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ST. MATTHEW'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, WINDSOR 

Background:

The first Catholic services took place in Australia on the 15 May 1803 when Father Dixon officially celebrated Mass in Sydney. The Sydney Gazette records that a service was held at Parramatta the following week and in the Hawkesbury on the 29 May 1803 and "in which succession the meetings are to be held at these three principal Settlements". Less than a year later permission for these services were withdrawn as a result of the Castle Hill uprising in March 1804.

It wasn't until 1820 that Father J. J. Therry arrived in the colony and was authorized to attend to the Catholic population celebrating Mass in Sydney, Liverpool, Parramatta and Windsor. The Convict Barracks (later known as Windsor Hospital) were originally used for services then later Patrick Garrigan's house.

Rev. C. Dowling arrived in NSW in 1831 and came to live in Windsor. Shortly after services commenced. The congregation had outgrown the Garrity house and a barn had been constructed in Macquarie Street, possibly opposite the Windsor Public School, Dight Street and Cemetery area.

Land was donated for the use of a church, cemetery and school in 1833 although the cemetery has been recorded to be in use in the 1820s. On the 28 December 1836 Archbishop Polding blessed the Foundation stone for the St. Matthew's Catholic Church. The church registers commenced in January 1835, some earlier events were recorded in the St. Patrick's Catholic Registers of Parramatta. Most of the congregation were impoverished farmers, some ex-convicts and had little spare cash to donate to the funds to build a church and it took some time to raise the money. Fortunately a bequest from James Doyle added to the local public subscription allowed the construction to commence. St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Tebbutt Street Windsor was officially opened on the 21 October 1840 by Dr. Polding & Rev. W. Ullathorne and the 80th Regiment band played at the official ceremony. The church has been administering to the Catholic community ever since.

Catholic Priests at Windsor 1831-1953

C. V. Dowling  W. Ullathorne  J. V. Corcoran J. Brady W. J. Dunne  J. Kenny  M. McGrath J. J. Therry  J. Grant  N. J. Coffey  P. Hallinan  J. S. Sheehy  J. Hayes  B. McDonnell P. Galvin W. O'Flynn  M. Coffey

1831 1835 1835 1838 1843 1845 1845 1847 1848 1851 1852 1874 1886 1898 1924 1940 1947

Source(s):

• Sydney Gazette 22 May 1803 p. 3a
• Bowd, D. G. (1969). Macquarie Country - A History of the Hawkesbury. F. W. Cheshire Publishing Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia.
• Steele, J. (1916, 1977) Early Days of Windsor. Sydney, Tyrell's Ltd, 1916 (Fasimile Sydney Library of Australian History)

Transcriptions:

The burial registers of St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Windsor were difficult to transcribe due to the handwriting. The earlier registers have noticeable errors particularly with surnames. The registers from the latter half of the 19th century are awkward because of the sometimes illegible handwriting of the priests. 

The St. Matthew's Catholic Church Burial registers were transcribed by Kristine Wood on behalf of the Hawkesbury on the Net Church Registers project and have been divided into 10 yearly blocks to help reduce download times for site visitors. 

If there are any errors please contact the Church Registers Team via our online enquiry form.