Book honours Australian Catholic educators

ACU Honorary Professor Anne Benjamin and her colleague Seamus O’Grady have recently edited a book that honours Australian Catholic educators in a unique way.

Not Forgotten, Australian Catholic Educators 1820-2020 is a timely publication in this year that celebrates the 200th anniversary of the founding of a school in Parramatta, which is regarded not as the first Catholic school in Australia, but as the earliest with living links to the present.

The book features 30 biographies of Catholic educators chosen for their noteworthy contribution or because they were considered representative of certain groups of Catholic educators. Biographies include early lay teachers of the colonial period, members of religious institutes who for some decades provided most teachers in Catholic schools, and lay teachers from more recent years. Eleven essays offering historical context and reflection add many valuable insights to the collection.

Not Forgotten, Australian Catholic Educators 1820-2020 is the first hard-copy publication for a much larger project: the Biographical Dictionary of Australian Catholic Educators (BDACE). This was created to keep alive the stories of the people of Catholic education in Australia and to inspire current and future teachers and leaders in Catholic schools. It is hoped the dictionary will become an invaluable online research tool for within ACU.

The brief stories of a handful of the many women and men who, since the early days of European settlement in Australia, have made a commitment, in the name of the gospel, to conduct schools for children – Catholic and otherwise – offer glimpses into Catholic education in this country.

This book ensures that the stories of those who forged Catholic education in Australia are not only not forgotten but are honoured appropriately, in a way which can inform and influence new generations of Catholic educators.

Not Forgotten, Australian Catholic Educators 1820-2020 is published by Coventry Press, Melbourne.

ACU Honorary Professor Anne Benjamin

 Co-editor Seamus O'Grady