issue 01 april 2014 multi-award winning magazine for the...

Published by theDIOCESE OF BROOMEPO Box 76, Broome WA 6725T: 08 9192 1060 F: 08 9192 2136E-mail: [email protected]

ISSUE 01 APRIL 2014 Multi-award winning magazine for the Kimberley • Building our future together

FREE

KIMBERLEY COMMUNITY PROFILE

is a publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Broome,

published six times a year by

the Bishop of Broome. Articles

to do with the Kimberley are

welcome to be submitted for

publication.

ENQUIRIESDiocese of Broome

PO Box 76, Broome WA 6725

Tel: 08 9192 1060

Fax: 08 9192 2136

Email: [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription Rate $30.00 P/A

The opinions expressed in this

publication are not necessarily

those of the Bishop of Broome

BROOMEDIOCESE.ORG

COVER: ‘Resurrection’

by Artist Harvey Wachtel, 2014

Now resident in Margaret River,

one time artist in residence at

Cable Beach Club, Broome.

‘then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and

believed; for as yet they did not understand the scriptures, that

he must rise from the dead.’

John 20:8-9

Australian Bishops and religious leaders remain united behind Truth, Justice and Healing Council

A year on from the establishment of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council

the support from Bishops and Religious leaders around Australia has never been stronger.

CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, Francis Sullivan, said throughout the past year all Bishops and Religious leaders had provided unqualified and unified support for the Council.

“It has been a huge year for the Catholic Church in Australia,” Mr Sullivan said.

“We have seen a dramatic shift in its response to the issues around child sexual abuse in particular the decision

to take a whole of Church approach to identifying the problems and developing unified responses.

“We are also seeing huge support for the Council’s work from lay people within the Church and also religious and parish priests working on the ground.

“This change in approach is unique in the history of the Church in Australia.

“Without the unqualified support and strength of religious leaders across Australia, including Cardinal Pell, Archbishops Hart and Coleridge and Sister Annette Cunliffe, it would be difficult for the Church to cope with the work required of it by the Royal Commission.

“It is also through this unified position that the Church is developing the new policies and structure needed to ensure victims are treated with justice and compassion and children are as safe as possible in Church institutions.

“At the same time the calling of the Royal Commission was necessary, the reckoning for the Church is essential and our hope is that justice for victims will be the ultimate result.”

Royal Commission into

Institutional Responses

to Child Abuse is due

to hold its first Western

Australian public

hearings in April. www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/

Bishop’s Annual Christmas AppealFollowing on from the overwhelming generosity of the people of the Kimberley during the Caritas Kimberley Typhoon Haiyan Appeal, the Broome community continued giving for Bishop Saunders Annual Christmas Appeal.

Every year Bishop Saunders collects non-perishable food items and delivers hampers to those in need around Broome on Christmas Eve.

2013 was a record year for the appeal with 131 hampers being distributed.

The Bishop of the Kimberley, Bishop Christopher Saunders said

that the lives of so many at Christmas had taken a turn for the better because of the success of the appeal. “In a small town like this our lives are so evidently entwined. Helping with donations of food is most likely assisting with our next door neighbour or with the family across the street. Those in need are real people who appreciate the care given by those who

wish to share. Once more, this past Christmas, we have witnessed the generosity of people giving and the joy of those receiving.”

Chivarn Pedro and Gene James were on

hand to help Bishop Saunders distribute the

hampers on Christmas Eve. Photo: CAS

2 KIMBERLEY COMMUNITY PROFILE APRIL 2014

They killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen…We are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to the people, and to bear witness that He is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Acts 10: 39 – 42

It has been often written that we, the Believers, are an “Easter People”. And at the heart of our belief is the Resurrection of Christ that has lifted us beyond the fearful power of death. Through His death and rising to new life, the only begotten Son of God has redeemed the human race from sinfulness and won for us eternal life.

I wonder how often do we take this first Easter moment for granted as though it were a mere casual happening in the history of humanity? Or how often do we regard Easter as merely an event of the past, worthy of only scant remembrance amid the busy lives we build for ourselves.

To acknowledge the significance of Easter is to celebrate it as the Sacred Mystery of a loving God ever present among us in our on-going experience of Divine Grace. It is to clearly recognize the magnitude of God’s love for us.

We recalled at Christmas that the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. In that season we discovered a great joy born in Christian hope. And now, at Easter, to celebrate with faith and devotion the passion of Christ and his resurrection is to plunge us into a sense of profound gratitude to God. This alone enables us to

live over and above the overbearing disappointments of life that threaten to engulf us.

The Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil are more than beautiful ceremonies rich with symbols and meaningful rituals. Important aspects of the living faith are lifted in these Liturgies in a careful fashion for us so as to instruct, to experience, to remember and to celebrate in thankfulness. We wash feet in our belief in the service of one for another as mandated by Jesus at the Last Supper. We recognize the institution of the Eucharist in the prayerful hope that at each Mass we might become what we consume. On the Friday we call “Good”, we contemplate Christ’s sufferings and venerate the wood of the Cross upon which hung the Saviour of the World. We unite at the Easter fire to recognize “Christ our Light”, we listen then to the mystery of our salvation so carefully displayed in the Scriptural Readings of the Vigil, we sing the Exultet in glorious praise, we bless the baptismal waters to be used in the year ahead and we proclaim: Christ is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia.

In our baptism we are called to be disciples, followers of Christ and witnesses to all that has made us an Easter People. Scripture and Tradition teach us that it is the will of God that all people should profess Jesus as Lord and rejoice in the love that God has poured out for us. And yet, sadly, many who call themselves Believers are merely lukewarm in witnessing to their faith.

The opportunities to witness to Christ and the Easter mystery are manifestly

obvious but still in our discipleship there is much room for improvement. For example, at home, with the family, the chance to be united in prayerful witness beckons us daily. Introducing such a special moment into our lives is a blessing of its own and brings a peace not to be found in coarse music or television or other distractions including the ubiquitous mobile phone. In our Catholic traditions night prayers can take many forms - set evening prayers as found in a prayer book, the praying of scripture and the rosary, to name but a few. The family home is the primary place of witness to the Easter faith where good and wholesome habits of communing with God and with one another may be developed.

Through the most holy feast of Easter, and all that it contains in truth, may we be brought to the glory of the resurrection, to the healing of eternity.

I wish you and your family a happy and holy Easter.

Easter Message

Easter –The Healing of Eternity

g ywish you and your family a happy aEaster.

KIMBERLEY COMMUNITY PROFILE APRIL 2014 3

Office of Justice, Ecology and Peace

By Dr David Brennan, Editing and

Publications Officer of the Australian

Catholic Social Justice Council

Saint Peter Celestine was born Pietro di Murrone, the eleventh of twelve children in the Neapolitan province of Moline.

At the age of seventeen he became a Benedictine monk and soon after was ordained priest in Rome. In 1246 he lived the life of a hermit for five years in a cave on Mount Morroni near Sulmona, and later in Mount Majella. Peter patterned his life on John

the Baptist, praying, working, and reading the Bible in obedience to the Benedictine Rule. Inspired by his commitment many other hermits came to him for guidance. As a result he founded the Holy Spirit Community of Majella.

After the death of Pope Nicholas IV in 1294 the See of Rome remained vacant during a two-year long conclave in which the cardinals failed to choose a replacement. Peter came to them with the message that God was not pleased with the long delay. So, as a compromise, the cardinals unanimously chose Peter. Peter reluctantly accepted and took the name Celestine V as the 192nd Pope.

The primary objective of Celestine’s pontificate was to reform clergy, many of whom were using spiritual power to obtain worldly power. Celestine sought a way to bring the faithful to the original Gospel spirit.

He lasted just five months as Pope, during which time some members of the Vatican Curia took advantage of him. This led to mismanagement, and great uproar in the Vatican. Knowing he was responsible, Celestine asked forgiveness for his mistakes, and abdicated.

Saint Peter Celestine, Pope and Confessor

Saint News

Born: 1215 Died: 1296

The campaign of crueltyThis January, Bishop Saunders, Chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, put out a media release about Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers. He referred to the policies of the present and past governments as a ‘campaign of cruelty’ designed to deter desperate people from seeking protection from persecution and danger. He said that those policies ignored the needs of the millions worldwide who need protection, and quoted Pope Francis’ words: ‘Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity’.

Bishop Saunders said, Australia has to act in accordance with its responsibilities under the Refugee Convention and exercise compassion towards those ‘justly seeking a new life in peace’. The media release is on the ACSJC’s website and in this magazine.

The release received more public response than any other I can remember. Many of those who contacted the ACSJC congratulated Bishop Saunders on his comments and supported his position. Many others expressed anger and pain at the comments and argued quite strongly against them. The responses showed how deeply Australians – both Catholics and non-Catholics – are divided on this issue.

In general, those who disagreed with the release focused on two issues. First, they saw Australia’s policies as aimed at the evils of people smuggling, with the associated corruption of officials, exploitation of people and loss of life. Second, they saw asylum seekers arriving by boat as taking places that should (or could) go to some of the millions in camps in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, many of whom have been waiting for years.

