Our Story

Beginnings

The Divine Word Missionaries came to German New Guinea in 1896. They were led by Fr. Eberhard Limbrock, SVD, formerly a missionary in China for 13 years. He quickly realized that New Guinea needed a base in Australia. He, with Fr. Jacob Fay, arrived in Sydney on January 29, 1900. On January 6th 1901 the Divine Word Missionaries, under the leadership of Fr. Joseph Fisher, took charge of St. Mark’s, Drummoyne.

From the beginning the Divine Word Missionaries in Sydney intended to expand the bases of their work in Australia. It was important for them, as missionaries, to establish a seminary to prepare young Australians for work in the missions. World War I brought a time of strong anti-German sentiment. In 1919 Archbishop Kelly asked that the parish in Drummoyne be relinquished and was staffed by diocesan priests. For a year Fr. Klein and Bro. Leodegard looked for a place to serve as a base for recuperating New Guinea missionaries as well as a site for a future mission seminary.

138 Midson Road, Epping, NSW

A property on 138 Midson Road, NSW  was purchased in 1920. Throughout the 20’s and 30’s, Fr. Klein and Brother Leodegard worked together with visiting and recuperating missionaries from New Guinea. They named the house “Arnoldy” and this was to remain until 1965, when the Society moved to 199 Epping Rd., the present provincial centre.

Marburg

The history of the Society of the Divine Word in Australia has been dependent to a large degree on personnel and events in New Guinea. After liberation by Allied Forces, it was clear that missionaries would need a place for recuperation, after being released from military hospitals. For this reason, mainly, “Woodlands”- formerly a sugar cane and timber estate near Marburg, half way between Brisbane and Toowoomba – was purchased.

Not all missionaries remained at Marburg. Thirty-two priests and brothers worked in parishes and schools throughout Australia. Their contact with Catholic families and students brought young men to the new centre at Marburg. Eleven candidates were accepted for the first class in 1945, of whom five were ordained as Divine Word Missionaries and two as diocesan priests. A new wave of pioneers had begun working here, including such men as Bro. Leonard from Germany, Frs. Otto Shelly, Dan Driscoll, and Tony Patic from USA. Marburg was for a long time a flourishing house with many members in formation, the staff and some retired SVDs. In 1986, due to lack of available personnel and the cost of maintenance, the province decided to sell the house in Marburg.

Independent SVD Province

In 1954 the SVD General Council raised Australia to the status of Region. The first Regional Superior, Fr Albert Aufinger made Marburg his headquarters. In 1958 he was succeeded by Fr. Lawrence Mack who transferred base of the Australian Region to Sydney. In 1959 “Arnoldy” took on the new role of Regional Centre for the Divine Word Missionaries in Australia.

According to early reports of Fr. Mack, the aims of the headquarter of the SVD in Australia were to make the Society and its missionary ideals known throughout the country; to provide good books, literature, greetings cards, etc., gather funds for our missionary work and most importantly, to seek out and challenge those whom the Holy Spirit may be calling to the missionary service.

Fr Mack envisaged having an SVD presence in all the major cities of Australia and New Zealand.  During a 10-hour stopover in New Zealand he met with the Bishop of Auckland and was welcomed to the diocese to seek candidates. Perth also welcomed SVD presence in the Diocese.

One of the urgent needs of the Australian Church immediately after World War II was the care of the large numbers of European migrants and refugees. Some of our priests cared for the German, Dutch and Polish migrants in Adelaide, Melbourne, Wollongong and Brisbane. As the Europeans have been integrating themselves into the broader Australian culture, our priests have been withdrawing from that ministry. Still, with the increased number of Asian migrants, some of our priests have been ministering to these communities.

In the 1960s the provincial headquarter was moved from ”Arnoldy” in Epping to its present site in Marsfield, NSW. Meanwhile a farm was bought on the outskirts of Sydney as the site for a future major seminary. This land was eventually sold.

Towards the end of seventies, the decision was made to move the formation program to Melbourne. Our students began attending Yarra Theological Union in Box Hill. In 1978 the SVD purchased the former convent in Essendon. Students commuted from there to YTU every day and sometimes twice a day.

Fr. Peter O’Really, the Provincial Superior from 1980-1986, looked for a property closer to YTU. Eventually, land adjacent to the YTU campus was leased from the Franciscans. In 1988 the students relocated to the campus of YTU at Box Hill and Dorish Maru College was opened. In the ensuing years SVD students from Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China came to our Province to continue their initial formation. Later, provinces from Latin America, Africa and Papua New Guinea sent some students for formation in Australia.

In the 1980s and 1990s new ventures were undertaken by the Province. Upon the request of Cardinal Pio Taofinuu of Western Samoa, Frs. Edgar Javier and Dom Flores undertook ministry in American Samoa. Their Contribution in seminars, retreats, pastoral care and the formation of lay leadership throughout the South Pacific was highly appreciated. It was also a way of promoting interests in the life and work of Divine Word Missionaries. Soon, young men from Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu join the SVD in Australia.

In 1987, a team of five SVDs went to New Zealand with the intention of working for the homeless in Auckland and Wellington. After six or more years we withdrew from this challenging ministry and accepted a parish ministry in Taita in the Wellington Archdiocese.

In 1988, Fr. Liam Horsfall returned from Papua New Guinea and found residence in Brisbane. Soon, more SVD men joined the community and the Hamilton parish was placed in the care of the Society.

After a short experience in the diocese of Townsville, the Australia Province accepted the invitation of the Bishop of Wollongong and a team of three SVD confreres moved to the parish in Macquarie Fields.

In 1999, Brothers James Wilkins and Damien Lunders went to Thailand to begin a completely new enterprise caring for young victims of AIDS/HIV and teaching in local schools. A year later, Fr. Peter Tam took up a ministry at the Aboriginal Centre of Santa Teresa – seventy kilometers South of Alice Springs – to take up a ministry to the Aboriginal Communities there. In 2003, Fr. Asaeli Raass, was appointed the chaplain to the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs and beyond.