Parish
Parish’s Name:
St Joseph’s
St Mary’s, Bingara
Churches in Parish:
- Bingara: St Joseph’s and St Mary’s
- Delungra: St Patrick’s
Church’s Address:
- 10 Riddell Street
Parish established:
1886 Bingara included Warialda, Barraba, Manilla, Moree and Delungra
Priests in the Parish:
| Year | Priest | Year | Priest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1882-1884 | Fr Salvador | 1884-1887 | Fr F Kavanagh |
| 1886 | Fr P Kelly | 1887-1889 | Fr J Guerrini |
| 1889-1890 | Fr R Dunham | 1890-1891 | Fr P Lynch |
| 1891-1893 | Fr John Paul | 1894 | Fr J Kelly |
| 1895 | Fr M O’Sullivan | 1895-1897 | Fr P Long |
| 1897 | Fr J Byrne | 1898-1899 | Fr P Riordan |
| 1899-1907 | Fr J Clancy | 1907-1922 | Fr J Collender |
| 1922-1924 | Fr T Stephenson | 1924-1925 | Fr S Burchell |
| 1925-1930 | Fr P Walsh | 1930-1931 | Fr B O’Brien |
| 1931-1948 | Fr P Walsh | 1949-1952 | Fr J P O’Connor |
| 1952-1953 | Fr T Leahy | 1953-1957 | Fr J Maron |
| 1958-1967 | Fr E Rohan | 1967-1975 | Fr B Melville |
| 1975-1977 | Fr B Ryan | 1978 | Fr R McKervey |
| 1979-1982 | Fr A Castelli | 1982-1998 | Fr Tom Shanahan |
| 1998-2000 | Fr Ron Perrett (Acting Administrator) | 2000 | Fr Castelli (Barraba) |
History of Parish When Bingara first became a Parish (whether when the first Church was dedicated in 1872 or when the first Priest, Fr Salvador arrived in 1882) it was the largest Parish in the Diocese. It included Manilla, Barraba, Horton, Warialda, Gravesend, Yetman, Coolatia, Wallangra, Gramen, Boggabilla, Mungindi and Moree (ORDO 1886). In 1887 Bishop Torreggiani spoke of Bingara as a Parish of 200 x 50 miles. Moree became a parish in 1889 and presumably took with it Mungindi and Boggabilla.
The first Convent that the Sisters lived in, 1902, was situated at the back of the building that served until December 1979, as the Presbytery. The building situated beside the school, now in 1980 being used as a Presbytery, was built on the site of the second Convent. During its construction the Sisters lived in a rented cottage close to the Gwydir River.
Delungra has always been a part of the Bingara parish since its growth as a town after the railway opened there in 1901. For many years the Sisters travelled out with the Priest on Sunday and instructed the children after Mass, in the fundamentals of their Faith, and prepared them for the reception of the Sacraments. An excerpt from the “A history of St Mary’s Parish Bingara 1882-1982 Catholic Centenary Celebrations 24-29 August, 1982”
No further information has been provided at this stage. Please forward any information to the Catholic Schools Office
