ISSUE NO. 43 OCTOBER 2016 WESTERN LINK · NEWSLETTER OF THE CATENIAN ASSOCIATION ISSUE NO. 43...

InauguralNationalAustralianconferenceinPerth

ImportantweekendforallCateniansOn the weekend of 21 to 23 October 2016 the first NationalAustralian Catenian Conference will be held in Perth. It is a veryimportant weekend for all Australian Catenian brothers fromProvince20inWesternAustralia,Province21inEasternAustraliaand Area Victoria. Some overseas Catenians from the UnitedKingdomarealsoexpectedtoattend.

The Provincial President ofProvince 20, StephenWilliamson, said that theconference is open for allCatenianstoattend,andurgesall Western Australianbrothers to make a specialefforttoattendall,orasmanyevents scheduled for theweekend,aspossible.

“Thisconferenceisparticularlyrelevant,”hesaid,“becauseitwill be the first National event after the approval of theRestructureandtheformationofTheAustralianNationalCouncil” Theconferencewill commencewithanopensessionon theFridaymorning,andacocktailreceptionforallbrothersandwivestomeetandgreetvisitorsfromtheEastoroverseas. OnSaturdaymorningthemainsectionoftheconferencewilltake place, including the official installation of the new NationalPresident,GeorgeKazsofProvince21andothermembersof theCouncil. Saturdayafternoon the ladiesare invited to joinbrothersatChisholm College to listen to the two guest speakers with thethemeof “Catholic Youth are our Future”. Guest speakers areDr.Debra Sayce, Director of Religious Education at the WA CatholicEducationOfficeandDr.AndrewKania,DirectorofSpiritualityatAquinasCollege. SaturdayeveningtheConferenceBanquetDinnerwillbeheldattheAdriaticClub,Stirlingandtherewillalsobeaguestspeakeratthisfunction. The conference will conclude on Sunday morning with theProvincialPresidentsMassthatwillbeheldatStMary’sCathedralinPerthfollowedbyabuffetlunchatChisholmCollege.

RegistrationdetailscanbeobtainedfromyourcircleSecretary

MeetingthechallengeScholarshipwinnermakinggreatprogress

Mitchell Rabjones, winner ofthe inaugural CatenianAssociation Province 20 YouthScholarshipismakingexcellentprogress in his studies, and in2017 will complete the finalyear of his degree inPhysiotherapy and Exerciseand Sports Science at TheUniversityofNotreDame. Mitchell comes fromBusselton where he attendedMacKillopCatholicCollege.

TheYouthScholarshipawardwasestablishedin2014bytheCatenian Youth Fund to assist a university student whoseeducationalopportunitiesarelimited.Theaimofthescholarshipisto advance the interests of youngCatholics and to assist them inthepursuitofacareer. Theinauguralscholarshipprovides$4,000perannumforthepurpose of supporting the scholarship for a period of four yearsfrom2014to2017inclusive. Mitchell said that the end of the first semester of 2016hadgiven him a chance, finally, to take a step back and take a deepbreathafteroneofhismostchallengingsemestersyet. In his report to the Youth Fund, Mitchell said, “My units inthissemesterweresomeofthemostadvancedthat Ihavehadtotake formydegree.As Iworkedmywaythroughthemitbecameclearer to me that I have begun to make the transition fromstudenttoclinician.” “Becauseof theheavyworkloadduring thesemester, Ihavehadtoreducethetimespentontrainingandrunning,howeverI’mlooking forward to resuming these pursuits and I’m hoping tocompeteintheBusseltonIronmaneventinDecember,”hesaid. “Outside of university life, I have continued towork for theSouth Fremantle Football Club, and have taken a job as thephysiotherapistforthereservesside.ThismeansthatI’minchargeof all aspects relating to injury and acute management for allplayersinthereservesside.IthasalsoprovidedanopportunitytolearnfromoneofthebestmedicalteamsintheWesternAustralianFootball League and to develop my own personal beliefssurroundingthetreatmentandmanagementofinjuries.” “Ihaveanotherexcitingplacementinthesecondsemesterin2016 at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The more practical hours Icomplete, the more everything comes together and the more IlearnaboutmyselfandgrowtobethebestPhysioIcanbecome.”

WESTERN LINKNEWSLETTER OF THE CATENIAN ASSOCIATION

ISSUE NO. 43 OCTOBER 2016

PROVINCE 20 WESTERN AUSTRALIA

NAMEEditor: Peter Johnston Tel (08) 9204 4121 Email [email protected] Editor: Max Gardiner Tel (08) 9534 4422Marketing & Advertising: Peter Johnston Tel (08) 9204 4121

2 WESTERN LINK OCTOBER 2016

DirectoryEditor:PeterJohnston Tel.:92044121 Mobile:0417180843 Email:[email protected]: MaxGardiner Tel.:95344422 Email:[email protected]

CirclePublicityOfficers:AvonValley BrianWebbBouvard JohnPannellBusselton TonySmurthwaiteCanning DougWilliamsComo BryanLillisDarlingRange JohnBottomleyDianella LouDailyFremantle KevinHefronJoondalup PeterJohnstonLiwara GrahamGreenMandurah MikeSeeberPerth TomJoynesSwanValley MichaelRosario

ReflectingontheHolyTrinityandYearofMercyThe annual Province 20 Day of Reflection was held at theRedemptorisMater Seminary inMorleyonSunday22May2016,attendedbyabout30brothers.TheSeminarywas inaugurated in1994byArchbishopBarryHickey(nowEmeritusArchbishop);oneof 60 similar seminaries that were opened around the world inresponsetotheVaticanCouncil’sinitiativetakenupbyHolyFatherJohnPaulIIwhoopenedthefirstRedemptorisMaterSeminaryinRomein1987. SinceitsopeningthePerthRedemptorisSeminaryhashad39Priestsordainedfrom15countriesaroundtheworld. The Rector of the Seminary, FatherMichaelMoore SMwastheconvenoroftheprogrammethatbeganwithMassoftheHolyTrinity andwas structured around talks on the Icon of the HolyTrinityandthecurrentYearofMercyinauguratedbyPopeFrancison8December2015to20November2016.

FatherMichaelMoorespeaksabouttheIconoftheHolyTrinity

attheCatenianDayofReflection Itwasanexcellentday,openingthedoorfortheparticipatingCatenians to reflect on their faith on a pleasant day in a tranquilsetting.FatherMooreisanengagingspeakerandeasytolistento,andbrothers foundhistalkaboutthemysteryof theHolyTrinitymostenlightening. Father Moore illustrated his topic with variousinterpretationsofthepaintingoftheHolyTrinityintheSeminaryChapel. Followingmiddayprayersandlunchthedayconcludedwithsung Rosary and brothers departed the Seminary feeling proudabouttheirCatholicfaith. Themusic and singing throughout thedaywas expertly ledbysevenresidentseminarians.

CatenianbrothersinprayerattheHolyMassatthePerth

RedemptorisMaterSeminary

Standing out from the crowd.

xpressPRINT191 Scarborough Beach Road, Mt Hawthorn

Telephone 9443 9030 | 0410 989 825

[email protected] | www.xpressprint.com.au

PROUD SUPPORTERS OF THE CATENIAN ASSOCIATION

GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRINTING

OCTOBER 2016 WESTERN LINK 3

SpeakingoutwithconfidenceInauguralCatholicSchoolsspeechcompetitionNine year 11 and 12 students from five Catholic Colleges in theEasternsuburbsofPerthandNorthamcompetedintheinauguralCatholic School speaking competition on 27 July 2016 held at LaSalle College in Middle Swan. Province 20 of the CatenianAssociation in Western Australia organised and sponsored theevent. The competition was an outstanding success with allspeakers accepting the challenge with maturity and confidencebeyond their years. They were required to research and preparetheir speeches, drawing on the curriculum material they learn inReligiousEducationintheirschoolsandtospeakpositivelyaboutChristianethicsingeneralandCatholicmoralvaluesinparticular. Speakershadaminimumoffourminutesandamaximumoffiveminutestospeakontheirpreparedtopicandthen,withjustafewminutesofnotice,speakonanimpromptutopicforuptotwominutes. A panel of three prominent and competent persons,independent of the schools, adjudicated and provided positivefeedbacktoallspeakers.ThepanelcomprisedWesternAustralianSenator,LindaReynolds,DirectoroftheLJGoodyBioethicsCentre,Father JoeParkinson and theReligiousEducationDirector at theCatholicEducationOffice,Dr.DebraSayce.Thesuccessfulstudentswere: First,ElishaReynolds,Year12studentfromLaSalleCollege,MiddleSwan Second, Dennis Nixon, Year 12 student from Ursula FrayneCatholicCollege,VictoriaPark Third, Gabriella Ochtman, Year 11 student from St Joseph’sSchool,NorthamTheothersixparticipantswere: Siobhain Murphy, Year 12 student from La Salle College,MiddleSwan Caitlin McKenzie, Year 11 student from Holy Cross College,Ellenbrook Rebecca Hughes, Year 11 student from Holy Cross College,Ellenbrook Theo Vander Hayden, Year 11 student from Ursula FrayneCatholicCollege,VictoriaPark Dennis Volpe, Year 11 student from Chisholm CatholicCollege,Bedford Jordon Harrison, Year 12 student from Chisholm CatholicCollege,BedfordOrganisingcommittee:Acommittee,predominatelyoftheWesternAustralianProvince20of the Catenian Association organised the competition, includingtheadjudicationevent. Committee members were the Convenor, retired charteredaccountant and university lecturer, Gerard Tonks (Darling RangeCircle), retired secondary school Principal, Pat McManus (ComoCircle), secondary school teacher, Harry Muller (Darling RangeCircle), retired secondary school teacher, Dick Finucane(Fremantle Circle) and Principal of St Joseph’s School, Northam,CarmenCox.

ConvenorandMC,GerardTonksaddressestheSpeakforFaith

audience

Lefttoright:ProvincialPresident,StephenWilliamson,SenatorLindaReynolds,GerardTonks,FatherJoeParkinsonandDr.

DebraSayce

The2016competitionwaslimitedtofiveCatholicschoolsinthe eastern region of the Perth metropolitan area, includingNortham. Provincial Council will now consider its extension in2017 to all Catholic secondary schools in the Perth metropolitanarea and in 2018 to all Catholic secondary schools in WesternAustralia.


BypasshighwaywilldivertheavytrucksawayfromNewNorcia

Constructionofthe long-awaitedNewNorciabypasshighwayhascommencedandwillchangethefaceofthehistoricmonastictownwhen it’s completed in about August 2017. The six-kilometrebypass section of the Great Northern Highway will divert trafficfromaboutakilometresouthof the towntraversingahillon theeastern side, before reconnectingwith themainhighwayabout akilometretothenorth. ThedivertedhighwaywillprovidepanoramichillsideviewsofNewNorciafortravellerswhowillbeabletomakeaphotostopatasceniclookoutoverlookingthewholetownimmediatelytotheeast of theMonastery.Visitorswill haveaccess to the town fromreconstructedentryroadsfromboththesouthandnorth. The bypass will remove heavy transport vehicles from thehistoric town precinct and allow for future development andrestorationofthetown. The Monks of New Norcia have been lobbying successiveLaborandLiberalCoalitionStateGovernmentsforoveradecadetodeliverthebypass.FormerAbbotPlacidSpearritt(deceased)firstidentified the need to divert traffic from the town and hissuccessor; Abbot John Herbert took up the baton when he tookover. The Great Northern Highway carries a continuous flow ofheavyover-width andover-length vehicles often at all times, dayand night, servicing the Northwest mining areas. These vehiclesdisturb the character and atmosphere of New Norcia for dayvisitors,guests,residentsandMonks.Theyalsorepresentadangerto the hundreds of children each year that use the old boardinghousefacilitiesfortheirschoolcamps. The Australian and Western Australian Governments havejointlyfundedthe$29.8millionproject.

On28April2016,WesternAustralianParliamentarySecretarytotheMinisterforTransportJimChown(centre)andformer

AustralianMinisterforInfrastructureWarrenTruss(farright)turnedthefirstsodfortheNewNorciabypass,joinedby

traditionalownerGusRyderrepresentingtheYuedpeople,ShireofVictoriaPlainsPresident,DavidLovelockandAbbotJohnHerbertfromtheBenedictineCommunityofNewNorcia

PrimeMinisterTurnbullcapturedbypirates

FundingresearchintochildhoodbraincancerAustralia’s PrimeMinister, Malcolm Turnbull had an unexpectedencounterwithabunchofpiratesduringhis2016FederalelectionvisittoPerthinJuly. Hewas visiting the factory of Colgan Industries in CanhamWay, Greenwood to promote the Liberal Party policy supportingsmall business when the unplannedmeeting occurred, capturinghisattentionandinterest.

PrimeMinisterMalcolmTurnbullandNathanColgan(right)picturedwithpirates,lefttoright,Byron,ConorandChloe

In 2012 at the age of five, Conor Colgan, the grandson ofJoondalup Circle Catenian Martin Colgan and his wife Dot, wasdiagnosedwithabraintumourand,afterseveraloperationsisstillreceivingtreatmentforthedisease. Since the initial diagnosis, Conor’s parents Nathan andConnie Colgan have been involved in a number of initiatives toincreaseawarenessand to raise funds for research into findingacureforchildhoodbraincancer. Doctors told the Colgan’s the only way to find a cure wasthroughexpensiveresearch,soin2014NathancreatedAustralia’sveryowndress-uppirateday.PirateDayFridayencourageskidstoput on an eye patch and grab a sword to learn about and raisemoneyforresearchintothedreadfuldisease. In 2015 the first official Pirate Day Friday raised over$110,000 frommore than 500 participating schools and daycarecentres around Perth. The day was an outstanding success, farexceedingexpectations.WhatstartedwithjustaletterfromaDadendedupwith500schoolsanddaycarecentresparticipatingandover100,000kidsdressingup.Now,that’salotofpirates. Lastyear’seffortsraisedmorethan$140,000Australiawideand funded a whole new area of research at the Telethon KidsInstitute. In 2016 it is hoped to double this amount through charitypartnersfortheevent,TheKid’sCancerProjectandTheTelethonAdventurers.

Formoreinformationvisitwww.piratedayfriday.com


AvonValley–raisingthebarfortheVisitorsCup

Avon Valley Circle has set an elevated standard for othercirclestostriveforwhentheirturncomestohosttheProvince20 Visitors Cup. The Northam-based circle put on anunforgettableeventonSaturday13August2016attendedbyalmost 90 people, including 47 brothers representing all 13circlesinProvince20. In near perfect, sunny weather, the day commenced withMass at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. After morning tea, brothersattended the Avon Valley Circle Visitors Cup meeting, while theladiesenjoyedsomesightseeingandshoppinginthetowncentre. Awonderfulbuffetlunch,cateredbytheladiesoftheparish,was served at St Joseph’s Kirby hall, followed by a thought-provoking address given by Owen Catto, the Executive Officer ofTheRegionalMen’sHealthInitiativedeliveredbyWheatbeltMen’sHealth (Inc.) and proudly supported by Royalties for Regions.WheatbeltMen’sHealth isanot-for-profitorganisation formed in2002 to raise awareness ofmen’swellbeing andhealth.Based inNortham,theRegionalMen’sHealthInitiativeaimstobeabridgeofeducationandsupport to regionalmen, communitiesand localhealthservices. Owen Catto’s engaging presentation was followed by anabsorbingdisplayof ScottishdancingbyaNorthamdance schoolgroupandadelightfulperformanceofa fewwell-knownmedleysontheviolinbyColinBrabazonofComoCircle.

