Christus Pro Nobis Mortuus Est (Rom. v, 9)

From 'The New Zealand Tablet'

From Intercontinental of 'The New Zealand Tablet' of 6 August, 1906, (link here):

"The high honor of the freedom of the City of Kilkenny, conferred on Mr. Thomas Loughlin, of Ballarat - (nephew of the late Martin Loughlin), "who carried out the wishes of his uncle* and built a splendid church in that city, "has given very general satisfaction here" (writes the Melbourne correspondent of the 'Freeman's Journal'). With a lavish hand, Mr. Thomas Loughlin has disbursed "the means at his disposal during the past six or seven years of his residence, in Victoria. The Very Rev. Dean Phelan, V.G., received a cable from his Grace Archbishop Carr last week, that he and Bishop Higgins, of Ballarat, arrived in London on June 19, and on June 3 both prelates assisted, at the consecration of the new parish church, Kilkenny, Mr. Loughlin being also amongst the visitors. The church, which is allowed to be one of the most perfect examples of Gothic; architecture in Ireland, cost £30,000."

The Marriage of Martin Gleeson, witnessed by Martin O'Loughlin

Original text found here:

Martin Gleeson's tombstone carries the words "A native of Gowran Kilkenny". He was baptised there at the Roman Catholic Church on 28th September 1825, with Thos. Butler and Judy Dunphy as sponsors. This was around the time of the Tithes War which started in County Kilkenny, and added to the political tension as Catholic farmers were objecting to paying tithes to the Established Church of Ireland. It coincided with a period of recession when both the price of corn and livestock slumped simultaneously. The mid 1840s then saw the Irish Potato famine which caused the death of a million people in Ireland and the emigration of another one and a half million. It appears that the Gleeson family made the decision to joined the emigrants and over a few years Martin and seven brothers and their parents all arrived in Australia. The names of his brothers were John, Patrick, Edward, Michael who were older than Martin, and Joseph, Thomas and James who were younger.

Martin travelled to Australia via the ship "Constance", from Plymouth, England, and disembarked at Melbourne on 28th November 1850. He was an assisted immigrant recorded as an intermediate passenger, with his occupation shown as Labourer; religion as RC; year of birth as c1825 and place as Kilkenny, Ireland.

The "Constance" was a barque of 578 tons, measuring 120.5' x 26.8' x 19.8', built at Ayre's Quay, Co. Durham in 1848 by William Henry Parson. It sailed under the command of Capt. John Bulwer Godfrey.

On 15 February 1855, at St Mary's Catholic Church, Geelong, Martin, then aged 30, married Margaret Butler, originally from Coan, Kilkenny, but then of "The Springs","(now known as Waubra) Victoria, although the marriage certificate show "The Heads". Martin's occupation is shown as "Shopkeeper". The celebrant was Fr John A Parker and witnesses were Martin Loughlin and Bridget McNally.

This Martin Loughlin was also a native of Kilkenny and was destined to become one of the richest men in the colony of Victoria through his membership of a small syndicate whose "Band of Hope" mine yielded a world famous treasure of millions of pounds worth of gold. There is no evidence that Martin Gleeson was a member of the syndicate, although there is a story that he once handed Martin Loughlin 2 handsfull of sovereigns to overcome a cash shortage to complete a project, so perhaps he was repaid generously. Martin Loughlin died unmarried. He gave generously to charities. One of his legacies was for the erection of a church in Kilkenny city, large enough to hold 1,000 people. It is named St John the Evangelist" and cost 40, 000 pounds to erect late in the 19th century.

The parents of the bride and groom were respectively shown as Maurice Butler, farmer, and Anne O'Brien, and Edward Gleeson, shopkeeper, and Mary Lyons.

The bride's father was a descendant of the Butlers who originated from the appointment by King Henry 11 of England of Theobald de Valognes, a Norman Knight, as his chief Butler for Ireland in 1185. The office became the surname in the same manner as did that of Steward, Marshall or Chamberlain. Their original seat or home was at Gowran, Kilkenny, but early in the 13th century they purchased Kilkenny Castle from the descendants of the Norman Knight, Strongbow, and moved into Kilkenny city where it is located.

The Mercy Convent, Ballarat

On January 10, 1881, five Sisters of Mercy came to Ballarat East. Until then they had been members of the community at Warrnambool, having been there since their arrival from Ireland in May 1872. The Sisters of this community were Mother M. Agnes Graham, her sister Sister M. Philomene Graham, Sister M. Joseph Howard, Sister M. Xavier Flood and Sister M. Brigid Cousins.

They took up residence in a cottage on the corner of King and Victoria Streets. Thus was the beginning of what would become Sacred Heart Convent of Mercy and the birth of the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy Ballarat East.

Who was Mother M. Agnes Graham? We have few details of this lady. Born in 1839 in Belfast, County Antrim, Charlotte was the daughter of Hugh Graham and Charlotte Selina Savage. The date of her birth is not known, but she was baptised in Belfast on April 29, 1839.

Charlotte’s parents were wealthy and sent their daughter to the Sacre Coeur Convent in London. According to her younger sister, Josephine (Sister M. Philomene), their father, very proud of his beautiful and accomplished daughter, planned a marriage of elevated social standing for Charlotte. Charlotte, however, had other plans and after the celebrations for her twenty-first birthday were over, she quietly left for Baggot Street, leaving a letter for her parents. Her father vowed never to see her again, but her mother visited her whenever it was permissible. Fortunately her father eventually relented and in 1868 both parents consented to Josephine’s also becoming a Sister of Mercy.

Australia Calling
Charlotte had entered at Baggot Street in 1860, and in 1862 was a member of the foundation community, led by Mother M. Philomene Maguire, which went to Worcester, England. While in Worcester, Sister M. Agnes travelled to Liverpool to gain her teaching qualifications. Although the Worcester foundation was not a success, the Sisters struggled there for ten years before returning to Ireland and Ballyjamesduff. This foundation also did not prosper. As a result, when Bishop James Alipius Goold came to Baggot Street seeking Sisters of Mercy for the Western District in Victoria, Australia, there were Sisters ready to offer their services. The fact that Mother M. Philomene Maguire’s sister, Mother M. Xavier was superior of the community founded in Geelong, Victoria, may have been an added incentive.

Arrival In Australia
On February 7, 1872 Mother M. Philomene Maguire, her assistant Sister M. Agnes Graham, and six companions left London on the ‘Windsor Castle’ for Melbourne. Three months later, on May 6, the ‘Windsor Castle’ arrived in Melbourne. The Argus, A Melbourne daily newspaper, carried the following announcement:

WINDSOR CASTLE, ship (Messrs Green’s Blackwall line) 1,074 tons, Chas. Dinsdale, from London February 7. Start Point February 11. Passengers – cabin: Misses Graham, J. Graham, O’Mara, Wingfield, Howard, Flood, and Cousins (Sisters of Mercy), Mrs. Elizabeth Stodart, Mrs. Louisa Stodart, Mrs. Maguire, Mr. And Mrs. Pritchard and family (8), Miss Stodart, Miss Reidy, Miss Steggles, Dr. Thomas Somerville, Messrs Robt Stodart, Burton; and 27 in the second and third cabins. J. H. White and Co., agents.

A further announcement in The Argus the same day, and repeated in The Geelong Advertiser the following day, advised that:

“the seven Sisters of Mercy, who arrived on Monday in the Blackwall liner Windsor Castle, from London, were landed at Queenscliffe, and then proceeded overland to Geelong to the Convent there”.

The Advocate, a Melbourne Catholic weekly newspaper, also let its readers know that seven Sisters of Mercy had arrived from Ireland:

Seven Sisters of Mercy – Mesdames Graham, J. Graham, O’Meara, Wingfield, Howard, Flood and Cousins – arrived at Queenscliffe, from Ireland by the ship Windsor Castle on Monday last. The Windsor Castle left London on the 7th of February, and on the whole made a pleasant passage. The Sisters proceeded overland from Queenscliffe to the Convent of the Order at Geelong. Their lot will ultimately be cast in a distant mission of the colony. May 11, 1872.

The announcements were not quite correct, however, as there were actually eight, not seven, Sisters of Mercy. The reporters probably would have been forgiven for the error as Mother M. Philomene Maguire was entered on the Cabin Passengers list as ‘Ann Maguire, married, 45 years of age’.

According to the shipping report in The Argus, the ‘Windsor Castle’ was a ‘comfortable passenger ship’ and the ‘accommodation for passengers for all classes is ample, the ‘tween decks especially being very roomy and well ventilated, and the saloon is after the same style as the other well-known ships of her fleet’. For most of the voyage, they experienced pleasant weather. This voyage was the first this ship had made to Melbourne.

The ‘Windsor Castle’ carried a varied cargo: malt, hops, beer, liquors, oils, paints, drugs, chemicals, perfumery and fancy goods, stationery, pickles, kippered herrings, grindstones, linoleum, Bradford’s patent Vowel washing, wringing and mangling machines, macaroni, vermicelli, kerosene globes to mention just a few, all very welcome in the colony.

A New Foundation
“the rev. mother and one of the nuns left for Warrnambool and Belfast, with the object of ascertaining which will be the most eligible place for the establishment of a new convent, nine sisters being expected out from the parent house in Dublin.”After some time in Geelong, Mother M. Philomene and her community left for Warrnambool in the Western District, the place chosen for the new foundation. It would appear that the Sisters of Mercy, Geelong may have had the deciding vote for the establishment of this new foundation as it is reported in The Advocate, April 6, 1872 that the day after a Profession Ceremony at the convent, “the rev. mother and one of the nuns left for Warrnambool and Belfast, with the object of ascertaining which will be the most eligible place for the establishment of a new convent, nine sisters being expected out from the parent house in Dublin.”

