Our Church Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Waitara
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Parish History

bullet At first, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish was included in the Pymble Parish (founded in 1883), which extended as far as Thornleigh and the Hawkesbury River, including part of the Hills District around Glenorie, Dural and Arcadia.
bullet 1893 to 1898 - Mass was celebrated bi-monthly, sometimes in a Mr Jackson's house at Hookham's corner.
bullet 1897 to 1898 - due to the overcrowding of the Babies Home at North Sydney, a Foundling Home was established at Waitara by the Sisters of Mercy of Monte Sant'Angelo.
bullet From 1898 - Mass was celebrated nearly every Sunday at Waitara in the Church-School that had been erected on the rear of an allotment of land facing Peat's Ferry Road (now Pacific Highway) and opposite the site of the present Waitara train station.
bullet Fathers Briody and Kirby travelled by the transport of the day (foot, bicycle, horseback or sulky) during those years.
bullet 22 November 1908 - the brickwork was at a stage that allowed the laying of the Foundation Stone by His Eminence, Cardinal Moran.
bullet In 1916, the area from Cockle Creek as far as the Hawkesbury River was cut off from the Pymble Parish and became that of Our Lady of the Rosary, Waitara.
bullet 1934/35 - extensions and alterations to the Church were completed.
bullet During Fr Farrell's ministry, the main altar, altar rails, pulpit and floor of the Sanctuary was replaced with marble.
bullet During Fr Foley's ministry, the altar rails were removed so that priest and people might worship as one body.
bullet The stained glass windows over the altar and front wall from the proceeds of a bequest from the estate of James and Bertha Quinn who had no family, but worked tirelessly during the periods that Fathers Nulty and Hawe were in charge of Our Lady of the Rosary Church.
bullet 1991 - the Church moved away from Pacific Highway, down Yardley Avenue, and on 25 August 1991, the foundation stone was laid by the Most Rev. Patrick Murphy.
bullet The main attaction of the new Church is the large stone wall with the stained glass window set in it. This gives the Church a traditional feel whilst having a modern design. The symbolism of the stone wall is that the stones represent the members of the parish as living stones fitting together neatly but in an irregular pattern, just as the parish members come from diverse backgrounds. We are all different but fit together as a cohesive community.
bullet 2001 - the establishment of a monthly Filipino mass in Tagalog.
bullet December 2002 - the establishment of a Diocesan Korean Chaplaincy centred in the Parish with Fr Philip Chun as Chaplain.
bullet February 2008 - Inauguration of OLOR as the Cathedral Parish of the Diocese of Broken Bay.

Parish Priests

Rev. Briody (PP of Pymble)built the Church in 1909
Rev. Patrick Nulty (first PP)1916 - 13 March 1931
Rev. William HaweMarch 1931 - 3 June 1943
Rev. Michael FarrellJune 1943 - 13 June 1967
Rev. Michael Baulman17 August 1967 - 30 June 1978
Rev. Paul Foley11 July 1978 - 1 June 1987
Rev. Colin Blayney5 June 1987 - January 2000
Rev. Paul FinucaneJanuary 2000 - December 2007
Most Rev. Bishop David WalkerMarch 2008 - present

Deans of the Cathedral

Rev. David TaylorApril 2008 - present

Assistant Priests

Rev. Thomas Carrick1916 - 1919
Rev. Patrick Conway1919 - 1927
Rev. Michael Sheehy1927 - 1932
Rev. Arthur Bambridge1932 - 1934
Rev. Charles Williams1934 - 1936
Rev. Jeremiah O'Sullivan1937 - 1939
Rev. George Solomon1939 - 1940
Rev. Patrick O'Rourke1941 - 1943
Rev. Thomas Leonard1943 - 1946
Rev. Gerald Smyth1946 - 1948
Rev. Denis Ryan1948 - 1950
Rev. James Byrne1950 - 1951
Rev. Robert Nolan1951 - 1956
Rev. John Noonan1956 - 1958
Rev. James Boberg1956
Rev. Laurie Cruikshank1957 - 1960
Rev. George Connolly1958 - 1961
Rev. Paul Cahalan1960 - 1964
Rev. John Heaps1961 - 1964
Rev. Patick McMaugh1964 - 1967
Rev. John Taylor1965
Rev. William Meacham1965 - 1968, 1977 - 1978
Rev. Frank Higgins1968
Rev. John Spora1970 - 1971
Rev. Daniel Lyons1971
Rev. Paul Hanna1972 - 1974
Deacon Denis Hunter1973 - 1974
Rev. Garry Lane1974
Rev. Gordon South1974 - 1975
Rev. Lex Johnson1975 - 1978
Rev. Phillip Wicks1978 - 1981
Rev. Paul Smith1981 - 1984
Rev. Colin Blayney1984 - 1987
Rev. Pamfilo Vergara1989 - 1991
Rev. Chris Williams1991 - 1995
Rev. Philip (Seaung Jin) Chun2003 - 2004
Rev. John Wakeling2004 - 2007
Rev. Joseph Chung2004 - present
Rev. John Hodgson CSsR, Administrator2007 - 2008
Rev. Mathew Chennath2007 - 2008
Rev. Geoff Bugden2008

Deacons

Kevin Hale2008 - present