AvonValleybrothers,backrow:BrianWebb,BenPaul,Terry

O’NeillandClintonRichterFrontrow:NickSpadaccini,BernieMoore,StanTumakandTom

Polich

ThebeautifulCatenianladies

LunchinStJoseph’sKirbyHall

ThewinningcircleoftheProvince20VisitorsCupwasSwanValleyCircle,wellrepresentedbyastrong-turnoutofbrothersandwives.

ProvincialPresident,StephenWilliamson(right),presentsSwanValleyPresident,BrianMurphywiththeVisitorsCup


Malta2016RecollectionsoftheCatenianConferenceandtravelsinFrance

ByGerardTonksMay2016

“Carmel and I arrived in Malta on 8 May 2016 after two weekscruising on French rivers in the Bordeaux, Cotes de Rhone andBeaujolaisregionswithsomedaysinParis.” “On the day of our arrival I attended a meeting of MensijaCircleNo294,Malta’sfirstCateniancircleinauguratedin1981notlong after Darling Range Circle No 290 that was inaugurated inFebruary of the same year. Other Province 20 brothers whoattended the meeting were Stephen Williamson and RichardTaylor (Swan Valley), Ralph Fitzpatrick (Liwara) and Ben Paul(AvonValley).Later in theweek,TerryO’Neill (SwanValley)andGerry Barton (Liwara) arrived for the Catenian Associationconference that was held over the weekend Friday 13 May toSunday15May2016.” “The conference was well run as usual, but no matters ofcontentionwere raised.Therewere435Catenians inattendance.Theconferencehighlightwas theSundayHighMass in theMdinaCathedralwithCateniansandwives,800intotal,allsinginglustilyinawesomeharmony.”

AfterHighMassattheMetropolitanCathedralofStPaul,

commonlyknownasStPaul’sCathedralortheMdinaCathedralwithLianaandRalphFitzpatrick(LiwaraCircle)inthe

foreground

“Canberra and Melbourne were represented by twoCatenians each and one came from Sydney with all, except one,accompanied by their wives. Excursions to Valetta, Mdina andother points of interest were open to all Catenians, wives andguests.” “Malta is a fascinating place, both in its history and in itsmodernity. ItsGrandHarbour iswellnamedandValetta,builtbythe Knights of St John in the 17th century, is a splendid baroquetown. The legacies of the Knights Hospitaller of St John wereevidentallaroundGrandHarbourandValetta.Theyfoughtoffthebesieging Ottoman Turks in 1565 and governed and developedMalta for over two centuries. They still have a presence inMaltaandinRomeandanotherbranchoftheOrderisactiveinAustralia,includinghereinPerth,andinBritain.” “Anotherearliertriphighlightforme,wasinParisforSundayHighMassinthehugeStEustacheBasilica(LesHallesarea)wherethesingingandgrandorganplayingare famous. Ihadpreviouslybeen there in 2004 and it was a treat to return. Mozart andRameau,amongother famouscomposers,hadbeenthere in theirtimes.StEustacheisdedicatedtoStCecilia,patronessofmusicandmusicians.” “On our cruise on the Rhone River, we stopped nearMontelimar,medievalhomeof theLordsAdhemarwhereCarmeland I visited Grignon and the charming renaissance chateau theAdhemarsbuiltinthe17thcentury.Weenjoyedalovelyconcertofbaroque music from the local musicians playing unusualinstruments, includingabarrelorgan. I investedinabottleof thelocalredwinebearingthelabel: ‘GrignonAdhemar”andshareditthatnightwithfriendsonourriverboat.” “We visited the grandPalais de Papes inAvignon andPopeClement’sChateaudeVinnearBordeaux.Hewas theArchbishopwho, when elected Pope in 1305, decided to reside and base thepapacy in Avignon, where it remained for over 80 years with asuccessionofFrenchpopes.TheItalians,then,werenothappy.” “InCognac,intheBordeauxregion,somuchbrandyismadethat the inevitable evaporation of some of it; the ‘Angels Share’,causes a discoloration of the creamy limestone buildings of thetown.InStEmilion,famousforfull-bodiedmerlotwine,thereisanancientchurch,verylarge,carvedoutfromwithinalimestonehill.InLesCordelierswewentthroughthelongundergroundtunnels,full of racks of bottles of Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine. LesCordeliersgetsitsnamefromtheFranciscansofoldwhowore,andstilldo,longcordsaroundthewaistsoftheirrobes.” “Itwas ahard tripwith luxuryhotels and ships, alongwiththe business class air travel, but we coped! Carmel’s two sisterscamealongfortheFrenchpartofthetrip,soIhadthreeanimatedladiesintow.”


Malta2016Forminglife-longCatenianfriendsaroundtheworld

ByRalphFitzpatrickMay2016

“Lianaand Ihave longbeenadvocates formakingnew friends intheCatenianAssociationandhavetakeneveryopportunitytovisitcirclesinAustraliaandtheUnitedKingdomtoexperiencehowtheAssociationisruninothercirclesandprovinces,”writesProvince20DirectorRalphFitzpatrick.“WehavealsochosentobeinvolvedinthevisitsbytheGrandPresidentstoWesternAustraliaand,ontwooccasions,totheEasternStatesaswell.SinceoursonandhiswifemovedtoLondon,wehavetakeneveryopportunitytoattendtheannualCatenianAssociationconferencesand tovisitasmanyoftheUKfriendswehavemadeasweareable.” “ThisyearwestartedourtripinManchesterandvisitedourcloseUK friends,MichaelandEnidNoronha.We firststayedwithMichaelandEnidin2008aspartofthebilletingarrangementsfortheCatenian100yearcelebrationsandhavebeenbacktoseethemeveryyearsince.

Lefttoright:MichaelNoronhaandJoeGaffey(SalfordCircle),EnidNoronha,RalphFitzpatrickandMichaelBrooks(Salford)

“FromManchesterwetravelledtoLichfieldviaCoventry.WemetGillBoardattheCatenianAssociationHeadOfficeinCoventryand were shown the new developments on the Association’swebsite,anddiscussedissuesweinAustraliawerefacingwiththeportal and database. It was helpful to meet the four girls in theoffice face-to-face so that our exchange of emails becomes morepersonal.” “AtLitchfieldwespenttwolovelydayswithSueWhale,wifeof the late Gil Whale who was the Editor of the Association’smonthly publication, Catena from 2000 until he passed away inJuly2015.LianaandIenjoyedcatchingupwithSueagaintoshareour thoughts and memories of times we shared with Gil and herovertheyears.” “Afterspendingsometimewithoursonanddaughter-in-lawin London, we left to attend the Guernsey Weekend and visitedPeter and Lonia Daniels. We first met Peter and Lonia fromGuernsey at the Catenian Conference in Eastbourne in 2012 andsince thenhave enjoyed their companyat conferences eachyear.TheyjoinedGrandPresident,PeterWoodfordandhiswife,Annontheir tour to Western Australia in 2015 and we enjoyed homehosting themduring that trip. At theGuernseyWeekendwe alsorenewedourfriendshipwithPeterKeelingandhavenowmethiswife, Margaret who was unable to accompany him on the GrandPresident’s visit to WA last year. As part of the weekend

celebrationswewereabletoattendacirclemeetingandhavenowmetmanymoremembersfromGuernsey.” “Next we were off to Norfolk to visit Dennis and MarilynBarter, who some Catenians in Province 20 will remember fromGrand President, John Mottram and his wife Ellen’s visit toWestern Australia in 2012. We had a lovely time with them andvisited Sandringham Castle and the Walsingham Pilgrimageshrine.”

DennisandMarilynBarterwithLianaFitzpatrickat

SandringhamCastle “Aftersomemore timewithoursonanddaughter-in-law intheir new flat in London, we were off to Malta for some seriousconferencing.ArrivingafewdaysearlyonMonday9Maywewerejust intimetoattendameetingoftheMensijaCircle.OnTuesdayLiana and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary with a fewvery good Catenian friends, and on Wednesday we attended the100thmeetingoftheStJulian’sCircleandagainmetupwithmanygood friends arriving for the conference that was held on theweekendFriday13MaytoSunday15May2016.”

Province20ladiesattheMaltaconference,lefttoright:LianaFitzpatrick(Liwara),KayWilliamson(SwanValley),Roslyn

Paul(AvonValley)andLynnBarton(Liwara)

“TheoverwhelmingmessageIwishtoconveyistheextenttowhichallbrotherscanenjoy the friendshipsyoucanmake in theCatenian Association. Liana and I now have a large network offriends that extend across Australia, throughout the UnitedKingdomandoverthenextfewyearswillprobablyextendtoIndia,AfricaandtheHolyLand.” “We treasure the friendships we have made and can onlyrecommendthatyoutakeholdofthiswonderfulorganizationandparticipate as fully as you can, starting by getting to knowmembersofyourowncircle,extendingthistovisitothercirclesinProvince20andmakingcontactwithCatenianswhenyouareonholidayinotherStatesofAustraliaoroverseas.”


SwanValleyCatenianacommittedvolunteerTrevorKnuckey,amemberofSwanValleyCircle,wasafinalist inthe2015WesternAustralianVolunteerof theYear thatwaswonbyBrotherOllie Pickett for hisworkwithWheelchairs forKids, avolunteer organization based in Wangara that has donated over33,000 wheelchairs since 1998 to needy families in developingcountriesaroundtheworld.

TrevorandAlvaKnuckeypicturedatarecentSwanValley

Circlemeeting

Moorditj Noongar Community College Principal, David BallnominatedTrevor–apassionatevolunteerforindigenouscauses–fortheVolunteeroftheYearaward. Trevor founded the volunteer organization MedjugorjeCentre that provides incentive and reward schemes andprogrammes to further the education, health and wellbeing ofMoorditjNoongarCommunityCollegestudentsandparents. DavidBallsaidthatTrevor’scontributiontothecollegewasenormous.“Studentsarriveatthecollegeeachmorningtobegivenaheartymealatthebreakfastclub,whichTrevorhascoordinatedandstockedwithFoodBankproductsfivedaysaweekforthepastsixyears,”hesaid. “Trevor’s coordination of the breakfast club reducesbehavioralissuesanddelivers“schoolready”studentstoteacherseachmorning.” “Hehasrecruitedmorethan30volunteerswhohelphimrunthe incentive programmes andmentor the children on a one-on-onebasisinmusic,art,informationtechnologyandawiderangeofeducative skills, that many students at Moorditj NoongarCommunityCollegearenotabletoaccessotherwise” One of Trevor’s outstanding incentive programmes is theannual Moorditj Heliwest School Attendance Helicopter Flights.Theprogrammeprovidesaonceinalifetimeopportunityformanystudentstotakeahelicopterflight,takingofffromtheschooloval.Trevor said that the incentive programme made a difference tomany of the students who do not want to miss out on theopportunity to be in the running to be chosen for a ride in ahelicopter. In addition to his involvement with Medjugorje Centre,TrevorhasbeenanactivememberofStVincentdePaulSocietyforover25yearsanditwastherethathemethiswife,AlvawhenshebecameaStVincentdePaulvolunteerin2002. Trevor has been a member of Swan Valley Circle for threeyears.

CatenianwidowsMassandluncheon

TheannualProvince20widows’MasswascelebratedatStMary’sCathedralinPerthinJune2016followedbyaluncheonthatwasthoroughlyenjoyedbyall.Thiswasthe12thanniversaryofthegroup’sveryfirstfunction.

Lefttoright:PatHopkins(Liwara),BerylFitzgerald(Cityof

Mandurah),HelenMcGurk(CityofPerth),BarbaraPrior(CityofPerth),PaulineHerrington(CityofMandurah),MaureenStubbs(Liwara),CatieJones(SwanValley),JudyWoodward(Liwara),KathO’Hara(CityofPerth),BettyRyan(CityofPerth),SisterPaulaMcAdams(Moira’ssister)andMoiraStokes(Como)

The function organizer, Pamela McKechnie (Dianella)reportedthatnumberswerelowerthanlastyearpartlybecauseofladies travelling overseas to attend the Catenian Associationconference in Malta. She said that attendance at the annualfunctionisalsodwindlingduetosicknessandinabilitytogettotheMass.


WelcomeliftinfinancialsupportforYouthCatenianYouthFundannualreportApleasingincreaseindonationsfromCatenianbrothers,andgoodsupportfortheannualfundraisingraffleinthe2015/16financialyearwereencouragingsignsofevolvingawarenessthattheYouthSupport Fund does fulfill a worthwhile purpose in supportingyouth,withpotentialflow-onbenefitsofenticingnew,andperhapsyounger, Catholic men to take up membership of Province 20 infutureyears. TheincreasedlevelofawarenessoftheCatenianYouthFundinparish communitiesand strengthened tieswithTheUniversityof Notre Dame Australia and St Thomas More College, CrawleywerehighlightedattheannualgeneralmeetingoftheFundheldatStThomasMoreCollegeonSaturday25July2016.TheUniversityofNotreDamehas formally recognised thecontributionmadebytheCatenianAssociation in its annualpublicationof Scholarshipsfor2015/16.

MostcircleswererepresentedattheYouthFundannual

generalmeetinginJuly2016

IncomeIncome for the year totalled $12,200 for 2015/16, which was 56per centhigher than total incomeof $7,800 in thepreviousyear.Incomewasmadeupof$3,900fromthesaleofregaliaandothermerchandise(upfrom$3,350lastyear),donationsof$5,800frombrothers(upfrom$3,950lastyear),$2,100fromtheproceedsofaProvince 20 raffle (last year nil) and $400 interest received (lastyear$500). Themostpleasingpartoftheincomewasthe47percentindonations received from brothers, together with the outstandingsupport given to the Youth Fund raffle, also predominately fromProvince20members. The ability of the Youth Support Fund Board to develop aplanning strategy for future grants is difficult because incomefluctuates from year to year. In particular, the Fund is heavilydependentuponthesupportofCatenianbrothers.Overall,averagedonationsfromthissourcein2015/16amountedtoabout$15permemberperyear.Thisrepresentsasignificantimprovementfromlastyear’saveragedonationsof$10.50permemberperyear,butto meet existing commitments, and to provide youth grants toother recipients in the future; the Youth Fund depends upon thecontinuedsupportofProvince20members.GrantsTheonlyexpenditureincurredbytheYouthFundin2015/16wasforgrantstotalling$13,400(lastyear$7,000).

These grants include a CatenianBursary awarded to AaronDondaswhoisaresidentatStThomasMoreCollege,CrawleyandtoMitchellRabjones,winneroftheinauguralCatenianAssociationProvince 20 Youth Scholarship and Brigette Macfarlane, theinauguralCatenianBursary winner. This year, the Youth SupportFundalsoawardedascholarshiptoastudentineitherYears11or12 through the Performing Arts Festival Committee for CatholicSchoolsandColleges. The Fund’s commitment to St Thomas More College andNotre Dame University Australia continues at $8,000 per annum,as does its support of World Youth Day and the “immersionvolunteer”studentsat$4,000perannum.BoardandMembersTheCatenianYouthFundisfortunatetohaveastrongBoardmadeup of Catenian brothers who willingly and generously give theirtime and expertise, as well as the “Members” who represent allcircles inProvince20andwhoserole is toadvancetheFundandencourage all brothers to provide support, particularly byspreadingawarenesswithinCatholicparishes.