In Warrnambool the Sisters worked hard, conducting both a day school and boarding school. Those who had left Ireland as novices made their Profession, Sister Brigid Cousins on May 11, 1872 and Srs. M. Xavier and Joseph on February 8, 1874, the ceremonies being held in St. Joseph’s Church. Other young women joined the community and were received into the Order. The Advocate of April 5, 1879, reported the reception of Mary Lambert of Goulburn, New South Wales; and on August 6, 1881 the reception of Katherine Campbell of Emerald Hill (Melbourne), Sarah Campbell of Colac, and Eugenie de Pazanan of Marseilles, but later, Ballarat. (With the exception of Sarah Campbell, the other three would eventually become members of the Ballarat East community.)

The Ballarat Foundation
It was then decided that it was time to make a foundation in Ballarat. Mother M. Agnes Graham was chosen as Superior of the community, her companions being her sister, Sister M Philomene Graham, Sister M. Joseph, Sister M. Xavier Flood and Sister Brigid Cousins, a lay Sister, all having come together to Australia on the ‘Windsor Castle.’

It appears that expectation for Sisters of Mercy to come to Ballarat had arisen some years previously. On February 10, 1872, The Advocate contained the following announcement:

Convent Of Mercy At Ballarat
We understand that the Very Rev. Dean Moore, with the approval of His Lordship the Bishop, proposes to invite the establishment of a branch of the Order of Mercy at Ballarat. But as plans for carrying out the design are not yet matured, we shall defer further notice of the subject till some future date. On questions of so much interest we are unwilling at all times to make premature announcements, or to indulge in hazardous conjecture. In our case there is no reason or necessity for doing so.

There seems to have been no further news of the Sisters of Mercy until December 4 1880, when The Advocate reported that Very Rev. Dr. Moore announced their expected arrival within the next few weeks. Then a few weeks later another announcement:

Diocese Of Ballarat
The Community of Sisters of Mercy referred to by me some time ago as coming to Ballarat will, I hear, arrive very shortly. The place selected for their residence is, it seems, in the Melbourne road. The locality is a very beautiful one, and, doubtless the Catholics of Ballarat East will be glad to have the good Sisters located among them. The refining influences of such exemplary and highly cultivated ladies cannot fail to have a most beneficial effect on society at large throughout the whole community. The Advocate January 8, 1881. They arrived on Monday, January 10, 1881.

Agnes Graham’s Ballarat
In her book They Came Uninvited - A Short History of Sacred Heart College, Ballarat East 1881-1994, Sister Anne Forbes RSM (Ballarat East) describes Ballarat as it was when the Sisters of Mercy arrived there.

Unlike many other gold towns which had known temporary prosperity at the time of the gold rushes, Ballarat was not to become a ghost town. Quite the contrary. Mechanical industries were forging ahead; pastoral interests were never more satisfactory; hopeful expectations prevailed amongst agriculturists; and Ballarat was to the forefront in the expansion of mining, which was promising excellent results. The Ballarat Courier newspaper painted a rosy picture of Victoria in its leading article on New Year’s Day.

“We have not even so much as the measles epidemic to upset the equanimity to our minds and worry our bodies, for that epidemic is rapidly disappearing. We are, in short, at peace with everybody, and at peace with ourselves – sound in body, sound in social circumstances, sound in all material advantages – so that everything with us when entering upon the new year, is clothed in the brightest of colours and aspects.”

The commercial life of the town was booming. Judging by the advertisements in the daily newspapers, the provision of fashionable clothing was very profitable. Recycling was quite an acceptable practice. Straw hats were cleaned, dyed and altered to all the newest styles and trimmed fashionably. Feathers, too, were offered for sale after being cleaned and dyed new colours. Even in the 1880s, baldness was a problem and a chemist and druggist in Bridge Street offered a hair restorer for 3/6 with the promise that it “promotes new growth, and a single bottle will positively restore hair to its natural colour in a few days.” Some goods were quite expensive. Artificial teeth, for example, cost five guineas a set. Cash was readily available because moneylenders were plentiful. Solicitors, tobacconists, and gold brokers were amongst those who were happy to add money lending to the services they offered to the public. All in all, Ballarat was a bustling hive of activity, where businessmen and mine managers dreamt dreams of continuing affluence.

Not all shared in the prosperity, however. Beggars, thieves, and drunkards kept the Justices of the Peace busy in the City Police Court. Women were frequently the offenders in these cases, and it often appears that there was a connection between mental illness and petty crime.

Children were going to feature prominently in the Sisters’ apostolic endeavours, and it is interesting to read the sort of misdemeanours they commonly committed:

“…breaking windows, stoning cats, stealing apples, letting off fireworks in the streets, cutting their names on doors, breaking shrubs and plants, and otherwise rendering themselves generally obnoxious.” Ballarat Courier, January 3 1881.

The punishment for such “crimes” in the recent past had been to send children to prison for a limited period or give them a good sound flogging so as to inflict the maximum of physical pain but cause no permanent injury.

At first sight, it would seem that in Ballarat, the prevailing mood was also quite religious, for the Courier reminded its readers:

“We should also not fail to bear in mind that to a benign Providence we are indebted for all the advantages we enjoy …..The curse of atheism, or any other “ism” of an equally baneful kind, has happily not found a home here.”

A closer scrutiny of the newspapers of the day shows, however, that the sectarianism that characterised the 1870’s after the passing of the Education Act in 1872 was still very much alive. A long article was published on the expulsion of priests (notably Jesuits) from France and the first reason given for the action of the French Government was that the Jesuits had protested against public schools. The editor of the Ballarat Courier concludes his leader by applauding the French Republic which “has thus purged itself of what was proving itself a great pest; and the lesson thus conveyed to other races is both interesting and instructive.”

The Church here in Ballarat had critics from within its own ranks too. A letter to the Courier on February 14, 1881, signed “A Catholic” complained of the Irish priests: “If all the Catholic priests now being imported for foreign missions are of the same class as we get in this country, it is not to be wondered at if the old faith is fast crumbling to dust. The large number of rough youngsters we get out annually from All Hallows College turn their attention to politics and money-making.”

“As we have no quarrel with the fair sex of any denomination we take the earliest opportunity to assure these ladies that our leader of yesterday did not in any way refer to them.”In the light of these prevailing attitudes, it is not surprising that when the Sisters of Mercy finally arrived in Ballarat, one of the first things they had to contend with was a leading article in the Courier of January 14 pointing out the welcome which was extended to newcomers in Victoria as long as they did not join “with their refractory brethren here of the Church of Rome, to agitate or intrigue against our Education Act, or do anything that would cause the least annoyance to France.” As this article specifically mentioned the Sisters of Mercy, the newly arrived community or someone championing their cause must have protested immediately because the following day, the Courier was quick to try to set the record straight. To reassure their readers that the newcomers were not French refugees, they reported (inaccurately) that “English, Scotch, and Irish Sisters of Mercy had lately arrived in Ballarat” and they added – “As we have no quarrel with the fair sex of any denomination we take the earliest opportunity to assure these ladies that our leader of yesterday did not in any way refer to them.”

On a more mundane level, the nuns would have had to cope with another unpleasant factor – the Ballarat weather. The summer of 1881 was a particularly hot one, and the temperature registered 102 degrees in the shade on several days in January. Lorries carrying large blocks of ice, each weighing 250 pounds, were a familiar sight as they travelled up Lydiard Street to the Ballarat Ice Company, ensuring local residents a constant supply during the summer months. Many cases of sunstroke were reported in the district resulting in all kinds of aberrant behaviour. In one bizarre incident, the victim of sunstroke had to be restrained after he had climbed up the pole of a dovecote and strangled several pigeons! Without the luxury of air conditioning, the Irish Sisters in their heavy black habits must have found the heat very oppressive.


Arrival in Ballarat
For the first year, the community rented a small place in Victoria Street, but before the end of the year, they acquired the home of a Mr. Thomas Wood for 800 pounds. This cottage, which stood on the corner of King and Victoria Streets, was the very picture of Victorian respectability. It looked little different from others along the street, with its small old-world garden, fish pond, and monkey-puzzle tree.”

The Advocate continued to supply its readers with information about the new Mercy community in Ballarat. On January 22, 1881 they reported:

The five members of the community of the Sisters of Mercy have arrived in Ballarat East, and taken up their residence there. Some of them have already commenced to superintend the tuition of the female classes in the local Catholic schools. This ought to give a still higher tone to morality amongst our peoples.

And on March 26:

On Monday afternoon I paid a visit to the residence of the Sisters of Mercy, in Melbourne-road, being desirous of knowing how these good nuns like to be located amongst us in Ballarat. I need scarcely say that I was received in a most polite and friendly manner, and I was very much pleased to hear that the community like Ballarat very well. As previously mentioned in the Advocate, there are five of the sisterhood here – the Mother Superior, Sister Mary Philomene, Sister Mary Joseph, Sister Mary Xavier, and Sister Mary Brigid. The good Sisters have had their hands full of work since they came, and, doubtless, an addition to the community would lighten their labours. Three of the Sisters have care of the female children in St. Alipius’ School – about three hundred – and the other two remain at home and teach a ladies’ school, giving instruction in music to pupils from other schools. The good Sisters engage in the visitation of the sick on Saturdays and Sundays, and as soon as arrangements are made they will also visit the sick in the hospital. I hope to have some pleasing notices of their labours to chronicle by-an’-by.