People smuggling is the issue that has the attention of politicians, both Labor and Coalition. The smaller the number of boat arrivals, it seems, the more successful the policy. The asylum seekers’ boat journey is very dangerous: probably about 1500 people died in the attempt between 1988 and 2013. People-smuggling operations corrupt officials and exploit vulnerable people.

But those terrible facts cannot justify any and all measures to deter or prevent boat arrivals. The ‘campaign of cruelty’ referred to includes indefinite detention, usually overseas, in very harsh prison-like conditions, including for children; a blanket prohibition on settlement in Australia (and, probably, anywhere else); exclusion from community and community support; living in poverty with no right to work; and chronic insecurity. Too often, the results are mental and physical illness and wasted lives for adults and children.

Preventing dangerous journeys and corruption is a good thing, but doing it through cruelty is not: it makes us like the tyrants refugees are trying to flee from.

In particular, it does nothing for the other concern that was expressed: the millions in slums and camps hoping for a life in safety somewhere. The previous government had planned to increase our annual intake to 20,000 but that has been cut back to the previous 13,000.

By itself, Australia cannot solve either the movement of people or the displaced millions. It can only do that by international cooperation – something it used to be good at, but no longer. That is the point that Bishop Saunders made so powerfully.

2013 Australasian Catholic Press

Association Awards Winner:

Best Social Justice Coverage

Kimberley Community Profile, Offi ce of Justice, Ecology and Peace Column by Dr David Brennan

David Brennan has been the Editing and Publications Officer for the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council since 2006. Before joining the ACSJC he worked for a number of book publishers, including University of NSW Press.

Editing is his second career: for about 30 years before that he was an opera singer, performing for State and National companies. His career began in Melbourne and continued in Adelaide before he moved to Sydney in 1987 to join Opera Australia as a resident principal. He has sung major roles in Cosí fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Falstaff, Die Fledermaus, Turandot, The Tales of Hoffman, The Rake’s Progress, Death in Venice and Werther.

After leaving Opera Australia, David undertook a PhD at the University of Newcastle and graduated in 2006. He is married and has a son who lives in Adelaide.


Mary Cox, seen here with her grandson Trevor, celebrating her 90th birthday at Germanus Kent House in Broome.

Briefly Speaking

Photo: A Rohr Photo: A Rohr Photo: Sr Alma Cabassi rsjPhoto: A Rohr

Sharon Beer has been

appointed as Principal of

Kururrungku Catholic

Education Centre in Billiluna.

Sharon comes to the

Kimberley after teaching for

two years in Nhulunbuy in the

Northern Territory and St

Josephs College in Echuca

prior to that. Sharon is

enjoying her time in Billiluna

and feels privileged to be

working in the community.

Photo: K McDonald

Stan Grabski has recently

joined Birlirr Ngawiyiwu

Catholic School in Ringer Soak

as the new Principal. Stan is

accompanied by his wife,

Clare, who is the Religious

Education Coordinator. Stan

is finding his introduction into

the Kimberly to be special

and distinctive especially

when compared with his work

environment for the last 30

years where he was Principal

at various schools in and

around Perth.

Clare Gray has joined

Warlawurru Catholic School in

Red Hill as Principal in 2014.

Clare has been with the

Catholic Education Office of

Western Australia for forty

years teaching and being part

of administrative teams mainly

in the Perth metropolitan area.

In 2006 she was Principal at

St Joseph’s Wyndham for six

years, and in 2012 was

appointed Assistant Principal

School Advisor for 6 East

Kimberley schools. She is

delighted to have joined

Warlawurru Catholic School.

Filipe Cortes, a seminarian

from the Redemptoris Mater

Seminary in Perth, has

recently arrived in the Diocese

of Broome. Filipe, who is

originally from Colombia, has

been studying at the seminary

in Perth for just over a year.

Filipe is assisting at the

Cathedral Parish in Broome.

Fr Marcelo Parra Gonzalez

has recently arrived in

Broome as the assistant

priest in the Cathedral Parish.

Fr Marcelo, originally from

Chile, is a priest of the

Archdiocese of Perth in the

Neo Catechumenal Way. Fr

Marcelo is not new to the

Kimberley having spent

almost two years in Balgo as

a seminarian.

Born in NSW though working

mostly in South Australia, Sr

Dianne Colborne rsj has been

appointed to the Josephite

Kimberley Community living in

Halls Creek. Dianne brings a

wealth of experience in

education, administration and

in Parish pastoral work.

Dianne is excited by the

prospect of living and working

in the East Kimberley with all

its beauty and complexities.

Photo: CAS

Christian love is loving without counting the cost. This is the lesson of the Good Samaritan; this is the lesson of Jesus.

–Pope Francis on Twitter 19 March 2014


The people of the Kimberley continue to give to those in need

In 2013, Diocese of Broome raised $32,149 for Caritas Australia through Project Compassion, an incredible 50% increase from 2012.

Of this money raised, 36% came from Catholic schools across the Diocese.

Parishes and schools didn’t let their remote locations get in the way of their fundraising either. In the parish of Balgo-Kutjungka they ran a second hand clothing store and a fundraising night at the Trade Training Centre. In Kalumburu they held a fete with lots of games for the children to play.

Traditional favorites teamed with creative new fundraising ideas including money chains, cake stalls, fetes and the very popular Papal Sweep in Broome, has ensured that the Kimberley is able to continue to make a strong contribution to the work of Caritas Australia

PC14 Kimberley Ad 120mm W x 90mm H_Repro.ai 1 13/02/14 4:05 PM

Lorraine’s Story: Our Place“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35

Pintupi woman, Lorraine, 39, grew up in Papunya, 300km west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Six years ago, after being diagnosed with kidney failure, Lorraine, 39, learnt that she had to undergo a lifetime of weekly dialysis treatment.

Deeply connected to culture, her mob and their dreaming, she is now living in a hostel in Alice Springs to receive treatment and desperately misses home. “I have to sleep indoors all the time. Someone cooks our food and cleans our rooms. I have no family here. I stick to myself. I am homesick.”

To keep her spirit alive, Lorraine visits The Purple House which was established in 2004 by Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation to support First Australian patients who have been dislocated from country and culture.

Caritas Australia is supporting a new

income-generating social enterprise at the Centre – making and selling bush balms.

“My favourite balm is Irremenke Irremenke. It is a good bush medicine that our grandmothers used to make. It is good for pain and headaches. It is a cheeky plant, it is hard to find and hard to grow. I love the smell of the bush balm mix boiling up. It reminds me of home,” said Lorraine.

This bush balm program offers people aged 23-75 who are chronically unwell, a sense of purpose, comfort and wellbeing. It gives them the opportunity to pass on traditional knowledge and values, ensuring participants retain their connections with home.

Until the doctors say that Lorraine is palya (good) and she is able to receive local treatment, The Purple House and the bush balm program is her home away from home.

Caritas Kimberleyy

Aratja being separated by Lorraine.

Photo: S Hewson


The Diocese of Broome, Western Australia, urgently requires volunteers – couples and singles – to serve within the Diocese. Duties may include any of the following: cooking, working in stores, building and vehicle maintenance, housekeeping, book-keeping, transport and grounds maintenance.

In return for being part of the team we offer accommodation, living expenses and an allowance. Placements are preferred for a period of twelve months plus but a reduced time would be considered.

WANTED: Volunteer Workers KIMBERLEY CATHOLIC VOLUNTEER SERVICE

For further details and an application form please contact the co-ordinator: Phone: 08 9192 1060 or email: [email protected] PO Box 76, BROOME WA 6725

The role of a Kimberley Catholic Volunteer is always full

of different challenges and experiences.

Volunteer Update

Photos: L Grant

Here Tim Gamblin in Kalumburu in the far north of Western Australia is delivering supplies to the Mission Store on the quad bike.

Meanwhile, recently arrived volunteers David and Margaret Forster from Melbourne, enjoyed a spot of fishing during some time off from work.

Yesteryear:Images From Our Past

Martin Sibosado with his wife Bertha. Lombadina, 1965.

Photo: Diocese of Broome Archives

When Ted goes travelling on his very fast motorbike from Darwin to Broome and back again he brings Alf, his Darwin Terrier and best mate, with him. Alf has his own special Bikies coat and goggles to protect his eyes from the whistling blinding wind. Alf hopes to make many more trips through the Kimberley before Ted retires.

Canine Tourist

Photo: CAS


“Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods”

– Exodus 18:11Human sacrifice is one of many devastating effects commonly associated with witchcraft; more often than not, children are made the victims. At Catholic Mission we understand that all Christians must be mindful of traditional cultures, while remaining ready to challenge aspects that contravene Gospel values. With our continued support, local seminarians like Anatole Kyambadde are learning to reach out with love and show God’s way as an alternative to witchcraft. You can help them.

Through the 2014 St Peter Apostle Appeal, your support will help train more urgently needed priests in Uganda.

Visit catholicmission.org.au/Uganda today.