Boardmemberslefttoright:TerryLoughnan(Dianella),Brian

Kerman(Dianella),BarryWebb(Liwara),LenRoberts(Dianella),GeoffPrendergast(CityofMandurah)andJohn

Monkhouse(Joondalup) MembersAvonValley–BrianWebbandClintonRichterBouvard–ColmKellyCityofBusselton–TonySmurthwaiteandGeorgeBazzicaCanning–BrianIliffeandRussellGodsallComo–AndyBrycelandandPatMcManusDarlingRange–HarryMullerandGerardTonksDianella – Terry Loughnan, Bob Burns, Lou Daily, Brian Kerman andLenRobertsFremantle–AlexBanovichandGeoffPrendergastJoondalup–DavidChatel,PeterJohnstonandJohnMonkhouseLiwara–DavidJaysandBarryWebbCityofMandurah–ConSchaperandGeoffPrendergastCityofPerth–JohnMooreandRonMcCorkillSwanValley–JimSchelfhoutandColinBrounBoardMembersPresident–LenRobertsVice Presidents – Terry Loughnan, Brian Kerman and JohnMonkhouseSecretary–BarryWebbTreasurer–GeoffPrendergastAuditor–HaroldShrigley


Bookreview

AgrippingbiographyofamissionaryPriestdedicatedtotheserviceofGod

Skillfully researched and written by Bulawayo Circle Catenian,John Sullivan, a long-time friend and companion of Father OdiloWeeger,TheEagleandtheCrossisaneasytoreadbiographythatclearly narrates the adventures and missionary challenges thisGerman born Priest encountered during his lifetime of dedicatedserviceinZimbabwe. It is a true testimony of the life of Father Odilo and anadventurestorythat I founddifficult toputdownandthoroughlyenjoyed.

PeterJohnstonEditor,WesternLink

Father Odilo was one of those great Catholic missionarieswhostudiedforhispriesthoodinGermanyintheterribleperiodofunrestduring the riseofHitler’sNazism inEurope,departinghishomeland during the rise of Nationalism and arriving in BritishAfricanterritoryastheSecondWorldWarbrokeout. For nearly 70 years he experienced, and was part of, whathappenedinZimbabwe–itseconomicdevelopment,aswellasthetroubled times before the country changed to Zimbabwe. Hedevotedhis life for thebettermentof thepeople, keeping true tohisvowsofpoverty,chastityandobedience.Africa,andespeciallyZimbabwe, is full of both the richest promise and the deepesttragedy.

FatherOdilo lived through an era of profound changes, anduplifted and encouraged countless people on the way.AcknowledgedasoneofZimbabwe’sgreatpersonalities,hewasadedicatedanddevoutCatholicmissionary. Hehad a sincere love for people andwas renowned for hisconcern and interest, most evident in his hospital visits, socialinteractionandcorrespondencehemaintainedwith thousandsofpeoplefromallreligions. Manynoteworthycharacterscameintohislifestoryandthemartyrdoms of several Missionary colleagues are accuratelyrecordedfrompainfulevidencethathedutifullygathered. From his earliest training and later seminary education hedevelopedandlivedbythedeepestcommitmenttoservicetoGod,manfully exemplifying his vows that included loving respect forwomenandtherichblessingsofmarriageandfamilylife. Father Odilo’s prayer life and self-discipline kept him everfaithful,sothathewasabletodiethat‘happydeath’,whichisthegoalofourChristianlifeonearth. Atthesametime,heappreciatedtheamazingnaturalbeautyofacountry thatboasts thegreatVictoriaFalls,HwangeNationalPark,theMatoposHills,KaribaDamandeveryimaginablewildlife.He saw how fundamentally good the people are and recognisedAfrica’shumanheritagethatstretchesfromthefirstappearanceofhuman life on earth to a multi-cultural society like the one thatmakesZimbabwesuchadisproportionatelyinterestingandpivotalbridgeheadforanawakeningAfrica.AbouttheAuthorJohnSullivanwasborninBulawayoinDecember1952,theeldestinafamilyoffiveboysandtwogirlsandhaslivedthereallhislife,apart fromtimespentacquiringhisdegree incivilengineeringattheUniversityofWitwatersrandinJohannesburg. He married Wallis, a chartered accountant, and they areproudandhappyparentsofthreesonsandonedaughterandtheirgrandchildrentallyisgrowingrapidly. AftergraduatinghewascommissionedtoserveintheCorpsofEngineers,andwenttoworkasaresidentengineeronroadandbridgeconstructionupuntilIndependence.Thenasabusinessandowner-contractor, he built factories, bridges, houses and a widerange of structural steelwork andmanufactures pinch valves fortheminingindustry. He was President of the Bulawayo Circle of the CatenianAssociationandisstillanactivememberofthatcircle. John was a special visitor to Liwara Circle’s May 2016meetingwhenhemadehis first trip toAustraliaaccompaniedbyhisbrother,FatherVincentSullivanwhoisaCatholicPriestbasedin Georgia in the United States of America. John was in Perthvisitinghisdaughter,PaulettewhomovedtoPerthafewyearsagofromLondon. LiwaraCirclehasseveral linkswithBulawayo.GerryBartonspent his early life there and met John Sullivan in August 2015duringatripthereandLiwaracirclebrothers,DesWrightandRonBrukwinski stayed with the Sullivan’s during their visits toZimbabweafewyearsago.Desalsohadamoredirectconnectionwith the Sullivan’s from his days as a member of the BulawayoCircle. Copies of John’s book The Eagle and the Cross areavailable in Perth and can be purchased by contacting PaulChabrel - Liwara Circle, telephone 9246 1842 or by email:[email protected] Thecostis$30,representinggoodvalueforthe438-pagebiography.


ThoughtprovokingaddresstoCirclebrothers“ChallengesfacingtheCatholicChurchtoday–aCatenianresponse”

TerryDwyer(right)introducesFatherJoeParkinson

Theguest speaker at LiwaraCircle’smeetingon7 July2016wasFatherJoeParkinson,DirectoroftheLJGoodyBioethicsCentreinMt Hawthorn, which is an agency of the Catholic Archdiocese ofPerth providing consultation, education and research in ethicalaspects of contemporary health care practice and public healthpolicyforthepeopleofWesternAustralia. Theservicesprovidedbythecentreincludeconfidentialfreepersonal consultancy, on-call clinical ethics service, educationprogrammes and a specialised library in bioethics and Catholicmoraltheology. Father Joe Parkinson held the circle’s close attention as hespokepersonally and candidly onmajor issues facing theChurchtoday, as he sees it, and howwe should respond as Catenians; atopicchosenbyLiwaraCircle. Liwara Brother, Terry Dwyer prepared the followingsummary of the address, which is reproduced with Father Joe’spermission:ChallengesFather Joesawmany issues facing theChurch,and listedsomeofthegreatestchallenges,suchasthedevelopmentoflayleadershipin theChurch;ministries inparishes;Catholiceducation;Catholichealth and aged care; same sex marriage; and many others. Hedividedthemintothreemaingroups:

• International: Pope Francis challenges us with aconstantthemeinCatholictheology,andthatistheneedtomaintainunityanda‘dialogue’between‘progressives’and ‘conservatives’ that is civil and charitable whilerecognisingavarietyofviewsandopinions.

• National: In 2017 the Royal commission into

Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse willreleasetworeports.Itsmainonewillbeattheendoftheyear, however earlynext year itwill release an interimreport focusing solely on the Catholic Church. TheChurch is attempting to involve all canonical bodies

within the Church, especially those that deal withchildren to give a unified response especially withregards to a compensation/redress response to thefindings.ThisdoesnotinvolveCateniansbecausewearenotacanonicalbody.Thereseemstobesomehesitationfrom somemembers of the Church who don’t seem tocomprehendtheseriousnessof thesituation,whichwillbeadisasterifwedon’tgetitright.Wecannotinsistthat‘theChurchisadivineinstitution,andsodoesn’tneedtofollow the world’s order’; if we don’t put our house inorder, and do so publicly, we must expect a publicbacklash.

• Local: The quality of our clergy; especially in terms of

the selection and training they receive; testing forsuitability for the priesthood; meeting professionalstandards; and accountability, mentoring andsupervision.

WhatcanCateniansdo?

• Encourageopen,frankandcivilexchangeofviewsatourmeetings(andinthewidersociety),withouttakingsides,andwelcomingadiversityofviewsasawayoftheSpiritleadingustothetruth.

• Acceptthattheworldhasturnedandthatwehavespent

oursocialcapital,soweneedtorebuildpublictrustandconfidenceinourChurch.Wecan’taffordtobedefensive,butneedtobehumbleandflexibleenoughtoadoptnewways of think and acting, while recognising our pastinadequacies.

• Gently but insistently calling our local clergy to account

for: the quality of their homilies; their willingness tointeract with parishioners; and, their capacity forcompassion.Arecognitionthatmanyofourparishionersare highly trained, professional people, and that ourclergyneed tomeet thesecommunitystandards in theirtraining and performance. A recognition that the clergyarepartoftheparishcommunityanddon’tmeritspecialprivileges; don’t takeno for an answer, but be sensitiveand ‘Christian’ about it. Catenians could play a role inmentoring, supporting and engaging with our newlyordained and inexperienced priests in particular as asourceofwisdomandencouragement.

• Remain active, positive and engaged in the parish,

especially in an age when discouragement is becomingthe ‘default’ Catholic attitude. Above all pray for eachotherandforyourlocalparishcommunityandthewiderChurch.

SummaryofatalkgivenbyFatherJoeParkinsonLJGoodyBioethicsCentre

7July2016

PreparedbyTerryDwyerLiwaraCircle


TomAlford1939–2016

CatenianBrother,TomAlfordpassedawayon21 June2016atStCharlesGairdnerHospital,Nedlands.HehadsufferedtheonsetofAlzheimer’s forsometimeanddiedofmedicalcomplications.HisRequiem Mass at All Saint’s Catholic Church in Greenwood andcremationatPinnaroowereattendedbymanyfamilyandfriendsfrom his extensive professional and community involvement aswellasinhisparish. This respect was shown by a guard of honour outside thechurchbyabout40ofhisCatenianAssociationconfreres. Tom joined theLiwaraCircleof theCatenianAssociation inMay 2000, and for a time was a joint member of the JoondalupCircle when it was inaugurated in 2005. Tom and his wife,Beverley attended the 2003 Catenian Association Conference inCardiffandwerehome-hostedtherebyPatandJohnWorthington,withwhomtheykeptintouchovertheyears.

As one LiwaraCatenian commented:“Tomwasnotamanyounaturally looked-up to,after all he was about6’12”tall,butthesortofbrother whose adviceyou particularly valuedand whose opinion ofyou was important.Never judgmental,alwaysgentle;atrue‘bigman’ineveryrespect.” ManyUKCateniansand their wives, who

visited Perth, will remember Tom through his guided tours ofKingsPark.KingsParkisa400-hectarenaturalbushlandreserve,closetothecity,andincludestheWesternAustralian(WA)BotanicGarden, displaying over 3,000 species of the State’s unique flora.Tom’s enthusiasm for plants led some to presume he was abotanistbyprofession,butthiswasadeepinterest inadditiontohisprofessionintelecommunications. TomwasborntwodaysbeforeChristmasin1939inStJohnof God Hospital, Subiaco and baptised by his cousin Father BobAlfordof theGeraldtondiocese. HisparentswereBernard JamesAlford and Margaret Madge Downey. Tom’s sister, Patricia wasbornin1941andtheylivedinWembley. Tom’s father, Bernard, was a member of the WesternAustralian Police Force,working inKalgoorlie in the 1940s. Tomstarted school at the local convent and later attended AquinasCollegefromYear3whenhisfamilyreturnedtoComo.Hechosetoleave school in 1954, before completing his Junior Certificate, toundertake the Technician in Training entrance examination inTelecom,andthenhisapprenticeshipfrom1955to1959. At the end of 1959, Tomwas called up for threemonths ofNationalService.Hefoundhereally likedNationalServiceandhewentontoenlistintheArmyReserve,joining123SignalSquadronatLeederville.Hegainedpromotion to therankofCorporal, thenSergeantin1962andthenLieutenantandCaptainandwasTroopCommanderHigh PoweredRadio in 1965.Hewas later awardedtheEfficiencyDecoration(ED),forhisarmyservices. In1959,afterhisapprenticeship,Tomworkedasatechnicianforanotherfiveyears,andthenmovedintoanadministrativeroleinthePersonnelBranchinTelecom.DuringthistimeTomdecided

togofurtherwithhisstudiesandhegainedhisJuniorandLeavingCertificates.Whileworkingfull-timeinTelecomhebecameaStateTrainingManager,andalsostudiedpart-timeoversevenyears tograduatewithaBachelorofCommercedegreeattheUniversityofWesternAustraliain1975. In 1968TommetBeverley through a familywedding. Theywere immediately smitten and subsequently married on 21February 1970 at St Denis’ Catholic church in Joondanna. Twochildrenwereborn,Catherinein1973andMichaelin1975. In 1978 Tom progressed to become State Public RelationsManagerforTelecomandeventuallyin1988NationalManagerforthe White Pages database for Australia. Tom maintained manyfriendshipsaroundAustraliafromtheseyears. Itwasin1978thatthefamilymovedtoHamersleyintowhatwas to become the family home for the rest of Tom’s life. Thismove marked the beginning of his passion for Australian nativeplants. In setting up a garden in the sandy soils around the newhouse, Beverley suggested Tom grow WA native plants, verypopularinthoseyearsofseveredrought.HejoinedtheWildflowerSocietyofWA in1979,becamevery involvedandeventuallywaselectedPresidentfor1991-1995. ThisinterestledtoalastinginvolvementwithKingsPark.In1992, the new Director, Dr. Steve Hopper, invited Tom to assistwith the formationof a ‘Friends’organisation, and theFriendsofKingsParkwas launched in1993withTomunanimously electedPresident.He served for almost adecade in this role.Dr.HopperwroteofTom’sbusinessacumen,hisfriendlypositivedisposition,andhispassion fornativeplants.ArelatedachievementofTom’swashisvolunteerworkwiththeWAFloraDatabaseProject,1991-2000,andthepublicationoftheWAFloraCatalogue. Tomvolunteeredalotoftimeontripstothebushtocollectspecimens and professional quality photos of wildflower speciesfor the WA Herbarium. He enjoyed camping out, but whenBeverley accompanied him, she insisted on overnight stays incountryhotels,notatent.Togethertheymademanyfieldtrips inareasfromBroometoEsperance. Tomretired in1998,butdidvoluntaryandpaidworkuntil2005with the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science at theUniversity of Western Australia. Tom was proud to tell how hearranged for the planting of a Western Australian red floweringgum,CorymbiaFicifoliaintheVaticanGardensin2010. OnAustraliaDay2008,hiseffortswererecognisedwith theawardofMemberoftheOrderofAustralian(OAM)for“servicetohorticulture, particularly native plant conservation, and throughsupportforKingsParkBotanicGarden,andtothecommunity.” Through the Order of Australia Association, Tom wasinvolvedforthreeyearsasapatronandmentortonewrecruitsintheWAPoliceAcademyatJoondalup.Heattendedregularsessionstomentorsomeofthesquadsofyoungmenandwomenpursuingacareer in the WA Police. The scheme aimed to “reinforce thecommunityexpectationsofpoliceofficerswhilstprovidingadviceandguidanceasappropriate.” Tom’s children recalled his long affiliation with the RoyalPerth Yacht Club, and themany happymemories of sailing withhim.Hewasstillafullmemberoftheyachtclubathisdeath. Daughter, Catherine, described Tom’s final hours,surroundedbyhisfamily;precioustimethatwasfilledwithtears,laughter,prayerandstories.Hehadacceptedhisillnesscalmlyandwith resignation and was grateful to everyone who helped him.ThelastwordsheheardwerethoseofBeverley’sloveandthanksfor 46magnificent years of marriage, and for their children andgrandchildren–adignifiedendtoalifewelllived.