During the next few years, Mother M. Agnes and her community remained closely associated with Mother M. Philomene Maguire and the Warrnambool community. The Ballarat East community grew as novices and/or newly professed Sisters transferred from Warrnambool. As well, they acquired more property, for both the community and the secondary school commenced almost immediately after the Sisters’ arrival. Money was raised mostly as the result of the Sisters’ hard work, although there were some gifts: five hundred pounds left to them by Bishop O’Connor in April 1883, “for the establishment of a convent for the Sisters of Mercy”; occasional gifts of 50 or 100 pounds from a generous benefactor, Martin Loughlin, J.P.; and annually on Good Friday, an appeal was made at the Cathedral for the Sisters’ work for the poor.

During 1881, Sister Brigid Cousins (lay Sister) returned to Warrnambool, Sr Catherine Carroll replacing her. The following year Srs. M. Austin (Bridget Howley) and Sister M. Ignatius (Mary Lambert) joined the community. In 1883 Srs. M. Evangelist (Katherine Campbell) and M. de Sales (Eugenie de Pazanan) came to Ballarat East.

Sisters of Mercy, Ballarat East
In 1884 some changes occurred. First, the communities of Warrnambool and Ballarat East became independent of each other, the Ballarat East Chapter Acts recording that “Sister Mary Agnes Graham was appointed first Superioress, July 5, 1884.” Next, young women who had entered at Ballarat East were received into the Order and made Profession of Vows there.

The first two postulants to enter at Ballarat East were Honora Furey, from Warrenheip, a few miles east from Ballarat, and Winifred Drennan, from Crossley in Western Victoria. They were received on July 11, 1885, The Advocate of July 18 recording the event:

Recently two young ladies had the very great happiness of receiving the white veil. Their names were Miss Fury (in religion Sister Mary Baptist) and Miss Drennan (Margaret Mary), the latter was lay Sister. The interesting ceremony, which took place at the Convent of Mercy, Ballarat East was performed by the Bishop, who also celebrated Mass and officiated at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Rev. Professor Delany, of All Hallows’ College, preached a most instructive sermon on the Religious life. The ceremony was quite private.

Thus Mother M. Agnes’s community grew, and, no doubt, their work also. They were now responsible for two schools, St. Alipius’, the local primary school and a secondary school, eventually to become known as Sacred Heart College, Ballarat East.

Another Foundation
By 1887, when the Ballarat East community numbered sixteen, it was considered possible to respond to Father Michael Nelan’s request for a Mercy foundation at Colac, Victoria. The Sisters chosen for this community were Mother M. Agnes Graham; Sisters M. Ignatius Lambert and M. Austin, both having entered at Warrnambool and coming to Ballarat East a few years later; Sister M. Magdalen Ryan, a novice; and Bedelia Moloney, a postulant who had entered on January 6, only a few days before the departure for Colac.

The story is told that the night before the Sisters left for Colac, Mother M. Agnes decreed that there was to be no noise or leave-taking before Mass the following morning. So farewells were said before the Sisters retired, those remaining in Ballarat having been told to have a “long” sleep. The travellers left at 6 a.m. and as their train left from the Ballarat East station and they went to the windows to take a last glimpse of the convent, they saw from each upper storey window of the convent a hand waving a flag. As decreed, no silence had been broken, there was no noisy farewell. It was January 10 1888.

In Colac, as in Warrnambool and Ballarat East, the Sisters were immediately involved in the primary and secondary schools, as well as giving religious instruction in neighbouring country districts.

As with Warrnambool and Ballarat East, close contact between the Ballarat East and Colac communities was maintained for some time. Decisions for reception and profession were made and recorded in the Ballarat East Chapter Acts.

Within two years of its foundation, Colac had become self-supporting and another decision faced Mother M. Agnes. She was given the choice of returning to Ballarat, where her sister, Sister M. Philomene was acting Superior, or remaining in Colac. She chose the latter. This must have been a very difficult decision for her as some of those in the Ballarat East community, including her sister, had been her companions since leaving Ireland in 1872.

End of the Beginning
It was now time for the Ballarat East community to elect a new Superior. On June 20, 1890 Sister M. Xavier Flood was appointed Superioress of Ballarat East. Mother M. Agnes continued to work and to train the postulants and novices in Colac until she became seriously ill in 1894. Then, at her request, the Bishop relieved her of the office of Superior, her place being taken by Sister M. Magdalen Ryan who had come to Colac with her.

Mother M. Agnes had a great devotion to Our Lady, especially to her in her Immaculate Conception. She died on December 7 1894, on the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her obituary, printed in The Advocate on December 15, told, among other things, of her humility, gentleness, patience, and of the lasting impression she made on her pupils with her practical instructions and encouragement. The Catholics of Ballarat East, no less than those in Colac, were grieved at the news of her death.

Diocese of Ballarat
The Advocate, December 15, 1894
From our own Correspondent

I regret to have to announce the death of Mother Agnes, Superioress of the Convent of Mercy, Colac, on the 7th inst. Mother Agnes’s death is deeply regretted by the Catholics of Ballarat East, and especially by her former pupils, as she endeared herself to them while she had charge of the convent there. The deceased lady was a native of Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland, her father being Hugh Graham, Esq., of Mountview, and her mother Charlotte, daughter of Colonel Francis William Savage, of Glastry, County Down, Ireland. Her highly cultured mind was proof of the care bestowed on her education, both in her own home and at the convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton, London, where she was distinguished among her companions for her strict observance of rules, her solid piety, and, above all, for her tender devotion to the Mother of God. It may be mentioned here that, as a religious, when instructing her pupils, she loved to expatiate on the privileges bestowed by God on the Queen of Heaven, and tried especially to inspire them with devotion to Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, on which feast she was, while with the nuns of the Sacred Heart, consecrated to Our Lady in the Sodality of the Children of Mary. Singular that it was on the eve of this feast she calmly expired. Having completed her education, she returned to her native city, and for two years seemed in doubt as to whether God called her to become a religious in the Order of the Sacred Heart or in the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy. She sought light in prayer, and found it; she decided to join the Order of Mercy, her choice being determined by her tender love for the poor, among whom she, as a Sister of Mercy, expected to spend her life. Accordingly, in June 1862, she entered the motherhouse of the Order, Baggot-street, Dublin among the candidates for the English mission. On the arrival in Worcester of the little community of which she was a member, it was found that schools conducted by uncertificated teachers were not entitled to the Government grant. Determined to commence work on the best possible footing, she was one of those chosen by the superior to go up to Liverpool, where she passed a highly creditable Government examination, and returning to Worcester with her certificate gave every possible satisfaction to the inspectors, by whom she was much esteemed. In 1872 she arrived in Victoria, where, with her community, she opened a house of the Order of Mercy in Warrnambool, and, after labouring for ten years there, was sent as superior to establish another house in Ballarat East. The Bishop of Ballarat wishing to have a community of nuns in Colac, accompanied by four of her sisters, she arrived there in January, 1888 where, until incapacitated by sickness, she laboured in the beautiful little convent erected for the community through the exertions of Fr. Nelan. Many of the pupils of the deceased, who are now themselves nuns, attest to the lasting impression made on them by her solid, practical instructions. The most uninteresting subjects were entered into with eagerness by the pupils when explained by the painstaking, patient, and gentle religious. The poor whom she visited are not likely to forget the kind smile and encouraging words that have so often during the past consoled them. But it was not in the school-room nor in the homes of the poor that this admirable religious was so worthy of our admiration. To understand the sterling virtues of the deceased it is necessary to follow her through the daily duties of religious life. What has been remarked of some saintly Jesuit might also have been said of her – that if the rule of the Order were lost we should find it reproduced in her. During her whole religious life she was remarkable for her fidelity in little things, her humble submission to superiors, seeing God alone in them, and her heroic charity. But it is not surprising that she practised these virtues in such an eminent degree, when we consider her deep humility, esteeming herself the least of all her religious sisters, and treating them with the utmost deference and respect. Last May, when she found that her illness had assumed a serious aspect, and that she was no longer able to fulfil her duties as superior, she applied to the Bishop for leave to resign her office. His Lordship, with his usual discrimination, saw the wisdom of her request, and kindly complied with it. When relieved from the office of superior she devoted herself with the utmost resignation, cheerfulness, and confidence in God to prepare for her passage to eternity, her only regret being the inconvenience she feared her illness might cause to her sisters. It was, perhaps, during her long and painful sickness that her virtues shone most brilliantly. When the end drew near she spoke of death so calmly that it was evident she was wholly detached from this world and self, and that all her hopes were centred in the promise made by our Lord to those who forsake all to follow Him by the practice of the evangelical counsels. She was fully conscious when the hours of death came, her last act being to make the sign of the Cross, and then, surrounded by her sorrowing sisters, she calmly expired at a quarter to twelve on the night of the 7th inst. Her revered remains were placed in the little chapel of the convent, where crowds came to take a last look at the placid face of the religious whom they had loved in this life. On Sunday evening the coffin was borne by the members of the Young Men’s Society, accompanied by the Bishop, Fr. Nelan, and the sisters, to St. Mary’s Church, where it remained until Monday morning. Requiem Mass was celebrated by the Rev. Fr. McBride, assisted by Frs. Moriarty and Shine, His Lordship, with Frs. Nelan and Herbert, also being present. About a quarter past 12 the funeral procession formed, the Hibernian Society, the Children of Mary, and school children preceding the hearse, after which came a long cortege of vehicles. The Bishop officiated at the grave, where now lie the mortal remains of one who generously sacrificed friends, country, and self to follow the Divine call, and whose admirable spirit and holy works will, we trust, live after her.

R.I.P.