Thanks to Catholic Mission

www.catholicmission.org.au/rescue

The Diocese of Brome, also known as the Kimberley Mission, has been of service to Indigenous people since it was established as a Vicariate in 1887. Over the years the Diocese has developed a network of schools and parishes that cover an area of 723,000 square kilometers, or three and a half times the size of the State of Victoria. The Diocese is grateful to Catholic Mission, the principal support organization that maintains the work of Priests, Sisters,

Brothers, lay missionaries and lay volunteers in the field of apostolic endeavors. With a small population of people and an impossible internal source of income, the Diocese of Brome is dependent on the generosity of others throughout Australia and overseas. Catholic Mission leads in its work of support and funding. Through them the work of the Kimberley Mission is able to continue.

The Diocese of Broome

would like to

acknowledge Catholic

Mission as its main

financial supporter.

New Kids on the Block

Leah Allen from Garnduwa Amboorny

Wirnan with her daughter Eliza Allen

at 7 months old. Photo: J Blair

Mother Natasha Hunter with baby

Darcy Daniel from Wyndham.

Photo: CAS

Dominic and Stefania Brunello

with their son Eli Carlo.

Photo: V Baudry

Newborn Alayah Kimberley

Rose Angus, daughter of

Leonard and Erika. Photo: Cas


Vatican City, March 05, 2014 (Zenit.org)

Holy Father’s address during his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. – Ash Wednesday

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today, Ash Wednesday, the forty-day Lenten itinerary begins, it will lead us to the Easter Triduum, memorial of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord which is at the heart and center of

the mystery of our salvation. Lent prepares for this “intense” time, a turning point which can foster a change in each one of us, that is conversion. We all have need to become better, to change for the better. Lent helps us and thus [allows us] to come out of our weary habits and lazy addiction to the evil that deceives us. In the Lenten season the Church brings to us two important invitations: to have a more lively awareness of Christ’s redemptive work and to live our Baptism with greater commitment.

The awareness of the wonders that the Lord has done for our salvation disposes our mind and our heart to an attitude of gratitude to God, for all that He has given us, for all that he fulfills for His people and the whole of humanity. Our conversion begins here: it is our grateful answer to the stupendous mystery of the love of God. When we see this love that God has for us, we feel the need to come closer to him: this is conversion.

To live our Baptism through and through – this is the second invitation – it means not to be accustomed to situations of degradation and misery, which we meet when walking through the streets of our cities and our countries. There is the risk of passively accepting certain behaviors and to not be astounded in face of the sad realities that surround us. We are accustomed to violence, as if it were daily news taken for granted; we are accustomed to brothers and sisters sleeping on the street, who have no roof for shelter. We are accustomed to refugees in search of liberty and dignity, who are not received as they should be. We are accustomed to live in a society that pretends to do without God, in which parents no longer teach their children to pray or to make the sign of the cross. I would like to ask: your children, do they know how to make the sign of the cross? Think about it. Do your grandchildren know how to make the sign of the cross? Did you teach them? Think about it and respond in your hearts. Do they know how to pray the Our Father? Do they know how to pray to Our Lady with the Hail Mary? Think and answer for yourselves.

Lent comes to us as a providential time to change course, to regain the capacity to react in face of the reality of evil that always challenges us. Lent is to be lived as a time of conversion, of personal and communal renewal through drawing close to God and confident adherence to the Gospel. In this way, it enables us also to look at our brothers and their needs with new eyes.

On this journey we wish to invoke with particular trust the protection and help of the Virgin Mary: may She, the first believer in Christ, accompany us in our days of intense prayer and penance, to be able to celebrate, purified and renewed in the Spirit, the great mystery of the Easter of her Son. Thank you!

Vatican DossierAPP REVIEWPope: On the Season of Lent

“Lent comes to us as a providential time to change course, to regain the capacity to react in face of the reality of evil that always challenges us”

By Fr Matthew Digges

The Pope App iOS and Android

This is a great app for staying in touch with all things to do with Pope Francis, almost as it happens. It contains Twitter feeds, news and official speeches, galleries with the latest images and videos, and links to other services of the Holy See along with video (live and on demand) of important events. His now famous daily Mass homilies are included in the daily reporting. The interface is similar to Facebook’s mobile app, so it is intuitive to those users. The six Vatican web cams stream live through this app.

Meeting the PopeBy Matthew Hill

The Lord always precedes us!

With these words Pope Francis encouraged the 275 families, including Susan and myself, being formally sent on mission to many corners of the world as well as other members of the Neo Catechumenal Way gathered in Paul the Sixth Hall in the Vatican for the Holy Father’s first general audience with the new ecclesial movement on 1 February. Pope Francis also encouraged us to be “committed to learn the culture that we will encounter,

knowing how to recognize the need of the gospel... but also that action that the Holy Spirit has accomplished in the life and in the history of every people.” These words found a great echo within us, reflecting on the History of the Church here in the Kimberley, the great faith of those who have gone before us and the small part that we are called to play in the story of this land and its people.A familiar face around Broome – Fr Ernesto

Cerutti (centre) with Matthew and Susan Hill

in Rome.


By Kate Austen

Rhinella marinaHindsight is a wonderful thing. When the

well-meaning souls of the QLD sugar industry imported 100 Cane Toads from Hawaii in 1935 to control the (also imported) cane beetle, they never imagined the devastation the species would go on to cause.

The new arrivals found themselves in a tropical paradise literally crawling with their favorite foods - beetles, honey bees, crickets, bugs, even small snakes and mammals. In fact, food was so plentiful they didn’t trouble themselves to climb the sugar cane plants and eat the cane beetles!

The Cane Toads bred prolifically, rapidly colonizing northeastern Australia. While their westward march was a little slower, it continues to this day, and in 2009 they officially crossed the WA border near Kununurra.

Cane Toads are heavily-built amphibians with a bony head and large glands on each

shoulder. The average-sized adult grows up to 15cm, however the largest female recorded was 24cm long and weighed 1.3 kg!

While the young Cane Toads have smoother skin they can be distinguished from similar native frogs (such as the Giant Burrowing Frog) because they sit upright, move in short rapid hops and are active in the daytime.

Cane Toads are tough and adaptable, poisonous throughout their life cycle, and have few predators in Australia. They poison pets and many native animals and can injure humans with their toxins. They prey on native fauna, and easily out-compete native species for food.

Scientists continue to research methods

of control, but it’s difficult to target Cane Toads without also affecting non-target species.

Meanwhile in our region, the hardworking Kimberley Toadbusters employ physical methods to keep cane toad numbers under control, temporarily easing pressure on native animals.

Kimberley Wild

Kimberley Kitchen

Alexis’

Columbian Rice

Cane Toads

Photo: A Rohr

Seminarian Alexis Vega recently spent 12 months supporting the parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral in Broome. During that time he was able to share his Columbian recipes with the parish.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Rice

2 nests of egg pasta

Oil

Crushed Garlic

Salt and pepper

2 Cups Water

Method:

1. Heat oil in saucepan2. When hot, break egg pasta into the pan and

let it cook until dark brown.3. Then add garlic and stir for 30 seconds4. Add washed rice and stir to combine5. Add water and salt and pepper to taste6. Boil until the water is absorbed and the rice

is cooked. * Optional extra spring onion

An easy accompaniment to any main meal.


By Bill Worth

Father Duncan McNab, at sixty-three years of age, never saw himself as remaining in the Kimberley Mission indefinitely. He was, by his own estimation, merely building a crude foundation while eagerly awaiting others to arrive so that the works of the apostolate might continue. One priest who was sent by Bishop Gibney to Disaster Bay Mission fell sick from the ravages of fever and had to return to Perth. Father McNab too was ailing and even his unbridled enthusiasm for the apostolate could not sustain the physical capacity needed in such a challenging environment.

Bishop Gibney’s dream that the Diocese of Perth should establish a Mission in a setting far from the settlement of the southern regions of Western Australia at this stage looked most unlikely to succeed. There, in the south, the Aboriginal people continued to suffer oppression and severe trauma as their lands and traditional livelihood disappeared under the farmers plough and livestock. There was little that could be done to stem the forces of colonization and while Gibney railed against the injustices suffered by Indigenous people his words fell on deaf and hostile ears.

Bishop Gibney continued in his quest to find suitable missionaries and appealed in 1888 to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, who was able to encourage the services of the Cistercian (Trappists) monks of Sept-Fons, France, to go to the remote Kimberley. It was a task taken up reluctantly by Abbot Dom Sebastian Wyart as Mary Durack noted in her history of the Church in the Kimberley, The Rock and The Sand:

“But two years later (May 1890) there was... Dom Ambrose Janny, tall, ascetic and bearded, with little Alphonse Tachon, swarthy and volatile, bouncing at his side, their white, cowled habits drawing curious glances from the crowds on Fremantle wharf as they disembarked.” (page 8)

Their arrival with Bishop Gibney in attendance at the then dismal northern Port of Derby with its ramshackle huts and small population was most certainly a disappointment to them. Father

Alphonse Tachon almost immediately went down with a bout of malaria while the heat proved a distinct challenge for Dom Ambrose.

