Reverend Barry Curran was ordained in 1977 and served at Edenhope, Rupanyup, and as Office Manager at Westgate Baptost Community Church from 1986. Reverend Curran died in 2005.Reverend Barry Curran, Karen Syon and Tim Budge as members of Compuskill - a computer-based employment training program in Yarraville - standing around a computer."Rev Barry Curran Karen Synon Tim Budge"curran, barry, syon, karen, budge, tim, compuskill

Rev Graham Gall (left), Rev Barry Curran (centre), Ken Roberts (right)L. Rev G Gall, C. Rev Barry Curran, R. Mr Ken Roberts Synod Sound Operators

Stations of the Cross by Clifton Pugh is a contempooray art piece in four sections making up 11 stations of the cross. It was commissioned by the Catholic parish in Eltham (Our Lady Help of Christians) in 1961 Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p81 Art is an important means of nurturing faith at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Henry Street, Eltham. The Stations of the Cross by Clifton Pugh and The Crucifix with the Ascending Jesus by sculptor Charles Rocco are two of the fine works that enhance the parishioners’ worship. These two inspiring works of art were added in 2001 – long after Roman Catholics began worshipping in Eltham around 1864. This beautiful worship centre was built following hardship and change – for parishioners have endured their church being destroyed by fire and have built four churches since they first worshipped together. Before 1864, according to local legend, a visiting priest administered sacraments in the parlour of former convict-turned-respected citizen Thomas Sweeney at Sweeneys Lane, Eltham.1 The first church was blessed in September, 1865, by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Goold. It stood on an acre (0.4ha) of land in Little Eltham as that area was known then, near the present Fordhams and Main Roads and was part of the Heidelberg Church Parish. In 1912 the church was relocated to a new building on the present primary school site at 1 Henry Street. This was closer to the town centre, which had moved from Little Eltham after the railway line was extended to Eltham in 1902.2 In 1958 the church split from the Sacred Heart parish, Diamond Creek, to become a parish in its own right, with Father Tom Curran as inaugural priest. Not long after in 1961, a fire destroyed the church and huge working bees under the prominent Catholic builders, the Sibbel brothers, rebuilt and extended it, using the original altar from the first church. It was then that builder and parishioner Herman Sibbel asked his friend, artist Clifton Pugh, to paint the Stations of the Cross for the church. But the priest, Father Curran, neither approved of Pugh’s bohemian reputation nor liked the paintings, so they were hung in the corridor of Our Lady’s Primary School instead. The parishioners almost sold the paintings in 1989 to pay for major school renovations. However the paintings remained there for about 40 years, until 2001, when the church was extensively renovated by Father Barry Caldwell. Another change awaited the church, as it outgrew its building, later to be used as the school hall. So, in 1976, the present church was built across the road. Three beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the Passion, Death, Resurrection and the presence of Christ’s Spirit, link these with the church’s experiences. The first depicts a bushfire in Eltham, referring to their church damaged by fire. Another represents the Resurrection of Christ with new growth on a blackened stump and the Holy Spirit is represented by the Southern Cross. A window depicting Our Lady Help of Christians by parishioner Bill Peperkamp, was donated by parishioners to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Father Desmond G Jenkins’ ordination to the priesthood on July 27, 1977. This, with the statue of Mary, creates a Marian shrine. In the 14 Stations of the Cross painted on four masonite panels Pugh captures the pathos of the suffering Christ and his disciples.3 The figures are stylised, except intriguingly, that of Pontias Pilate, who looks like Clifton Pugh. Charles Rocco’s sculpture is an extraordinary Jesus figure being raised from the Cross. The delicate stainless steel mesh of the figure creates a sense of the power of God over death. The organ, built in 1868 by George Fincham and Sons, was first installed in the All Saints’ Anglican Church, East St Kilda, then in the St Andrews Church, Clifton Hill. It was rebuilt into a modern instrument with a donation from parishioner Jim Murray, in memory of his wife Gwendolene Mary.4 Church members created their own work of art in front of the entrance, by painting designs and messages on 700 tiles. This work indicates the strong church family and faith expressed in art, that awaits the worshipper inside.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, art, clifton pugh, stations of the cross, our lady help of christans, installation

The Gothic church designed by the architect William Wardell (1823 – 1899) in a manner strongly influenced by the English architect Charles Hansom, but later degraded by the rebuilding of the west end after the collapse of the west wall and turret. The church is a simple form with a five bay gabled nave containing geometric decorated gothic windows and stepped buttressing. The gable roof is covered in slate and the sidewalls constructed of rough-hewn local stone. Originally, the church had a tower in the southwest corner but this was demolished due to earth movement resulting from tunnelling for gold in the town. Originally part of the Melbourne Diocese, St Peter’s Parish Daylesford become part of the Ballarat Diocese February 1992. Priests (from Wikipedia with corrections such as adding Fr Humphrey Moynehan) Years Name Annotation D.o.B D.o.D 1861 - 1862 Father John Galvin Williams 1892 1862 - 1871 Father P. Slattery 1903 1869 - Father Timothy M. O'Callaghan applied for leave 1878 1903 1871 - 1874 Father David Barry 1872 - 1874 Father Nicholas Bassetto Italian Augustine 1884 1875 - 1899 Father M. C. Gough 1845 1923 1877 - 1879 Father P. Quigley 1879 - 1880 Father D. Nelan 1880 - Father D. O'Callaghan 1881 - 1889 Father D. Quilter 1884 - 1884 Father J. V. Grant 1903 1884 - 1885 Father T. J. Egan 1888 1886 - 1888 Father W. Hartnett 1932 1889 - 1890 Father Malone 1890 - 1892 Father Michael P. Curran 1892 - 1893 Father Thomas S. Collins 1924 1893 - 1895 Father James Bryne 1938 1895 - 1896 Father Matthew Brady 1896 - 1899 Father P. M. McGee 1944 1899 - 1899 Father Thomas Considine 1931 1899 - 1900 Father M. Heaney 1900 - 1903 Father W. Hartnett 1932 1900 - 1913 Father James J. Malone 1948 1907 - Father John Joseph Cusack 4 months 1917 1913 - 1917 Father James Byrne 1936 1916-19 - Father Humphrey Moynihan Assistant 1892 - 1967 1918 - Father Michael P. Curran 1933-1967 - Father Humphrey Moynihan Parish Priest 1892 - 1967 1955+ - Father F. Nolan Asst 1961+ - Father T. Murray 1962+ - Father Patrick Maye Asst 1967+ - Father Gregory Patrick Handley Administrator 1996 1968+ - Father Joseph Petrauakas Asst 1968+ - Father T. Murray 1977+ - Father W. O'Halloran Asst 1978+ - Father Clem Cafarella 1987 - 1993 Father Peter Priestley 1993 - 1993 Father Dan Torpy 1994 - 2003 Father John Fitzgerald 1899 2004 - 2012 Father Kevin Maloney 2013 - 2022 Father Gary Jones 2022 - 2024 Father Justin Driscoll 2024 - Father Marcello Colasante Colour photographs of St Peter's Catholic Church, Daylesford. Church plaque: Church of St Peter, Prince of the Apostles The foundation stone was laid on November 29th 1863 and the church was blessed and opened on May 14th 1865 by Most Rev. James Alipius Goold O.S.A., D.D. Bishop of Melbourne This stone was blessed to commemorate the 125th anniversary by Most Rev. Sir Thomas Francis Little, D.D., K.B.E. Archbishop of Melbourne May 20th 1990.catholic church, st peter's church, daylesford, daylesford, john mcmahon, catherine d'alton, avelino morganti, mary hetherington