Tom Corrigan (1851-1894), Martin Loughlin's jockey

From the Australian Dictionary of National Biography's entry on Tom Corrigan by John Ritchie:

"Tom (Tommy) Corrigan (1851-1894), jockey and trainer, was born in County Meath, Ireland, son of Thomas Corrigan and his wife Bridget, née Carney. In 1864 the family migrated to Victoria where he worked for his father on a dairy farm near Woodford. At 14 Tom rode his own mare, Juliet, to victory in the hack steeplechase at the Woodford publicans' picnic race meeting, won a saddle, and persuaded his father to allow him to leave home and join the stable of Tozer & Moran at Warrnambool. He served his apprenticeship in the bush circuit of the Western District, had his first mount at Flemington in 1867 and rode in the Melbourne Cup in 1872. By 1877 he was settled in Ballarat where he found a patron, Martin Loughlin. For over a decade the combination of Loughlin owner, Wilson trainer and Corrigan jockey dominated the Melbourne and Victorian country race-courses. Corrigan also rode at city and country tracks in New South Wales and Tasmania; on Loughlin's retirement he set himself up at Caulfield. In 1866-94 Corrigan had 238 wins, 135 seconds and 95 thirds from 788 starts. He won seven Grand Nationals: the Victoria Racing Club's Grand National Hurdle on Sir Peter and Grand National Steeplechase on Great Western, Wymlet and Game; and the Victoria Amateur Turf Club's Grand National Steeplechase on Left Bower, Game and Sir Wilfred.

Corrigan was small even by jockeys' standards and proudly sported a huge moustache. Contemporaries saw him as 'a merry hearted little Irishman', courteous, devoted to his Church and family, generous, unfailing in good temper, and superstitious though pretending not to be; even Henry Lawson in his agonizings warmed to Corrigan's bright smile. He was not an artistic horseman but was strong and game, with a fine sense of pace which enabled him to handle the most fractious mount. To the Age, which usually found racing 'morally dubious', he was a model of fair dealing and unquestionable integrity. He always rode to win. This combination of temper, capability and 'straightness' ensured his fame. The Argus acclaimed him the most popular and best cross-country rider in Australia and doubted whether England could boast a superior, Banjo Paterson wrote a poem about him, and Thomas Haydon saw him as an institution: 'The first inquiry backers made on reaching a race-course would be “What's Corrigan riding?”'

On 11 August 1894 his mount, Waiter, fell in the Caulfield Grand National Steeplechase and Corrigan suffered laceration of the brain. Next day crowds waited outside his home and prayers were offered at St Francis's Church. He died early on the 13th without regaining consciousness. Though once worth £15,000, Corrigan died poor. A fund was opened for his young widow Robena, née Jamieson, and two children. His funeral was reputed the largest Melbourne had known. Before the cortège left his home, the route from Caulfield to the Melbourne general cemetery was lined with thousands and by 2 p.m. Swanston Street was 'one mass of humanity'. Road traffic was suspended for two hours, flags flew at half-mast and shops closed. A hundred jockeys and trainers preceded the hearse, Corrigan's boots and green and white jacket rested on his coffin, and the procession was two miles (3.2 km) long; carriages, horsemen and pedestrians, from chairmen of committees to mere stable lads. Among the cartloads of wreaths one was from Governor and Lady Hopetoun, another shaped as a horseshoe from some urchin newsboys. 'A stranger would have imagined that the remains of some great warrior or statesman were being conveyed to the grave'.

In the depressed 1890s hungry-eyed men at race-courses seeking money, escape and perhaps a new identity saw Corrigan as a man they could trust, a cross-class phenomenon who brought colour into the darkness and misery of many lives."

The Count and Father Hackett, S.J.

Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne

From: The riddle of Father Hackett: a priest in politics in Ireland and Australia, by Brenda Niall.

p. 153 ff."...William Hackett was given his parallel mission: to found a library that would help to educate Melbourne Catholics to know their faith and to take their place in the world... One of the first and most important patrons of the Library was a Kilkenny man, Count Thomas O'Loughlin. Hackett met the Count in 1923, when he and Murphy, then both at Xavier, were invited to O'Loughlin's home, Tara Hall, in Studley Park Road near Raheen. In this neo-Elizabethan mansion, complete with turrets and gargoyles, spacious reception rooms and a splendid staircase, O'Loughlin lived in state, with a manservant and a cook, several maids, and a governess for his daughters. All this came from a legacy. The archetypical of the rich uncle who struck lucky at the goldfields was the literal truth for the O'Loughlins. Martin Loughlin (1833-1894), born into a farming family in Kilkenny, made such a large fortune on the Victorian goldfields and in subsequent speculations in land, hotels and racehorses, that even the 1890s depression left him relatively untroubled. He died leaving an estate of £250,000.

His nephew Thomas, the ultimate beneficiary, came to Australia, where he passed on large portions of his wealth to the Catholic Church. One spectacular gift was the Church of St. John the Evangelist, which he endowed in his native Kilkenny in 1908. On his wedding day in 1911, Thomas was given the papal title in recognition of his benefactions. The farmer's son became Count O'Loughlin and his bride was addressed as Countess. Like everyone else in Kilkenny, Hackett and Murphy grew with the stories of Martin Loughlin's luck and the nephew's inheritance; they knew the Church that was built on Australian gold.

In the first five years of the Central Catholic Library, O'Loughlin was its main patron. Hackett became a family friend and visitor to Tara Hall, which was so close to Raheen that he could call on the Count before seeing the Archbishop. For O'Loughliin, as for few others, Mannix made a small adjustment to his policy of never accepting private hospitality. Except on a condolence visit in 1925, when the Countess died, he would not enter the front door of Tara, but at least once he crossed Studley Park Road and stood for a talk in his neighbour's garden. He brought the Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr. Duhig, and Cardinal Cerretti, the Apostolic Delegate of the time, his guests at Raheen. Two purple birettas and one scarlet cap made a brilliant spectacle for the little O'Loughlin girls. 'Look, look! Three popes in the garden!' one of them called to her governess.

When his wife died, Thomas O'Loughlin gave up Tara for a smaller house in Hawthorne. His own death in 1929 left five daughters to the care of an aunt from Ireland. Hackett did not forget the friendship, though five girls, the eldest only 17, strained his social resources. Card games were the best he could do: bridge or solo. He did not care for cards, nor did the O'Loughlin girls, but politeness on both sides kept them at the table..."

p 172 "Most important, in the early years of the library, was that other Kilkenny man, Count O'Loughlin, who wrote in 1927 that he would have great pleasure in paying the next year's rent of the Collins Street building. 'I shall also put my hand to raising the £10,000 you hope to reach within the next twelve months,' O'Loughlin added. His death in 1929, just as the Depression hit hard, was a serious setback."

Old St. John's

Exterior and interior images of the old St. John's Church in Kilkenny that was to be replaced by the O'Loughlin Memorial Church dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. The images are from the National Library of Ireland's online collection.

Old Images of the O'Loughlin Memorial Church

Archive images of the O'Loughlin Memorial Church from the National Library of Ireland online catalogue.

The Australian Connection

Interior of old St. Michael's Church, Athy

The Australian Connection

From the weekly column of Frank Taaffe

‘THIS altar rail was erected and the sanctuary adorned by Count Thomas J O’Loughlin, Melbourne to the memory of his beloved wife Kathleen’. So read the opening lines of the inscription on the plaque which graced the sanctuary of St Michael’s Church which was demolished following the last mass celebrated there on 24 September 1960. Who was Thomas O’Loughlin and what connection, if any, did he or his wife Kathleen have with Athy?

Thomas O’Loughlin was born Thomas Laughlin in Castlewarren a few miles on the Carlow side of Kilkenny city in 1869. His uncle Martin, who emigrated to Australia following the Great Famine and made his fortune in the goal mines of Ballarat, died in 1894. His nephews Thomas and Martin Laughlin were appointed executors of his will and both went ‘down under’ four years later to administer their uncle’s vast estate. Under the terms of the will funds were to be made available to build a church in memory of the O’Loughlin family in either Australia or Ireland.

The parish priest of the rural parish of Castlewarren did not accept the offer of a new church and eventually fortune favoured the Kilkenny city parish of St Johns where the O’Loughlin family had acquired a substantial property. The O’Loughlin Memorial Church of St John the Evangelist, built in the Gothic style, was completed in 1908 after nine years work at a cost of approximately £40,000.00. The church was consecrated on 28 June 1908 and in the following month word came from Rome that Pope Pius X had conferred the title of Knight of St Gregory the Great on Thomas O’Loughlin.

On returning to Australia Thomas Laughlin, now known as O’Loughlin, made the acquaintance of a Kilkenny born nun in a Melbourne convent. On a subsequent visit to Ireland he visited the family of Nicholas Murphy of Ballybur, brother of that nun and met Murphy’s daughter Kathleen whom he was to marry in 1911. The wedding ceremony took place on 27 September 1911, presided over by Bishop Brownrigg of Kilkenny, assisted by a number of clerics including Canon Mackey PP who was described as ‘an uncle of the bride’.

This then was the Athy connection with Count Thomas O’Loughlin as Canon Mackey had been appointed parish priest of Athy just two years previously.

Five daughters were born to Thomas O’Loughlin and his wife Kathleen who had returned to live in the vast O’Loughlin estate in Australia. Tragically on 1 August 1925 following the birth of their first son Kathleen O’Loughlin died, as did the baby boy. She was just 44 years of age. Count O’Loughlin died four years later, aged 63.

Subsequent court proceedings delayed administration of Count O’Loughlin’s will. It was not until 1936 that a Melbourne court ruled on the disputed will and a subsequent appeal to the Australian High Court found in favour of the count’s last will and testament.

I have not seen the count’s will but clearly he had decided to donate funds to his late wife’s uncle, Canon Mackey, ‘to erect altar rails and decorate the sanctuary of St Michael’s Athy.’ What form the sanctuary decorations took I cannot say. Canon Mackey had in the meantime died on 31 March 1928 but the installation of the altar rails went ahead in 1937.