A moment of encouragement for the Monks was the appearance of John Cornelius Daley, a policeman in Derby, who presented himself to the Cistercian Superior as a companion for the journey soon to be taken overland to Beagle Bay, the prospective site of the new Mission. Further, he offered himself as a Novice and was to become thereafter the first vocation to Religious Life in the

Kimberley, and from then on was called Brother Xavier Daly. This faith filled young man was born in 1858 at

McCullum’s Creek, a goldfield in the vicinity of Ballarat, Victoria. He was the first of nine

children, of Irish parents who had married in Australia in 1857. The family moved

several times within Victoria as his father engaged in a variety of commercial undertakings including some time spent in Collingwood, where he had a shop, before finally settling in Dunolly near Ballarat.

John Cornelius Daley had taken up a lease to do farming outside of Derby

in 1883 but financial issues forced him to abandon it four years later and to

sign on with the police for a period until the monks arrived in 1890. Evidently his

heart was not in policing as he wasted no time at all joining the Bishop and the

Cistercians. Further, there is every reason to suggest that the odious system of awarding bonuses to

policemen for the incarceration of ‘suspected’ criminals among the indigenous population, stock spearers included, had led to many instances of injustice and cruelty, and was not in conscience acceptable to the pious young Daly.

With an Aboriginal guide, Dom Ambrose and the Bishop and John Daly set off on horseback across the Yeeda Station plains and through the endless arduous scrub for the spring country of Beagle Bay. Meanwhile, Dom Alphonse, was too ill to travel and remained in Derby to convalesce from his attack of fever.

The diary of Bishop Gibney, written with a casual hand in purple pencil in a small lined notebook, spells out clearly the burdens of each days travel. The presence of the new recruit, John Daly, is an important addition to the team as he applied his well honed bushman’s skills and his ability to work with stock. This alone must have given much encouragement to the bishop regarding the future of the mission yet to be carved out of untamed territory by French Monks - novices themselves to the rigours of a harsh and demanding land. But something wonderful is recorded in the diary too. The engagement with Aboriginal people along the way brought immense happiness to the missionaries. Through their guide the missionaries made it clear that they came in friendship and were in fact the brothers of the much loved Father McNab. This stated relationship ensured a hearty welcome from those clan groups they met and joyful news of their arrival traveled before them.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Church of the Kimberley – Heroes in Faith

25 Robinson St, Broome WA [email protected]

08 9192 2293

Providing Support to the West Kimberley

Homeless Breakfast: Fr McMahon Place Mon, Wed, Fri 8:00am – 9:30am

• Emergency Relief: Food and Clothing Vouchers• Homeless Accommodation Support• Homeless Support to Rough Sleepers• Accommodation Support for people living

with Mental Health• Public Tenancy Support Services


Fr Ernesto CeruttiBy Nicola Kalmar

Fr Ernesto Cerutti was born in the town of General Roca in Argentina, in the northern part of the Patagonia region.

The youngest of six children, he enjoyed a happy childhood growing up with a practising Catholic family.

God was always present and had an important place in everyday life.

At the age of 13, Ernesto joined a Neo Catechumenal community with the Mary Help of Christians and St Michael the Archangel parish, which shaped his life and gave him spiritual nourishment and support.

After finishing school at 17, Ernesto was faced with a question about his future.

“I asked God: ‘what do you want for me? Not just what I want to do but what do you want for me,’” he said.

“That’s when I started to see more clearly and feel the call to be a missionary.”

After school, Ernesto had an opportunity to be part of a mission.

It was an eye-opening experience and a significant chapter in his life.

“At the end of the year, I found I experienced a joy I never experienced before,” he said.

“(Before) I was always trying to be a loner...that was my joy before, to be alone, to do my own thing.

“Then in the mission it was the complete opposite...I had to do what I was meant to do, and come out of myself all the time, then I found I was happier…that was a strong sign from God confirming the call.”

Ernesto attended the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Perth to complete his seminary formation.

He was ordained a priest at the Infant Jesus parish in Morley on November 16, 2007.

A year later, he arrived in Broome, where he would devote the next five years of his life in service to God in the community.

“Essential to my ministry in Broome were two families that had already been in mission in Broome for a number of years and been part of the Neo Catechumenal community,” he said.

“That’s where my relationship with God was nurtured and my spiritual life nourished.

“Before being a priest, I’m part of a community.”

Fr Ernesto said Broome had been very good to him.

“People welcomed me as one of their own…as a priest, it was a very rich experience and an experience in which I had to come out of myself continually,” he said.

“God did it every time; even times I thought it was not possible…I really saw God made it possible.”

Ernesto said being a priest and missionary was a “great privilege” and a “gift.”

“I always felt we priests share in so many special and important moments in people’s lives,” he said.

“It’s really a privilege we have and I’m grateful to God for that.”

No matter how many challenges Fr Ernesto has faced during his spiritual journey, he said God always provided.

“I could say I left my country and my family, I left whatever else I could have done done in life to be a priest,” he said.

“But at the end I feel if anything, I was given more, like Broome was another home and there was a bigger family.”

Fr Ernesto has now been appointed to Alotau, Milne Bay Providence, New Guinea.

People Stories

Media Release: Australia’s first Catholic university celebrates its 25th anniversary

Australia’s first Catholic university, The University of Notre Dame Australia, celebrates 25 years of excellence in tertiary education in 2014 with the silver anniversary of the signing of the University’s Act of Parliament.

From humble beginnings in Fremantle’s historic West End, Notre Dame has grown to become a national university with one of the

highest graduate employment rates in Australia.With 11,000 students enrolled nationally, Notre Dame’s nine

Schools provide an excellent standard of training for the professions across three campuses in Fremantle, Broome and Sydney, along with clinical schools in New South Wales and Victoria.

Notre Dame Kimberley


THEOLOGY • SOCIOLOGY • SOCIAL JUSTICE • ANTHROPOLOGY • MISSIOLOGY • ETHICS • HISTORY

The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement for 2013–2014 calls on the Christian community and all Australians to stand in solidarity with our neighbours around the world who are living in conditions of extreme poverty.

The title of the Statement comes from the Gospel reading for the Social Justice Sunday – Jesus’ parable about the poor man, Lazarus, who lies unnoticed at the gate of the rich man (Luke 16:19–31).

In 2000, the world leaders of 189 nations, including Australia, gathered together and committed themselves to tackling global poverty. Their Declaration gave rise to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015. While great progress has been made over the past decade, many of these goals will not be fulfilled: Around the world, a quarter of a million women still die in childbirth each year and eight million children die annually from malnutrition and preventable diseases. One billion people remain in extreme poverty and 20 per cent of the poorest in the world live in countries near Australia.

‘In our region’, the Bishops say, ‘Australia is the rich man and Lazarus is at our gate.’

Five groups in particular need our support. They are: people who face severe hunger; people who are victims of disaster; Indigenous peoples; people with disability; and refugees and displaced people. The circumstances they face remind us of our obligation to help the world’s poorest and to work to combat poverty wherever it is found.

It is time to renew our commitment to address world poverty – a commitment inspired by the mission of Jesus in his Incarnation and in his gift of the Eucharist. Pope Francis has reminded us of our vocation: ‘Fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building peace and constructing bridges’.

What will we do, as individuals and as a nation, to help the most needy who sit at our gate?

Australian Catholic Bishop’s Social Justice Statement 2013-14

Lazarus at Our Gate: A critical moment in the fight against world povertySummary

AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC

SO

CIA

L JU

ST

ICE COUNCIL

KCP Kimberley Talkabout 14 • I

On behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, I present the 2013–2014 Social Justice Statement, Lazarus at Our Gate: A critical moment in the fight against world poverty.

This year, as the target date for the Millennium Development Goals draws near, Australia’s Catholic bishops are urging Australians to confront the challenge of world poverty. The title and theme of the Statement come from Jesus’ parable of Lazarus, who sits unnoticed at the gate of the rich man.

In confronting that challenge, we need to acknowledge the undoubted successes of the Millennium Development Goals campaign. For example, as the Statement points out, the proportion of people in the world living in extreme poverty has been halved since 1990. That is only one of the great achievements brought about by work towards the MDGs and proves that development aid works.

These achievements also call us to think hard about the important tasks still ahead of us. The benchmark for extreme poverty is an income of $1.25 per day. Can we as Christians really say that that is sufficient? Can we stand by while each year a quarter of a million women die in childbirth, or while malnutrition kills eight million children and confers a legacy of disease and stunted growth on hundreds of millions more?

Once we have understood that the struggle against profound poverty has produced real achievements, we need to ask where the real faces of poverty are to be found today. This Statement suggests five examples of areas where the world needs to focus its effort: those who are hungriest; those most vulnerable to disasters; Indigenous peoples; those with disabilities; and those uprooted from their homelands by conflict or oppression.

