History Matters

Derived from the Latin word seminarium, meaning “seed-plot”, a seminary is an institution where men discerning a vocation to the Catholic priesthood live, study, pray and receive their formation. Future priests are prepared academically, spiritually and pastorally before beginning their ministry in the Catholic Church. The Seminary of the Good Shepherd is Sydney’s seminary, located in Homebush and serving men preparing for priesthood in New South Wales and beyond.

Yet the seminary is more than a place of study and formation. It is also a community with its own history, memories, people and stories. After visiting the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, I began to see this history as a fascinating opportunity for a public-history project.

The Seminary of the Good Shepherd has been located in Homebush since 1996, but its history reaches much further back. Before moving to Homebush, Sydney’s seminarians were formed at St Patrick’s Seminary in Manly. The imposing sandstone building overlooking Manly Beach can still be seen today, although it now serves a very different purpose. My project will focus specifically on the history of the seminary in Homebush from its beginnings in the 1990s to the present, as much has already been written about St Patrick’s Seminary.

When I first met the Rector, Rev. Fr Michael de Stoop, he gave me a tour of the Homebush seminary and the opportunity to look inside its small archive room. I was unsure what to expect, but among the material were journals dating back to the 1940s, including photographs from the former Manly seminary, as well as albums documenting the Homebush seminary from its establishment in 1996 to the present. There was also a register containing the names of seminarians who have studied at the institution. While looking through it, we even identified information that could potentially be updated.

Nevertheless, while photographs can show us what the seminary looked like and who was there, and registers can tell us who passed through the institution, these sources cannot necessarily tell us what it actually felt like to live there.

For that, we need memories and stories.

As part of the project, I will interview people who either studied or held significant posts at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd from its early years to the present. Their recollections will help explore what life was like within the seminary community and how the institution developed. These memories can then be considered alongside the archival material, allowing different forms of historical evidence to work together.

The timing is particularly appropriate, as the Seminary of the Good Shepherd will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. This provides an opportunity to look back at how the institution has developed and the people who have contributed to its history.

My final project will build upon the seminary’s existing “History” webpage for their website (https://sgs.org.au/) by bringing together photographs, archival material, oral histories and academic literature. Rather than simply producing a timeline, I hope it can give viewers a better understanding of how the formation of future Catholic priests has changed over time in New South Wales.

Creating a community is consistent hard work and persistence. Those organisations that we love and cherish were not built in a day, a month, or even a year. They are seedlings of something special that we tend to over a long time that eventually blossom. 

I have chosen to work with fbi.radio (formerly known as FBi Radio) to archive and preserve the history of the station’s creation, up to August 2003 when the station went to air. fbi is Sydney’s dedicated station to arts, culture, and music in the city. This is carried through their commitment that 50% of all music played has to be Australian and half of that from Sydney. Since 2003, they have been major cultural arbiters and messengers in the city, platforming art that is not always pushed in mainstream musical circles, and that is consistently cutting edge. The station was first conceived in the mid 90s but didn’t actually receive a frequency until the early 2000s that allowed them to be heard on the FM airwaves. fbi had to contend with a number of independent community broadcasters to receive the 94.5 frequency, which led to the 90s and early 2000s of fbi being marked by a number of test broadcasts that presented a large slate of programs and music to attract a loyal audience.

I have been an active member and volunteer with fbi for over a year now and I have loved every moment of the experience. I have worked at the front desk, at social events, produced shows, and I am currently a presenter, and each of these experiences have broadened my horizons as to the immense communal effort that a community radio station is. This is why I am interested in partnering with fbi, because whilst a lot of credit is given to the front-facing nature of the radio in its major personalities, most people remain unaware of the sheer power that exists behind the scenes, which is perfectly captured by the fight for a frequency in the 1990s and 2000s. These organisations do not run simply on a prayer, they are the product of years of work and I believe that work deserves to be applauded in a public way that celebrates the endurance of community.

In doing my initial research, there was a lot of information that existed on fbi in their current iteration, but a lack of recorded history of the process that led to this current position. My project is a digital archive of materials and ephemera from this eight-year period of fbi’s history, presented alongside a written piece that compliments this history. Within it, I also seek to include the oral histories of key individuals I have interviewed about fbi to provide context to the ephemera I have collected. Through this manifestation of my project, I believe that I can produce something that is accessible to an increasingly online audience through its interactive appeal on a website, and a product that is celebratory of fbi’s achievements as well as the times in which it has struggled to stake its important claim in Sydney’s rich cultural tapestry.

This is a scan of an old promotional flyer, advertising a radio broadcasting course in partnership with The University of Sydney Student Union. It is unfortunately missing a year but will be investigating elements of it further to determine a date. 

Regional Arts NSW (RANSW) is celebrating 80 years since establishment as the oldest continuing creative arts organisation, providing incredible financial and administrative support to Regional Art Development Organisations (RADO) across NSW, to promote and platform regional art and artists. Despite their significant work and the millions they have provided in grants over these 80 years, social recognition and funding has remained low. When I spoke to operations and engagement manager, Beatrice Waller, who goes by “Bea,” she emphasised the organisation’s mission to cement themselves into the public by highlighting their history, advocacy and philanthropy with the goal of increasing donors and investors into RANSW. Bea explained how applicants for grants have increased as their social media page has started to gain traction but expressed disappointment with the fact that the organisation lacked the resources to keep up with the increasing demand. 

RANSW evolved from what was initially founded as “CEMA” or the “Council for the Encouragement of Music and Arts” in 1943. CEMA Australia was inspired by the British organisation of the same name, which was “formed to bring music to the people and to try and keep them sane with the arts during [the] madness of war.” This description comes from Dorothy Helmrich, the Australian singer and activist who established CEMA in Australia. After the war ended, CEMA would be renamed “The Arts Council of Australia.” In her publication of “A Five Years Record 1943-1947” Dorothy proudly recounts the council’s achievements, such as their very first subsidy of 600 pounds in 1946 and the various arts programs and performances they sponsored. Dorothy also expressed her activist beliefs that art “is not a luxury for the few but a necessity for all in a community which aims to make the best of life.” 

I see resonances of this activism within RANSW in their advocacy for the regional arts, which is what drew me into wanting to work with them. In contemporary Australia where the arts are demonstrably underfunded and overlooked, it is organisations like RANSW who keep the arts alive in our culture, at a time where although we’re not experiencing the “madness of war” we do experience the increasing madness of life. 

In preparation for their 80th anniversary, Bea has uncovered the organisation’s archives and requires assistance to sift through them to find the gems that showcase RANSW history and the transcendental nature of the organisation’s work. Her objective is to create a “History” section for their website (https://regionalartsnsw.com.au/) as well as an 80th edition magazine and presentation for a conference where many potential donors will confer. My objective is to utilise my investigative, interrogative, creative, argumentative and synthesis skills as a student historian to assist Bea and the tight-knit team at RANSW to achieve this. 

The final project will eventualise into a “History” section for the RANSW website, as well as a catalogue of digitised archives. Bea also reacted enthusiastically to my proposal about assembling a time capsule for the organisation to mark 80 years and manifest it as a good omen for 80 more.