The photograph shows the installation of the altar rails. They complemented the marble pulpit which had been presented in 1904 by the local people of Athy to mark the jubilee of the ordination of their then parish priest Canon Germaine. The pulpit still adorns our present parish church and a somewhat truncated version of the original marble railings are to be found beside the side altars. I don’t know where the rest of the railings can be found.

In recent weeks both Tom Byrne of St Joseph’s Terrace and Esther Owens of The Bleach passed away. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom in the company of his friend Paddy Walsh several years ago but unfortunately I have temporarily mislaid my notes of that interview. Tom had a long and interesting life and his passing and that of Esther removes yet another valuable source of interesting knowledge and rich experience with which I always associate the older generation amongst our local community.

Ballarat Mining Exchange

Stone Monument to the Ballarat Mining Settlement


The Ballarat Mining Exchange c. 1870


The Ballarat Mining Exchange Today

The Interior of the Ballarat Mining Exchange

LOUGHLIN, MARTIN (1833-1894)

LOUGHLIN, MARTIN (1833-1894), mining magnate, speculator and sportsman, was born on 3 November 1833 at Castlewarren, near Kilkenny, Ireland, son of Martin Loughlin, farmer, and his wife Margaret. While still a boy he sailed for America; the ship was wrecked on Newfoundland but all hands were saved. In New York he worked briefly as a baker and then returned home. In 1855 Loughlin and his cousin, Patrick Brennan, migrated to Geelong and soon joined the gold rush to Pleasant Creek. Learning of new developments in deep-lead mining on the Ballarat field both men transferred their hopes to the co-operatives and companies which were forming to exploit the golden gutters of alluvial under the basalt plateau. Loughlin had remarkable good fortune. With Brennan he joined the Golden Gate Co-operative Co. as a working shareholder and by October 1856 also had shares in the Alston and Weardale Co. By March 1857 he was a working shareholder in the Kohinoor claim on the Golden Point lead which paid dividends of £304,460 after winning 147,570 ozs of gold; in the Melbourne share list of 3 June 1863 forty shares were quoted at £2800 each.

Loughlin rapidly extended his investments in company mines then discovering huge quantities of gold. His physical labour ended he moved into Craig's Hotel and divided his time drinking with other speculators and crossing the pavement to the 'Corner' where all local share transactions took place.

Between October 1874 and September 1876 Loughlin was one of the four members of a syndicate that owned the Egerton mine. They were much publicized defendants in court proceedings where the previous owners, Learmonth brothers of Ercildoun, alleged conspiracy and fraud in connexion with its purchase by Loughlin for £13,500. On 19 September 1873, the day he took possession, the mine yielded rich gold. The profits after the syndicate took it over were £320,000. Final judgment was in favour of the defendants and although the Learmonths obtained leave to appeal to the Privy Council they accepted Loughlin's proposal that each side should pay its own costs and end the litigation.

The discovery of rich alluvial deposits near Creswick inspired Loughlin and others to exploit these buried rivers of gold. Almost the entire area was private property and the independent working miners could not afford to pay the royalty tax. Loughlin with seven other capitalists bought 6000 acres (2400 ha) at £6 an acre from Alexander Wilson, brother of Sir Samuel, who had bought Ercildoun from the Learmonths. In May 1881 the Seven Hills Estate Co. was registered in 10,000 shares of £20 but few of its original shares changed hands. Mining companies were soon formed to tap the gold. Loughlin took a hand in floating six of the richest mines in the district. They produced nearly 900,000 ozs of gold, paid £269,925 royalties and distributed £1,776,945 as dividends on an aggregate capital of £143,375. When the mines were exhausted the land was sold for £50,000.

Loughlin lost heavily in the financial crisis of the early 1890s 'more than £100,000', according to the Ballarat Star, 27 September 1894. Apart from mining he had a large interest in the Melbourne Tramway Co. and owned hotels and much land, including pastoral holdings in Queensland. He was a keen sportsman with a large racing stable: two of his horses, Sheet Anchor and Oakleigh, won for him the Melbourne and Caulfield cups double. A spectacular punter who wagered thousands on his string, he gave horses which had cost him £5000 to his friends when he gave up racing.

Unlike most of his business associates he shunned public life, although in 1891 he stood for Nelson Province in the Legislative Council and polled well. In August 1890 he donated three paintings by noted English artists, then valued at £4000, to the Ballarat Art Gallery. He was not a notable philanthropist but was generous to the Roman Catholic Church and its schools, and to the major Ballarat institutions.

After a lingering illness he died, unmarried, at Craig's Hotel on 22 September 1894 of cerebral paralysis. His estate was valued at £250,000. His brother Michael, a farmer of Kilkenny, and Michael's sons, Michael and Thomas, were the beneficiaries.

Select Bibliography
W. B. Withers, The History of Ballarat (Ballarat, 1887); R. Gay, Some Ballarat Pioneers (Mentone, 1935); J. H. W. McGeorge, Buried Rivers of Gold (Melb, 1966); Ballarat Courier, 24 Sept 1894; Ballarat Star, 25-27 Sept 1894; F. J. Fitzgerald, William Bailey and the Egerton mine (manuscript catalogue under Bailey, Ballarat Municipal Library). More on the resources
Author: Austin McCallum

Print Publication Details: Austin McCallum, 'Loughlin, Martin (1833 - 1894)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 103-104.

Martin Loughlin's Obituary

The Otago Daily Times of 13th October, 1894 gave the following obituary:

Mr. Martin Loughlin

This well-known racing man died at Ballarat last Sunday night, after a protracted illness. His brother Michael Loughlin came out from Ireland a month or two ago to take him Home if possible, but it was not possible. He has left property, chiefly realty, valued at from £240,000 to £250,000. It comprises the Glengower estate of 18,000 acres, a large interest in the Seven Hills Estate, Kingston, and in Queensland station property, mortgages on land and station property, Melbourne Tramway, bank and other shares. £15,000 is to be at once paid in bequests, including £5,000 to the deceased's brother, Michael Loughlin, farmer, Ireland, who is at present in Ballarat, £5,000 to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat for the benefit of the Roman Catholic schools and other institutions; £500 each to the Ballarat Hospital, the Ballarat Orphan Asylum and the Ballarat Benevolent Asylum; £2,000 to distant relatives in New South Wales; and sums ranging from £100 to £300 to his godchildren. The residue is to be managed for the benefit of his brother, Michael Loughlin, and the two sons of the latter, Michael and Thomas Loughlin.

From 'Five Years in Ireland'

Taken from 'FIVE YEARS IN IRELAND, 1895-1900' By M. J. F. MCCARTHY, M.A., BARRISTER-AT-LAW, Published in 1901 by Hodges, Figgis & Co., Dublin, from Chapter XX 'The Events of Jubilee Year, Ninety-Seven Continued,' at p. 252 ff.

"Dr. Kelly was elected Bishop of Ross, of which diocese Skibbereen is the chief town. Dr. Kelly brings us back to ecclesistical matters. Prominent amongst them is "an impressive ecclesiastical function at Armagh." The public were informed that 'Cardinal Logue obtained special permission from the Pope for the Canons of his Cathedral to wear the celebrated choral dress, as worn by the Canons of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the special Canons of His Holiness the Pope, a dress which is con- sidered one of the richest and most beautiful both in material and colouring that the Canons of the Church are permitted to wear.' The function was 'the investing of the Canons with this imposing and gorgeous church uniform.'

"Dr. Foley, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, issued his first pastoral, and nothing could be more instructive for those who wish to know what manner of man the Irish Catholic Bishop is than to read that document, or the part of it printed in the Press for the instruction of the Irish people. Had I room, I would print it all. He lamented the fact that 'it may not be prudent' to have public processions of the Blessed Sacrament through the towns. I have seen them in the South of Ireland. He laments that we, in Ireland, 'cannot give full and free expression to the homage that we know well ought to be given to our Divine Lord in the Holy Eucharist.' And he exclaims : 'The very atmosphere we breathe is not one calculated to -force the finest specimens of full-blown Catholicity.' With all due respect to Dr. Foley, the forcing-bed and the artificial heat are sufficiently in evidence here abeady; and if Catholicity in Carlow is not full-blown enough for him, he is very hard to please.

"The foundation stone of the new Catholic Church of St. John was laid at Kilkenny, one of our most decadent Irish towns. It will be, when com- pleted, a magnificent building, with a tower and spire 238 feet high! It is said to have cost £30,000, up to the year 1900, but the works have been stopped, I believe, owing to the cost having exceeded the estimate and the gift for its erection, but I have not been able to obtain any statement of accounts in connection with this or any other of the new Catholic Churches referred to.

"The vast sum of money intended to cover its erection was the gift of an old couple called Loughlin and their two sons, and was inherited, it is stated, from relatives in Australia. Dr. Brownrigg, the Bishop of Ossory, boasted that it would be the most beautiful church along the line of the silver Nore from the spot where it rises at the root of Slieve-bloom to where that river mixes its waters with the sea at Waterford." He alluded to the people who gave this vast sum for its erection, as 'the venerable old man, head of the family, whose health, I hope, has permitted him to be here, and his two sons,' and 'the venerable old lady, his wife, whose health I know has not permitted her to be here.' Thus were the Loughlins dealt with, while he eulogised to the stars his fellow-bishops who were present, and himself, as if they had done more in connection with the affair than the Loughlins.

"All I can say is that I do not believe Saint John feels a bit honoured by the building of that church in such a poor town and district as Kilkenny ; and I am sure he could have suggested to Dr. Brovmrigg a dozen ways in which the money might have been better spent."

Papal Order of Saint Gregory the Great

Count O'Loughlin was created a Knight of the Papal Order of Saint Gregory the Great by Pope Saint Pius X in 1906.