People in circumstances like these were central to Christ’s mission on earth. These are the ones he went out of his way to hear and to serve. As Christians, we are called to be inspired by and to imitate his care and to make their needs our needs. Pope Paul VI called us to build a world where ‘Lazarus can sit down at the same table with the rich man’.

Jesus, our God and guide, sat down at such a table. He also left us, in the Eucharist, a sacramental gift that, as the Statement says, ‘satisfies our spiritual hunger but reminds us of the bounty of God’s table’. We pray that in that gift we can remember Christ’s own call to care for the most vulnerable in our world.

With every blessing,

Christopher A Saunders DDBishop of BroomeChairman, Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

Chairman’s message

With every blessing,

AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC

SO

CIA

L JU

ST

ICE COUNCIL

Australian Catholic Bishop’s Social Justice Statement 2013-14

About UsThe Australian Catholic Social

Justice Council (ACSJC) was set up

by the Australian Catholic Bishops

Conference (ACBC) in 1987 as the

national justice and peace agency

of the Catholic Church in Australia.

The Australian Catholic Bishops

Conference mandates the ACSJC

to promote research, education,

advocacy and action on social

justice, peace and human rights,

integrating them deeply into

the life of the whole Catholic

community in Australia, and

providing a credible Catholic voice

on these matters in Australian

society.

In this way the ACSJC seeks

to bring good news to the

poor, release to captives, sight

to the blind and freedom to

the oppressed. The ACSJC is

accountable to the ACBC through

the Bishops Commission for

Justice, Ecology and Development.

II • KCP Kimberley Talkabout 14

Eulogy

Memorial Service for Lord Alistair McAlpine

Broome – 29th January 2014

By Hon Tom Stephens OAM JP

Born: 14 May 1942

Entered Eternal Life: 17 January 2014

Alistair McAlpine became firmly linked with the people of Broome in the early 1980s. He came into our lives around the time we were celebrating the town’s centenary. Broome had had by then more than its fair share of colourful characters. However, it is hard to think of a Broome character more colourful than the Alistair McAlpine we came to know.

Soon after Alistair arrived in town it was clear he had fallen head over heels in love with Broome. He loved the place, the people, the landscape, the old buildings, and the climate; he loved the fish, and foods and local cooking; he enjoyed the aromas that wafted, from both the home kitchens and the restaurants, into the streets of Chinatown and beyond. He could talk with endless excitement about local plants and flowers and trees; he soon knew the very best time to catch the sounds and sights of migrating whales just off Gantheaume Point; and he knew when the local flowers and trees would blossom, and their strong aromatic perfumes would be in the air.

And Alistair shared his enthusiasms with anyone who could be bothered – and quite often with those who could not be bothered at all. “They should be bothered” was his approach.

Perhaps it was largely this love for Broome that first gave us all something we shared with him: it was a common bond that gave us all our opportunity to become friends. There was something else as well. Perhaps we sensed it; or perhaps his generous offer of friendship to all and sundry flowed from it: a gentle vulnerability about him. Over time we learnt that Alistair was profoundly dyslexic, and - as a consequence - had significant learning challenges during his school years. Alistair was also cursed with regular episodes of acute depression. Paradoxically, despite

these afflictions, Alistair wrote about a dozen books, including two volumes of personal memoirs, some great guides to the world’s museums, some mischievous political parodies and a regular column in a prestigious magazine about design and decoration, contributing widely to international newspapers. Not bad for someone with serious reading and writing deficiencies. And as for his depression: on his last visit to Broome he said. “I have always been happy; even when I have been miserable I have been happy!”

From the early 80s on Alistair became a regular visitor and a pretty steady local resident. Before too long – in addition to his own home, now known as McAlpine House - he had purchased well over 20 old Broome properties for repair and restoration, including the historic Sun Picture gardens. One of the more famous of “the contracts to purchase” was written out on the back of a beer mat in the front bar of a local Broome hotel, duly signed and witnessed, thereby opening the way for Alistair to build his Cable Beach Club Resort Hotel.

As well, Alistair: established a “Noah’s Ark” like zoo to protect and breed endangered animals and birds; rescued Matso’s Store and Captain Gregory’s house from the bulldozers; bought into a pearl farm and purchased a pastoral station; and started buying and collecting local Aboriginal art.

Alistair’s fascination with Aboriginal art was instantaneous and this led him into warm friendships with painters and artists who, often because of Alistair’s patronage, soon became world famous. Artists like Butcher Joe Nangan, Big John Dodo from La Grange, Roy Wiggan from Bardi, and of

course Rover Thomas and the many Gidja artists from Warmun. So many of these Aboriginal artists went on to have careers that were either secured, or at least significantly enhanced, with Alistair’s loyal friendship, support, patronage and of course his sheer buying power.

To give us some context, Alistair was no newcomer to the art world when he arrived here in Broome. As a relatively young man while visiting New York in the early 1970s, he bought, at a very reasonable price, a number of works by a then relatively unknown artist who had recently died. The works of this artist, Mark Rothko, soon became highly sought after and extremely valuable; one Rothko painting was sold in 2012 for $US87 million. Alistair had spotted, many years in advance of the market, the artistic excellence of Rothko’s work. Kimberley people would be interested to learn that when Rover Thomas saw his first Rothko painting – it was then hanging in the Australian National Gallery in Canberra - Rover said: “Hey, that bugger paints like me!” Not surprising, then, when Alistair came into the Kimberley he soon discovered Rover Thomas and started buying his work, along with that of many of the other early artists from Warmun.

As well as Alistair’s friendship with the artists of Broome and the Kimberley, he became good friends with an enormous

KCP Kimberley Talkabout 14 • III

number and range of Broome people. Alistair was quick to recruit and employ long-term Broome locals who helped reinforce his love of the place.

People like: Mary Bullen, who ran his kitchen at home and introduced his guests to the authentic tastes and aromas of traditional Broome cooking; Ross Gardiner and Chris Mitchell who helped Alistair establish the zoo and put together an unbelievably stunning collection of birds and rare and endangered animals, in the most beautiful wild-garden setting; Brian Pernich and Chris Reeves who maintained so much of the built environment and repaired the old Australian bush furniture that was now part of Alistair’s collection; Snowy County and Bev Kinney, with whom he developed a Pearl farm; Sue Thom, who was soon looking after his many VIP guests; and her husband, David Thom, who ran his cattle station on Roebuck Plains.

Other firm local friendships were formed with those with whom he did business: Bill Reid, from whom he bought pearls; Susan Bradley, from whom he bought the Kona Caravan Park in Kununurra; Allan Griffiths, who helped him in the local property market; and the Banfield family, who first established a local bus service before they went on to extend their interest to many other things.

Alistair, and his then wife Romilly, also became friends with the legendary, the late Father Michael MacMahon (“Father Mac”), then Parish Priest of Broome. Now this was an interesting attraction of political opposites, if ever there was one! Alistair was also soon on very good terms with the then Catholic Bishop of Broome, Bishop John Jobst. During a quick trip to the Kalumburu Mission, Alistair added to his collection of diverse friends amongst the Kimberley Catholic Clergy, when he met the then relatively young parish priest there, Father Christopher Saunders, with whom - from thereon after – he remained such good friends. It was largely because of these “Catholic connections” in Broome and across the Kimberley that Alistair and Romilly developed their interest in Catholicism and, after a private audience in Rome with the Pope, they decided to convert and take up the Catholic faith.

During this time Alistair also became good friends with two other local Labor Party MPs, in Ernie Bridge and Peter Dowding. Unlike his links to local Catholic clergy, these political links did not lead to his

conversion away from the Conservatives, and Alistair never joined the local ALP. However, the personal friendship with former Labor Premier Peter Dowding and their shared enthusiasm for Broome and Broome music ensured that on Alistair’s very last night that he spent in Australia, in 2012, he and his wife Athena spent it together with Peter and Liz Adams, the widow of his mate John Adams – together with my wife Anne and I, when we all sat happily listening to the mesmerising music and beat of Broome’s Pigram Brothers, singing out their songs about our shared love for Broome and enjoyed Alan Pigram’s soulful anthem with its many layers of meaning, entitled “Dear Alistair”, with words from the voice of country, of Broome’s own landscapes: “Well, I hear that you are blown out by my beauty. With streaks of red, fiery reds and blues”.

Various members of Alistair’s extended McAlpine clan visited Broome over the ensuing years: some of us will remember the visit of his older daughter Jane; most of us will have a better memory of young Skye McAlpine, who was a regular resident here in Broome where she developed strong friendships of her own, perhaps none stronger than her friendship with Wendy Cooper – who worked with Alistair and Romilly, becoming Skye’s nanny and, as a result of that life-long association, Skye spent some time working here as a young adult, as a carer, looking after the elderly and frail aged at the local Bran Nue Dae centre.

In Broome it is beyond doubt that without Alistair we would have lost much of the town’s built environment. Just for starters, Matso’s Store and the now adjacent Captain Gregory’s house would have been demolished by their then owners – the Bond Corporation - rather than lovingly relocated and preserved, as Alistair did for these two buildings.

