JOHN JOSEPH THERRY Irish landlord, merchant & priest in colonial Australia

New research by Dr Damian John Gleeson challenges the traditional story of a celebrated pioneer of Australian Catholicism. Join us in the The City Library, Grand Parade for a talk with Dr Damian John Gleeson, PhD about the subject of his recently published book: John Joseph Therry: Irish landlord, merchant and priest in the Australian colonies New research drawing on thousands of previously unpublished Irish and Australian manuscripts reveals that Fr John Joseph Therry — long celebrated as the saintly founder of Australian Catholicism — accumulated a vast property portfolio and regularly engaged in unethical commercial dealings in the penal colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. Appointed Catholic chaplain to New South Wales, Therry arrived at Botany Bay in May 1820. Over more than four decades of ministry across New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, he became: • a zealous and outspoken advocate for the colony’s predominantly Catholic population • a determined participant in land acquisition and all matter of business ventures • the writer, witness, executor, and beneficiary of dozens of Irish estates • Benefactor to the Irish Jesuits to establish themselves in Melbourne and Sydney The study reveals that Therry actively pursued property holdings, ultimately controlling an extensive portfolio stretching from Sydney, St George, and Parramatta to Campbelltown, Pittwater, Windsor, Dungog, Bong Bong, and Holbrook, and held 85,000 acres of land. Therry acted with avarice in the management of Irish estates, refusing to send bequests to poor widows and children in Ireland, sometimes for more than three decades.