The Order of the Knights of St. Gregory the Great was established in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI. It is one of the five pontifical orders of knighthood in the Catholic Church, and is bestowed on Catholic men and women in recognition of their service to the Church, support of the Holy See, and the good example set in their communities. It is a charge to further carry their Christian principles into the professional, educational, and business worlds. There are three classes of Knights: Knight, Knight Commander, and Knight Grand Cross.

It was founded in the aftermath of the dreadful French Revolution that swept a tide of blood and destruction across Christian Europe. The name is significant not only because Pope Gregory XVI looked to his holy Patron and predecessor but also because it was Pope Saint Gregory the Great who founded the temporal power of the papacy and one of the new Pope’s chief considerations, inevitably in view of the position he inherited, was to preserve the power for himself and his successors.

One of his first concerns, therefore, was to reward the Italians and Austrians who had restored his political authority and so, only seven months after his election, he founded the Papal Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great, as an order of merit to be bestowed (to quote his inaugural brief) on “gentlemen of proven loyalty to the Holy See who, by reason of their nobility of birth and the renown of their deeds or the degree of their munificence, are deemed worthy to be honoured by a public expression of esteem on the part of the Holy See.”

Pope Saint Pius X reformed the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, dividing it into Civil and Military Divisions and describing its uniform: The decoration is a bifurcated or eight-pointed red enamelled gold cross, in the centre of which is a blue medallion on which is impressed in gold the image of St. Gregory, and at the side of his head near the right ear is a dove; in a circle around the image appears in golden letters "S. Gregorius Magnus". On the reverse side is the device, "Pro Deo et Principe", and in the centre around it, GREGORIUS XVI. P. M. ANNO. I. The badge is the cross of the order surrounded with silver rays. The ribbon of the order is red with orange borders. The cross worn by a knight of the military division is surmounted by a military trophy; the cross of a knight of the civil division is surmounted by a crown of gold oak leaves. The costume of ceremony is a dress coat of dark green open in front, and covered on breast and back with embroideries in the form of oak leaves. White trousers with silver side stripes, a bicornered ornamented hat, and the usual knightly sword, complete the costume, which is rarely worn.

A member may be a Knight or Dame Grand Cross, a Knight or Dame Commander with or without a star, or a Knight or Dame. The uniform is slightly more embroidered for the higher ranks. One of the few 'practical' privileges of membership is the right of riding on a horse inside the Saint Peter's Basilica.

The following are the Founding and Reforming Briefs:

BREVE GREGORII PP. XVI PRO INSTITUTIO EQUESTRIS ORDINIS S. GREGORII MAGNI GREGORIUS PP. XVI

AD perpetuam rei memoriam.— Quod summis quibusque Imperatoribus maximae curae est praemia virtutis et insignia honoris et monumenta laudis iis decernere, quos optime de re publica meritos noverint, id et Romani Pontifices Praedecessores Nostri praestare pro personarum, temporum, actuumque ratione consueverunt erga eos, qui Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae imperium ope, armis, consiliis, aliisque recte factis iuvarent. Haec reputantibus Nobis, ac de honore iis habendo deliberantibus, qui fidelem assiduamque asperioribus etiam temporibus operam Principatui navarunt, placuit ex more institutoque maiorum Ordinem Equestrem constituere, in quem homines spectatae in Sedem Apostolicam fidei ex Summorum Pontificum auctoritate cooptentur, quos vel praestantia generis, vel gloria rerum gestarum, vel insignum munerum procuratione, vel demum gravibus aliis ex causis dignos ipsi censuerint qui publico Pontificiae dilectionis testimonio honestentur. Inde enim nedum praemium virtuti conferri, sed et stimulos addi ceteris palam est quibus ad bonum rectumque impensius in dies excitentur. Quare hisce Nostris Apostolicis Literis Equestrem Ordinem constituimus, quem, et ex praecipuo Nostrae in Sanctissimum Praedecessorem Gregorium Magnum venerationis affectu, et ob assumptum ipsius Nomen quando Humilitati Nostrae impositum Pontificatum suscepimus, a Sancto Gregorio Magno volumus nuncupari; reservantes Nobis ac Romano Pontifici pro tempore existenti ius eligendi Equites Equites, quos constet virtutum laude, conditionis honestate, splendore munerum, atque eximia in rebus gerendis sedulitate, communi demum bonorum suffragio commendari. Erit porro peculiare Ordinis Insigne Crux octangula ex auro artificiose elaborata, rubram superficiem habens, in cuius medio, veluti parvo in numismate, extet affabre caelata imago S. Gregorii Magni. Taenia ad eam sustinendam erit serica rubra, cuius extrema ora flavo colore distinguatur. Cum vero stati quidam in Equestribus Ordinibus gradus dignitatem illorum, qui iisdem accensentur, designent, quatuor in Gregoriano Ordine gradus Equitum praefinimus; quorum primi Equites Magnae Crucis primae classis, secundi Equites Magnae Crucis secundae classis, tertii Equites Commendatores, quarti Equites simpliciter nuncupabuntur. Serica fascia praelonga binis Ordinis coloribus picta, dextero humero imposita, transversaque ad latus sinistrum propendens, et magnam Crucem sustinens, Insigne erit Equitum primi generis; qui insuper medio sinistro latere pectoris innexam vestitui gestabunt alteram maiorem Crucem radiis undique ac gemmis circumornatam, opereque magnifico caelatam. Equites secundae classis Crucem magnam, instar Numismatis, latere pectoris sinistro habebunt, praeter Crucem alteram grandem collo ex fascia serica appensam. Equites Commendatores Crucem magnam gerent, quae e fascia collo inserta dependeat; privilegio tamen carebunt ferendi pracdictum numisma seu Crucem alteram in latere pectoris sinistro. Equites quarti ordinis Crucem parvam, iuxta communem Equitum morem, ad pectus apponent in parte vestis sinistra. Ceterum eos omnes, qui publico hoc Pontificiae voluntatis testimonio sint honestati, monitos volumus ut animadvertant sedulo praemia virtutibus addici, nihilque diligentius curandum ipsis esse quam ut rebus praeclare gestis expectationem ac fiduciam quam excitarunt cumulate sustineant, delatoque sibi honore dignos sese in dies magis exhibeant. Haec quidem suscepti huiusce consilii ratio est, haec praecipua muneris ipsius conditio, cui apprime satisfiet constanti erga Deum et Principem fide, prout in aversa Crucis parte scriptum est; atque ita boni omnes et ii praesertim, quorum maxime interest ob Ordinis coniunctionem, de fausto felicique Nostri Instituti progressu gratulabuntur. Haec statuimus ac declaramus non obstantibus in contrarium facientibus, etiam speciali mentione dignis, quibuscumque.

Datum Romae apud Sanctam Mariam Maiorem sub Annulo Piscatoris die 1 Septembris MDCCCXXXI, Pontificatus Nostri anno primo.

TH. CARD BERNETTI

BREVE GREGORII PP. XVI PRO INSTITUTIO EQUESTRIS ORDINIS S. GREGORII MAGNI GREGORIUS PP. XVI

AD perpetuam rei memoriam.— Quod summis quibusque Imperatoribus maximae curae est praemia virtutis et insignia honoris et monumenta laudis iis decernere, quos optime de re publica meritos noverint, id et Romani Pontifices Praedecessores Nostri praestare pro personarum, temporum, actuumque ratione consueverunt erga eos, qui Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae imperium ope, armis, consiliis, aliisque recte factis iuvarent. Haec reputantibus Nobis, ac de honore iis habendo deliberantibus, qui fidelem assiduamque asperioribus etiam temporibus operam Principatui navarunt, placuit ex more institutoque maiorum Ordinem Equestrem constituere, in quem homines spectatae in Sedem Apostolicam fidei ex Summorum Pontificum auctoritate cooptentur, quos vel praestantia generis, vel gloria rerum gestarum, vel insignum munerum procuratione, vel demum gravibus aliis ex causis dignos ipsi censuerint qui publico Pontificiae dilectionis testimonio honestentur. Inde enim nedum praemium virtuti conferri, sed et stimulos addi ceteris palam est quibus ad bonum rectumque impensius in dies excitentur. Quare hisce Nostris Apostolicis Literis Equestrem Ordinem constituimus, quem, et ex praecipuo Nostrae in Sanctissimum Praedecessorem Gregorium Magnum venerationis affectu, et ob assumptum ipsius Nomen quando Humilitati Nostrae impositum Pontificatum suscepimus, a Sancto Gregorio Magno volumus nuncupari; reservantes Nobis ac Romano Pontifici pro tempore existenti ius eligendi Equites Equites, quos constet virtutum laude, conditionis honestate, splendore munerum, atque eximia in rebus gerendis sedulitate, communi demum bonorum suffragio commendari. Erit porro peculiare Ordinis Insigne Crux octangula ex auro artificiose elaborata, rubram superficiem habens, in cuius medio, veluti parvo in numismate, extet affabre caelata imago S. Gregorii Magni. Taenia ad eam sustinendam erit serica rubra, cuius extrema ora flavo colore distinguatur. Cum vero stati quidam in Equestribus Ordinibus gradus dignitatem illorum, qui iisdem accensentur, designent, quatuor in Gregoriano Ordine gradus Equitum praefinimus; quorum primi Equites Magnae Crucis primae classis, secundi Equites Magnae Crucis secundae classis, tertii Equites Commendatores, quarti Equites simpliciter nuncupabuntur. Serica fascia praelonga binis Ordinis coloribus picta, dextero humero imposita, transversaque ad latus sinistrum propendens, et magnam Crucem sustinens, Insigne erit Equitum primi generis; qui insuper medio sinistro latere pectoris innexam vestitui gestabunt alteram maiorem Crucem radiis undique ac gemmis circumornatam, opereque magnifico caelatam. Equites secundae classis Crucem magnam, instar Numismatis, latere pectoris sinistro habebunt, praeter Crucem alteram grandem collo ex fascia serica appensam. Equites Commendatores Crucem magnam gerent, quae e fascia collo inserta dependeat; privilegio tamen carebunt ferendi pracdictum numisma seu Crucem alteram in latere pectoris sinistro. Equites quarti ordinis Crucem parvam, iuxta communem Equitum morem, ad pectus apponent in parte vestis sinistra. Ceterum eos omnes, qui publico hoc Pontificiae voluntatis testimonio sint honestati, monitos volumus ut animadvertant sedulo praemia virtutibus addici, nihilque diligentius curandum ipsis esse quam ut rebus praeclare gestis expectationem ac fiduciam quam excitarunt cumulate sustineant, delatoque sibi honore dignos sese in dies magis exhibeant. Haec quidem suscepti huiusce consilii ratio est, haec praecipua muneris ipsius conditio, cui apprime satisfiet constanti erga Deum et Principem fide, prout in aversa Crucis parte scriptum est; atque ita boni omnes et ii praesertim, quorum maxime interest ob Ordinis coniunctionem, de fausto felicique Nostri Instituti progressu gratulabuntur. Haec statuimus ac declaramus non obstantibus in contrarium facientibus, etiam speciali mentione dignis, quibuscumque.