Alistair went on to preserve so many more buildings that were and are a key feature of the town’s simple but unique architectural heritage. In many ways it was Alistair who popularized the resurgence of an aesthetic interest in Broome’s built environment and it was Alistair’s own widespread use of “the red and the green” as external paint on buildings and the use of ripple-iron that caused a revival of what is now closely associated with the style of so many contemporary Broome buildings.

By 1982, soon after I had become a local member of Parliament with my electorate

office in Chinatown, amongst the first representations I received were complaints that “some mad Pommy bastard had recently arrived in town and was buying up the place”, and I was firmly asked “what was I going to do about it?” I remember a front-page report in the Broome News, which had been wonderfully edited by the late Kevin Lawton, carrying a story about one of the major complainants who was upset at the arrival of Alistair McAlpine. The article appeared under the banner headline “Broome Blow-In Attacks Blow-In”.

Just as it was beyond the capacity of King Canute to stop the waves of the rising tide, so too was it impossible to stop the waves and tides of change coming towards Broome in the early 80s. What Alistair McAlpine did, however, in my view and in the view of so many others who love Broome, was to significantly shape and mould the changes so that there was so much that was good.

Alistair championed the many causes of local Broome people, including improved local access to training and employment in the hospitality sector for local people, especially local indigenous people. Alistair was a great supporter of local Broome music and media, offering generous arrangements as group after group benefited from access to his properties and premises around town.

There are people throughout Broome who could add endless items to the list of his positive contributions to this town, our community and our lives. It surprises none of us that we have some additional tangible monuments and memorials to the significance of Alistair McAlpine to Broome – with his name on an oval, and a sculptured brass bust of Lord McAlpine of the Bush and of Broome, happily beaming out from under an Australian bush hat, together with a parrot permanently perched over his shoulder.

In 2012, the Broome community, through a decision of the Shire of Broome, bestowed upon Alistair McAlpine, the highest local honour. At a local Civic ceremony that Alistair and his wife Athena McAlpine attended, he was made a freeman of the Town of Broome. The affection and esteem for Lord McAlpine expressed in this award was well earned and, gracefully, well received. Broome people know we have more reason than most to commemorate the life and to mark the passing of Alistair McAlpine, with profound respect and a deep sense of appreciation.

May he rest in Peace.

IV • KCP Kimberley Talkabout 14

Fr John Lümmen was ordained on the 9th of July 1950 in Limburg and celebrated his first Mass in his home parish of Appeldorn in Germany on the 23rd of July. He described the occasion in the book Led by the Spirit. And he says, “A tremendous welcome was given to me. The parish had decorated the church and many photos were taken. I had invited my spiritual director, Fr Rosskothen, to be the guest homilist. He spoke well but a bit too long.”

Fr John was larger than life in many ways and lived through 9 papacies. He survived WWII, received a number of awards both military and civil, including a British Empire Medal for service to Aboriginal and Migrant Welfare and received 3 papal blessings. His name was even mentioned in Parliament House in a report on education delivered by MP Kim Beazley in 1968.

Fr John was born on the 11 December 1919 and as a young boy attended a Pallottine boarding school in Schoenstatt/Vallendar. He later joined the Pallottines and studied for the priesthood but with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 his seminary days were interrupted and he ended up with an artillery unit in Czechoslovakia. When Hitler declared war on Russia, his unit pushed the Russian troops through Lithuania and was involved in the Siege of Leningrad (or St. Petersburg) where he lost 3 toes on his right foot to frostbite. After his recovery he was made an officer and assigned to a unit in Italy and then Austria where he became a prisoner to the US army when Germany was defeated.

After the War John returned to the seminary and was ordained as a Pallottine Priest. He and 3 other newly ordained Pallottines, Fr John Jobst (who later became Bishop of Broome), Fr Walter Silvester and Fr Ludwig Muenz, were sent

to Australia. From his arrival in 1951 to 1955, Fr John looked after Aboriginal students in Tardun. Around 1955 the Pallottines purchased 5 acres of bushland in Rossmoyne and a building was erected. From 1956 until 1980, Fr John took charge of this place and developed it into a Pallottine Training Centre, a place where Aboriginal students were accommodated as they attended secondary schools and learnt trades as apprentices and trainees. He was passionate about Aboriginal education. He saw it as the great equaliser for our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, enabling them to be on equal footing with everyone else.

During 1956 to 1963, Fr John wore two hats; while looking after the Pallottine Centre in Rossmoyne he was also the PP of the newly established parish of Queen of Apostles in Riverton. So when he retired from Pallottine Centre Rossmoyne in 1980 it was a natural progression to move across to Queen of Apostles Parish to become the PP where he remained until 1995.

I was appointed as Fr John’s assistant at Queen of Apostles for 2 years. Frs Pat Jackson and Kelvin Kenny were my predecessors and Fr Dean Bradbury my successor. We all found Fr John to be a tough taskmaster and learned a lot from him. Like his namesake, John the Baptist, Fr John could be quite challenging but at the same time we knew that beneath the exterior toughness he cared deeply about others and would never ask of others what he wasn’t willing to do himself. He taught by example and as a newly ordained priest this was a good place to cut one’s teeth.

Even after he stepped down from the role of being the PP in 1995, Fr John continued to be active in ministry, celebrating Masses and visiting

parishioners right up until the last few months of his life. These last few months were particulary difficult for Fr John as his mobility became more and more limited. Even when he was consigned to a wheelchair his request was always “move me, move me forward”. That was Fr John, even in sickness he wanted to be progressing. He wasn’t one for stagnation.

But the foundation to everything that Fr John achieved and all the good that he did, was his priesthood, his love for God and his love for the people God placed in his care. Just think of the number of Masses he celebrated in the 63 years of his priesthood; the Bread of Life offered, the sorrowful comforted, the poor tended to, the babies baptised, the students educated, the forgiveness offered in Reconciliation, the marriages consecrated, the sick anointed and the dead buried. That was his legacy.

Fr John drew nourishment from the Eucharist all his life. Just 3 days before his death he received The Sacrament for the dying from his brother Pallottine Fr John Flynn. In faith we know that just as Fr John was united with Jesus, the Bread of Life, he is now fully united with God who loved him for all eternity. Fr John can rest now forever since his good deeds go with him.

Like our founder St Vincent Pallotti, Fr John had a great devotion to Mary the mother of Jesus, Queen of Apostles. His wish for the future was “to remain in a caring and loving Pallottine Community, praying to remain a happy priest and to die a happy death”. I think his wishes were fulfilled.

May he rest in peace.

Born: 11 December 1919Entered Eternal Life: 13 January 2014

Read by Fr Eugene San SAC

Fr John Lümmen SAC

Obituary


1. The storm gathers. Photo: L Grant

2. In Kalumburu, a fire was followed quickly by rain and storms.

This tree was still burning as the rains came. Photo: A Rohr

3. Just out of the community of Balgo, (L-R) Shane Wandiga,

Gerald Maggie and Roderick Tyson had to cross Sturt Creek

while trying to get to Billiluna with Fr John Purnell to say mass

in late January. Photo: Fr J Purnell

4. Early in the wet season, roads into the remote community of

Kalumburu are still open but drivers have to take extra care

once the rain and storms start.

5. In the community of Warmun, which suff ered from major

flooding in 2011, January floods left this bridge covered in

debris. Photo: L Payton

6. At St Vincent Pallotti Church in Kununurra, Fr Frank Birrell

watched from the steps as the flood waters rose. Thankfully

the church was not damaged. Photo: Fr J Nyongesa

From Fires to Floods – The Wet Season Across the Kimberley

4 5

6

32

1


Sisters of St John of God Heritage Centre

Come Visit the Archives —through the touch screensHave you ever wondered what was stored in the archives at the Heritage Centre? You can now view a selection of items of interest when you visit the Relationships Exhibition.

Part of the vision of the SSJG Heritage Centre has been to provide the public with access to the historical collection held in the archive repository. This year we will see that vision being met in part by the use of new touch screens.

Those who have visited in the past would be familiar with the Photographic Collection which is available on two large screens where 40,000 photographs are presently available.

Visitors to the Relationships Exhibition can now also find documents from as far back as the early 1900s or watch a video of one of the storytellers recalling their experiences. Software was created specific to our needs and trialled in 2013. Issues raised were dealt with and this year we can provide access to twelve documents on each touch screen.

What is a document?A document can be many things — a

handwritten record, a typed report, a program from an event, an official document.

An example of documents on the touch screen in St Mary’s School Gallery is the 91 page handwritten record made by the Sisters of those who made their First Communion or Confirmation in Broome between 1931 and 1974. Another document shows samples of a child’s school work in the 1950s. The Inspector’s reports between 1912 and 1961 will make fascinating reading for those who have an interest in the people who attended St Mary’s School during that time.

In the Sisters Gallery read an account of Sr Bernadette’s last days in Beagle Bay. Another interesting item is Sr Elizabeth Crosbie’s account of her time in the North West as an SSJG. She arrived in 1949 and recalls: We wore long white habits, veils etc so once a week the hardships of washing by hand the inches of red dust embedded in the lower regions of the habit.