ContributedbyTom’sfamily


JoeCoffey1942–2016

AhugeturnoutofCatenianbrothersandwivesandKnightsoftheHolySepulchreandwivesattendedtheRequiemMassofJoeCoffeyheldatStThomasMoreParishinBatemanon3August2016. Joepassedawayattheageof74on27July2016afteralongillness.

Joe was a long-standing and committedmember of the FremantleCircle of the CatenianAssociation, serving a termas Vice President 1992/93,President in 1993/94 andas Secretary in 1989, 1991and 1992 and 1994 until2013. Joe also servedProvince 20 ProvincialCouncilwithdistinction.Hejoined Provincial Council in1997 and served asPresident in 1999/2000,

then as Provincial Secretary for three years from 2008 to 2011.Joe was awarded a Certificate of Recognition in 2015 for hisservicestoFremantleCircle. He joined the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in 2004 andbecameTreasurerin2006,apositionheheldforseveralyears.Hewas promoted from Joseph Coffey, Knight of Holy Sepulchre toKnightCommanderofHolySepulchre. Joe gave his time freely and thoroughly enjoyed his manyyears as a member of the Catenians and the Knights of the HolySepulchrewhereheformedmanygreatfriendships. Theonly child ofTimandMaryCoffey, Joewasbornon28March1942,growingupinKalgoorliewhereheattendedprimaryschool at St Joseph’s and completed his secondary education atCBC Kalgoorlie. He always remained a Kalgoorlie/Boulder boy atheart. He met the greatest love of his life, Janice Sparling inKalgoorlie at the St Mary’s tennis club. They were married at StMary’s Catholic Church in Kalgoorlie on 3 May 1969 and wereblessed with the first of three children, Paul, on 5 March thefollowingyear.Adaughter,Jennifer,followedon8April1974andfinally another son, Andrew, arrived on 11 December 1977. Joe’sbestmanattheirweddingwasTomJoynes,amemberoftheCityofPerthCircle,andTomlaterbecameAndrew’sgodfather,occasionsvaluedtrulybyJoe’slife-longfriend.

JanandJoepicturedataFremantleCirclemeetingin2013

Asacouple,JoeandJanworkedtogethertoprovideahappyand stable home for their family and to provide the bestopportunitiesfortheirchildren.Tothisaim,JoestudiedaccountingatEasternGoldfieldsTechnicalSchoolatnightschool,goingontobecome a Certified Practicing Accountant. Over the years heworkedforafewminingcompaniesincludingGreatBoulderMinesand Western Mining, forging friendships that would last his lifetime. Duringhisworkingcareer,Joeandhisfamilymovedarounda lot. From Kalgoorlie they spent a year in Kambalda where Joeworkedforthenickelsmelter,returningtoKalgoorliewheretheylived in three different houses for a time, before moving toAdelaide for twoyearsandthenfinally toPerthwherethe familyhomehasbeenever since.Although inconvenientandsometimesdifficult, each move represented a better job for Joe and oftenimprovedlivingarrangements. Their children were always a topmost priority for Joe andJan; providing them with a good primary and high schooleducationanduniversitydegrees.Theyalsomade sure that theireducation was balanced with other activities, providing theirchildren with the opportunity to play various sports, Jenny todance and Andrew to learn to play the trumpet. They also madesure they knew their family and had time to spend with theirgrandparents,aunties,unclesandcousins. Joe and Jan also encouraged their children to spread theirwingsandfollowtheirdreams,notalwayseasyonthemfinanciallyoremotionally.Atonepointallthreeoftheirchildrenwerelivingoverseas.PaulwasinLimerickinIreland,JennywasinLondonandAndrew was in The Hague in the Netherlands. It was difficult tohaveyourchildrensofaraway,butJoeandJanalwayssupportedtheirchoicesandevencametovisitthemonacoupleofoccasions. After his retirement, Joe enjoyed a number of years as amemberoftheMelvilleGladesGolfClub.Hehadagroupoffriendshewouldplaywiththreemorningsaweek,andduringoneoftheseroundswasluckyenoughtoscoreasecondholeinonetogowithonehescoredplayinginaCateniangolftournament. Joe and Jan also took the opportunity to travel in theirretirement.TheirenjoyedanumberofcruisesandtouredEurope,CanadaandAmerica.In2007theywentonapilgrimagetouroftheHolyLandwiththeKnightsoftheHolySepulchreandwhileonthattourrenewedtheirweddingvowsatCana. JoewasalsoapassionateDockers supporter. Janpurchasedhimclubmembershipasabirthdaysurprise in the footballclub’sinauguralyearand Joerarelymissedahomegame.Evenafterhewasdiagnosedwithcancerhekepthismembershipinthehopeofonce again supporting his team from his seat in the westerngrandstand.Heonlygaveuphismembershipwhenhebecametoosicktoattendgames,howeverthisdidnotstophimfrombeingapassionatesupporteruntiltheend,anditwasnotunusualtohearhimstrugglingtoyellatthetelevisionsetbetweenbreathes. Joealsofoundaloveofbikeridingbeforehisillness,andontwomorningsaweekwouldgoridingwithhisneighbourandgoodfriend,DennisForte,clockingupmanythousandsofkilometres. Joelivedahappylife.InMay2016heandJancelebratedtheir47thweddinganniversary;forty-sixyearsasafatherand74yearsasatruegentlemanandfriendtosomany.Joewasstronginfaith,characterandcommitment, a true friend, adevotedhusbandandcaringfatherandfriendtoPaul,JennyandAndrew.Hewasamanwithamischievoussenseofhumourwhoalwayslovedtoshareajokeandwillbesadlymissed. ExtractsfromaEulogydeliveredbyJoe’seldestson,Paulandreflectionsandrecollectionsofhisgoodfriend,TomJoynes


ImpressionsoftheVatican

ByDr.GrahamMahonyFremantleCircle

ThePopeisdead.Ninedaysofmourning,theclosedConclaveandanelectionbyCardinalsofoneamongsttheirmidsttobecometheheadofthemostpowerfulchurchintheworld.Thefaithfulgatherin St Peter’s Square and await the tellingwhite smoke signifyingthejoyoftheelectionofanotherPontiffinthelineofsuccessiontoSt Peter; a process that has gone on for generations of Churchleaders,andisatrulymomentouseventintheChurch. The Pope of course is not dead; however our guide spokeabout thisprocessofelectingPopeswhenwevisitedVaticanCityfor the first time in July 2000. One is overawed by the greattraditions, the great art treasures and pageantry of the RomanCatholicChurch.

In 1929 Vatican City was created when fascist dictator,BenitoMussolini,undertheLateranTreatygavefullsovereigntytothePopeover“CittadelVaticano”. ThepiazzainfrontofStPeter’sBasilicaconceivedbyBernini,with its two semi-circular colonnades, complete with statues isimpressive and defines St Peter’s Square, which funnels thetourists into the Basilica itself. The Basilica is an impressivestructure. Viewed from the squarewe see the imposing columnssupportingthefaçadeontopofwhichstandsthecentralfigureofChrist (some five metres high) holding the cross, flanked by theearlyapostlesandtwoclocksoneitherside. TheBasilica is an impressive building inside,with the doverepresenting the Holy Spirit radiating through a stained glasswindowoverthemainaltar,dominatedbythehugedomecreatedby Michelangelo. The Basilica evolved over many centuries andcontains beautiful art works and architecture, includingMichelangelo’smagnificentsculptureofMaryandthedeadChrist,and also works by Bramante, Raphael, Antonio da Sangallo,GiasomodellaPoterandCarloMadeno.Attheleftside,justbeforethe main altar is the entrance to the crypt where many Popes,includingthemodern-dayPopes,havebeenlaidtorest.Therearealsomanysmallchapelsinthecrypt;moreaboutthecryptlater. TheVaticanMuseumisasplendidandawesomeplacetovisitandconnected to theSistineChapel,with theceilingsodiligentlypainted by Michelangelo with biblical scenes. The Museumcontainsmanygalleriesandwilleasilyoccupyadayvisit.Galleriesinclude the Egyptian and Greek collections, paintings, tapestries,maps and the like, not tomention the elaborate decorations andpaintingsofthegalleriesthemselves.

Romeisabeautiful,excitingcityandtheseatofCatholicism.The visitor to the Vatican, upon entering St Peter’s Square, thegreatBasilicaandtheMuseum,cannothelpbutbeoverwhelminglyimpressedwithsomeofthegreatestarttreasuresoftheworldandthe achievement of man in creating great architectural buildingsand monuments, paintings and the collection of artefactsarticulating the dawn of human civilisation. This is the Catholicviewoftheworld–greatwealthandgreatpower. ButwhereisthemissionoftheChurchinallofthis? I thought I might have missed an important part of theVatican-on-display,soIaskedtheguide:“Is thereanypartof thisMuseumortheVaticanthatshowsthetruemissionoftheChurch?I seegrandpaintingsofPopesoverviewingbattles, slaughterandsuffering. I see statues andpaintings of nakedmen andpricelesstreasures.IseeeffigiesofdeadPopesandclergy,butwhereisthemission of the Church? Where are the women of the Church?Where are the members of the Church who are not part of theChurchandcivilnobility?” “There is no mission here,” the guide said, turning up herhands,“Itoohavebeenconcernedaboutthisforsometime.” It was devastating and I felt betrayed. For the first time Ibegantounderstandhowsomeonecouldbecomeanatheistoranagnostic;thetremendousfrustrationthatMartinLuthermusthavefeltwith theChurch in themiddle ages andwhy liberal theologyhasemergedsostronglyinsomedevelopingcountries. How could the one place where the Catholic Church is ondisplay to the whole world fail to present itself as a universalchurch,dedicatedtofillingthemissionofChrist?WherewerethemessagesofVaticanII–ofthemodernChurch?WhywastherenoreflectionofparishlifethroughouttheworldportrayedinthisseatofpoweroftheCatholicChurch? TheVaticanisonlyonemanifestationoftheChurch’spowerand treasures. We visited many cathedrals and churches inEngland,Scotland,Ireland,France,Switzerland,ItalyandGermany,sowewerenotviewingtheVaticaninisolation.Thegeneralthemeof these incredible monuments to human achievement andcraftsmanshipisthattheyarecrammedfullofpricelesstreasures–paintings, sculptures and the like and include the tombs andeffigiesofwealthyfamiliesandpatronsaswellasclergy. OneprominentCatholicCathedralwewenttohadamuseumoff the side containing a collection of priceless rings of formerbishops and archbishops, yet not far away were people in thestreetswhohadnotbeenwashedor fedproperly for some time.One redeeming feature was that some of these churches wereoperatingasparishchurches,withpromotionofmissionworksforexample, and were not just gigantic museums for the public tovisit,admireandphotograph. One church we visited displayed a message which wasrelevanttotheChurchtoday,andthatwasinAlbertinFrance.ThislargechurchislocatedintheareaofSommewheretheFirstWorldWartookplace.Theyhaveadisplayofphotographsandquotationsfrom the soldiers themselves and the Holy Bible illustrating thefutilityofwar.Thedisplayrandowntheentiresideofthechurchandwas‘heartwrenching’.Icried. Iwasheartenedalso,whenvisitingthecryptofStPeter’sandsaw that two Popes whom I hold in high regard were buried inrelatively simple graves. John XXIII, the father of Vatican II, andJohnPaulI(AlbinoLuciani)areburiedinadjacenttombswithonlythePopes’namesinscribed,unlikesomeotherrecenttombsuponwhich lies the carvedmarble effigy of thePope concerned. Iwasreminded of the simplicity of Christ’s tomb – a hole carved in achunkofrock.


After leaving the tombs I went successively to four VaticanshopstobuyapictureofPopeJohnPaulI(AlbinoLuciani).“Who?”onenunasked,“Oh,no,wehavenopicturesofhim!” Nottobeoutdone,IwenttotheVaticanPressOfficewhereIwastoldto“GothePhotoOffice.” After a pleasant walk around Vatican City I arrived at thePhoto Office to be shown four photos to choose from. “We onlyhavefourphotos,”Iwastold,“butyoucanviewmoreoutsidetheVaticanatthisaddress.”Ichoseaphoto. “MayIaskaquestion,”Ienquired. “Yes,ofcourse.” “IntheCentenaryPosterofthelast100Popes,AlbinoLucianiisnotincluded,canyoutellmewhy?” “Wedonotknow,”Iwastold. Alas,withaccusationsofaprematuredeath,Iaskmyselfthequestion:“Whyishismemorybeingerasedfrompublicview?” The picture I purchased of Albino Luciani now graces myofficeandsmilesatmeeveryday. I am not about to give up Catholicism because of thisexperience,however Iamresolvedtoraise the issueof the ‘greatcontradiction’withintheCatholicChurch,whichconcernsme. Godcreatedmenandwomenequal,andtheChurchneedstopresentitsmissiontoboth.TheChurchmustaddresstheissueofbeingRome-centred and becomemoreworld-focused in thewaythe Church presents itself to the world in Rome, the way itpresentsitsmission,thewayitrelatestolay-peopleintheChurch;noneofthisisvisibleorevidentinRome,theseatoftheChurch. It is evident by walking around in Rome that almost anybuildingofnotehasthePapalemblemonitsomewhere;thefingerof the Church has moved extensively throughout Rome. TheChurch has converted pagan ruins into churches, run large,glorious estates outside the Vatican, thereby amassing greatfortunes. This is the history of theCatholic Church inRome; it isnot the history of the Church in Asia, South America, Africa,Australia and elsewhere. The image that the Church promotes tothe modern world at Vatican City fails to show both theuniversalityoftheChurchoritsmission. Vatican II - establishedby thatwonderful rotundman, JohnXXIII (the son of a farmer) - has not been implemented, in anygreat measure, by any Pope since. Vatican II did not exactlyproposesayingtheMassinthelocallanguage,yetweholdittobeself-evidentandbelieveVaticanIIhasbeenimplemented. AlbinoLuciani,ifhewerestillPope,wouldhaveimplementedVatican II. IfyouviewtheVaticanwebsiteand look forVatican IIdocuments,youwillfindtheminthe‘archives’.IaskedtheVaticanguardsiftheycouldkindlydirectmetotheVaticanIIdocuments,and was told a letter from a University was necessary to gainaccess to the Vatican library. Guess what I will have next timewhenvisitingtheVatican? Itisalsoapparent,aftervisitingbothCatholicandProtestantchurchesinEurope,thattheChurchmustdropitshistoricalstancetowards the Reformation, admit itwas largely at fault and effecttotalreconciliation. Well that’s a start at least. I do not pretend to have all theanswers, however the exodusof people from theChurch and thedaily criticisms I hear of the Church do concernme greatly. TheChurch needs to visibly express the global communion of all thefaithful. Themissionof theChurchmustneverbeconfusedwith theimage, power and sovereignty Vatican City has created andsustains.Christ’smessage: ‘LoveoneanotherasIhavelovedyou,’does not discriminate and is not dependent upon possessions,position,wealthandpoweroreven“CittadelVaticano”.

