Photos and stories sought

By Tina Seirlis

With planning underway for the 150th anniversary of St Bernards Church in Bacchus Marsh due to take place in 2024, one local woman is researching a history of the parish with a view to publishing a book to recognise the occasion.

In addition to commemorating the Church building, local historian and researcher, Margaret Love, also the President of the Hopetoun Cemetery Preservation Group, is aiming to share the story of the everyday battlers that worked to establish the Catholic parish commencing from the much earlier European settlement days.

Ms Love said the idea for the book came about from informal discussions amongst long-term parishioners with an interest in history.

“Many current locals may not realise that the town’s first Catholic chapel, St Laurence O’Toole, sat within the grounds of the heritage-protected Hopetoun Cemetery, based along Bacchus Marsh Road, Merrimu, opposite Flanagans Drive,” she said.

Ms Love says her interest in the earlier history and the heritage-listed cemetery was initially inspired through learning her late husband’s great, great grandparents and three of their children are buried there.

“The majority of early parishioners were from Ireland, many from County Tipperary who were forced to emigrate because of harsh conditions in Ireland,” she said.
“Most started with nothing except for courage, initiative and resilience. They gave a home to their faith in the Tipperary Flats/Hopetoun area and later worked to fund St Bernard’s Church, thus forging a vital link between the two buildings and sites.”

The name Hopetoun results from the name given to the nearby homestead and former pastoral run by its second owner, a Scottish settler called William Grant. Mr Grant renamed the property Hopetoun to honour the area he migrated from in Scotland. The property’s earlier owners were the Irish settlers who had donated the land for the chapel and cemetery.

“It was many of those buried in the cemetery who helped build the first chapel, later the second school/chapel, and then raised funds to build St Bernard’s Church which was blessed and opened on 28 June 1874,” Ms Love said.

“The importance of this relationship is not lost on those descendants of the early parishioners who believe that the 150th anniversary should highlight the full story of building the church and the parish.”

Contributions towards the book have already been sought via church newsletters, print and social media, but Ms Love is mindful that some may have missed the call to share their family histories, photos and anecdotes.

Ms Love is also particularly keen to secure some items referred to as the golden goose of local Catholic history, being a photo or sketch of the original St Laurence O’Toole chapel, along with a photo from the opening of St Bernard’s Church in 1874.

Anyone who would like to contribute towards the book, or may have any of these highly sought after images should contact [email protected] by Friday 3 November.