Documents can mount up in large numbers in archives and are only seen by an approved researcher working on a particular project. This leaves the rest of us locked out of these often insightful and informative documents.

What else can a touch screen provide?

In the Mission Gallery visitors can elect to watch an interview with those who share their memories of life on missions and towns in the Kimberley. Relevant still photographs are inserted to illustrate the story. A special feature of this screen is the option to use headsets ensuring that each visitor can listen at the volume they choose without disturbing others.

What about other archived items?All who manage archives struggle with

the conflict between the need to respect privacy and the desire to make items available for general viewing. Through this easy to use software, combined with large touch screens, we are delighted to offer access to a selection of documents for the first time.

More touch screens are on order and they will be used to make similar documents available in the other galleries.


“Believe in the whisperings of God in your own heart”

– St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Two Golden Jubilees for the Sisters of St Joseph“Never see a need without doing something about it!” In 1964 four young women fixed their colours and their futures to Mary Mackillop’s flag and have been steadfast in their commitment henceforth.

Sr Theresa Morellini from Western Australia, Sr Clare Ahern and Sr Maura Murphy originally from Ireland and Sr Pauline Morgan from South Australia,

lately reached the golden jubilee since their respective professions.

Two of the Sisters, Sr Theresa and Sr Clare will be familiar faces to many in the Kimberley.

Since 1973 Sr Theresa has worked in Wyndham, Kununurra, Halls Creek and Warmun as teacher, pastoral worker and administrator. In 2008 Sr Theresa was the recipient of the Order of Australia for

her “Services to the indigenous community of the Kimberley Region, particularly in the areas of social welfare and education, the prevention of alcohol and substance abuse and pastoral care programs.” Sr Theresa will soon be returning to the Kimberley to continue this ministry.

Sr Clare Ahern and Sr Maura Murphy returned from Ireland to celebrate their Jubilee. Sr Clare made the same journey from Ireland in 1963 to enter the order in Sydney. Sr Clare served in the Kimberley from 1976, including time as lecturer and administrator at the University of Notre Dame in Broome until her appointment as WA leader of the congregation which necessitated a move to Perth in 2002.

Each of the Srs celebrating their jubilees has given of their talents and lives to respond as best that they can to the Josephite call to relieve suffering and bring hope to the most disadvantaged in our world.

From left , Sr Theresa Morellini rsj, Sr Clare

Ahern rsj and Sr Pat Rhatigan ssjg. Sr Pat

knew them well in the 1980s and 1990s so

there was much to share and laugh about

when they visited the Sisters of St John

of God Heritage Centre in Broome. Photo:

SSJG Heritage Centre Broome.

MARK HUGHES

PO Box 2121 Broome WA 6725

MARK HUGHES

TEL 0438 864 994EML [email protected]

Established in 1945Painting Contractors

www.erichood.com.au

PO BOX 2121

Broome, WA 6725

TEL 0438 864 994EML [email protected] 1561

Graduation for Balgo Teaching AssistantsOn Wednesday 20 November 2013, four Balgo people who are or have been Teaching Assistants at Luurnpa Catholic School, graduated from the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. Already one of the graduates has begun further studies.

Celebrating their achievements: (from left ) Leanne Cook (Broome CEO),

Br Rick Gaff ney (Luurnpa Catholic School), Evelyn Schaber (Batchelor

Institute), Joseph Yugumbari, Madeline Nowee, Priscilla Mandijarra,

Marcia Cox, and Sr Nola Goodwin rsj and Fr John Purnell. Photo: Br M

Blattman fsc


Refugee policy a ‘campaign of cruelty’: BishopThe Australian government is in effect conducting a campaign of cruelty towards asylum seekers, the Chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, Bishop Christopher Saunders, said today.

‘The government’s campaign, like that of its predecessors, has only one purpose: to deter desperate men, women and children from seeking protection from persecution and danger’, Bishop Saunders said.

‘The government claims that it is fighting a war’, Bishop Saunders said. ‘If it is a war, then it is being fought against wretched and defenceless people.’

‘We are ignoring the most important

issue: the millions of people in our region and around the world who need protection and security.

‘The only hope for a solution to the refugee problem is international cooperation’, Bishop Saunders said.

‘Australia’s policies are undermining and destroying that hope by angering the very nations we need to work with.

‘It seems that friendly relationships with our neighbours are becoming collateral damage in pursuit of an aggressive and callous policy’, Bishop Saunders continued.

‘Can we be surprised if Indonesia is offended when Australian naval ships

stray into its waters, or when we ignore its protests and force boats to turn back to their sovereign territory?’

Bishop Saunders quoted recent words of Pope Francis, who said: ‘Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity’. The Pope called for us all to move away from ‘attitudes of defensiveness and fear’.

‘It is time for the Australian government to act in accordance with its responsibilities under the Refugee Convention and to exercise compassion towards those who come to our shores justly seeking a new life in peace’, Bishop Saunders said.

MEDIA RELEASE

Holy Rosary School, DerbyDiamond Jubilee Celebrations

Friday 22nd AugustSchool Open Day 1:15 -2:30

Saturday 23rd August‘Back to Derby Town’ Tour

Sunday 24th AugustMass at 9:00am – School Fete 10am-2pm

HOLY ROSARY SCHOOL

PO BOX 70, 99 Loch Street DERBY WA 6728

Phone: (08) 91 911 283 | Fax: (08) 91 911 074 | [email protected]

22nd, 23rd & 24th August 2014

Celebrating 60 years of our school

Man might not live on bread alone but for Angelo from Beagle Bay it is the spice of life… And footy teams think it is pretty good too.

Six former students from St Mary’s College in Broome are now studying dance full time at NAISDA (National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Association) Dance College, the professional dance college for Indigenous students, located in NSW.

From left , Lillian Banks, Kaupa Pitt, Dan

Pearson, Rika Hamaguchi, Wendilyn Torres

and Soleil White

Photo: CAS


Parish News

DAMPIER PENINSULA

HALLS CREEKKALUMBURU

DERBY

Phone: (08) 9192 1526 2 Florence Way, Blue Haze Broome, WA


MRB3436 AU23091

• Complete professional mechanical services

• Vehicle maintenance & repairs

• All makes and models

• 4WD specialists

• Radiator repairs & replacement – Natrad specialist

• Natrad air conditioning repairer

Dampier Peninsular Parish Priest Fr Hilary Rotich with Josephine Jezek and her granddaughter Laylah Boyd at Bobby Creek crossing for a swim after the recent rains.

Photo: T Victor

Five generations of the Puertollano family were present at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Derby recently for the Baptism of Jack Thomas Bergmann.

This included his great grandmother, from left, Pat Bergmann, his grandmother, Angela Bergmann holding Jack, his great great grandmother, Agnes Puertollano and his father Triston Bergmann.

Photo: Mgr Paul Boyers

At St Marys Church in Halls Creek in late December, Sr Kathleen McSweeney rsj was farewelled by parish priest Fr James Saina and parishioners, after five years in the Kimberley.

LEFT: From left , Fr

Nicholas Kipkemboi,

mother Melissa Waina

holding Zaiden Barney

(baptised), John Burgu

(godfather), Natasha

Waina (godmother)

holding son Dillon

Burgu. FRONT: Zeriah

Barney.

BELOW: From left ,

Deacon Christopher

Knapman, Aaron

White (godfather),

Bevin Undulghumen

(baptised), Amanda

Waina (godmother),

Fr Nicholas Kipkemboi,

Jason Undulghumen

(father) and young

Jack Waina (front).

Photos: L Grant


Parish News

School News

BALGO

LA GRANGEWARMUN

In the parish of La Grange/Bidyaganda, parish priest Fr Benny Calanza recently baptised baby Jonahnni Sussanah Bubbles Poelina. With Jonahnni is sponsor Travis Thomas.

Photo: Fr B Calanza

In late 2013, the students at Ngalangangpum School in Warmun made their First Reconciliation with Fr Frank Birrell and their First Communion with Fr Joel Nyongesa.

From left , Ashanti Echo, Raymond Carlton, Fr Joel Nyongesa, Marzanna

Churchill, Treston Peters and Joshua Crewes. Photo: Sr J Murphy rsj

In late 2013, the two La Salle Sisters left Luurnpa Catholic School in Balgo to return to Sydney. They had been working for several months with the Kindy and Primary A classes.

They were farewelled at a school assembly where they received gifts and a blessing by Kathy Lee and the singing of the Blessing Song by the whole school community.

Now that they have been given permanent residency in Australia they are looking for employment so that they can continue their project of establishing their Order in Australia.

Earlier in the year, new staff at Luurnpa Catholic School at Balgo and John Pujajangka Piyirn School at Mulan came together at Balgo for a Mass of welcome and blessing.

Aboriginal Teaching Assistant Kathy Lee blesses the Sisters at a school

assembly to farewell them. (L-R) Sr Thao Tran, Kathy Lee, and Sr Yen Le.

