Salesians in Australia

A disastrous enterprise

A group of Salesians was sent to the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 1922 at the request of Propaganda Fide. These first Salesians arrived in Broome only to find the Pallotine Fathers had been working there since 1901. The confusion was later resolved, and the Salesians moved south to the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1927.

Salesians move south

Fr Emmanuel Mannassero made the ambitious purchase of the stately mansion and property of “Rupertswood” Sunbury, Victoria — an enormous financial burden through the Great Depression of the early 1930s.

Fr Joseph Ciantar arrives

Fr Joseph Ciantar arrived in Australia in November 1938. Originally from Malta, he paid off the Rupertswood debt and established new works in Brunswick (Vic), Brooklyn Park (SA), Glenorchy (Tas), Oakleigh (Vic) and Engadine (NSW). A Novitiate was established on the Rupertswood property in 1941.

A separate province

In 1958 Australia was established as a separate province under the title of Mary Help of Christians, with Fr B. M. Fedrigotti as the first Provincial. Works expanded across schools, parishes and missions.

Pacific expansion

The Salesians arrived in Samoa in 1981. Works include Don Bosco Technical Centre, Alafua (1988), parishes in Sinamoga and Leauva’a, and Don Bosco House in Suva, Fiji. Vocations from Samoa have flourished.

There are currently approximately 107 Salesian priests and brothers in Australia, Samoa, New Zealand and Fiji. For more information visit Salesians Australasia.