LetterstotheEditor

ChildsexabuseDearSir,Paedophiliaisacrime. ThetwoRoyalCommissionsintoChildSexAbuseinAustraliahas heard evidence frommany religious and other organizationsrelating to paedophilia. We await the outcomes from theCommissions to see how the evidence, particularly from ourChurch hierarchy, is perceived and more importantly, theoverarchingrecommendations. ThemovieSpotlight,whichrecountedthechildsexualabusescandalwithintheCatholicChurchinBoston,U.S.A.,focusedonthe‘systemic nature and culture’, which allowed paedophilia toflourishwithover260perpetratorsofthesecrimes. The Church can continue to say ‘sorry’, however there willalways remain lingering doubts about suchmea culpas until theChurch fully addresses the deep-rooted systemic issues byremovingfromofficethosewhoturnedablind-eye,wereinvolvedand who had a responsibility to support victims and eradicatepaedophiliafromtheChurch. Atotalcleanoutof‘thestables’istheonlywaycredibilityandtrust can be restored in the Church as a basis for providing on-going support for past victims and their families, and clearlyadvising and assisting anybodywho has a potential complaint totakeit immediatelytothepolice.ThereisnolongerarolefortheChurch to ‘investigate’ such matters, however it must assist thepolice in doing so; after all, paedophilia does occur in other‘religious’and‘civil’organisations. Thedreadfulchapterofchildabusemustbeclosed,andwiththe light of grace, guide the Church to a new beginning, whichthwartsanypossibilityofsystemiccover-up.Meanwhile,thefutureof the Church rests gently in the hands of our children andgrandchildren.

Dr.GrahamMahonyFremantleCircle

DefendingfaithandfamilyDearSir,Iseek leavetousethepagesof theWesternLink toadvocatethatour Catenian leaders become publicly engaged in the defence offaithandfamily. LetterandsubmissionundertheaegisofourAssociationarerecommended. Imade this request at the Durham Conference inMay 2015 and did so again when I spoke with Grand President,PeterWoodfordwhenhevisitedBusseltoninOctober2015. From the responses it is evident to me that the mantra“Moving On” does not mean that Catenians are to man thebarricadesagainstthemachinationsofhumanistsandsecularists. LetusresolveattheNationalConferenceinOctober2016toactsoastoensurethatAustraliaavoidsthefateofourbrothersinEnglandandIrelandbecausetheyleftmostofthegoodfighttotheChurch and they now live under laws that do not accord withmoralpreceptsandChristianvalues. Fraternally,

TonySmurthwaiteCityofBusseltonCircle


Circle roundup

Contributeditemsandphotographs

Bouvard

CATENIAN“CHEFS”LENDAHANDAfter morning Mass on Sunday 15 May 2016 Bouvard Catenianbrothers were hard at work preparing a hearty breakfast ofsausages,baconandeggsforparishionersoftheCatholicParishofSt Damien in Dawesville. The occasion was the Feast Day of thePatronSaintStDamienofMolokai. The culinary skills of the hardworking Catenian Chefswasmuch appreciated by the large gathering of parishioners andvisitorswhostayedforthecelebration.

Lefttoright:PeterBrown(apotentialmemberofBouvard

Circle)andColmKellyhardatworkwhileRayKeeffechatswithparishionersinthebackground

CELEBRATING50YEARSOFMARRIAGE

MaxandJudithGardinerwiththeirPapalCertificate

Maxand JudithGardiner celebrated50years ofmarriage in June2016whenStDamien’sParishPriest,ConcordBagaoisangavehisblessing at Mass and presented themwith a Papal Certificate tohonourtheoccasion.

Max and Judith first met at a tennis tournament in Kulin,Western Australia in the early 1960s. They were subsequentlymarriedatHolyRosaryChurch,Nedlandson11 June1966.Afterfrequent moves in both city and country they finally retired toDawesvillein1996andmorerecentlytoWannanup,PortBouvard.Theyhavethreechildrenandthreegrandchildren. MaxwasborninLeonora,WesternAustralia,theeldestchildfollowedbyfoursisters.HewaseducatedattheLeonoraConventand State School followed by six years as a boarder at AquinasCollegeinManning,Perth. Having joinedtheNationalAustraliaBankinthemid1950s,Max qualified as an accountant and, in his banking career of 40years, held a number of countrypositions asManager atHarvey,Gnowangerup,KatanningandGeraldtonaswellasinthecity. In 1997 Max joined the City of Mandurah Circle of theCatenian Association where he served as Registrar, Chamberlainand Vice-President before his appointment as President in2002/03. Then followed a six-year stint as the circle’s ProvincialCouncillor.HewasaFoundationMemberofBouvardCirclewhenitwas inaugurated in February 2005 serving asWelfareOfficer forfiveyears,thenVice-PresidentandiscurrentlythecirclePresident. Judith spentherearly life inNedlands. ShewaseducatedatLoreto Convent and qualified in childcare, working at St AnnesHospitalandatNgala. She isadedicatedartist/craftspersonwithaspecial interestin textiles and has exhibited widely in Australia and overseas.WhilelivinginGeraldtonsheranacraftshop.Judithisoneoftwoladies responsible for liturgical decoration of St Damien’s wherethey have designed and made alter cloths, banners and lecternpanelsforthechurch.

CHRISTMASINJULYBouvard’s Christmas in July luncheon has become firmlyentrenched,notonlyinthecircle’ssocialcalendar,butalsoforthewholeStDamien’sCatholicParishatDawesville.Parishionersfromthe parish far outnumbered Catenian brothers and wives at theluncheon held on Thursday 14 July 2016 at the Café CoastRestaurantinWannanup.

Lefttoright:KenandGlenysBarker,AnneHarries,David

Farrell,PennySmartandPhilHarries

CIRCLEROUNDUPCONTRIBUTED ITEMS & PHOTOGRAPHS


Thirty-five brothers, wives and parishioners, including StDamien’s Acting Parish Priest, Father Jorge de Chavez, attendedthisyear’sfunction.TheCaféCoastchefwasinhisverybestform,producing a delicious three course meal comprising soup withcrusty bread, roast turkey breast with cranberry sauce andtraditionalhomemadeChristmaspuddingwithbrandycustard.

Lefttoright:PennyMoore,JervisandMaureenCampbell,Jan

McGregor,OlgaReid,ConSchaper,MollyDoyleandGladParry

NULLARBORSHEEPFARMER,ENJOYINGRETIREMENT

PeterandBarbaraBrown

PeterBrownwasborn inEllistonon theEyrePeninsula inSouthAustralia,wherehisfatherwasafarmerandstudMerinobreeder.HewaseducatedatStJoseph’sConventinBurraandtheChristianBrothersRostrevorCollegeinAdelaide. PeterstartedworkonthefarmatBurra,inthemid-northofSouthAustralia,withhis fatherand, in1969,methis futurewife,Barbarawhowasa traineenurse.HavingmissedoutonNationalService and not earning enough to get married he worked on avarietyofconstructionjobsbeforefinishingupinDarwin,workingforMcMahonConstruction.When that jobranouthereturned tothe farm briefly, before getting a job in the Port AugustaCommonwealthRailwayOfficeonagoodwage. Peter and Barbara were married in Rostrevor Chapel inNovember1972. Meanwhile, his father was allocated pastoral lease land ontheNullarborPlain,nearCocklebiddywherehewasestablishingasheep station. Peter inevitably became involved and, after hisfather died, Peter andBarbara continued thedevelopment of thestationwheretheystayedforthenext40yearsuntiltheysoldthepropertyandretired.TheynowliveinFalcon,southofMandurah,and have three children – two boys and a girl – and threegrandchildren.

HavingbeenawayfromtheChurchforthe40yearsspentontheNullarbor,Peter is catchingupwithall thechanges thathaveoccurred in that time.His ambition in retirement is to be a goodChristianandhelpothersasbesthecan. Peter has extensive experience in Local Government, in thepastoral industry andwith various government advisory boards.HeisalsoaJusticeofthePeaceandwillbeanassettotheCatenianAssociation. Peter was installed at the Bouvard Circle meeting on 16August2016.

NOSTALGICRETURNTOHISBIRTHPLACEEarlier this year, Bouvard and City of Mandurah Catenian, ConSchaper, made a sentimental return to his Dutch homeland andplace of his birth, mainly to see his cousins living in the

Netherlands.Hevisitedandstayed with severalcousins, but a highlight ofhis holiday was when hemetwithhisyoungest son,Andrew, in the town ofTilburg and together theyvisited the family house inwhich Con and his ninesiblings were all born(photoleft). Con was born on 17

March1937andwaseducatedatDoBoscoPrimarySchoolandStDenisCommercialHighSchool.Hewas inhis17thyearwhenhisfather andmotherdecided to leaveHollandand the familyhomeand migrate to Western Australia, hoping to provide betteropportunitiesfortheirfamilyasEuropestruggledtorecoverfromtheSecondWorldWar.

PhotooftheSchaperfamilytakenonthemigrantshipon

arrivalatFremantleHarbouron1February1954withCon(thirdfromtheright)standingbesidehismotherandfather

After their arrival at Fremantle port, the family spent sometimeattheNorthamArmyCampuntilConandhisfatherobtainedworkwithMills&WareatFremantleandthefamilymovedtolivein East Fremantle. ConworkedwithMills &Ware for about twoyearsandfortherestofhisworkinglife,wasemployedinavarietyofindustriesasSecretary,Accountantandinmanagementroles. In1958ataStPatrick’sParishdanceinFremantle,Conmetalovely younggirl, Lynne, destined tobecomehiswife.TheyweremarriedatStPatrick’sCatholicChurch(nowStPatrick’sBasilica)inJanuary1961livinginFremantleforafewyears,beforemovingtoKardinyawheretheywouldliveforabout30years,raisingtheir


fourchildren.DuringtheseyearsConwasveryactiveintheparishandschoolcommunities,servingfor23yearsontheschoolboard. This involvement continued after Con and Lynne retired toMandurah in 1999. Con joined the Catenian Association as amemberoftheCityofMandurahCirclein2002,buttransferredtoBouvardwhen a Groupwas formed there in 2004 andwas VicePresidentwhenthenewcirclewasinauguratedinFebruary2005.He was President in 2006/07, Vice President again in 2009/10,Presidentin2010/11,VicePresidentin2012/13andPresidentin2013/14 and is currently Vice President again; an outstandingrecordofcommitmenttotheBouvardCircle. Con became an acolyte at Our Lady’s Assumption CatholicChurch inMandurah in2004andalsobelonged to theStVincentdePaulSocietyinMandurah,servingasPresidentforoneyear.HeisnowanacolyteatStDamien’sParishinDawesvillewhereheisresponsible for training the acolytes, serves on the LiturgicalCommitteeandisamemberoftheParishPastoralCouncil. Sadly, Lynne passed away in 2011 at the age of 71, leavingCon, four children (threeboysanda girl), five grandchildrenandonegreatgrandchild.

CityofBusselton

BROTHERSSUPPORTHISTORICJOINTMEETINGEightbrothersandwivesrepresentedtheCityofBusseltonCircleat a joint meeting with Swan Valley Circle held at the MidlandReceptionCentreonSaturday4June2016.Theircitycounterpartsmade their country visitors most welcome with some excellentmusicalentertainmentandatraditionalSwanValleybuffetdinnerpreparedbylong-servingchef,LeoParadiso. BusseltonhostedajointmeetingwithSwanValleytwoyearsago, but the return event in 2015 was cancelled due to lack ofnumbersatthattimeabletotraveltothecity. This year it was decided to hold the joint meeting on aSaturday evening, which was more convenient for the countrytravellers and numbers were boosted by the support of City ofBusselton jointmembers, TerryO’Neill (SwanValley Circle), RolfBank, Peter Johnston and John Monkhouse (all members ofJoondalupCircle). City of Busselton President, Terry Shine and his wife MaryAnnwereapologiesbecauseTerrywasrecoveringinhospitalaftersurgery. The two circles have formed a strong relationship and arecommitted torotating theeventeachyeardespite the logisticsoftravel.

RepresentingtheCityofBusseltonCircle,lefttoright:JohnVan

Beek(Treasurer),TonySmurthwaite(Secretary),JohnMonkhouse,RolfBank,PeterJohnston,TerryO’Neill,George

Bazzica(actingPresident)andRodBeattie

JoanandTonySmurthwaitepicturedatthejointmeetingwith

theirdaughter,Vanessa

RodBeattiepicturedwithhiswife,CatherineandElizabeth

Bazzica

NEWVENUEPASSESITSFIRSTTESTTheCity ofBusseltonCircle held its firstmeeting at theBayviewResort onBussellHighway on Friday 24 June 2016, following itsdecision to move from the Esplanade Hotel and to change itsmeeting night from the lastMonday to the fourth Friday in eachmonth. Althoughtherewereafewinitialdifficultiesinsetting-upforthemeeting,theBayviewResortoffersabettermenuandfacilitiesand the Friday night meeting will be far more convenient formembersstillworkingandforvisitorstravellingfromthecity.TheBayview Resort is located on Bussell Highway about halfway toDunsboroughand less thana tenminutedrive fromthecentreofBusselton.

ThenewmeetingvenueatBayviewResort


TerryO’Neill(left)andJohnMonkhouse(right)withprospectiveCityofBusseltonmember,BrianCartwell

PRESIDENT’SMASSTHE“BESTEVER”A new young priest at Our Lady of the Bay Church in Busselton,FatherGerome strongly supported theCity ofBusseltonCircle atthe annual President’s Mass held on Sunday 26 June 2016. Hementioned the values of the Catenian Association on severaloccasionsduring theMassandwelcomedallbrothers to joinhimonthealtarforfinalprayersandtheblessing. PresidentTerryShinespoketoparishionersabouthisrecentsurgery and thanked all Busselton members as well as brothersfrom all circles in Province 20 for their prayers. Terry explainedthat, because of problems with his eyesight and minor memorylapses resulting from from the surgery he will step aside asPresidentuntilhehasfullyrecoveredandcapableofresuminghisposition. In themeantime, retiring President George Bazzicawillassumetheresponsibility. After the Mass, the Busselton brothers and wives joinedparishionersformorningtea.

Lefttoright:JackStretch,GeorgeBazzica,MaxBrandenburg,

JohnVanBeek,RodBeattie,TerryShine,TerryO’NeillandTonySmurthwaitepicturedwithFatherGerome

STRONG PARISH SUPPORT FOR CATENIANS MASS FORVOCATIONSThe City of Busselton Circle celebrated itsMass for Vocations onSunday 23 July 2016 with strong support from about 45parishionerswhojoinedcirclemembersandwivesforasupperofsoupanddesserts.AnumberofRCIAcandidateswereenrolledatthe same 6.00 pm Mass, celebrated by Parish Priest, FatherNicandroLim.

