoughts were that this greeting should be introduced to all Catholics.

On his return from this visit in Rome, Archbishop Simonds informed Maurice Mifsud sdc, that he did refer the matter of the greeting of peace to Pope Pius XII.

West Melbourne in the 1950s was a struggling suburb of mainly 'blue-collar' workers. There was a large Catholic population of Italian and Maltese.

It was into this setting that the Members, Maurice Mifsud, John Portelli and Joseph Sacco, after leaving Malta on 17 March 1956, arrived. Their contact with the Parish Priest, Archbishop Justin Simonds was most cordial. The Members attended liturgical functions in the Church, assisted in the parish and even painted Archbishop Simond's room when he went on his first visit to the Vatican Council in 1962.

I

Later on, three further Members arrived from Malta. These Members, who formed the nucleus of the first Australian SDC centre at West Melbourne, were Pius Farrugia, John Micallef, Maurice Mifsud, John Portelli, Joseph Sacco, Vincent Xerri. Under the direction of Maurice Mifsud, Superior, they were imbued with enthusiasm for the work of the SDC.

The Members lived in rental accommodation in a terrace house in West Melbourne. It was here that the first Assignment took place. Although the early Members were excited about introducing the SDC to Australia, they were also hesitant about what was ahead of them.

They had to find employment, fit in with the Australian psyche and were often misunderstood for the particular way they expressed the faith. Perplexing to the clergy in the early days was the concept of a daily meeting. When asked to use the Crypt of the Church every day, there was some surprise and hesitation at this request.

Very soon the request to use this parish premises for the activities was granted, sharing with the Legion of Mary and other parish groups.

Later on John Portelli and Joseph Sacco left the SDC and married while the others remained. John Micallef and Vincent Xerri are now deceased, Maurice Mifsud is retired in Hobart and Pius (Peter) Farrugia is a Member of the SDC community in Mpeketoni, Kenya. We are grateful to all these Members for their generosity and vision for the SDC in Australia.

The next step for the Members was to move from the cramped accommodation in Roslyn Street. Subsequently, a house, still owned by the SDC today, 7 Chetwynd Street, was bought in 1958 and Members lived in community there.

Meetings for boys began on 11 May 1956. As the boys were all of Maltese origin, the initial instructions were in Maltese. However, this soon changed when Italians and Australians joining the activities. Particularly appealing were the filmstrips, which were such a popular feature, implanting the faith in young peoples then as now.

The Assignment soon began in tandem following the programme outlined from Malta. This was conducted in Maltese until 1957 when it was changed to English. The attendance of young men in the Assignment prompted this change, although it was inevitable that it would eventually be given in English. Maurice Mifsud recalls many humorous events with the use of English, which for most Members in the early days was a second language.

The early Members did not waste any time in introducing the SDC culture into an Australian setting. A Christmas gift was presented to over 60 boys on the Sunday prior to Christmas Day 1956, in the presence of Reverend Augustine Grech mssp. The priests of the Missionary Society of St Paul, founded in Malta, were also instrumental in launching the SDC in Australia in various places.

Annually, a large Nativity scene was erected in the crypt of St Mary's and many people took part in a procession of the grounds of the church on Christmas night. This was a nostalgic moment for Members who found themselves far from their homeland.

The first Ceremony of Candidates in Melbourne, Victoria was held on Christmas Day 1956. Tony Caruana sdc, now a Member in Gozo, Paul Grech, who now has a family and attends the activities of the Cooperators in Melbourne and Maurice Borg became Candidates. Maurice Borg came from Adelaide for the Ceremony as at this stage no formal centre was established in South Australia. He did not continue with the SDC.

The demographics of West Melbourne changed rapidly in the late seventies onwards due to the urban sprawl and the desire for people to live in the suburbs. And so, from these humble beginnings under the crypt of the church, the SDC moved their ministry from West Melbourne to Glenroy and later on in 1993 to Altona Meadows, which is a centre today.

The ministry of West Melbourne was the beginning of the SDC in Australia. Soon after, West Melbourne was established, the Members quickly moved to North Sunshine and West Sunshine filled with the apostolic zeal of spreading the work of the SDC for the Kingdom of God. Today the suburb of West Melbourne is a mixture of cafes,

light industry and inner city dwellings. The West Melbourne church is often used for national groups including the Maltese for large celebrations and for organ recitals due to the acoustics of the church and the recently restored pipe organ. A Catholic secondary College for boys is attached to the church, now called Simonds College.