Datum Romae apud Sanctam Mariam Maiorem sub Annulo Piscatoris die I Septembris MDCCCXXXI, Pontificatus Nostri anno primo.

TH. CARD BERNETTI

BREVE GREGORII PP. XVI PRO TRIBUS TANTUM GRADIBUS IN EQUESTRI GREGORIANO ORDINE SERVANDIS ET PRO INSIGNIBUS SINGULORUM GRADUUM PROPRIIS STATUENDIS GREGORIUS PP. XVI

AD perpetuam rei memoriam.—Cum amplissima honorum munera iure meritoque parta hominum mentes atque animos ad virtutem amplectendam, gloriamque assequendam vel maxime excitent atque inflamment, tum Romani Pontifices provide sapienterque praecipuos honorum titulos iis tribuere ac decernere semper existimarunt, qui egregiis animi ingeniique dotibus praestantes nihil non aggrediuntur, nihilque intentatum relinquunt, ut de Christiana et Civili Republica quam optime mereri conentur. Hac sane mente in ipso Pontificatus Nostri exordio, ob tantam temporum asperitatem iniucundo ac permolesto, singulare praemium rectefactis impertiri, itemque ad suas cuique partes demandatas impensius oboundas quoddam veluti incitamentum addere in animo habentes illis praesertim viris, qui singulari studio, consilio, fide, integritate Nobis et Romanae Petri Cathedrae omni ope atque opera adhaererent, novum Equestrem Ordinem instituere decrevimus, quem ob praecipuum Nostrae in Sanctissimum Praedecessorem Gregorium Magnum venerationis affectum, et ob assumptum ipsius Nomen quando ad Universae Ecclesiae regimen evecti fuimus, a Sancto Gregorio Magno voluimus nuncupari.

Quapropter Apostolicas dedimus Literas die primo Septembris Anno MDCCCXXXI Annulo Piscatoris obsignatas, quarum vi omnibus notam perspectamque fecimus novi Gregoriani Ordinis institutionem, simulque praescripsimus eius Insigne Crucem esse octogonam exauro affabre elaboratam, rubra superficie imaginem S. Gregorii Magni in medio referentem, tacnia serica rubra, extremis oris flava, sustinendam. Clare insuper significavimus quibus dotibus viros hoc honore decorandos praeditos esse oporteat, Nobisque et Romanis Pontificibus Successoribus Nostris ius reservavimus eiusmodi Equites renuntiandi, quos virtutis et religionis laude, conditionis honestate, muneris splendore, eximia in rebus gerendis sedulitate, communi denique bonorum suffragio pateat esse commendatos. Ad desinandam autem eorum dignitatem, qui huic Ordini sunt adscribendi, Nobis opportunum vide sapienterque praecipuos honorum titulos iis tribuere ac decernere semper existimarunt, qui egregiis animi ingeniique dotibus praestantes nihil non aggrediuntur, nihilque intentatum relinquunt, ut de Christiana et Civili Republica quam optime mereri conentur. Hac sane mente in ipso Pontificatus Nostri exordio, ob tantam temporum asperitatem iniucundo ac permolesto, singulare praemium rectefactis impertiri, itemque ad suas cuique partes demandatas impensius obeundas quoddam veluti incitamentum addere in animo habentes illis praesertim viris, qui singulari studio, consilio, fide, integritate Nobis et Romanae Petri Cathedrae omni ope atque opera adhaererent, novum Equestrem Ordinem instituere decrevimus, quem ob praecipuum Nostrae in Sanctissimum Praedecessorem Gregorium Magnum venerationis affectum, et ob assumptum ipsius Nomen quando ad Universae Ecclesiae regimen evecti foimus, a Sancto Gregorio Magno voluimus nuncupari. Quapropter Apostolicas dedimus Literas die primo Septembris Anno MDCCCXXXI Annulo Piscatoris obsignatas, quarum vi omnibus notam perspectamque fecimus novi Gregoriani Ordinis institutionem, simulque praescripsimus eius Insigne Crucem esse octogonam ex auro affabre elaboratam, rubra superficie imaginem S. Gregorii Magni in medio referentem, taenia serica rubra, extremis oris flava, sustinendam. Clare insuper significavimus quibus dotibus viros hoc honore decorandos praeditos esse oporteat, Nobisque et Romanis Pontificibus Successoribus Nostris ius reservavimus eiusmodi Equites renuntiandi, quos virtutis et religionis laude, conditionis honestate, muneris splendore, eximia in rebus gerendis sedulitate, communi denique bonorum suffragio pateat esse commendatos. Ad designandam autem eorum dignitatem, qui huic Ordini sunt adscribendi, Nobis opportunum visum est eumdem ipsum in quatuor classes dividere; quarum altera Equitibus Magna Crucis primi ordinis, altera Equitibus Magnae Crucis secundi ordinis, tertia Equitibus Commendatoribus, quarta Equitibus tantummodo constat. Praescripsimus idcirco, ut Equites a Magna Cruce primi ordinis magnam Crucem e serica fascia praelonga binis Ordinis coloribus picta, dextero humero imposita, transversaque ad latus sinistrum descendente sustineant, ac praeterea medio sinistro pectoris latere innexam vesti gestent alteram maiorem Crucem radiis undique ac gemmis circumornatam: ut Equites a Magna Cruce secundae classis praeter magnam Crucem, ut supra appensam, medio sinistro pectoris latere alteram Crucem nullis coruscantibus gemmis refulgentem deferant: ut Equitibus Commendatoribus liceat Crucem magnam gerere, quae e fascia collo inserta dependeat, haud tamen Crucem alteram in latere pectoris sinistro: ut Equites demum quarti ordinis Crucem parvam ex communi Equitum more in parte vestis sinistra ad pectus apponant. Quin etiam ac removendum quodcumque discrimen, quod in hoc gestando Insigni posset contingere cuiusque Crucis shema typis excudi mandavimus, novis quibusque Equitibus una cum Di plomate tradendum. Iam vero, cum honoris ac dignitatis splendor eo magis refulgeat quc minor est eorum numerus quibus confertur, Nostris profecto fuisset in votis in Gregorianc Ordine constituendo eorum numerum praefinire, qui in singulas illius classes essent coop tandi. Sed quoniam eo tunc praecipue spectavimus, ut praemium iis potissimum repende remus, qui incorrupta fide et egregio in Nos atque hanc Sanctam Sedem studio et obse quio effervescentes id temporis seditionis impetus propulsarent, et Religionis causam a Civilem Apostolicae Sedis Principatum pro viribus tuerentur, haud potuimus extemple consilia Nostra certis quisbusdam limitibus circumscribere. Nunc vero rebus divini Numinis ope conversis, atque exoptato in Pontificiis Nostris Provinciis ordine restituto, cum fi dis fortibusque viris mercedem proposuerimus, in eam venimus sententiam, aliquid ircommemoratis Nostris Literis immutare, pluraque etiam ab integro decernere, quae ac eiusdem Ordinis splendorem augendum maiestatemque amplificandam pertinere posse vi dentur. Hisce igitur Literis statuimus atque mandamus, ut posthac ex utraque classe Magnae Crucis una tantum constet, cui nomen erit primae classis. Nobis vero et Romanic Pontificibus Successoribus Nostris reservamus Magna Cruce gemmis ornata in peculiaribus quibusdam casibus eos decorare, qui Nostro eorumdemque Successorum Nostrorum iudicio singulari ratione honestandi videantur. Quapropter eos omnes qui Magnam Crucem secundae classis iam fuerint adepti, ad primam classem pertinere omnino volumus et declaramus. Itaque deinceps Gregorianus Ordo tribus tantummodo constabit classibus, nempe Equitibus a Magna Cruce, Commendatoribus et Equitibus. Numerum autem cuiuslibet ex tribus iis classibus praefinire volentes, quemadmodum in pluribus Militiis vel Equestribus Ordinibus provide sapienterque factum est et Nos ipsi vehementer optabamus. plena Auctoritate Nostra edicimus atque praecipimus ut Equites a Magna Cruce numerum triginta non praetergrediantur: Commendatores septuaginta, Equites demum tercenti esse possint. Quem quidem singularum classium Equitum numerum pro iis tantum viris, qui Civili Apostolicae Sedis Principatui subsunt praescriptum volumus; proptereaquod ad Nostrum et Successorum Nostrorum arbitrium semper pertinebit homines etiam exterarum gentium in cuiusque classis coetum praeter hunc numerum adlegere. Praeterea, ut huius Ordinis ratio perpetuo servetur neque temporis lapsu diuturna vetustate ullatenus immutetur, mandamus ut Summus ab Actis Gregoriani Ordinis seu, ut dicitur, Magnus Cancellarius sit S. R. E. Cardinalis a Brevibus Apostolicis Literis; penes quem Equitum nomina, gradus, admissionis dies, ac numerus diligenter servetur. Haec decernimus atque statuimus, non obstantibus editis Nostris Literis, de quibus habitus est sermo, nec etiam speciali mentione dignis in contrarium facientibus quibuscumque. Nobis quidem sperare fas est novam hanc consilii Nostri instaurationem optatum exitum assequuturam, eosque simili honore auctos vel in posterum augendos votis Nostris ac fini, ad quem referentur, quam cumulatissime responsuros, ac Pontificia benevolentia magis magisque dignos futuros, praesertim quod ipso in Insigni inscriptum legant hoc munus eorum potissimum esse, qui PRO DEO ET PRINCIPE vel maxime praestant. Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub Annulo Piscatoris die xxx Maii MDCCCXXXIV, Pontificatus Nostri anno quarto.