Catenianbrothers,TerryO’NeillandJohnVanBeekwerethereaders for theMassandallparishioners joined in thePrayer forVocations. President,GeorgeBazzicawasdelightedwiththesupportofparishionersandRCIAcandidatesthatstayedtoshareamealwiththeCateniansandishopefulthatsomeheadwayhasbeenmadeinadvancing the understanding of the Catenian Association in theparish.

FatherNicandroLimattheMassforVocations

SuppertimeafterMass


Canning

“LUXURYESCAPE”TOPHUKET,THAILANDCanningCircleBrotherWarrenEverettwrites: “Itallstartedabout18monthsagowhenmywifeLynetteandIhappenedtoseeanadvertisementinthepaperundertheheading‘Luxury Escapes’, advertising and eight-day holiday in Phuket inThailandworth over $3,500 for just $999 per couple in a luxuryfive-starresort.” “The deal included accommodation in a beautiful self-contained villa, a full buffet breakfast daily and a number ofvouchersforfreedinners,drinksandmassages.” “It all sounded just too good tomiss,” saysWarren. “Soweteamed up with another couple that we’ve frequently travelledwithandbooked.” “Understandably,thereweresomerestrictionsastowhenwecould travel, but that did not worry us too much as we’re nowretired.WealsomanagedtobookgreatflightsthroughQantas.” “The resort was over an hour’s drive from Phuket and weweregreetedattheairportbyresortstaffasthepackageincludedairport pickup. The resort was everything it promised to be –beautifulbeaches,picturesquesunsetsandfriendlypeople. Itwasalsonice tomeeta lotof fellowAussies,asalmost80percentoftheguestswerefromAustralia.” “Whilst therewe booked a day tour to ‘James Bond Island”which is the place where the film ‘The man with the golden gun’was filmed.We took a lot of photos of the island and resort, buttheyreallydon’tfullycapturethebeautyandwonderofthearea.”

WarrenandLynetterecapturesomeoftheJamesBondmyth

duringtheirPhuketholiday

“TheonlynegativetothiswonderfulholidaywasthatPhuketwas in the midst of a heat wave at the time,”Warren said. “Wecannotrecallhavingsufferedsuchstiflingheatinourlivesbefore,however itwasagreatholidayoverall;a true ‘luxuryescape’andgreatvalueformoney.” “Wewouldcertainlyrecommendit.”

ContributedbyWarrenEverett

MEMBERSWELCOMEITSNEWESTBROTHERCliff Chalonwas installedasCanningCircle’snewestbrother at ameeting and dinner held at the Wings Restaurant, Air ForceMemorial Association in Bullcreek on Thursday 25 August 2016,whichwasalsoa ladiesnightwitha largecrowdinattendancetowelcomeCliffandhiswifeLorrainetotheCatenianAssociation.

PresidentJohnSuttonpresentingCliffChalonwithhis

CertificateofEnrolment Cliffwasborn inWestBengal in Indiaon24 July1953, andspenthisearlyyears in therailwaycityofAsansol inBardhamanDistrictWestBengalwhereheattendedStPatrick’sHighSchool. HemigratedwithhisfamilytoPerthinNovember1968andcompleted his schooling at Kent Street Senior High School. Onleavingschool,CliffhadastintintheWesternAustralianRailwaysbefore joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1978. His RAAFtenuremarkedmany significant life events; living in Sydney andlaterMelbourne, studying for a degree inHumanResources and,most importantly,gettingmarried in1979 to the lovelyLorraine,alsofromAsansol. Lorraine and Cliff have two gorgeous daughters. Reneegraduated in psychology from Murdoch University, and iscurrently a manager/research analyst, residing in Melbourne, intheVictorianDepartmentof InternationalEducation.Rebecca isagraduate of Notre Dame University in Marketing andCommunication and is pursuing a career in film and televisionproductionandeventsinVancouver,Canada. Finishing with the RAAF in 1984, Cliff worked in variousHuman Resources/Occupational Development roles in theinsurance, banking and aerospace, training and managementconsulting sectors.His recent consultingprojects have takenhimto Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Phillipines, Vietnam,Thailand,HongKong,Japan,Korea,IndiaandPakistan.Cliffenjoysworkingwithpeople fromdiversebackgrounds and cultures andhasmanyachievementsintrainingandconsultingactivities. CliffisinvolvedinthemusicministryatSacredHeartChurchCatholicParishofThornliewherehealsoassistsLorraineonSocialCommittee events. Cliff love of music saw him as a member ofthree bands in his younger years and he still enjoys a ‘jam’withmates. Other interests are reading, SecondWorldWar history andcollectinglive-recordedconcerts.


Como

“THANKSFORTHEMEMORY”–ABOUTCOLINBRABAZONColin Brabazon is Como Circle’s Welfare Officer who, with hischeerypersonality,bringsmuchlaughterandsweetmusictocirclemembersandtheirwives. His phone calls on birthdays and anniversaries arewelcomed, as are the cards that always arrive on time, on their“specialday”.

Colin, who is 85years of age, is a greatstoryteller and anaccomplishedviolinist. He has been playingthe violin for 75 years,regularly providing musicat theComoCircle’s ladiesnights. He also regularlyvisits local aged carefacilities to entertainresidents.

Colin and his wife, Joyce celebrated their 65th weddinganniversary on 7 June 2016. They have three sons and fivedaughters,15grandchildrenandsixgreatgrandchildren. Now retired after a long career with the West AustralianGovernment Railways, Colin served at 25 different stations andsidingson the railnetwork.He servedasNight StationMaster atGoomalling (one year) and Station Master at Wongan Hills (fiveyears), Northam and Avon Freight Yard (eight years) andKatanning (six years). He concluded his career serving his finaleightyearsatAlbany. WhenyounextseeColinaskhimto“callthrough”thenamesofthestationsandsidingsonthenetwork.Youwillbetreatedtoa“lookback”onWesternAustralia’srailwayhistory. Below is a poem written by Colin and another anonymousonethathecollectedalongthewayandreallysumsuphisattitudeandapproachtolife:

Thanks for the memory Ifanyonehasagiftatall,

nomatterhowlargeorsmallmakesureyoudosomethingwithit

andyou’llalwaysbeoncall.

I’veplayedmusicformanyyearsforwhichI’mverygrateful.IgoaroundlikeIamtoday,

playingformyfriendswhoarefaithful.

Toseethejoyonmanyafacegivesmegreatpleasurefordoingmypart.

SoIsincerelyhopethatwhenIleavetodayafewsongswillremaininyourheart.

Thank-yousomuchforbeingsokind,

forlisteningtothemusicIplay.AndI’llfinishbysayingyou’rerealgreatfolk,

andI’vereallyenjoyedmystay

PoemcontributedbyColinBrabazon

DarlingRange

GOODSUPPORTFORCLERGYNIGHTATNEWVENUETheDarlingRangemeetingon11May2016washeldatHartfieldCountryClub,HartfieldRoadinForrestfield,whichisnowthenewvenueforcirclemeetings.Thecomfortableseatingandthefactthatthecirclewastheonlygroupusingthevenueonthatnightsuitablyimpressedmembers. Thenewvenue ismuch closer to Perth and visitorswill nolongerhavetoendurethejourneyupintothehills.Meetingdatesand times will continue to be held on the secondWednesday ofeachmonth(exceptJanuary)at7.00pmfor7.30pm. Circle Secretary, Harry Muller said that the easiest andquickestwaytofindtheHartfieldCountryClubisfromHaleRoad,Forrestfield, turning towards the hills at the Dawsons GardenCentreroundabout. Members were delighted to welcome Father Hughes, theinauguralRectorofMazenodCollege,FatherMichaelMcMahonofMazenod College, Father Anthony Soresh, Parish Priest of HolyFamily Church Kalamunda and Father Greg Donovan, formerParishPriestatHolyFamilyChurchKalamunda.

GroupphototakenattheHartfieldCountryClubmeetinginMay

During the evening, brothers and guests enjoyed aninteresting talk given by President Peter Hunt’s wife, Katie whospokeabouttheworkofCatholicMission,PopeFrancis’suniversalinternationalmissionaidagency. Katie is part of the CatholicMission team in Perth and hasrecentlyvisitedCambodiatoseesomeoftheprojectsthatarerunbytheCatholicChurchandsupportedbyCatholicMission. HertalkwasillustratedwithsomeexcellentphotographsandKatie explained the pastoral role of the Church worldwide,providing physical, emotional and spiritual support todisadvantagedcommunitiesandchildrenatgrassrootslevel. Inparticular,hertalkexplainedtheworkoftheorganizationinCambodia, a country that is still struggling to rebuild from thedevastating after effects of the Vietnam War and the Pol Potregime. Katie outlined various initiatives that are run by priests,religiousand layworkers toprovideeducation,healthcare, socialenterprise, vocational training and support for physically andintellectuallydisabled. Cambodia is the focusof thisyear’sParishappealandKatiespoke about a number of projects in the country that CatholicMission is supporting, including the work of the Daughters ofCharity in Phnom Penh providing a mobile tuk-tuk educationprogrammeforvulnerableurbanmigrantchildren. IfyouwouldlikeCatholicMissiontospeaktoyourcircleorParish,orifyouwouldliketodonatetosupporttheworkoftheworldwideChurch,please call theCatholicMissionofficeinPerthon94227933.


Dianella

RETURNINGBROTHERGIVENAWARMWELCOMEAlan Voiseywas given awarmwelcome at Dianella Circle’s June2016 meeting when he rejoined the circle after an absence ofalmostfouryears. AlanhadpreviouslybeenamemberofbothSwanValleyandDianella Circle’s, but in 2012 he and his wife Cynthia moved toPenang in Malaysia. Alan had retired and they both wanted a“seachange” in their lateryears.While living inPenangbothAlanandCynthiawereveryactiveinthelocalCatholiccommunity. Earlier in 2016 theymoved back toWestern Australia andnowliveinMorley.Onceagain,theyareactiveintheOurLadyofAssumption Parish in Dianella where Alan is an acolyte. He alsosought theopportunity to rejoin theCatenianAssociation and allthebrothersofDianellaCirclehavewelcomedhimback. AlanisalsoaKnightoftheHolySepulchre.

Lefttoright:DianellaCirclePresident,GrahamPittaway,AlanVoisey,LouDaily(MembershipOfficer)andTerryLoughnan

(Secretary)

SERVITESISTERSSHARETHEIRSTORYAt Dianella Circle’s April 2016 meeting/dinner, Sisters CharlaFernando OSM and Chitra Justin OSM were invited to addressbrothers about the services offered at theKoraCentre located inBayswater.Theirstoryisasfollows: “TheKoraCentre is anot forprofit organization runby theServite Sisters and has been operating at 54 Lawrence Street inBayswater for more than 30 years. The centre was originallystarted by Sister Carmelin Money OSM, providing communityservices such as adult education programmes, homework classesfor primary school children, holiday programmes, youthprogrammesandworkforthedoleprogrammes.” “The Sisters at the Kora Centre currently operate anoccasional care service for Aboriginal and refugee families whocannot afford to send their children to mainstream child carecentres. It is a licensed centre that caters for 19 children. Thecentre offers a high quality programme that caters for children’sdevelopmental needs, prepares them for entry to school andencourages parent participation. Children attend the child carefacilitythreedaysperweek.” “Families that access the Kora Centre services are mostlyAboriginalfamilies,refugeefamiliesfromAfricaaswellaschildrenfromlow-incomefamilies.TherearealsoanincreasingnumberofmothersandchildrenfromtheWomen’sRefugesatWoorimayainMaylands, Orana House in Bayswater and Ruah Refuge in Mt.LawleywhoseekhelpfromtheKoraCentre.”

“TheSistersdonotcollectfeesfortheservicestheyprovide,but rely on donations fromwithin their Order, friends andwell-wishers. From time to time they conduct various forms of fundraising. In the past the Kora Centre also received partial fundingfrom the Department of Social Securities, but unfortunately thishasnowceased.” “All running costs need to be met by the Sisters throughdonations. These costs include, wages, insurance, rent, amenitiesandfood.Althoughitisanuphillstruggletoprovidetheseservicesfromtheirlimitedfinances,theycontinuewiththetask,confidentthat the services provided are urgent and needed by theunderprivileged.” “The Servite Sisters are in urgent need of any financialassistancethatcanbeprovidedandanyhelpthatcanbeprovidedfrom the wider community will be greatly appreciated.” The brothers of Dianella Circle were moved by andgreatly appreciated the Servite Sisters storyand contributedgenerously to the circle’s normal monthly raffle. Theproceeds,totalling$400weredonatedtotheSisterstoassistwiththeirgoodworks.

PROMINENTPUBLICFIGUREISCIRCLEGUESTSPEAKERMr. Noel Ashcroft was the guest speaker at the Maymeeting/dinneroftheDianellaCircle.From2005to2008,hewasthe Agent General based in London representing the WesternAustralianGovernment. Noelgaveaninformedpresentationoftherolesanddutiesofthe position, which is the State’s top overseas representativedealingwithinternationalgovernments,diplomatsandcompanies. The key responsibilities of the position were to promotetradeand investmentopportunitiesbetween theUnitedKingdomandEuropeancompaniesandWesternAustralianbusinesses.TheAgent General is the State’s only diplomatic position and isrecognisedassuchintheUnitedKingdom.Thismeantinvolvementin certain United Kingdom Government and City of Londonfunctions, aswell as key Royal events. Hiswork required him totravel extensively through the United Kingdom, Russia, WesternandEasternEurope. In addition to the traditional minerals, oil and gaspromotional activities, other examples of marketing andpromotional works were food and wine marketing, highereducation opportunities and migration for specific skilledemploymentthatisnecessaryforenhancingthecommunityneedsinWesternAustralia. Prior to this appointment, Noel held several StateGovernment executive positions in Industry and ResourcesportfoliosandwasalsoakeyadvisertoseveralpastPremiers.Onhis return to Perth in 2008, Noel became involved in resourcesmanagementinprivateindustry. Following his retirement, Noel was appointed aMember intheGeneralDivisionofAustraliainthe2012AustraliaDayAwards.

CLERGYSUPPORTFORANNUALLUNCHDianella Circle held its annual clergy and ladies lunch at theMt.LawleyGolfClubonFriday29July2016. ApartfrommanyoftheDianellabrothersandtheirladies,inattendance were seven priests, three nuns and Brother OllyPickett, Workshop Manager of the Wheelchairs for KidsorganisationatWangara,whoisalwaysawelcomevisitor.Allthe


priests were from parishes within the Dianella Circle catchmentarea. Other guests at the function were Provincial President,StephenWilliamson(SwanValleyCircle)andPatMcManus(ComoCircle). TheMCfortheeventwasDianellaVicePresident,PeterKorawho kept things moving and ensured that everyone had anenjoyableday.

Dianella’sannualclergydayluncheon

ANOTHERNEWBROTHERAtitsJuly2016meeting,thebrothersofDianellaCirclewelcomedGeorgeWallsasthecircle’snewestmember. Georgeandhiswife,EvelynarelongtimeparishionersattheInfant JesusChurch inMorleyandhavebeen involvedwithmanyactivities in the parish. George has contributed in excess of 40years service as a member of the Morley/Dianella St Vincent dePaul Conference and retired two years ago following a period ofeight years as the Regional President of the Swan Region and amemberofStateCouncil. GeorgewasborninGlasgowinScotlandandwasbroughtupinbothIrelandandScotlandashisfatherwasIrishandhismotherwasScottish.Heundertookanapprenticeshipas a cabinetmaker,andin1962,asayoungsingleman,hemigratedtoAustralia. After travelling andworking aroundAustralia, he settled inPerthwherehemetEvelyn.TheyweremarriedattheSacredHeartChurch in Highgate and have three sons and, currently, twograndchildren. George is now retired and, although he tried golf, is nowhappywhenreadingagoodnovel.

