Julian Woods
| First name | Julian |
|---|---|
| Last name | Woods |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 15th November 1832 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1855 |
| Submitted by | Pamela Tobin |
Story
Julian Edmund Tenison Woods left England to work in Tasmania as a lay preacher with Bishop Willson. Part of his role was to be the Chaplain to Prisoners in Tasmania.
They sailed from England on the 545 ton barque, Berenicia on October 15th 1854, arriving in Australia at Hobart Town on January 30th 1855
Julian found the condition of the prisoners very distressing and he left Tasmania in March 1855 going first to Melbourne and then to Adelaide.
A few months after his arrival in Adelaide, the Bishop advised him to go to the Jesuits at Sevenhill and complete his study for the priesthood.
He was ordained at St. Patrick’s Church in Adeleide and a few weeks later was sent as Parish Priest to Penola. It was here he was to spend the next 10 years and where he met a young Mother Mary MacKillop and they founded the Sisters of St. Joseph and opened the first Catholic School in Penola.
Whilst he was in Penola, he also did a great deal of study of the limestone caves in the Naracoorte district. His observations changed the way paeleontologists view the formation of limestone caves. In later years he went on to identify fossils and shellfish in various parts of Australia. He also undertook geological studies on behalf of Governments in Australia.
He wrote and had published numerous scientific papers and was President of the Linnean Society in Sydney.
He later went on to found The Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Brisbane.
He was the first Director of Catholic Education in South Australia and the Founder of The Southern Cross Catholic Newspaper, which still exists today.
Two schools in South Australia bear his name and they are Tenison Woods Catholic School in suburban Richmond and Tenison Woods College in country Mt. Gambier.
He wrote and had published several books, including: “Geological Observations in South Australia”, “Not quite as Old as the Hills” and ‘Personal Reminiscences of Adam Lindsay Gordon”. Fr. Julian Tenison Woods was a great friend of Adam Lindsay Gordon.
Fr. Julian Tenison Woods contributed greatly to the early days in Australia and has left an indelible mark on Australian History.