PRO DOMINO CARD. ALBANO A PICCHIONI substitus
EX CANCELLARIA ORDINUM EQUESTRIUM
DIE 7 FEBRUARII 1905

SS.mus Dominus Noster Pius PP. X, animo repetens omnia, quae sive ad homines virtute formandos sive ad praemia eisdem pro rectefactis rependenda ab Apostolica Sede proveniunt, iis legibus iugiter moderanda esse, quibus et decori eiusdem S. Sedis et congrue rationi consultum sit, opportune mentem suam ad Equestres Ordines admovit.

Hinc est quod re acta cum infrascripto Cardinali a Brevibus, magno Equestrium Ordinum Cancellario, praeter ordinationes de ceteris Equestribus Ordinibus hoc ipso die latas, volüit ut quae etiam de Gregoriani Ordinis vestibus et Insignibus propriis illorumque usu adhuc non satis certa et definita viderentur, servata eiusdem Ordinis, quae hactenus usu venit, in Civilem unam et Militarem alteram Classem partitione, omnia forent adamussim statuta per leges quae hic sequuntur:

PRO EQUITIBUS COMMENDATORIBUS CUM NUMISMATE CLASSIS CIVILIS

Vestis e panno viridi nigrante siet in longos post tergum producta limbos.

Opera phrygia, omnia acu picta ex argento, circa collum, extremas manicas et supra peras laciniae sint quernea folia referentes, et dentata tacniola quae extremas totius vestis oras circumeat.

Novem pectori globuli: tres vero sint, minoris moduli, manicis.

Posteriores vestis limbi inter utramque peram duobus maioribus globulis, nec non corona querna decorentur; ipsisque peris tres subsint globuli minores.

Femoralia praelonga sunto e panno viridi nigrante; fascia ornentur ex argento querneis foliis intexta, cuius altitudo quatuor centesimarum metricae mensurae partium siet.

Galero nigro ex sericis coactilibus, duplici transversa utrinque et circum ducta limbos, ut in schemate, nigra undati operis fascia ac parvo argenteo flocco in utraque cuspide distincto, nigra superemineat pluma; eique Insigne Pontificium quatuor ex argento funiculis globulo coniunctis innexum sit.

Globuli, omnes ex argento, Crucem Ordinis caelato opere referent.

Item et ensis argenteo cingulo suffultus Crucem Ordinis, prout a schemate apparel, in capulo caelatam referat; capulus ipse sit e concha albida ornatus auro, cum aureo dependente fimbriato funiculo; vagina e corio nigro aureis fulcro et cuspide terminetur.

Praeter Crucem, non aliter ac serica taenia e collo dependentem, Numisma Ordinis argenteum sinistro pectoris lateri ingestum deferre fas esto.

Crucem corona laurea ex enchausto viridi ut in schemate, parve taenia ex auro inferius vincta, superemineat.

Crux, Numisma, globuli quoad formas et modulos, sic et tacnia quo ad colores et altitudinem a schemate non different.

ALOISIUS CARD. MACCHI
MAGNUS CANCELLARIUS ORDINUM EOUESTRIUM

The Kingston Alluvial Field

From: The History of Ballarat, from the first pastoral settlement to the present time, with plans, illustrations and original documents.

By William Bramwell Withees, Journalist, published in Ballarat by FW Niven & Co., 1887, at pps. 225 ff.

"For many years the alluvial deposits in Ballarat Proper have been exhausted, and the bulk of gold won in the Central Division has been quartz gold. This was foreseen in 1870, when the first edition of this History appeared ; but a great revival of alluvial mining began in the Creswick Division in the early seventies. This was caused by the success of Graham, Brawn, and others at Broomfield Gully, in shallow ground. Their success led to the starting of the Lewer's Freehold Company on the 22nd July, 1872, the first party comprising Messrs. W. P. Jones, S. Fyson, H. Gore, T. Rossell, W. Curten, E. and G. Daws, Rev. J. Wagg, W. J. Gillard, R. Henden, J. Riordan, J. M. Davies, G. West- cott, Alex. Stewart, W. Saville, and Alex. Rogers.

"The first washing was on the 8th April, 1873, when 28 oz. of gold were obtained. This led to a great rush ; the shallow ground was traced till the famous De Murska, Ristori, Lone Hand, and Madame Berry gutters were discovered, and nearly the whole of the country between Creswick and the Loddon taken up for mining. The rich deposits and the deep ground recalled the old days of Ballarat itself, and the locality is now the only largely productive alluvial field in Victoria. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the whole of the territory was private property, the Birches and the Hepburns, of the pastoral epoch, or their successors, vendees or assigns, being lords of the soil.

"The fortunate element was the freedom from the jumper and the other risks of Crown land regulations ; the unfortunate element was the royalty tax imposed upon the miner by the land-owners. Early in 1875, by which time the shallow rush had reached the edge of deep deposits and given expectation of a large and profitable field, a band of Ballarat capitalists bought 6000 acres of Birch's estate from Alexander Wilson, the owner at that time. This band consisted of Messrs. M. Loughlin, W. Bailey, E. C. Moore, J. A. Chalk, R. Orr, D. Ham, E. Morey, and H. Gore, who called their company the Seven Hills Estate Company. The company was registered under the Trading Companies' Statute, in 200 shares of £250 each, and their land was taken up by the famous Ristori, West Ristori, Louglilin, West Louglilin, Lone Hand, Lord Harry, Berry Consols, and Madame Berry G.M. Companies, upon whom a royalty of seven and a-half per cent, of the gold won was levied, with one per cent, extra when an extension of leases was required. In May, 1881, the Seven Hills Estate Company was registered in 10,000 shares of £20 each, but very few of the original company's shares changed hands, and the new company has never numbered more tlian fifteen shareholders. The company under its first organisation received £28,600 in dividends, and up to the 18th April last £138,885 under the new organisation, including £18,834 received assrazine rents from surface lessees.

"Thus we have an instance of a large sum (£148,651) being taken from the miner which, upon the theory that the gold belongs to the Crown, ought not to have been taken from him, and an instance of a very successful speculation which has already paid for the land more than four times over, and leaves still the estate intact, barring, indeed, some surface damage here and there, and the certainty of other mining royalties yet to accrue. But the ability to pay such a large aggregate of royalty proves the richness of the alluvium and the success of the mining investors.

"Thus the dead Ristori Company (12,000 shares of £1) obtained 104,224 oz. 10 dwt. 12 gr. of gold, value £430,918 16s. 4d. ; paid £32,153 14s. 2d. in royalty, and divided £16 14s. 5d. per share. The dead Ristori West Company (20,000 shares of £1) obtained 38,491 oz. 5 dwt. of gold, value £158,409 15s. Id. ; paid £12,707 9s. 8d. in royalty, and £3 14s. 5Jd. per 20,000th share in dividends. The dead De Murska Company (8000 £2 shares) obtained £76,600 Is. 2d. worth of gold, paid £5743 9s. 10d. in royalty, and £28,200 in dividends upon £8800 called up.

"The dead Lone Hand Company (12,000 shares of £1 10s.) obtained 126,146 oz. 3 dwt. 3 gr. of gold, value £522,162 17s. 3d.; paid in royalty £39,163 Is. 3d., and in dividends £242,700, the paid up capital being £15,300. But the still live and flourishing Madame Berry Company (18,000 shares of £1 10s.) puts all the others into shadow, for it has obtained already 160,592 oz, 11 dwt. of gold, value £656,464 18s. 5d. ; has paid in royalty £49,177 13s. lid., and £21 8s. per share, or an aggregate of £385,200 in dividends, with only 17s. odd paid up per share.

"This was up to the 18th April last, and the company has apparently a long and prosperous life still before it. This is the richest of all the Kingston mines, and its works are extensive, as already (June 1887) there have been over nine miles of drives excavated in auriferous wash, a mile and a-half excavated in reef, or bed rock, and forty rises put up from six to 157 feet in height, or an average of 30 feet each. The West Loughlin and Berry Consols have not yet become productive mines. The Hepburn Estate is in gold, the Berry No. 1 beginning to open up wash, and it and the Consols will soon, apparently, be productive, the Hepburn Estate and Berry No. 1 being liable to the same royalty rate as that in the claims before catalogued, though outside the Seven Hills Estate. The Lord Harry and Earl Beaconsfield mines are likely to be producing gold before long, and a host of progressive companies stretch out the line of ventures to the borders of the Loddon Valley."