EvelynandGeorgeWallspicturedattheJuly2016clergyand

ladiesluncheonmeeting

FremantleNEWVICE-PRESIDENTFremantle brothers have welcomed the appointment of Dr.Graham Mahony as the circle’s new Vice-President. Graham hasbeenacting intherole intheabsenceofAlexBanovichwhoisonanextendedoverseasholidaythatwillpreventhimfromattendingmeetingsformostofthe2016/17Catenianyear.

Dr.GrahamMahonypicturedataFremantleCircledinnerwith

hiswife,Muriel

SUPORTING“SPEAKFORFAITH”Fremantle Circle was well represented at the inaugural CatholicSchool public speaking competition held on 27 July 2016 at LaSalle College in Middle Swan. Province 20 of the CatenianAssociationorganisedandsponsoredtheevent. Retired secondary school teacher and Fremantle CircleCatenian, Dick Finucane was a member of the organisingcommittee.

Picturedlefttorightatthe“SpeakforFaith”publicspeakingcompetition:KevinandDeniseHefron,MurielandGraham

MahonyandMarieandDickFinucane


Joondalup

FAMILIARFACESJoondalupCircleFoundingBrother,GeneVanceandhiswifeKerryweregivenawarmwelcomeataluncheonheldintheirhonouronWednesday 29 June 2016 at Spinnakers Restaurant at HillarysBoatHarbour.GeneandKerryweremakingabriefvisittoPerthtocelebrate the Confirmation of their grandson at St Simon PetersCatholicChurchatOceanReef. AlthoughGene iscommitted toretaininghismembershipofJoondalupCircle,in2015heandKerrysoldtheirhomeatMindarieand purchased a new home in Townsville in Queensland wheretheyareenjoyingthetropicallifestyle. They were only in Perth for a week and had a busy timecatchingupwithfamilyandfriends.

KerryandGeneVancepicturedatSpinnakersRestaurant

NealGarswood,GeneVance,DavidChatelandJimDoherty

MareeJohnston,JocelynDoakandMarleneMonkhouse

PROVIDINGSUPPORTATJOINTMEETINGFour brothers and wives represented Joondalup Circle at a jointmeetingbetweenSwanValleyandCityofBusseltonCirclesheldattheMidlandReceptionCentreonSaturday4June2016. Rolf Bank, Peter Johnston and JohnMonkhouse are all jointmembers of the Busselton Circle and Joondalup President, MickDoak joined them at the historicmeeting hosted by Swan ValleyCircle.

ChristineandRolfBankpicturedwithMickandJocelynDoakat

thejointmeeting

TomPolich(SwanValley)withMareeandPeterJohnstonand

SwanValleyVice-President,HughKorver

MONTHLYLUNCHCLUBSETSANEWRECORDThe Joondalup/Liwara lunch club that meets on the secondTuesday of each month has set a new attendance record.Established by Joondalup Circle several years ago for its ownmembers, the luncheon group was later expanded to includeLiwara brothers. Fifteen brothers attended the luncheon gettogetherattheKingsleyTavernon12July2016.

Lefttorightaroundthetable:MalcolmCraig,GrahamGreen,JohnO’Rourke,JohnWeselman,RalphFitzpatrickandBarry

Webb(Liwara),NealGarswood,JohnFrostandJohnHollywoodandRolfBank(Joondalup),JohnCarey,MikeWright,GerryBartonandAussieNolan(Liwara)(photographbyPeter

Johnston)


SPREADINGTHEGOODWORDABOUTWHEELCHAIRSFORKIDS

WheelchairsforKidsCEO,GordonHudsonwithawheelchair

manufacturedattheWangarafactory

An excellent turnout of brothers and wives, along with guestsMichael Frost and Eugene Thomas and visitors, StephenWilliamsonandBrianandLynMurphy(SwanValleyCircle)weretreated toanabsorbingpresentationat thecirclesmeetingon20July2016byWheelchairsforKidsCEO,GordonHudson. A Rotarian, Gordon was responsible for the creation ofWheelchairs for Kids, which first commenced production at itsWangarafactoryin1998andhassincemanufacturedanddonatedover 34,000 wheelchairs to disadvantaged children around theworld. Gordon is still the CEO in a team comprising WorkshopManager, Brother Olly Pickett and about 190 volunteers whowillingly give their time. There are millions of poor disabledchildren in under-resourced countries, victims of land mines,diseaseorbirthdefects,whoselivesandthatoftheirfamiliescanbe changeddramaticallybyproviding themwith a suitably fittedwheelchair. Thecircledonatedtheproceedsofaspecialraffleheldonthenight.

JoondalupPresident,MickDoakpresentsGordonwiththe

circle’sdonation

Other circles inProvince20 interested inhaving a guest speakerareinvitedtocallGordonatWheelchairsforKidsIncorporated:Telephone:0412111419Email:wheelchair1@optusnet.com.auFurtherdetailsabouttheorganisationcanbeobtainedbyvisitingtheWheelchairsforKidswebsite:www.wheelchairsforkids.org

A SOCIAL EVENTTHATRETAINS ITSAPPEAL: “GUESSWHO’SCOMINGTODINNER”Althoughit’sbeenafeatureofthesocialcalendarsinceJoondalupCirclewasinauguratedin2005,theannual“Guesswho’scomingtodinner” function is still as popular as it was when it was firstintroduced. The appeal of the event is its simplicity; the hostprovides the venue and the guests contribute themainmeal anddessertandeveryonesuppliestheirowndrinks. Therelativelysmalldinnerpartyambianceinafamilyhomeisanidealforumtogettoknowfellowbrothersandtheirpartners,notoftenpossibleatmonthlymeetingsanddinners. Numbers were down slightly for Joondalup’s event on theweekend 27 and 28 August 2016, mainly due to overseas traveland sickness, but the function was still an outstanding success.BarryandLizWebb, JohnandMarleneMonkhouseandPeterandMareeJohnstonprovidedhosthomesthisyear.

Lefttoright:PatandJimDoherty,RolfBank,MareeJohnston

andDavidChatel

Lefttoright:JohnFrost,ChristineBankandPeterJohnston

Pleasesupportthosebusinessesadvertising

intheWesternLink


Liwara

SUPPORTINGTHEIRFATHERSTheannual sonsanddaughters evening is a traditional andwell-supportedeventon thesocialcalendarofLiwaraCircle.The Junefunctionwasnoexception,enlivenedevenmorethanusualbytheattendanceoftheoffspringof12brothers. Five sons, including the young twinsAlex andAndyHalley-Wright,and13daughtersturnedoutfortheeveningtoenjoypre-dinner drinks and to join their fathers in the monthly dinnermeeting. Also in attendancewas Paulette Sullivan as a guest of PaulChabrel. Paulette’s father John Sullivan was a visitor from theBulawayoCircleinZimbabweatLiwaraCircle’sMaymeeting.

BillGallacher,whojoinedLiwaraCircleinOctober2015,invited

hisdaughters,StephanieandLindseytothedinner

DesWrightintroduceshissonGarryandPauletteSullivan,

daughterofBulawayoCircle(Zimbabwe)Brother,JohnSullivan

NealMirandawithdaughters,AlyssaandLauren

PaulChabrelproudlyintroduceshisdaughters,Laurenand

Kristin

STRONGLINKSWITHBULAWAYOSpecialvisitorstoLiwara’sMay2016meetingwereJohnSullivan,amemberofBulawayoCircle inZimbabweandhisbrother, FatherVincent Sullivanwho is a Catholic Priest based in Georgia in theUnitedStatesofAmerica. LiwarahasmanylinkswithBulawayo.GerryBartonspenthisearly life there and had friends with connections betweenBulawayo and the Liwara circle. During his visit to Bulawayo inAugust 2015, Gerry was invited by John Sullivan and his wife,Wallis totheirhomeforbreakfasttomeettheir familyafterearlymorningMass.Theymentioned that theirdaughter,Paulettewhomoved toPerth a fewyears ago,wasquite lonely so effortshavebeenmadetoincludeherintheCatenianfamily. The Liwara ladies took Paulette to a local restaurant whileher father John and Father Vincent attended the circle’s Maymeetingandsheattendedthecircle’ssonsanddaughtersnightinJuneasguestsofPaulChabrelandhistwodaughters,LaurenandKristinwhosheknewfromtheBulawayodays. Liwara circle brothers, Des Wright and Ron Brukwinskistayed with the Sullivan’s during their visits to Zimbabwe a fewyearsagoandDesalsohasamoredirectconnectionfromhisdaysasamemberofBulawayoCircle. John Sullivanwasborn inBulawayo inDecember1952, theeldestinafamilyoffiveboysandtwogirls,andhaslivedthereallhis life.During the2013GrandPresident’s tour,alsoattendedbyGerry Barton, a barbecuewas held at the Sullivan’s small familyfarmlocatednear,Bulawayo.

FatherVincentSullivanpicturedtalkingtoGerryBartonat

Liwara’sMaymeeting


YOUTHSUPPORTFUNDRECIPIENT

Lefttoright:ElizabethO’Connorpicturedwithhermother,

TheresaandBarryWebbrepresentingtheProvince20YouthSupportFund

SponsoredbyLiwaraCircle,ElizabethO’Connorhasbeenawardedagrant fromtheProvince20YouthSupportFundtostudyat theCatholic Acts 2 College ofMission andEvangelisation inOsborneParkfortheCertificateIVinChristianMinistry. TheCertificateIVinChristianMinistryhasbeendevelopedtoprovidestudentswithtailoredtraininginarangeofministryskillsaswellasfoundationalformationinscripture,churchhistoryandcatechismfromaCatholicperspective.Studentsmaychoose fromthe generic qualification or a specific youthministry stream, thelatter of which includes units from the Certificate IV in YouthWork.Thereare15coreunitsandoneelectiveunitinthiscourse. Theaimistoequipstudentswithfaithandlifeskillsfortheirbenefitandforothers.

CityofMandurah

CLERGYANDLADIESNIGHTAbout 40 brothers and wives attended the City of Mandurah’sladies and clergy night on 8 August 2016 at the delightfulsurroundingsofthePeelThunderFootballClub. Guests at the dinner were Our Lady’s Assumption ParishPriest,FatherXavier,PastoralAssistantSisterKathleenPowerandProvincial President, Steve Williamson (Swan Valley Circle). Anavid Fremantle Dockers supporter, Sister Kathleen proudlydisplayedherallegiance to theAustralianFootballLeague’s team,despiteitspoorperformancesonthefootballfieldduringthe2016season.

SisterKathleenwithherFreoDockersscarf

HerMajesty,theQueenofEnglandhandsoutOBE’seachyearto deserving recipients and so does the City ofMandurah Circle.The Vince SpargoMemorial Award (also known as an OBE)wasinaugurated some years ago following the sudden passing ofBrotherVince, and is awarded to circlebrothersonornear theirbirthdaywhentheyachieve“OverBloodyEighty”status. The latest recipient was Don Boswood, who is not only anOBEbuthasbeenamemberoftheMandurahCircleforalmost20years.

ActingPresident,ColinPurcellpresentsDonBoswoodwithhis

prestigiousaward

PROVINCE20’sELDERSTATESMANAt 96 years of age, Reg Newman is the oldest Catenian inProvince20.He joinedComoCircle inApril1987, about twoand a half years after the circle was inaugurated, and wasinstrumental intheformationoftheCityofMandurahCircle,and was its Founding President when it was inaugurated in


October 1991. Later he held the office of Mandurah’sProvincialCouncilloronProvince20. Although no longer able to attend meetings, Reg is still amemberofthecircleand,withhiswifeMavis,attendsMassatOurLady’s Assumption Parish inMandurah and,when they are able,stillenjoyeatingoutattheirfavouriterestaurantsinthearea.

MavisandRegNewman

Reg was born in England on 1 July 1920 and migrated toAustraliain1931,spendinghisearlylifeworkingasajackarooonsheep stations atCarnarvonandDalwallinu. Later, hemanagedacitrusfarminGosnellsatthesametimeattendingnightschooltogain qualifications in commercial law, bookkeeping and businessprinciples. In May 1940 Reg enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forceandwaspostedtothe2/16thInfantry.HesailedfortheMiddleEastamonth laterandduringthefollowingtwoyearsservedinIndia,Palestine, the Western Desert, Mersa Matruh, Egypt, Syria andLebanon.Hecelebratedhis21stbirthdayintheBattleofDamourinSyria. Reg sailed from theMiddleEast as a Signalman attached toBattalionHeadquartersand, to thedelightofall, foundtheywereheadedhome.TheshipalmostfinishedupinMalaysia,butonthefallofSingaporetheysetcourseforFremantle. Aftertwodays“homeleave”hisbattalionheadedtoEasternAustralia to defend the infamous “Brisbane Line”. Reg waspromoted to Corporal in the IntelligenceCorps, andhis battalionwas moved for jungle training in Queensland, where he waspromotedtoStaffSergeant. Whenhelearnedthatthe2/16thwasgoingtobesenttoNewGuinea, Reg applied for a transfer back to his old unit so that hecould be with his mates. He assumed his rank of Corporal andheadedforPortMoresby. “Ishouldhavehadmyheadread,”Regsaid.HewasonactiveserviceinPapuaNewGuineafrom1942to1944,includingonthelegendaryKokodaTrack,arguablynowasimportantasGallipoliinthe annals of Australianwar history. This period included activeservice in the Buna-Gona and Markham and Ramu ValleyCampaigns. ThehorrorsoftheKokodaTrackarewelldocumented,butacomrade in arms who served with Reg said: “Oh, yes. I wellrememberRegNewmanon theTrack.Hewas theonlyoneofuswho did not get mud on him!” He is just as fastidious with hisappearancetoday,ashewasthen. In 1945Reg tookpart in the seaborneBorneoCampaign atBalikpapan. An honour he treasures is his selection to represent the2/16th at the Japanese Surrender Ceremony on board HMASBurdekin, aRiver-class frigate that served in theRoyalAustralian

Navy from 1944 to 1946. Reg admits to feeling rather dauntedamongst the Admirals, Generals and other senior officers on thedeck,buthe“managedtokeephischinup.” Reg suffered from recurring bouts of malaria and othertropicalillnesses,andsoacceptedtheoffertotakehisdischargeinNovember 1945 after five and a half years of continuous armyservice. He returned to civilian life after a few weeks of “Rest andRecuperation” and joined a Government Department, eventuallypromoted to Assistant District Employment Officer stationed inBridgetowninthesouthwest.Itwasherethathemetandmarriedhis lovely wife, Mavis, the daughter of a large orchardist in thedistrict.TheyweremarriedinAugust1948andhavefourchildrenandninegrandchildren. During the past 60 years he found time to be FounderPresidentoftheBunburyJayceesandthelateArchbishopGoody’srepresentative on State Council for Government Aid to Catholicschools. He owned and operated a BP Service Station and wasappointedaJusticeofthePeace. Reg is a Knight of the Southern Cross and a Knight of theEquestrianOrderoftheHolySepulchre. HealsofoundtimetobeactiveinparishactivitiesandtoppedthisoffwithhiseffortstoestablishtheCityofMandurahCircleofthe Catenian Association and taking on the role of FoundingPresidentofthatcircle. Theloveofhislife,Mavis,hasbeenhisconstantcompanion. AsCatenians,weshouldbeproudofthiswonderful,yetself-effacingmaninthecalibreofmanyofourfamousAustralians.