Photo: Br M Blattman fsc

After a spate of break-ins at Luurnpa Catholic School in Balgo and other vandal activities by some of the children, the Church Leaders decided to address the problem by having a Mass of Repentance and Forgiveness involving all the children in the school, followed by a blessing from Church Leaders.

Blessing of new staff by Fr John Purnell and Church Leaders


BEAGLE BAY

BROOME

School News

DERBY

The start of the 2014 school year has seen Sacred Heart School in Beagle Bay welcome two new teachers on staff. Michelle Savoia has taken up a role at the school as the Year 3 & 4 classroom teacher with Karl Dunmill taking the Year 6 & 7 class.

Transitions – Gija women’s Art Exhibition at Short Street Gallery.

Children and grandchildren of artists who are students at St Mary’s College attended the Exhibition Opening on 1 March.

LEFT: Artist Lorraine

Daylight with her son

Gordon Churchill.

Photo: J Cambridge

Ash Wednesday Mass at St Mary’s College in Broome was celebrated by Bishop Christopher Saunders, Fr Matthew Digges and Fr John Purnell. Bishop Saunders also launched the Caritas Project Compassion Appeal.

St Mary’s College Broome Year 7 students enjoyed their Camp at Broome Camp School earlier this year. The Camp provided the opportunity for students to get to know each other and their teachers in a relaxed but structured environment.

Fifty four Kindy students started their school lives at St Mary’s College in Broome in February.

From left , Andy Gibb,

Jade McLarty and

Jordyn Whitehead.

Photo: S McPherson

Holy Rosary School, Derby has welcomed three new teaching staff to the school. They have all adjusted to their new setting quickly and comfortably. They are keen and enthusiastic educators. Caitlin Watson (left) has

moved from Albany, Western Australia and is teaching Year 6. Noelene Goonan (centre) comes from Geelong in Victoria and is teaching Year 3. Phoebe Morwood (right) joins Holy Rosary all the way from Launceston in Tasmania and is teaching Year 2.

Photo: E Wrobel

Photo: A Popovich

Elizabeth Cox from Beagle Bay enjoying the

activities. Photo: A Bratovic


School News

KUNUNURRAMULAN

LOMBADINA

WARMUN

RED HILL

WYNDHAM

Student Anjelia Simon (centre) with her parents, Bernadette Simon and

Ainsley Meeway. Photo: F Haji-Ali

A group of Year 3 and 4 students at St Joseph’s Primary School in Kununurra were given the opportunity recently to share their love of reading and learning with their family members.

John Pujajangka-Piyirn School in Mulan is a lot smaller than this time last year because they have sent eight secondary students down to Perth to board at La Salle College. Although the school senior class is smaller it is really pleasing to see so

many Mulan kids going to Perth to pursue this opportunity. School Principal, Les Coyle, visited La Salle College in late February and was able to catch up with the students.

Students at Christ the King School, Djarindjin/Lombadina recently invited their parents to help them make their ‘family tree’. This school and family activity was organised to teach students about respecting themselves and others.

Earlier in the year, the high school students at Ngalangangpum School in Warmum, along with Shirley Drill and the Kija Rangers, took a fishing trip to Smoke Creek.

Cameliah James

(mother) and her

daughter Rowena.

Photo: N McKee

Mike Mike

Nungatcha (L)

and Adrian Drill

holding a fish.

Photo:

Sr J Murphy rsj

The Aboriginal Teaching Assistants at Warlawurru Catholic School in Red Hill conducted the traditional ‘Smoking Ceremony’ to commence the school year for 2014.

Fr James Saina blessed the school with Holy Water as part of the Smoking Ceremony.

Photo: K Bessen

St Joseph’s School Wyndham is celebrating 50 years of Catholic Education this year and have arranged several community gatherings to mark this great milestone.

Student Leaders - (L-R) Destiny Garcia, Jaiden Blythe, Jennifer Carter, Jelika

Carlton, Tara Johnson and Deklan Garcia. Photo: S Duinker


K I D S’ KORNER

Early on Easter morning, all the apostles ran to the tomb to see that Jesus had risen. When they saw, they believed that Jesus is truly GOD!

Colour the Picture

In each frame, draw a picture of something you see in the world around you that makes you believe that God is REAL!

After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to those who loved him. You love Jesus, don’t you? So, if Jesus quietly

appeared to you one day or night, what would you say to him?

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

While on earth, Jesus walked among the the people, even the children, talking with

them and doing great things for them. What kind of a man would you say Jesus was? ___________________________________ ___________________________________

How will you try to be like Jesus

this week? ________________

________________

________________

© 2014 Carmel-Anne Ellen,rsm


Prayer Time

BROOME Ph: 08 9193 5888

Fax: 08 9193 6555


Administrator: Rev Fr Matthew Digges

Mass times:

Saturday 6.00pm Vigil

Sunday 7.00am & 9.00am

BALGO-KUTJUNGKA Ph: 08 9168 8969

Fax: 08 9168 8747


Parish Priest: Fr James Saina

Mass times:

Balgo: Saturday 6.00pm Vigil

Billiluna: Sunday 4.00pm

Mulan: Sunday 10.00am

DAMPIER PENINSULAPh: 08 9192 4917


Parish Priest: Rev Fr Hillary Rotich

Mass times:

Beagle Bay: Saturday 5.00pm Vigil

Sunday 8.00am

Lombadina: Sunday 8.30am

DERBYPh: 08 9191 1227

Fax: 08 9193 1281


Parish Priest: Rev Mgr Paul Boyers

Mass times:

Derby: Saturday 6.00pm Vigil

Sunday 9.00am

Fitzroy Crossing: 5.00pm 2nd & 4th

Sunday of month

HALLS CREEKPh: 08 9168 6177


Parish Priest: Vacant

Mass times:

2nd and 4th Sundays: 8.30am

1st and 3rd Sundays: 6.00pm

KALUMBURUPh/Fax: 08 9161 4342

Parish Priest: Rev Fr Nicholas Kipkemboi

Mass times:

Saturday 5.30pm Vigil

Sunday 7.00am

KUNUNURRA Ph: 08 9168 1027

Fax: 08 9168 2080


Parish Priest: Rev Fr Joel Nyongesa

Mass times:

Kununurra: Sunday 8.30am

Wyndham: Sunday 5.00pm

Warmun: Monday 5.00pm

LA GRANGE-BIDYADANGA Ph/Fax: 08 9192 4950


Parish Priest: Rev Fr Benny Calanza

Mass times:

Sunday 9.00am

WYNDHAMRefer Kununurra Parish

A prayer for solidarity

Parish/Mass Centres

God of all creationYou have given us the beautiful land we call Australia.Rich in ancient culture and tradition,Rich in landscape, plants and animal life;Rich in resources, laws and social structure,Offering safety and opportunity.Teach us to see those who are at our gates,To act justly so all may come to the table andTo weep for those who perish before they are invited.

Where there is hunger in our worldMay we share our food and resourcesand contribute our skills and knowledgeto create a sustainable food supply.

Where there is disasterMay we respond quickly and generouslyTo bring relief to those injured and deprived of homesand help them to rebuild their lives and communities.

Where there are people who are disabledMay we see them first as peopleand work tirelessly to ensure they are always includedand have the resources to reach their full potential.

Where people are displaced from their own lands,Especially those who seek refuge on our shores,May we dare to put ourselves in their shoesAnd welcome them to share in the life gifted to us.

Where Indigenous communities are displaced in their own land,May we acknowledge the wrongs of the past,Recognise the richness of their cultureAnd empower all Indigenous Peoples to determine their own future.

God of all creationGive us clear eyes to see the whole worldSo that we may never take for granted the gifts you have givenOr think they belong to us alone.Give us open hearts to reach out from our comfortand open our gatesTo walk in new solidarity with our neighbours.

Social Justice Prayer CardUsed with permission of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council


A waterslide was the perfect way for the kids to cool down on a hot day in the

remote northern community of Kalumburu. Photo: L Verhoef

Project Compassion was launched at the Ash Wednesday Mass at St

Mary’s College in Broome. Janeen Murphy from Caritas worked with

students and staff on Shrove Tuesday explaining the role of Caritas and

Project Compassion. From left , Michael Pepper, Janeen Murphy and Bishop

Christopher Saunders. Photo: A Popovich

At St John the Baptist Church in Bidyadanga, parish priest Fr

Benny Calanza baptised Sataiya Grey. Sataiya was supported

by (from left ) her sponsors Barry Grey and Tarwonnya

Clements and Auntie Regina Grey .

Who caught the biggest catfish at Warmun? None other than

Tyrone Juli who has a bucket of them...at Warmun Retreat

Centre. Photo: CAS

Welcome to Broome Mendoowoorrji (Medicine Pocket), you tell a story of quiet

dignity and strength, be at home. Fr Matthew Digges and members of the extended

family of the late East Kimberley artist Paddy Bedford, whose work Qantas has

chosen to honour in the livery for its newest Boeing 737-800, ceremonially blessed

Mendoowoorrji on the occasion of her first visit to Broome, 20 November 2013.

Photo: L Grant