PulltheotheroneAmanandhiswifewalkedintoadentist’ssurgery.Themansaidtothe dentist: “I’m in a terrible hurry. I have two friends sittingoutsideinmycarwaitingtoplaygolf.” “Don’t botherwith the anesthetic, I don’t have time for thegums to get numb. I justwant you topull the tooth andbedonewithit.” Heexplained:“Wehavea10amtee-offtimeatthebestgolfcourse in Perth, and it’s 9.30 am already. I don’t have time foranesthetic.” The dentist thought to himself, “My goodness, this is anexceptionally braveman, asking to havehis toothpulledwithoutanythingtokillthepain.” So,thedentistaskedhim,“Whichtoothisit?” Themanturnedtohiswifeandsaid,“Comeon,darling,openyourmouthandshowhim!”

ACateniantoastA very old Catenian couple was worried because they keptforgettingthingsallthetime. Thedoctorassuredthemtherewasnothingseriouslywrongexcept old age, and suggested they carry a notebook and writethingsdownsotheywouldn’tforget. Several days later, the elderly Catenian got up to go to thekitchen. His wife said, “Dear, get me a bowl of ice cream whileyou’reup.“Right-oh,hesaid.”“Andputsomechocolatesyruponitand a few cherries, too,” she added. “You’d better write all thisdown. “Iwon’tforget!”hesaid. Twenty minutes later he came back into the room andhandedhiswifeaplateofscrambledeggsandbacon.Sheglaredathim.“Now,Itoldyoutowriteitdown!Iknewyou’dforget.” “WhatdidIforget?”heasked. Shereplied,“Mytoast!”


CityofPerth

PLENTYTOCELEBRATEATLADIESNIGHTBrothers,wivesandvisitorsweregivenplentytocelebrate,ponderand look forward to at the City of Perth ladies night held at theRoyalPerthGolfClubinSouthPerthon20June2016. Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable night, judging fromthehappyreactionofthedoorprizewinners,thepolitelaughtertoa couple of Phil Zeid’s jokes and the various stories that wereexchangedbyoneandall. AmongthenumbersatthemeetingwereBettyRyan,BarbaraPrior and HelenMcGurkwho, as usual, were given a verywarmwelcome.AnothervisitorwasAlexCoe,along-standingmemberofSwan Valley Circle and a foundation member of Darling RangeCircle. Alex also served on Provincial Council for a number ofyears. ThedinnerwasanopportunitytocongratulateCityofPerthbrotherof34years,DenisO’Sullivanwhohadrecentlycelebratedhis80thbirthdaywithagatheringoffriendsandrelativesatStIvesCentroFunctionCentre in Jolimont.Amongthe90guestspresentat this functionwere his sister and brother-in-law togetherwiththreebrothers,twosisters-in-lawandanephewwhohadtravelledtoPerthfortheoccasionfromDenis’snativeNewZealand. Followingthebirthdayparty,DenisandhiswifeAnnespentthree days in the SouthWest with Denis’s siblings to round outtheirenjoyableweeksstayinWesternAustralia.

DenisO’SullivanpicturedatthemeetingwithCityofPerth

MembershipOfficer,EugeneTresham,emphasizingtheimportanceofpersistenceinfollowinguppotentialmembers

aftertheirinitialmeetingattendance

Lefttoright:BettyRyan,HelenMcGurkandJosephineMoore,no

doubtdiscussingwhatexoticdishestheycouldselecttoenhancetheredwinestrategicallyplacedinfrontofthem

PhilandDaphneTengerwereguestsofGerryBarnardatthemeeting, and during the evening renewed acquaintances withseveralseniormembersoftheCityofPerthCircle,includingDenisO’Sullivan, who Phil nominated for circle membership back in1982when Denis was of a younger age. Denis has retained thatyouthfulness,andmostassuredlyhisfeelingsforthecircleandtheAssociation.

Lefttoright:CityofPerthProvincialCouncillor,BobStidwellwithhiswife,PatrelaxedandchattingwithPhilandDaphne

Tenger

FAMILYAFFAIRWhen City of Perth President, Pat Kirwan arrived at the WingsRestaurantinBullcreekforthejointmeetingofCanningandCityofPerthCircles,hewaspleasantlysurprisedtobegreetedbythehostcircleVice President, AlexMunut (Canning) andPat’s brother-in-law,AlanHall (apastPresidentofCityofPerth).Alex,who is theson-in-lawofAlanHall,hadpickedAlanupanddrivenhimtothemeetingvenue.IttrulywasafamilygatheringofPresidents. Canning and City of Perth Circles have been havingalternatingjointmeetingsforanumberofyears. The President of Canning Circle, John Sutton chaired themeeting, which was attended by about 30 brothers, includingProvincial President, Stephen Williamson. Both welfare officersreportedonanextensivelistofsickbrothersforthiswinterevent. Duringadelightfulthree-coursedinner,CanningWelfareandHospitalityOfficer,DougWilliamsexcelledhimselfconductinghistraditionalraffle. The City of Perth Circle now looks forward to hostingCanningnextyearattheRoyalPerthGolfClubandmaintainingtheoverwhelmingsenseofcamaraderiebetweenthetwocircles.

Lefttoright:PatKirwan(brother-in-lawofAlanHall),Alex

Munut(son-in-lawofAlanHall)andAlanHall


TALEOFANANCIENTSAILORThis is a story of an ancient character, John Walsh, whoexperiencedsomewonderfuloceanracingadventuresinAustralia,includingacoupleofSydneytoHobartyachtracesasnavigatorinthedaysofcelestialnavigation,then,attheageof78,atransitiontorowingaStAylesskiffontheSwanRiverandCorioBay. St Ayles skiffs are something of a 2009 phenomena arisingout of an initiative of the Scottish Fishing Museum at historicAnstruther,acrosstheFirthofForthfromEdinburgh.Skiffrowingis, currently, among the fastest growing community-based,waterborneactivitiesintheworld. The 22-foot St Ayles skiff -with four rowers and a cox – ismodeledontheFairIsleSkiffwhoseoriginsmaybetracedbacktotheVikings.Theskiffsareavailableinkitformandprovideagreatopportunity for community groups to apply woodworking skillstoward thechristeningofavesselandboundlessappeal to ladiesandgentlemenateveryage. Overaperiodofeightmonths,twoStAylesskiffswerebuiltatRoyalFreshwaterBayYachtClubby24clubmembers,includingCityofPerthCatenian,JohnWalsh.NamedDotsieandRipple,bothskiffs enjoyed their maiden voyages at the opening of ElizabethQuayontheSwanRiverinearly2016. The inaugural St Ayles Skiff Regatta in Australia was to beheld on 13March 2016 as part of theWoodenBoat Show at theRoyalGeelongYachtClubinVictoria. ThechallengeawakenedtheenthusiasmoftheStAylesgroupinWesternAustralia,andDotsiewasentered.Shewaswrappedinbubble wrap, hooked to a Land Rover and trailed on the 3,600-kilometrejourneyacrosstheNullabortoGeelongwithoutincident.The fervor and passion of the team was rewarded and thevictorious sailors returnedwith the Spirit of St Ayles Trophy forWesternAustralia.

Geelongbound,ontheNullarborPlain

BackontheSwanRiverbothDotsieandRipplemaybeseenregularly training on the calm waters before sunrise or rowingbeneaththebridgestoFremantleHarbour.

StorycontributedbyJohnWalshCityofPerthCircle

FORTYYEARSYOUNGOn 8 February 2017, the City of Perth Circle of the CatenianAssociation,Province20willcelebrate its40thyearofcontinuousexistence. Following its inauguration on 8 February 1977, it wasanother four years before the next circle, Darling Range was,establishedon27February1981,followedbyFremantleCircleon28 February 1981, Liwara Circle on 6 December 1982, DianellaCircle on 10 November 1984 and Como Circle on 11 November1984. TheestablishmentofthesecirclesenabledProvince20tobeincorporated in 1985, which of course has been managing allWesternAustraliancirclessincethen. ItshouldalsobenotedthatProvince21inNewSouthWalesandVictoriaArea followed the leadof theCity of PerthCircle, inestablishingcirclesoftheirownintheirrespectiveareas. This40thyearanniversaryhasevengreatersignificancewiththe 2016 restructure of the Catenian Association and theimplementation of the Australian National Council, givingAustraliancirclesgreatercontrolandmanagementofitsactivitiesanddevelopment. Subject to the agreement of the City of Perth Circle andProvince 20 Council, it is anticipated that a commemorativefunctionwillbeorganisedsometimeinFebruary2017tocelebratethis major milestone in the life of the Catenian Association inAustralia. Details will be released when arrangements arefinalised, but it is an event that should be supported by allCateniansinWesternAustralia.

ContributedbyCityofPerthProvincialCouncillorBobStidwell


SwanValley

GARDENINGCANBEAHELPFULTHERAPYSt Anthony’s Primary School in Greenmount is located on thehistoricsiteofBlackboyHill. During the past few years this little school has experiencedan increase in thenumberof childrenwith “Sensory Integration”issues, which has led to the introduction of a programme called“KidsConnect”. The scope of the sensory programme is diverse, but one ofthe main activities is the “Gardening Guru’s”. The school is veryfortunate to have the help of Swan Valley Catenian, Tom Polichwho helps supervise the children with their gardening everyThursdaymorning. The children weed, prepare garden beds, plant, fertilize,water and maintain their garden with Tom’s expert advice andsupervision. They love their gardening time and have been able toproduce vegetables andherbs ready to pick, take home andhelptheir parents prepare a meal at home. The children are alsolearningskillssuchasteamworkandcooperationaswellashavingtheirsensoryneedsmet.

TomPolichpicturedwithmembersofthe“GardeningGuru’s”at

StAnthony’sPrimarySchoolinGreenmount

LEARNINGFROMTHEMASTERCHEF

ColinBroun(left)guidinghispastathroughtherollingmachineunderthewatchfuleyeofSwanValleyCirclechef,LeoParadiso

Retired Hills GP and Swan Valley Catenian, Dr. Colin Broun hasbeenon the search forother things todo to fill his leisurehoursfollowinghisretirementasadoctorwith theGlenForestMedicalCentre. Colinhasharbouredaninterestincookingforalongtime.AtarecentSwanValleymeetinghecongratulatedLeoParadisoonthequality of the lasagna he hadmade,which led to the one-on-onelessononhowtomakepasta. Leo is the oldest of three brothers who own the MidlandReceptionCentreandLeohasbeentheSwanValleychefsincethecircle’s inauguration in October 1994. He was pleased with thework of his pupil, who – he says – graduated with first classhonours.

JOINTMEETING-AWONDERFULSUCCESSSwanValley’s jointmeetingwiththeCityofBusseltonCircleon4June2016wasagreatsuccessdespitealowerthanusualturnoutof brothers. It was a ladies night with an evening of old-timeentertainment provided by a local group of ukulele enthusiaststhat kept everyone singing along with medleys of well-knownsongsfromthe50’sand60’s. Members of Swan Valley Circle visited Busselton two yearsagoforajointmeeting,butthereturneventin2015wascancelledduetolackofnumbersabletomakethetriptoPerth. This year the meeting and ladies night was held on aSaturday night to accommodate the country travellers and eightbrothers including four Perth-based Catenians represented theCityofBusseltonCircle.UnfortunatelySwanValleynumberswerelowerbecauseof thechangeofnightandthat theeventwasheldonaholidaylongweekend. Bothcirclesarecommittedtomakingthesejointmeetingsaregularfeatureoftheirrespectivecalendars.

SwanValleyPresident,BrianMurphy(right)welcomesGeorge

Bazzica(CityofBusseltonactingPresident)

TheSwanValleyukuleleenthusiasts


MEMBERSHIPDRIVESwanValleyCirclelauncheditsdrivefornewmembersonSunday3July2016atGoodShepherdCatholicParishLockridgeservicingthesuburbsofEdenHill,KiaraandLockridge. EightbrothersattendedthemorningMassatwhichapulpitpresentationwasmade followedbymorning teaprovidedby thecircleforparishioners. As a result of themorning, one potentialmember from theparishattendedthecircle’smonthlymeetingon6July2016. FurtherpresentationsareplannedatotherCatholicchurchesintheMidlandarea.

Lefttoright:KevinParker,CirclePresidentBrianMurphyand

Treasurer,AllanD’SilvaattheGoodShepherdMass

GARDENINGINSMALLSPACES“The reduction in size of modern day living areas is not a goodreasontodiscontinueyourgardeninginterests,”saysSwanValleyCircleCatenianandgardeningenthusiast,TomPolich. “Gardeningisanactivitytohelpyouwithyourmobility;itiscreativeinawaythatgivesyouasenseofprideandaninterestinthe world around you. Besides, it is an avenue to meet newfriends.” “Limitedspacearoundyourhouseorunitcanbetheperfectlocation for your pots and the flowers that grow in them. Herbsandvegetablescanalsobegrowninthisway.” “OneparticulartypeoffloweringplantthatcangiveyoualotofjoyalltheyearroundistheGerbera.Theyflowerpracticallyallthetimeandneedminimalcare,”Tomsaid. “If you are interested in growing Gerberas in pots in andaround limited gardening spaces you can join the WesternAustralianGerberaSocietythatmeetsonthethirdSundayofeachmonthexceptDecemberandJanuarytobecomeinvolvedandmeetnewpeople,” GiveTomacallon0401803675totalkaboutGerberasandwheretheycanbeobtained.

AFORMULAFORWARMTHONACHILLYNIGHTThere isnothingquite likea steaminghotbowlofdelicious soupandfreshlybakedbreadorbunonacoldwinternight. Swan Valley’s traditional annual Mass and soup night onSaturday 9 July 2016 was about as cold as it gets, but about 60peoplebraved the elements to attendMass andenjoy adeliciousrangeofsoupsanddessertatStAnthony’sParish,Greenmount. Several parishioners, including Parish Priest, FatherMarianBrzozowski,alsoattendedthefunction.

A “coin sliding” competitionwaswell contestedwith KevinParkertakingfirstprizewithhisclosesttothebottleeffort.Kevin’stablewasalsothewinnerofaquizheldonthenight. Poetry reading was another popular innovation, providingthejudgeswithadifficulttimeinselectingthewinners.Firstprizewasawarded toTaiwoSanusi, secondprizewent toAidanWalshandJimMiolinwasthird. The evening concluded with a singalong that everyoneenjoyed.

ThehappycrowdattheSwanValleysoupnight

ColinBrounpicturedwithParishPriest,FatherMarian

Brzozowski

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ISSUE NO. 43 OCTOBER 2016 WESTERN LINK · NEWSLETTER OF THE CATENIAN ASSOCIATION ISSUE NO. 43...

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Transcript of ISSUE NO. 43 OCTOBER 2016 WESTERN LINK · NEWSLETTER OF THE CATENIAN ASSOCIATION ISSUE NO. 43...